Few Hollywood stars — old or new — are as well known as Marilyn Monroe. "Blonde," which released on Netflix [1] on Sept. 29, is a fictionalized historical drama about her life, and it challenges that she was "watched by all" but "seen by none." Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, the movie stars Ana de Armas as Monroe [2] and takes us through her rise to stardom, from Norma Jeane Baker to the "blond bombshell" [3] the world has come to know.
As with any series or film based on real people (like "Pam & Tommy" [4] and "Elvis," [5] for the most recent examples), the hair and makeup teams that worked on "Blonde" were under a lot of pressure to get Monroe's look just right [6]. "When you're turning somebody into a real person, your goal is to try and just get as close as possible," the film's makeup department head Tina Roesler Kerwin [7] tells POPSUGAR. Monroe was a highly photographed and recorded public figure whose signature look is truly iconic, so the beauty teams had a lot of material to work with. "We spent a lot of the film in more of her classic looks, and pretty much everyone knows what that looks like," Kerwin says.
The curled-under blond bob [8], the red lipstick, the beauty mark on her chin — all of these details are absolute musts when re-creating Monroe's likeness. And judging by the first look at de Armas in character, it's clear they nailed it.
Ahead, the hair and makeup department heads are sharing a behind-the-scenes look at exactly how they transformed de Armas [9] into Monroe for "Blonde," including some of the products they used on set.
Ana de Armas Had 5 Wigs to Play Marilyn Monroe
None of de Armas's real hair was utilized in the movie — it was all the work of wigs. "We worked with wigs to try and grab all those bits and pieces of Marilyn's hair that we all know," hair department head Jaime Leigh McIntosh [10] says. To her, one of the most important details to get right was Monroe's hairline. "Having her little baby hairs, the shape of the hairline, the widow's peak — and then just looking very closely at her texture, the density of her hair, how thick it was, and then moving on to shapes and styles and silhouettes."
De Armas had a total of five wigs for "Blonde," which were created by wigmaker Rob Pickens [11]. Three of them were classic Monroe styles — two in a creamy blond and one super-platinum-blond version for the end of the film when Monroe went white blond. Then there were also two wigs that de Armas wore while in character as Norma Jeane — one brunette "which we see for a split second," McIntosh says, and one golden blond.
That said, even though de Armas's real hair didn't make an appearance in the film, McIntosh used the Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector [12] ($30) to treat and protect her hair underneath the wigs to keep it healthy through all the tension.
Prosthetics Played a Role in Nailing Marilyn Monroe's Blond Bob
Because de Armas has such dark hair, they had to get creative when wigging her; otherwise, you'd see her brunette hair through the cap and platinum-blond wig. "That's where Tina stepped in and saved the hair day by applying silicone prosthetic pieces that blended Ana's own forehead and temple area through into the top and crown," McIntosh says. "So when you're looking through the wig, you are seeing scalp instead of any depth or darkness through there."
This gave them a blank slate to work with and allowed them to replicate Monroe's exact hairline with the wigs.
How Fake Lashes Gave Ana de Armas Marilyn Monroe's Eye Shape
The eyes, lips, porcelain skin, and birthmark are the four most notable aspects of Monroe's makeup look. To transform de Armas into character, Kerwin used regular makeup products and old-school contouring and shading techniques. To get Monroe's dreamy eyes, she layered stripes of fake lashes on de Armas in a straighter line than her natural eye shape. "It gives the illusion of the longer eye," Kerwin says.
The Collection of Red Lipsticks Used on Set
Kerwin also redrew de Armas's lip shape to make it a bit more round and plump, just like Monroe's. She used a variety of lipsticks and liners to get the bright cherry-red lip color just right. Because the movie alternates between shooting in color and black and white, Kerwin had to change the lip color frequently to keep the look consistent. The team used everything from Guerlain to Julie Hewitt and Chanel, but one red lipstick they leaned on was Charlotte Tilbury's Kissing Lipstick in So Red [13] ($34), which was previously aptly named So Marilyn.
The Viral Foundation That Re-Created Marilyn Monroe's Dewy Complexion
Monroe was also known for her porcelain, dewy skin. "She used to put Vaseline on her face to create a shine that was very reflective and glowy," Kerwin says. However, putting any form of petroleum jelly on de Armas's skin for hours of filming wasn't a viable option. "After [some] trial and error, I found a foundation that was very reflective and would give [that] bounce back." That foundation was none other than the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter Foundation [14] ($46).