Our reaction to the fashion and makeup on season two of The Great? Huzzah!
The sophomore season of the Hulu series is even more lavish and over-the-top as Elle Fanning‘s pregnant Catherine takes over Russia and Peter (Nicholas Hoult) gets ready to step into the role of stay-at-home dad to their unborn son, Paul. To reflect the characters’ changing dynamics, costume designer Sharon Long and hair-and-makeup artist Louise Coles made some changes to almost all the characters’ appearances.
For Catherine, Long decided to do away with the docile and dainty look of season one, replacing it with “powerful, stronger” patterns and adding a “little bit more” jewelry.
In the process, Coles worked closely with Long, as did Elle’s personal hairstylist Lorraine Glynn, to ensure that Catherine looked every bit like the “woman in charge.” Together, they decided to make Catherine’s hair “slightly more elaborate and stricter to the period.”
Elle’s makeup, applied by makeup artist Erin Ayanian, was kept to a minimum, because, according to Coles, it was all about giving the expectant empress “glowing skin.”