Black swan, the movie and the makeup.

Black swan came out in limited showings on Dec 3, 2010.  It is already garnering much attention for the actresses Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.  They are being touted as Oscar contenders.  I've yet to see the movie, but the trailer is astounding.




The story is based on swan lake.  Portman plays a character named Nina.  A pushed to the edge ballerina, who is emtionally battered by her stage mother.  She is suffering delusions and hallucinations.  She has been cast as the Swan Queen.  The part calls for her to be able to access both the Sweetness and innocence of the White swan as well as the seductive blissfulness of the Black swan.  Reality starts to slip from Nina's grasp once Lily (played by Mila Kunis) arrives as her understudy.  Lily is there to draw the darkness out of Nina.

This is what the basic narrative of the movie is.  It is a thriller to say the least.  I'm not sure that I want to see it in theaters or wait for blue ray.  I'm not a huge fan of such dark psychological thrillers.  What fascinates me is the makeup.  The makeup designer on this film is Oscar winning makeup artist Judy Chin.  I love how she made Nina's eyes very swan like.  As you can see by the images from IMBD.

The look was achieved using Mac cosmetics.  To set the base of the look, Ivory foundation was applied to the forehead and upper cheekbones.  Then Mac Chromaline was used in silver, and mixing medium to create the feathery eyes you see on the swan.  Mac Chromaline red was used to line beneath the eyes.  Thus crafting the elegant swan like eyes.  Mac lip liner -vino set the line on the lips.  Then they were filled in with Dubonnet.   The entire look has a lot of shading and highlighting techniques used to build the dramatic look you see in the final version.


The film promises to be an edge of your seat, roller coaster ride.  If you have seen it please leave your comments regarding your thoughts on the movie.  I would love to hear what you think of it.


Leslie