Red Riding Hood Beauty

What’s the right face for a fairty-tale heroine? The film’s makeup artist Monica Huppert reveals how she created Amanda Seyfried’s look.

How would you describe Valerie’s (Amanda Seyfried) look in the film?

It’s very soft and natural. Amanda’s eyes are incredibly big and beautiful — I didn’t want to mess with that. I focused on flawless skin and sheer, glowing makeup.

When does the story take place?

There wasn’t a specific time period — it just needed to feel period-esque.

What was your inspiration?

Director Catherine Hardwicke’s (Twilight) background as a production designer helped a lot. In a preproduction meeting, she described a scene where Valerie and her sister crush berries and use the juice to stain their lips. I went home and bought berries from the grocery store and crushed them on paper to experiment with different lip and cheek stain shades. I pulled Amanda’s color scheme from raspberries — when she wore her red cape and hood, it all worked; it was all in sync.

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What makeup products did you use?

I applied two shades of Make Up For Ever foundation (#115 and #123) for highlighting and contouring, and Tarte’s cheek stain for a pretty glow. On her eyes, I used M.A.C brow powder, but not too much eye shadow because she wouldn’t have worn it back then. I just applied a natural taupe shade in the crease of her eye. And because Valerie is constantly running, dancing and crying throughout the film, I used YSL’s Everlong mascara that’s waterproof.

Most important, what did you use for Valerie’s berry-hued lips?

I mushed pink M.A.C lip liner with Rosebud Salve lip balm — that was her beauty staple.