Playtime with Euphoria's make-up artist, Donni Davy

You have broken many creative barriers with your ethereal and futuristic makeup designs — where does the inspiration come from for these innovative looks?

I was hired on Euphoria and the director sat down with me and told me his vision and how he wanted the makeup to be really special and really expressive. Then I could basically not confine myself in a box of any kind; I could go wild. I always take inspiration from the different makeup trends over the decades. Mostly for Euphoria it was looking around on Instagram and just seeing what kind of look Gen Z is doing. And it's not so much a specific look that they're doing, but it's more like the energy and the vibe that they have. This sort of unapologetic, 'doesn't have to be a special occasion' kind of sensibility that these kids have about their makeup. That was super fun to me. I definitely wanted to showcase that on Euphoria. The other aspect is sort of bridging the gap between the fantasy of fashion or runway makeup and every day. I could take looks that maybe you would ordinarily think would just be for a performer or a model walking down the runway and be able to put a look like that on a character, on a show who is playing a normal, flawed human being with ups and downs — very exaggerated and real ups and downs. That was the real juicy inspiration, being able to take a look and say, 'No, this isn't just for runway, look at how you could wear something like this in real life!’

I think that now, especially, a lot of people want to express themselves in those bold ways and a lot of the looks we’ll be seeing in the future will be reminiscent of yours. What is one of your favorite looks you have ever created — whether on HBO’s Euphoria, Amazon Prime’s Underground Railroad, or a look not included in a show you have worked on?

That's a tough one. I definitely have my favorites on Euphoria season one, like Kat's Halloween makeup look with the upside down crosses. Cassie's fantasy ice skating look is a fave. On Maddie once, we did a lavender eyeshadow with a neon orange liner and I just loved how simple and bold that was. But I think a lot of the looks I have been doing on myself over the kind of 'COVID/quarantine' era, have been super fun to do because I never did looks on myself before. I just, I don't know. I didn't feel inclined to post pictures of myself wearing makeup. I thought I didn't have a good face for fun makeup or something ridiculous like that. So Euphoria definitely unhinged or unleashed this urge, this creative urge inside of me and really sparked a lot of my own self expression — kind of for the first time. I really didn't grow up doing cool makeup looks on myself and I was a lot more shy with my own self expression. So it's been really special to do looks on myself that are extravagant and wild that I would've never done. That's been really rewarding just on a personal self-expression level.

That’s kind of how I was; I never really went out of the box with my makeup looks, mostly out of fear of my ability. But watching Euphoria gave me so many ideas and it gave others so many new ideas too.

I think it's so important for makeup to be fun, you know, and not about looking perfect. I think sometimes there's this assumption that like, 'Oh, if you're going to do cool eye makeup, you have to have perfect skin or an excuse to wear it.' And I just so disagree with all of that. There's no explanation needed for fun eyeliner or colored eye shadow. 

Do you find yourself channeling different energy when you are working on Underground Railroad as opposed to Euphoria?

My thought process doesn't really change on any project I get involved with. It's always about what the script calls for and what I can do in each scene on each character. I just try to enhance the storytelling and then it's of course the director or creator's vision that guides me. Of course on Underground it's the opposite of Euphoria. Obviously the makeup needs to be completely invisible. It's not about makeup. It's not about self-expression, but it is about emotional expression.

Can you tell me a little bit about your collaboration with Face Lace? How did you select and design the products? 

I first found out about Face Lace during season one, and I was looking for some type of stick-on makeup thing I could use for the character Jules because I felt like her character would use some kind of cool iridescent adornment on her eye looks. When I found out about Face Lace I was so excited, because it was like 'Oh my God, this is stick-on. I literally don't have to draw the shape.' It can instantaneously boost a makeup look and add this cool reflective layer of bling. So I was super stoked about it. I used it for several different looks of hers. One of my thoughts way back then was, 'Oh, this would be so fun to see if they ever wanted to collaborate with me,' because I wanted to make my own stick-on makeup. So after the show came out I started reaching out to Face Lace and and the artist behind Face Lace, Phyllis Cohen, was interested. So we started this relationship over WhatsApp, just sort of passing designs back and forth. And one of them, the cloud design, I actually used on Hunter Schafer who plays Jules. I used it on her during the special episode that came out in January of this year. That's where that collaboration was born. I just adore adornments and stick-ons. I think it's so fun. And so playful that anyone can do it. You don't have to have skills to do a cut crease or a perfect wing. You can throw color on your eyes and throw on a stick-on and you have a super fun and unique look.

You and your team recently received an Emmy nomination in the “Outstanding Contemporary Makeup” category for Euphoria’s special Jules episode. How does it feel to know your art is being acknowledged and appreciated?

