Euphoria's Makeup Artist Doniella Davy on Gen Z, Makeup, and Glitter
It’s nearly impossible to watch Euphoria without pausing to think about makeup.
The highly acclaimed HBO series starring Zendaya debuted earlier this summer and quickly immersed viewers in the shimmering, glittery, and dark world of its teenage protagonists. The show, which explores real-world themes of addiction, identity, abuse, and love, has undoubtedly captivated its audience over a short period of time and was quickly renewed for a second season. But it’s not just the notable acting from Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Barbie Ferreira, and the show's other stars that has resonated with fans; each character has their own signature makeup style that tells its own story without saying a word.
According to Doniella Davy, head of Euphoria’s makeup department, that’s exactly the point. “I was encouraged early on to use expressive color, shapes, placement, glitter, gems, rhinestones,” she tells Teen Vogue. “Anything I wanted, essentially, as long as it fit with the characters and was propelling the story forward.”
Despite the frequent use of bold looks, like neon geometric eyeliner or glitter tears, the makeup on Euphoria is never distracting, nor does it ever seem out of place. “It needs to be almost invisible in a sense where you see it and you notice it, but you don't really question it,” Davy explains. “It's there, and it's doing its job. Like how a music score can add so much emotion to a scene, I really wanted the makeup to function in a similar way.”
And there’s no doubt that Davy’s intention has succeeded; each character’s makeup ebbs and flows in perfect conjunction with their story arc. We see heightened colors and textures during intensely emotional scenes and stripped-down, bare looks to reflect moments of vulnerability and quiet.
While there’s a fantastical element to the visual result, Davy’s inspiration comes from teens in real life and what she sees on social media. “I've been following and trolling around Instagram and noticing Generation Z using makeup in a really cool, new way,” she tells Teen Vogue, adding that young people have been “creating a new makeup language.” From her perspective, the Euphoria style of makeup clearly already exists in our own world. “I got this awesome opportunity to gather it all up, put my own aesthetic twist on it as an artist, and just push it forward so it could be introduced to and admired by thousands more people.”
We chatted further with Davy to learn about her inspiration for the main characters in Euphoria, her go-to products, and how to re-create some of the most iconic looks from season 1.
Eddy Chen/HBO1/18Rue Bennett (played by Zendaya)
As both the central character and narrator, Rue takes viewers into the world of Euphoria through her (often cynical and jaded) perspective. Davy explains that she strived to keep Rue's makeup "somber" in order to reflect her journey with addiction, noting that she uses a lot of dark shades on Zendaya, including burgundy, Rue's "power color."
"When she is putting on makeup for the carnival or a party, I feel like it's very haphazard," Davy adds, drawing attention to the gold tears seen in the second episode. "It's not about precision, it's about an emotional mood expression. If it were a mood ring, it would be a sad mood."
Below, find out what products Davy used on Zendaya.
While Rue's eye shadow isn't as vibrant as that of some of the other characters, this palette is her go-to staple. Davy often uses the purple and burgundy shades (Fuse, Heat, and Ultraviolet) in order to play up Rue's signature hue. "They're very shimmery," the artist says of the Electropop shades, "and I would always apply them with my fingers instead of a brush to really grind the pigment in there."
Eddy Chen/HBO4/18Jules Vaughn (portrayed by Hunter Schafer)
Jules and Rue meet in the very first episode, and their bond is felt almost immediately. The two soon progress from best friends to romantic partners, and it's almost impossible not to fall in love with their pure — yet troubled in its own way — relationship.
For Davy, Jules has been one of the most fun characters when it comes to makeup because she "pushes the boundaries the most and gives the least amount of f*cks." The makeup artist adds that there's been very few limitations when working on Jules's beauty looks, explaining: "Her character is an artist, and so I think she has the most freedom of expression and just exercises that." Davy describes Jules's makeup as "very fun, cheeky, and playful," with an array of bright and neon colors.
To copy some of Jules's most vivid looks, check out the products below.
For Jules's Halloween look, Davy drew vertical lines with Too Faced's Glitter Pop Eyeliner in the shade Yes Way Rosé. All you need is your own set of angel wings, et voila.
The ColourPop palettes are a cosmetic staple in the Euphoria beauty department, thanks to their bold, vibrant shades. "They are so affordable and the colors are so pigmented, and there's so many colors," Davy explains. Replicate Jules's hot pink eye shadow with the Ooh La La! palette, and you're sure to make heads turn.
Eddy Chen/HBO8/18Kat Hernandez (portrayed by Barbie Ferreira)
While all of Euphoria's characters travel through a notable arc, Kat's transformation is arguably the most tangible. After blackmailing two classmates for sharing a sexual video taken without her consent, she gets them to treat her to a beauty shopping spree. "Now she owns all this makeup, which sets her up perfectly to start experimenting super hard with new looks," Davy says.
From there, we see Kat start rocking bold eye shadow and dark lipstick, which she accentuates with a brand-new wardrobe filled with lace-up corsets, choker necklaces, and combat boots. "Her looks are like a total 'f*ck off' to all things precious and subtle," Davy emphasizes. "It's like a rebellious, alternative version of glam makeup." And it rocks.
Want to embrace your inner Kitten Kween? Look no further than these go-to picks from Davy.
Kat's lips are always vibrant, and to play up her full shape, Davy uses Lime Crime's Plushies matte lipstick. The formula aims to enhance your natural color while making your lips look "as plush as a teddy bear." Or, in this case, a kitten.
According to Davy, Kat's eyebrows harness a ton of power, so the artist wanted to draw as much attention to them as possible. "They feel rebellious to me," she says, adding that they made her brows even darker with Glossier Boy Brow. "They're so beautiful on her, but they're also such a 'f*ck you' to super perfect 'feminine' corrective makeup."
Eddy Chen/HBO13/18Maddy Perez (portrayed by Alexa Demie)
We rarely see Maddy without her immaculate winged eyeliner, colorful shadow, and, of course, the gemstones decorating her lash line. And that is entirely deliberate.
"Maddy's makeup is designed to be this elaborate armor that she wears each day," Davy explains. "She really is a diehard romantic, but she is also in an abusive relationship with her...boyfriend, and her parents are in this loveless relationship, as she describes it." The artist adds that Maddy uses makeup as a way to survive each day. "I think it helps her just feel fierce, and that she can transcend these certain things that are holding her back emotionally in life."
Below, find Davy's top picks for building Maddy's beauty armor.
For Maddy's sleek winged eyeliner, Davy uses Chanel's Calligraphie cream pot liner. "It's all about using a skinny eyeliner brush to apply it, like one of those angled ones, you know?" she says, adding that Maddy gets all the bells and whistles when it comes to her eyes and lashes.
Eddy Chen/HBO16/18Cassie Howard (portrayed by Sydney Sweeney)
Cassie's storyline takes flight later in the season, as we start to learn more about who she really is — and not just the rumors that follow her at school. "Cassie's trying to be accepted," Davy explains, adding that she frequently uses makeup as a way to amplify her features, which are already beautiful, but not necessarily to Cassie herself. "Her motive is to be loved," Davy says. "Her target audience is teenage boys. I think she tries to look like she's not trying too hard, but I think she really is."
However, Davy hints that viewers will see a notable change in Cassie's makeup before the finale. "She kind of gets this blank slate at the end of this season and her makeup takes an interesting turn, a much more minimal turn, which I think is part of her growth as a character."
Trying to replicate Cassie's sparkly teal eye shadow from the Halloween episode? We've got you covered below.
