Scarlett Johansson repeatedly looks like she stepped out of old Hollywood, so it comes as no surprise that the star dazzled in the Coen brothers' hit comedy Hail, Caesar! earlier this year, set in the 1950s. Now, the film's make-up artists Jean Black and Julie Hewett have spoken exclusively with HELLO! Online and revealed what it was like working with the blonde bombshell to create her glamorous beauty looks.
Scarlett Johansson turned heads in Hail, Caesar!
"Scarlett is a natural and timeless beauty but she brings 100 per cent to the make-up process," said Jean, who was the film's make-up department head and has previously worked with stars including Brad Pitt. "She was very trusting of my ideas and easy to collaborate with as we had two very distinctive looks for her, one requiring her immersion in water for hours and the other being a high-Hollywood glamour look that was quite stylised to accent her hat, hair and costume.
"Once we decided upon the looks it was all Scarlett's wonderful performance that brought these looks to life."
In the film, which also stars Channing Tatum, George Clooney and Tilda Swinton, Scarlett had a lot of underwater scenes, which Jean admitted posed the biggest challenge for the make-up team.
© Photo: RexJean Black created Scarlett's make-up look
"There was quite an extensive trial process to test the various possibilities for long lasting makeup in water," she explained. "I had my assistant along with some professional synchronised swimmers test various products in the pool all day."
She added: "For our particular needs, I felt the best products were: Makeup Forever Aqua Line, MAC Face & Body Foundation, CARGO Blush – Peach, Tarte Amazonian Clay Matte Bronzer, Julie Hewett’s Noir Belle & Rouge Lipsticks with corresponding Pencils and Dior Show Waterproof Mascara."
Julie, who has worked with celebrities including Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman, also confessed that she and fellow make-up artist Zoe Hay had to put a lot of research into what would work for Scarlett's scenes.
Make-up artist Julie Hewett also worked on Scarlett's underwater make-up
"The Water Lilies – I think it's the name of the swimmers, it was all in harmony," she said. "Zoe researched every kind of waterproof make-up we could find. It went seamlessly actually! Nobody's face ran in the water, it all worked out."
Working with such a large, star-studded cast also offered ample opportunity to play around with different make-up. Julie admitted that they had a lot of fun with the actors when it came to creating their final looks.
"For Scarlett and the whole underwater sequences, that was a whole other thing about doing make-up to go underwater," she said. "Jean, Zoe and I, we experimented for these background swimmers and it was really a lot of work and then for the guys too.
"We wanted George to look like an old movie star, so he was made up. When you see it, you'll have a giggle. With black eyeliner and everything. Channing is made up like old fashioned movie stars as well."
HAIL, CAESAR! is available to own on Digital HD™ 27th June and on Blu-ray™ & DVD from 11th July, courtesy of Universal Pictures (UK).