So good! I think makeup often does go under the radar and in a way that's kind of a good thing. We want the makeup to just merge with the show and sort of be seamless. I'm talking about any movie or show — you kind of want the makeup to almost just be this invisible part of the story, even if it's visible. It's almost cool if you don't notice it because it just enhances the story. That's sort of the goal. But I do think a lot of makeup artists out there for film and TV kind of long for that recognition, because there's just so much more that goes into it. It's not just doing makeup, it's so much planning and scheduling and accounting and taking everybody's artistic and creative visions and molding them with your own. It's a complicated, layered, high-pressure job. There's so much hard work and insane hours that go into it because we get pre-calls before the rest of the crew to get all the actors ready, which not a lot of people know. The hours that we put in are demanding. So it's really, really special to get recognition, and my team and I are super excited and it's just a wonderful feeling. I'm very proud of the work that's gone into it. And my team, who I wouldn't be able to do it without, has helped me so much. 

Quarantine, although tumultuous, was a time of reflection for many creatives. Did this down time bring about any new inspiration?

Yeah, totally. I became really inspired to experiment on my own face. I think the more creative you are, the more you exercise that muscle, the more creative you become. I did a lot of sitting down without a plan for a makeup look, I would sort of start going and just playing. I had tons of ideas — almost too many. It was time to come back and do season two of Euphoria and I felt like, 'Okay, hold on. We need to hone it in and see what's right for the show and what the director's vision is.' Like, just because I'm having a color explosion over here doesn't necessarily mean that's happening again on the show, you know? The show isn't just about what I want to do. It's the creator's vision and what the cast thinks about their characters as well. 

What are some of your favorite makeup trends from past eras?

Oh, I mean so there's so many. I love different, distinct things from each of the eras. I love eyeliner from the 1960s and pastel shades. I love the late 70s, glam rock era, like smudgy glitter. I love the disco era — sparkly, fun, colorful makeup. And then just kind of simple, fun things. I remember from the 90s and early 2000s, blue mascara or blue eyeliner or just a frosty eyeshadow. I gravitate away from those very quintessentially '2015 looks' I see a lot on Instagram. It's a lot of big, thick opaque brows, there's the 'triangle trend' of applying concealer in this large triangle under your eyes, and the cut crease or a super defined crease. I lean away from that stuff and I love leaning away from that because I think it makes makeup easier if you can, you know, forget about your crease. It doesn't matter if your eyes are hooded or not. Makeup is not all about just accentuating your crease; it can be so much more chill than that. I make sure that the looks on the show are not very dependent on these sort of specific makeup skills that I think are intimidating and hard.

How do you think makeup can be used as a tool of empowerment? 

I think makeup and self-expression, in general, are a practice of self-care and self-healing. I think any kind of self-expression is like a medicine for mental health issues. I know from my own experience, a lot of my own anxieties and depression over the years occurred when I wasn't in tune with my own self-expression or for some reason, I was not allowing myself to be who I know I am. So I think the practice of doing makeup on ourselves — especially the kind of makeup that's fun and it's not about, you know, trying to get your face to conform to whatever society's ideals are at that moment or whatever you wish you looked like — is self- celebratory. You're actually decorating your face. 

And on the same note, do you think makeup and delving into your art can be therapeutic?

Oh yeah. Totally. For the reasons I just stated about self-expression and mental health, but also just doing something to get out of your head. People have their things like gardening or cooking. I don't do that stuff, but just getting busy with my hands, like painting anything on my face or doing anything artistic with my hands is an activity that just gets me out of my head. And it's extremely therapeutic. It's like art therapy. It gives your mind a break. 

Is there a resounding message you want to send with your work, or does the message differ depending on the canvas?

I think it's the latter. I mean, my goal during Underground Railroad is to enhance the emotional response that the audience has while watching. So I want all the makeup to make these terrible things that these characters are going through — that real people have gone through in this country — apparent. I wanted to capture that and show that visually, on the actors’ faces and to enhance the story. That is really the goal and the message behind that makeup. Another goal there is really that what I do on the actors' faces helps them get into their character, so they can rely on certain little things we do to help convince the audience of what they're going through. I love being able to lend a helping hand and have the actor be able to rely on a scar or a certain texture we do on their skin to help them play a part. And on Euphoria, the message that's at the forefront of my mind is challenging the rules and limitations that exist in society and the beauty industry that then become these self-imposed limitations. So many people I meet or that sit in my makeup chair say things like, 'Oh, I can't wear this shade because it makes me look fallow,' or, 'I have hooded eyes so eyeliner doesn't work on me.' It brings me so much joy to just challenge that and show them how they can wear something. I love undoing those rules and limitations. Those thoughts are just so not helpful to anybody's life at all in any way. Like, even the idea of, 'This is a daytime look and this is a nighttime look.' That seems like kind of an innocent thing, right? I actually used to always look at those looks in magazines growing up, but it's so detrimental because even putting out little rules like that...they sort of stick with you and they make you question things. Makeup can just be cheeky. It can be fun. You don't have to have an excuse for it. I love instilling that in people and just putting that on screen. Because I think it's not about saying that... it's about just showing it and then people are like, "Oh! I can do that." 

You can shop Donni’s Face Lace collab, including three stunning designs and two different finishes at donnidavy.com.