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THE ARTISAN FALL 2018 • 49 Barry is so cool he says that that's what would happen—and the wig wins out and she is stunning. Michael Beach (Mr. Hunt) who is bald, was already cast when Barry decided he wanted him with hair. I had to build a piece with my nappy Curley hair; I laid hair on him, made a piece, sprayed it with heavy-duty hair spray, let it dry and was able to take care of it for the length of time he worked. Similarly, when Brian Tyree Henry (Daniel Carty) started with us, he began with short hair as he was already a regular on a TV show, and when he came back to us, his sides were shaved. I had to lay hair on his sides to match what we had already shot. Working with KiKi was exciting! Particularly getting to switch her hair up when she went to work at Bergdorf's selling perfume; I was able to take her out of her Afro into a more sleek and sophisticated look—brushing her hair until it was smooth and putting it into an updo while maintaining her center part throughout the film. Her character was not into messing with her hair. She just wanted to see Fonny and he loved her the way she was. Beale Street was a fun project for me that kept me on my toes! Being in New York and the Dominican Republic was challenging for me to showcase the same period among two very different cultures and totally different hair textures! I love working with Barry. I would also like to shout to my assistant Nakoya Yancy who has worked her butt off and took great care of Regina for me. I created the wig and made suggestions but Regina and Nakoya rocked the rest of the show, so props to Nakoya! Barry made you do your homework and I got through it with love and joy!! • finishing touch to add sheen back into the skin, without break- ing down the make-up. I filled in period-inappropriate earring holes using Dermaflage, and carefully shaped facial hair to reflect trends at the time, but also to feel authentic to the actor's face and character in our film, always with the goal for Barry not to see anything, but to feel everything. For Fonny's (Stephan James) prison look where he looks the roughest, I contoured his face using the same Becca Cosmetics eyeshadow palette that I used on Naomie Harris in Moonlight. I also had a blood hemorrhage contact lens made for him, did a cracked lip and added dryness to his hands, as well as subtle split skin on his knuckles. To me, these things imply several options that are unscripted, go without saying, and are not important factual details, but are important feeling details. He could have gotten himself into a fight, he could have been assaulted, or he could simply be suffering from malnourishment, stress and lack of sleep (I mean I just pulled inspiration from my own face at the time!). I wanted the lens and the cracked lip to be just present enough to imply that something was happening to him, without screaming "prison fight." On Tish (KiKi Layne), I used Becca Cosmetics foundation and concealers to enhance her deep and rich complexion without overly perfecting it. On Sharon (Regina King), I used Koh Gen Doh foundation to gently warm up her complexion with a dewy finish. On both women, I used blood-toned cream blushes by Vapour Beauty. When Sharon flies to Puerto Rico, her look gets amped way up. She dons this disguise-like suit of armor in the form of hair and make-up as she goes in to fight for her daugh- ter's love. It presents such a contrast from Sharon's everyday casual Harlem look, and it's clear that she is out of her comfort zone. My intention with this make-up look was to depict how we women have the ability to bravely shape-shift to handle our business and protect what we stand for. Sometimes this means changing how we look, wearing more make-up or choosing a more sophisticated hair style even if it's not really our true vibe. When it comes to women and the pressure for us to appear a certain way if we want to achieve a certain thing, I have mixed feelings about that as a 30-year-old woman trying to make it in this world, and I don't think there are always positive messages attached to this concept. On the other hand, I believe that hair and make-up transformations can truly empower women, and I hope that the make-up and hair aspect of this part of the film honors this femi- nine vulnerability and bravery.• MAKE-UP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 HAIR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 From top: Doniella Davey with KiKi Layne; Doniella and Kenneth Walker with KiKi; Kenneth and Stephan James; Regina King