Inside Riley Keough's Daisy Jones and The Six Makeup Transformation: From Sun-Kissed to Unhinged

When it comes to storytelling on the small screen, beauty plays a lead role.

Just ask Daisy Jones and The Six makeup department head Rebecca Wachtel, who brought Prime Video's '70-inspired rock 'n' roll show to life with looks that evoke the fictional band's highs and lows.

"Makeup plays a huge part," Rebecca told E! News in an exclusive interview. "It creates the visual."

For example, Daisy Jones (played by Riley Keough) undergoes the biggest transformation of the bunch as fame sucks her in and spits her out. By using certain eyeshadow shades and complexion products, Rebecca paints a picture of what the rock star is experiencing.

"She's fresh-faced, she's been in the sun, that '70s vibe," the makeup artist explained. "But then she starts to become famous and wears a bit more makeup. We do a whole range to show her transition from being unhinged and on drugs. And when she takes it really far, she's washed down and using heavy makeup, which isn't the Daisy we know from before."

As Rebecca put it, "You can tell something's not right."

Seeing Daisy's drastic change from natural, carefree makeup to someone trying to mask their pallor with thick layers of product captures "the arc of what she goes through until she goes too far," Rebecca noted.

"Showing that through makeup, where she starts with warmer toned eyeshadows on her face, warm colors on her cheeks," she continued, "to she's losing control, I started to take the color away, using cooler shadow tones, and I let some of her natural circles show through."

Daisy's transition into heavier, theatrical-looking makeup also helped tell another story: The beginning of a new beauty era.

"As she's coming into this space, it's becoming the later '70s," Rebecca described. "That's the time where we think of the '80s—the big, bold colors, so it lent itself to tease what's to come. They're the rockstars, they're setting the look."

But before Daisy falls under fame's spell and unknowingly influences a new wave of beauty, her early '70s makeup looks provide details about the type of character she is.

"She's not somebody who should look like she's wearing makeup for the majority of it," Rebecca said. "I wanted her to have that sun-kissed look, so everything was cream-based."

As for what products Rebecca used to bring Daisy to life? She revealed that she swapped between the Chantecaille Future Skin Gel Foundation and the Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation, plus applied light layers of the SOL cream bronzers and used a mix of cream blushes, including the Julie Hewitt Cheekie in Rosie and RMS Beauty's LipShine in Enchanted.

"A lot of it can be subtle but it really translates to the viewer," Rebecca explained about capturing Daisy's essence no matter where she's at in her journey. "And it affects them, even if it's subconsciously, how they're relating to the character and what she's going through."

She added, "I hope that comes across in the story and it's not this caricature of the '70s. I hope it feels organic and real and raw."

Daisy Jones and The Six premieres March 3 on Prime Video.

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