I assured Gina I knew what to do, but deep down I was doubting myself. She’d obviously be checking my work and walking me through any adjustments before Will stepped in front of the camera, and I really wanted to impress her. I always felt like I had a lot to prove, now more than ever.
When Will joined us in the RV a few minutes later, he was practically bubbling over with excitement. He greeted Harper with a hug, and when he sat down in front of me, I said, “I can tell your meeting with the director went well.”
“It did. I’ll be signing the contract for the lead role in his next movie on Friday. It’s a fantastic part, and I’m really looking forward to it.” I handed him a headband, and as he used it to push his dark curls from his face, he added, “We also talked about our expectations for Alex over these next three weeks. The character’s obviously in a better place emotionally in these scenes, as opposed to the ones we already filmed, but he’s still struggling. We were talking about how best to convey that.”
It was going to be a challenge for both of us. What I needed to do as a makeup artist was the same as what Will needed to do as an actor. I had to transform him into someone else, and I had to do it subtly and with a lot of finesse.
The next several minutes were spent reshaping his face to make him look even leaner than he already was. This was accomplished with contours and highlights that had to merge seamlessly with the light foundation makeup. A natural-looking blush also had to be applied strategically. Even though he needed to look pale, a sheer wash of color was still needed to keep his makeup from looking flat.
After I set his face with translucent powder, I turned my attention to his eyes. This was going to be the real test of my ability. I picked up a tiny brush and an eyeshadow palette, and then I chewed my lip for a few moments while trying to decide exactly how I should approach this.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gina pause what she was doing to watch me. Do something even if it’s wrong, I told myself. It was important to make her think I had this under control, otherwise she’d absolutely take over for me and I’d lose this incredible opportunity.
Will closed his eyes for me, and I swept a sheer, pale gray color near his lash line. That shade was the right call, and it gave me the confidence to press on. I knit my brows as I concentrated on creating a tiny, subtle composition of light and shadow around and just beneath his eyes.
It needed one more thing, so I added a paper-thin red line above his lower lashes and smeared it, which created the illusion that his eyes were slightly bloodshot. Will held perfectly still, looking up at the ceiling while I did that, and he murmured, “It’s a good thing I trust you. Otherwise, I’d probably be flinching like crazy right now.”
As I added just a bit of red right in the inner corners of his eyes, I joked, “Tell you what, you keep not flinching, and I’ll keep not stabbing you in the eye.”
He grinned at that and said, “Deal.”
Finally, I stepped back and said, “Look at me, please.” When Will did as I asked, I couldn’t help but smile. Alex looked back at me, young and fragile with wide, haunted eyes, his beauty marred ever-so-slightly by the addiction that was slowly killing him from the inside-out.
When Gina came over to check my work, she actually said, “I’m impressed, kid.” That was a huge compliment coming from her.
She went back to the front of the RV and chatted with two of the hairstylists while I pulled my phone from my pocket and took a few photos. It was important to document what I’d done, so I’d be able to precisely recreate that makeup. Then I stepped aside and indicated the mirror as I said, “Take a look, Will.”
He pulled the headband from his hair and finger-combed his curls, and then he smiled at his reflection and said, “There he is. I knew Alex was in there somewhere.”
I snapped one more photo and whispered, so Gina wouldn’t overhear, “I gotta be honest, I wasn’t sure if I could pull this off. I felt confident in the makeup we were doing before, but I didn’t know if I could dial it back and still make you look like Alex.”
Will got up and squeezed my shoulder as he said, “I never had any doubt.”
A production assistant arrived and told the actors they needed to be on set in ten minutes. Will told me he’d see me out there, and the RV emptied while I went to work packing a kit with the makeup I’d need for touchups between takes.