There are so many things that go into making a television show and one of the most important are the makeup and hair departments. Today we spoke with Cindy Miguens, head makeup artist on Fresh off the Boat.
Cindy has worked on various notable television projects including Freeform’s Pretty Little Liars and Famous in Love, MTV’s Faking It, Fox’s The O.C., and more!She would love to chat with you about her most recent work on the hit comedy series Fresh Off the Boat, starring Randall Park and Constance Wu, which tells the story of a Taiwanese family making their way in America during the 1990s. Fresh Off the Boat airs on Fridays at 8:30/7:30pm CT on ABC.
Tell us about how you find inspiration to make each shows look individual. How do you decide on the overall look for a character?
Every show is different, for instance, Fresh Off The Boat is set in the 90’s in Orlando, Florida. For this, I researched tv shows, fashion, makeup and hairstyles from the 90s. You also have to keep in mind the location, and since Fresh was based in Orlando some characters have tans. I normally put together a look book. For PLL, I would constantly look at runway fashion, nail art and collaborate with the designer Mandi Line, who stretched the limit on high school attire, which gave us room to be creative and have fun with some of the characters.
What is the most challenging thing about running a makeup department?
The most challenging thing about running a department is making sure everyone is happy from producers, network, directors, actors and coworkers. We as a makeup and hair department work in a trailer with typically four artists. Sometimes figuring out what music we want to listen to in the morning can be challenging.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
My favorite thing about my job is being in a fun work environment, the creative people I meet, and the things we get to do in the makeup trailer where the magic happens.
What makeup brands are you partial to? What is the must have thing that people should be using?
I love any makeup line that is vegan. I typically tend to gravitate to TARTE, Viseart, Jeffrey Star, Armani, and Kat Von D. It doesn’t matter how expensive the product is, because if it doesn’t have good ingredients, it’s not healthy to put on your face, hair or nails. Your skin is the biggest organ and anything that you put on it will be absorbed into your blood. Must have Shuemura lash curler, Sigma Makeup brushes, and a good sunblock. I like Sun Bum.
You have done a lot of young adult show – Freeform’s Pretty Little Liars and Famous in Love, MTV’s Faking It, Fox’s The O.C. – how do coming up with concepts for these shows differ from something like Fresh Off the Boat?
Fresh Off The Boat differed from the others, because it is considered a period show. It is also a sitcom so makeup changes aren’t done as often as the teen shows that I worked on, which had makeup changes per scene according to the day it was in the episode.
Constance Wu’s character on FOTB has such a natural makeup look. What are the essential products for her characters look?
She likes Shisedo skin products, Armani Foundations, and Tom Ford Bronzer & Blush.
What is next for you?
Now that the show is over forever, I am focusing on my own projects until my agent Kirk Orlando finds us the next big thing. I have written an episodic show about the behind the scenes, and I’ll be pitching and writing more.
What do you want to learn about behind the scenes of TV shows and movies?
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