Make-up didn’t always take centre stage in this movie, and you noticed that very early on in the film as it was mostly all about Elizabeths hair and clothes that changed the most though out, which really keeps with the historical accuracy of this film. About 10 minutes in you’re welcomed with a young, youthful Elizabeth which her make-up and hair really emphasise that by making her skin glowy and blushed, it really gives the effect of innocence and youth which Elizabeth was during the time. This look is also worn during some of the very early scenes in the movie such as her coronation she is still portrayed as innocent, however as the movie goes on and as it gets more dark her make-up is still very simple with that ‘barely there’ look, but it comes across more defined and stronger. For example, her cheekbones and bone structure look more prominent compared to the first two or three scenes.
During the course of watching this movie, you also notice that whatever Elizabeth is experiencing or feeling, her hair and make-up really told the story of how she was feeling or and experiencing at the present time, for example, you really see this when Elizabeth is being taken to Queen Mary about being charged with treason against her. In these few scenes you see Elizabeths hair is disheveled, and her make-up although is very minimal/if any at all, is very blushed and red in the face creating a very stressed look to her appearance.
Studying Elizabeths hair in the movie, the trend is that as the movie goes on her hair gets larger and more extreme every scene towards the middle of the movie. She is seen with extreme hair pieces such as garden/flower and the classic royal heart shaped headpiece, along with many different 3D pieces was added to her hair to make it bigger and bigger every scene. Just like a lot of Guo Peis headpieces, there are a lot of similarities from the way Elizabeths own headpieces to Peis in the way that they all give the illusion of wearing a crown without actually wearing one (even though some of Guo Peis headpieces do involve crowns). Elizabeths hair almost acts like a defence mechanism to make herself seem more in control than what she probably is over the kingdom and every time her hair gets more extreme, she becomes more and more lost, confused and angry.
As we get towards the end of the movie we notice that Elizabeths whole appearance is being downplayed and becoming a lot less bold and eye catching, this really shows how the whole mood of the movie is changing and how most of the kingdom view her as being a “witch” and being disliked. For example, the dramatic change in Elizabeths hair. It has became soft and half the size as what it was when she was at her peek of the movie, and the same applies to what she wears, a lot more softer, pale clothing compared to some of her earlier outfits.
The very last scene as Elizabeth is walking towards her throne, her make-up is the traditional royal english rose look where her face is completely blanked out using white foundation or face paint, with rosy pink circle cheeks and red lips. This is the most make-up Elizabeth has worn throughout the whole movie, which could be showing an element is strength and power as she was informed of treason within her kingdom and beheaded the people responsible. Overall, though out this movie the way Elizabeth is dressed and presented mirrors the way what is happening in the movie and also how she feels. When she feel more vulnerable her look is downplayed and makes herself blend into everyone else around her, however when she was feeling more powerful she stood out and her overall character was hard to ignore.
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