Raise your hand if you’re obsessed with the CW’s new hit show Riverdale. That’s what we thought. Who couldn’t love the moody lighting, if not the coming-of-age plotline? Well, as it happens the show’s lead makeup artist sat down for an interview with Refinery29 and not only shared that their makeup is constantly changing to accommodate the intricate lighting scheme, but also her secret products to make the characters’ skin glow.
In the interview, Mackenzie explains that products that cancel shadows and brighten the skin are her what she obsesses over while looking for new goodies for her kit. Depending on the color and tone of light which cinematographer Brendan Uegama adjusts
to according to the mood of the scenes, “we find ourselves constantly playing with the makeup intensity and color to translate correctly on screen,” says Mackenzie.
The makeup artist explained that while they sometimes use illuminators under foundation or a combination of cream and powder highlighters to “bounce light and fight shadows when needed,” it’s become an art-form to match tone and brighten darkness without having to alter the whole look for a scene.
Mackenzie spilled a few products used on the show as well. For example, Cheryl’s signature red lip? It’s Lime Crime Red Velvet Matte. As for the secret to the signature ethereal finish all of the cast members sport, Mackenzie swears by Amarte Aqua Veil Pure Hydration Serum, which is her “new go-to primer under makeup.” But if a little more glow is necessary, she’ll add in some Shiseido Glow Enhancing Primer with Guerlain L’Or for a radiance boost. Oh, and the best waterproof mascara to last through crying scenes, According to the pro: Clarins Double Fix Mascara waterproof (she uses it as a topcoat).
Now we may not be on moody TV sets in our day-to-day, but there’s no harm in being able to fake your own good light for a selfie, right?
