‘Elizabeth’ (1998)

In the movie ‘Elizabeth’ (1998), the process of transformation through make-up is incredible in many ways. In that specific era women were often known to have pale skin with red cheeks and lips. In her early days, Elizabeth had pale skin with minimal make-up and open long straight hair. This look shows her being at a young age and the make-up reflects that as well.

When appointed as queen she still had just the pale skin and slightly red cheeks. However, she had her hair tied up. This brought across a more sophisticated look. As time went by and situations got tougher for the queen and her territorial army this period of time was portrayed through her make-up, as it build up from subtle to heavy make-up.

At the time when the Queen won the argument over the lords, she was dressed in a red gown. She had the white complexion that was known to be the sign of richness in that era. She also had red cheeks that showed a sign of healthiness and red lips which also showed a bit of class.  Her hair was curled and tied up with a hat on her head that had pearls. In the Elizabethan era pearls were also known to be a sign of richness.

At the end of the movie when Queen Elizabeth declared herself as a virgin queen, this was strongly portrayed through her make-up and hair. At this point of the movie her hair and make-up was really bold to get that point across to the audience. Throughout the movie at this point she had the whitest palest skin, rosy red cheeks and red lips. Her hair was red, curly and tied up. Along with the crown on her head she also had pearls on her hair.

In conclusion, this is how make-up showed the transformation of Elizabeth from being just a girl who transformed into a Queen. Cate Blanchett portrayed the role of Elizabeth in this movie. 

Reference
Elizabeth(1998) by Shekhar Kapur