The Killer Secrets Behind the Scream Queens Cast's Beauty Looks
Steve Dietl / Courtesy of Sony P1/8Just from reading the synopsis of Scream Queens, the new college sorority-centered slasher comedy (premiering tomorrow!), we could totally predict that the hair and makeup would be dead on-point. After all, the aforementioned Kappa Kappa Tau is headed by a squad of meticulously dressed mean girls all named Chanel — one through five — starting with Emma Roberts who’s supported by number two — played by none other than Ariana Grande — through number five, played by a not-very-sunshine-y Abigail Breslin.
Thanks to an anti-sorority equality-supporting dean (O.G. horror heroine Jamie Lee Curtis), the Kappas must allow randos in their exclusive club, including a totally made-under Lea Michele as Hester. (She’s accessorized with a neck brace.) There’s also some business about a two decade old murder that’s coming back to haunt the girls and during rush season, no less, which means a plethora of hair and makeup looks to show off.
To get the behind-the-scenes dish, we caught up with Emmy-nominated hair department head, Chris Clark, and Emmy-winning makeup department head, Eryn Krueger Mekash, to get the details on differentiating between the high-ranking and color-coordinated sorority sisters and the lowly, individualistic pledges. “The Kappa girls are definitely very polished, very done in the morning,” explains Chris. “There was a lot of effort in making them look the way they look, while the misfits or the pledges, each have their own unique style that they brought with them to the university.” Eryn, naturally, used makeup to separate the sisters from the wannabes. “The Chanels are in pink tones and are very glam, while the other pledges look more natural,” she says.
2/8Emma Roberts/Chanel Number One
Let’s start with the pastel-skirt-suit-and-furry-coat-wearing Kappa commander-in-chief, Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts). Now, Chris did make a point to have all the Chanels in varying degrees of similar immaculate blowouts, but with subtle distinctions. “We had to figure out what sort of silhouette we wanted around their faces at first,” he said. “For Emma, it’s definitely the side part and the swooped bang. [It’s] super flattering on her and something that really made her pop from all the other girls." Behind the scenes, he prepped Emma’s (and all the Chanels’, actually) hair with R+Co. Blowout Balm, blow-dried with a round brush and set the curls with a barrel curling iron. Copping a move from the ‘60s, he clipped her large curls into place and let them cool and set as she went to makeup. Then, he used a Mason Pearson to brush out the soft waves.
Along with the signature part, Emma also rocked a distinct pink lip color that matched her pastel suit: MAC lipstick in Hot Gossip. “She looks very precise even though she is a mean girl,” Eryn says.
3/8Abigail Breslin/Chanel Number Five
“Abigail Breslin’s Chanel number five copies everything Chanel number one does and the same goes for Billie Lourd’s character, Chanel number three,” says Eryn. “It's all pastels and pinks.” Namely: Kiki by Julie Hewett, a mauve-y peony pink lipstick, and a MUD cheek color in Bubblegum for a flushed complexion.
Chris carried the doppelganger effect over to number five’s hair, too, but with a “stronger curl pattern,” prepped with Oribe Royal Blowout Heat Styling Spray. Abigail also enjoyed the privilege of rocking an outstanding collection of hair pieces. “Abby tended to have one on the side that held back her [hair]. Something behind her ear was a pretty silhouette for her,” he says. (And honestly, Chanel number five — Chanel No. 5, get it? — has to be the best iteration. Hilarious.)
4/8Lea Michele/Hester “Neckbrace”
“Lea's character, Hester, wears hardly any makeup — her eyebrows have added bulk,” Eryn says about the former Rachel Berry’s, um, awkward role as a neck brace wearing pledge. “She is a very different version of the Lea Michele you know from Glee.”
Lea’s hair was equally as low maintenance — and that was intentional. “It was very character driven, her hair,” explains Chris. “What would Hester do in the morning? What does Hester have in her arsenal? Probably not a round brush. Probably not R+Co. or Privé products.” So let’s just say that Lea didn’t spend long in Chris’ chair. “She was an air dry,” he said. “Part her in the middle, wet her down and air dry. [Then add] cute little dorky ponytails or two little bobby pins to hold that center part down, and send her on her way.”
5/8Keke Palmer/Zayday Williams
Keke Palmer’s Kappa pledge character, Zayday Williams, isn’t just intelligent with a genius level IQ, she has sartorial smarts, too. “Keke is a very glamorous young lady, and we just wanted her hair to be really long, soft, and pretty,” says Chris. “We just went simple with big waves.” First, he prepped her hair with Stephen Knoll Curling Lotion, used an iron to create the curls, and then smoothed it all out with Kenra Texturizing Taffy. “And then they would add various hats or turbans or whatever they wanted to do on top of that,” adds Chris.
Her makeup complemented her soft waves, too. “Keke's character has lovely warm, inviting makeup: Guerlain bronzers and Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place foundation,” Eryn explained. The latter was key to lasting in the New Orleans heat and humidity, too. Plus, “she wears lots of bright lips to match her outfits.” And more of that statement headwear, we presume.
6/8Skylar Samuels/Grace Gardner
Even though she’s a modest pledge, Skylar Samuels’s Grace could almost be mistaken for a reigning sorority sister. Well, almost. “There’s definitely an effort there, like she knows what she's doing, but we wanted it to feel more effortless than we did with the Chanels,” explains Chris. “You can even tell from her hair color. It’s a little more natural than some of the cooler blondes of the Chanels. It was important to have more of a sun-kissed honey tone for Skyler, versus the icier tones that are on the Chanels.” To create Grace’s tumble of curls, Chris would wet down Skylar’s hair, dry it with a diffuser to bring out her natural waves, and then use a curling iron to smooth out the pieces framing her face.
Eryn also enhanced Skylar’s naturally flawless complexion by mixing two shades of Tarte BB cream and creating natural glow on cheeks and lips with Stila Convertible Color cream in Camellia. Although, “she also wears a little smokey eye on occasion, which looks great with her bright eyes,” Eryn says. To create a more dramatic look, the makeup artist switched between drawing around the eyes with either a Kevin Aucoin The Eye Pencil Primatif in black or a Giorgio Armani Smooth Silk Eye Pencil in deep navy blue. She then smoked it out by using the sponge end of the pencils to smudge out the lines.
7/8Ariana Grande/Chanel Number Two
You may have heard — no spoilers here — that Ariana Grande helps lord over the Kappas as Ms. Oberlin’s right-hand mean girl, Chanel number two. (And, in a genius moment of stunt casting, her mom is played by Charisma Carpenter, a.k.a. Cordelia Chase, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s mean girl with layers.) “ Ariana wears a lot of high glam eye makeup and the pink tone lips that the Chanels wear,” Eryn says. “The lovely makeup artist that she tours with did her for the show.” The “Break Free” singer also brought in her own trusty hair stylist, which explains her very Ariana Grande-esque bouffant coif. But no ponytail!
Steve Dietl / Courtesy of Sony P8/8Final pro-tip: Considering that the show is named Scream Queens, and a devil-masked murderer is lurking about, there will be blood — well, fake blood that really puts a damper on an impeccably styled coif. So, in case you ever need to scrub a spot of fake Hollywood blood out of your hair (it happens), Chris has the hack. “The magic of shaving cream will get out any sort of fake blood product,” he laughs. “The cheap and dirty shaving cream. Nothing nice, nothing fancy, good old aerosol shaving cream is the wonder eraser for any sort of Hollywood blood.”
