From intricate costume design to hair and make-up, the finishing touches in film are as integral to understanding the storyline as they are the characters we see on screen. And for Elizabeth Debicki, who's reprising her role as Princess Diana in the upcoming sixth - and final - season of The Crown, that rings truer than ever, whereby recreating Diana's distinctive doe eyes and her iconic bob were central to portraying the late royal.
For the upcoming season, which premieres on Thursday, Debicki's beauty look has evolved once more, says Cate Hall, the woman responsible for the hair and make-up in The Crown. So much so that for season six, Debicki's transformation into character took over 30 hours to emulate. ‘The challenge this season was to create a transformation for Elizabeth that reflected a private and relaxed Diana on the yacht or on holiday which still reads as intrinsically Diana,' Hall tells ELLE UK.
'To achieve this we styled her wig with a broken centre parting, lots of salt spray and less volume to suggest a kind of post-swimming and sunbathing situation. We kept her make-up minimal, focussing on a really healthy glow and deep tan, but still concentrating her eye make-up in the centre of the eye, pushing Elizabeth’s natural feline shape towards Diana’s rounder doe-eye,' she says. To do this, she used a mixture of eyeliners layering up the depth of colour in the middle of the eye. 'We love MAC Teddy & Brushblack eyeliners and the Hourglass Gel Eyeliner in shade Canyon.'
'For Diana’s yacht look it was all about the glow,' Hall explains, who relied on a handful of glow-enhancing skincare to create a natural-looking effulgence. Debicki's face prep started with the Vanderoh Face Oil and the Augustinus Bader The Cream. 'We used the Giorgio Armani UV Skin Defence SPF50 as a primer, Armani Luminous Silk Foundation and Armani Fluid Sheer Glow Enhancer over Elizabeth's highlight points - cheeks, under eye, above brows, down her nose and chin,' she explains.
'We love the Chantecaille Cheek Gelee and used 'Vibrant' on top of Elizabeth's cheekbones and onto the apples of her cheeks to create a natural blush. If we needed to amp up the glow, we used NYX Born to Glow liquid Illuminator in 'Pure Gold' on top of her cheekbones,' she adds.
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In fact, her make-up is telling of the character's storyline for season six. ‘With a more polished, formal look for her press and public work, we were able to play with the contrast between Diana the star, and Diana the happy young mother,’ shares Hall.
As such, there's a certain sophistication to Princess Diana's beauty aesthetic this season, with Debicki's make-up often adopting a more pared-back finish - a move away from the signature blue eyeliner. 'Diana’s make-up, and make-up in general, was less playful by 1997. Her skin was very healthy and bronzed and she typically used nude and neutral lip colours. She still focussed largely on her eyes with eyeliner top and bottom, but this tended to be black and brown rather than blue,' she adds.
'For lips we loved using Trinny London's 'Bella' lipglow to create a natural but glamorous soft lip. To dress this up for formal events we also used Lisa Eldridge 'Kitten Mischief' lipstick.'
As for her hair, Debicki had three different wigs for season six, according to Hall. 'One of which was permanently dressed to work under water,' she shares. Speaking of the Paris scenes, Hall notes, 'the silhouette of her wig in these scenes was so immediately recognisable as Diana and could only be achieved by analysing and recreating her haircut precisely. We cheated her hairline lower in the fringe section to give us more hair to play with and consequently more layers.'
'For me the standout moments were those in the Paris sequences where the press surrounded the car; it took my breath away. Elizabeth’s resemblance to Diana was uncanny and in combination with the oppressive nature of the drama in the scenes we were shooting, I felt like we really captured how it must have felt for her as a woman subjected to such intense scrutiny,' she shares.
As for the final additions to Debicki's beauty routine? A spray tan every 3 days and a French manicure with gel polish every three weeks.
The final season of The Crown will arrive in two parts, the first airing on Thursday 16 November on Netflix.
