BEAUTY

Mad Men Makeup: Lead Makeup Artist Lana Horochowski Shares Her Secrets

ByKim West

Nov 05, 2013 12:31 AM EST

Loving the makeup from Mad Men? The show is a fabulous beauty throwback to hair and makeup of days gone by. But with the retro makeup trend in full swing, we were delighted to get some additional insight on these old school styles directly from a pro. Lead Makeup Artist for Mad Men, Lana Horochowski, shared a few of her favorite looks and what it takes to create the time capsule magic for the hit TV show with BeautyPress. Read on to learn about her most beloved character, where she finds inspiration, and what beauty brands she uses. Click through the slideshow for a few of the images from this oh-so-chic era.

So Lana, what kind of brands do you use on the set of Mad Men?

We use KohGenDo a great Japanese line, NARS velvet matte lipsticks, Tom Ford, and MAC.

What kind of research did you do to get inspired to create 1960's looks?

We ordered so many fashion and vintage magazines. Like when we had to prepare looks from 1968, I ordered the entire year of 1968 Vogue. I would observe the cosmetic advertisements. Those are the most telling of how women were wearing makeup at that time.

Just out of curiosity, who's your favorite character from Mad Men and where does their cosmetic transformation come from?

Peggy is my favorite. Peggy comes from a religious family, she moved up in a man's world really quickly. Peggy never learned how to put makeup on, so she's learning. That's why her makeup always looks a bit off. Like when I saw an advertisement from the time era for this makeup palette with various different colors, I thought Peggy would totally use all of these colors at once trying to look the best she can.

So what's it like getting everyone ready to film? How long does it take to apply the makeup on set before shooting?

For the girls, they're usually done in an hour and a half to two hours. The guys are fast, 45 minutes and they are ready.

What's your favorite look from the 1950's?

There's nothing more perfect than a matte red lip with a full brow. So clean, simple, and timeless.

Can you explain what goes behind Pete's receding hairline?

Pete gets shaved every day, sometimes a couple times a day. Then we paint out the shadow that is still left on the head. His head gets shaved with an actual blade to get a really close shave. Whenever it's time to shave Pete's head we yell "SHAVING!" and everyone just clenches tight until we're done. It takes around 40 minutes to get Pete's shaved head perfect.

Loving the behind the scenes beauty tips! Are you mad for Mad Men? Let us know with a note below!