Discuss the process of transformation through make up in 'Elizabeth' (1998)

My 'Elizabeth' notes

Discuss how Elizabeth is portrayed through the film, how does her make up change?

Throughout the film, Elizabeth's make up appears to stay the same. At the start of the film, Elizabeth is a young, care free and loving young lady. Her hair is loose and down, which could represent her free spirit and attitude. As well as this, her cheeks are rosy and makeup is minimal which could represent her innocence and how naive she is. The colour of her dresses are neutral colours, nothing too fancy, and she is a happier in the early scenes of the film. 

As the film progresses however, Elizabeth starts to wear darker clothing; royal reds, beautiful golds and also wears extravagant ruffs as well as head dresses. As Elizabeth gains more confidence in her role as Queen and become more assertive, her make up alters slightly with a darker lip and contour. She begins to look more fierce. Her hair also changes from her care free down-do to an assortment of uptight do's - similar to how her personality is becoming.

Nearing to the end of the film, Elizabeth is seen wearing more extravagant head dresses again, more jewelry and several darker dresses; a few being black. As the film ends and Elizabeth says 'I am no man's Elizabeth.'. At this point, the Queen's attitude towards men is completely different to how it was at the start of the film. She is no longer a free spirit, but an owned woman by the state but refuses to let a man own her in the same way after being heartbroken. She is now bitter, and claims to be married to her country. Her make up goes from soft and innocent to chalk white, threatening and uninviting. She has a darker lip, and even more intricate clothing. The transformation of makeup symbolises the change in her personality. 

Is the portrayal accurate and historically relevant?

'Upper class women, the Nobility, of the Elizabethan era wore make-up. Queen Elizabeth I set the fashions and as she grew older she more wore elaborate make-up which was useful for hiding wrinkles and other signs of ageing. At one time Queen Elizabeth had contracted small pox which had left some scarring on her face. The heavy white make-up also helped to hide this and maintain her illusion of beauty.' 

Source: http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-make-up.htm

The physical appearance of Queen Elizabeth has been altered by every artist who painted her portrait, however she has always been described as a lady with deep dark eyes, a slender face with defined cheek bones, and of course, fair skinned with auburn hair. The portrayal of her in the film was historically relevent, especially in the fact that she used very poreclaine make up at the end of the film. This porcelaine look was sought out by many woman who wanted to make themselves look younger and have the perfect complexion. It was achieved by mixing white lead and vinegar, and women that used it were considered very wealthy. Although these women thought they looked wonderful, these methods were poisenous and led to all sorts of skin damage.

Some interesting facts:

Facepaint, generally referred to in period as fucus, came in a variety of reds and was used mainly upon the cheeks and lips. Madder, cochineal, and ochre-based compounds were all used as blush and lip-color, but vermilion (mercuric sulfide) was the most popular choice of the fashionable court lady. Apparently this color could be laid on quite thick; One Elizabethan satirist commented that an artist needed no box of paints to work, but merely a fashionably painted lady standing nearby to use for pigments.

Source: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/makeup.html

How did designers adapt the look for a contemporary audience? 

The looks for individual characters were very interesting in the film. What made the film contemporary was that it was easy to distinguish the lower class citizens from the higher class citizens, and of course, the Queen herself.

The maids/servants wore dresses very similar to each other, as well as hairstyles. Because they all often matched, it was easy for the audience to decipher who was who. The make up was very simple, natural looking, however the make up used in the film would not be true to the era. Standards of beauty have changed throughout the centuries; women would wear kohls, dyes that were used on the skin, and of course lead and vinegar for a fairer look. In this modern day, it not fashionable like it was then to be fair with bright cheeks. The designers used more modern day looks for a more relatable experience.   

Hair stylists & makeup artists that worked on 'Elizabeth';

Anita Burger

Miranda Davidson

Karen Ferguson

Christine Greenwood

Susan Howard (special effects makeup artist)

Bibliography (images):

http://gcube.milliyet.com.tr/Detail/2007/11/23/cate-blanchett-kralice-i-elizabeth-rolunde-914471.jpg

http://www.gstatic.com/tv/thumb/movieposters/21676/p21676_p_v7_ab.jpg

http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/13400000/Elizabeth-cate-blanchett-13443704-1024-576.jpg