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Peta Dunstall recalls the first time she was mesmerised by Amy Winehouse. “It was the “Back To Black” music video…her at the funeral with that black big hair, a flash of blonde and those heavy lyrics”. Fitting then that 14 years after the release of Winehouse’s second and final studio album’s title track Dunstall would painstakingly replicate her iconic beehive and entrancing eye makeup for Sam Taylor-Johnson’s biographical drama of the same name, Back To Black.
“She was an icon who was—and is—loved by so many people and I wanted to do her proud,” the Australian-born, London-based hair and makeup artist told GRAZIA about her approach to the film’s on-screen beauty. Love is at the core of Winehouse’s body of work—painting every colour of the toxic, torturous and all-consuming addiction of affection with her soulful vocals and jazz-inspired melodies.
Back To Black also serves as a love story to Wineshouse, with Taylor-Johnson revealing in her director’s statement that the movie is “a love letter to her” told in “her voice, her words and her perspective”. “She sees only good because love is blind.” (And a losing game, as the Grammy winner lamented.)
Watch the trailer for Back To Black, below:
Of course, Winehouse’s trademark thick black eyeliner, towering tresses and unapologetically brash tattoo sleeve are inextricable to her narrative. Serving as the film’s silent protagonist, Dunstall charts Winehouse’s nascent rise from the Camden pub scene to the crippling heights of her fame through each early 2000s hair extension, hairsprayed to the heavens locks and heavy wing.
Though Winehouse’s beauty is essential to her life and legacy, Dunstall humbly refers to the performance given by the film’s lead, Marisa Abela, as the key to capturing her essence. “I truly think that’s Marisa’s acting skills, she brought it all,” Dunstall explained. “I just did my best to try and make her look authentic and real.”
But a little swipe of the original M.A.C cherry lip liner Winehouse wore and a thick coat of liquid eyeliner was only half of how Dunstall evoked her memory. From the products Dunstall used on set from her own makeup bag, to the subtle references in each beauty choice, Dunstall breaks down every note of Winehouse’s eternal ode to love and loss. Read our conversation, ahead.
GRAZIA: You viewed this project almost as a period piece. Was it important to use makeup from the 2000s and 2010s to get a sense of realism?
Peta Dunstall: It was more about remembering the era and acknowledging the small details that aren’t obvious unless they have been pointed out. For example, the way we wear hair extentions is different now. We like to see the hair thicker at the ends while in the noughties just having [hair] longer was sometimes enough. Sure. we were looking at contemporary time… but it’s not the present day.
GRAZIA: How many products did you use on Marisa Abela that were in Amy Winehouses’s own makeup kit?
PD: We used a few original items that have been confirmed that Amy wore. M.A.C. Lip Pencil in ‘Cherry’ is one of them.
GRAZIA: Amy Winehouse’s eyeliner is iconic. Talk us through what you used for that.
PD: Research suggests she wore a Rimmel eyeliner but, with the nature of filming—needing to have windows to remove and reapply multiple times a day—we chose to work with M.A.C. Blacktrack. It is a gel fluid eyeliner that comes in a pot. We applied it with a Louise Young eyeliner brush, which seemed to be the best choice.
GRAZIA: How did you approach creating the makeup looks for the parts of Amy’s life we weren’t privy to? (E.g the pre-fame days and the time she shut herself away from the world during her relationship with ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil?)
PD: Seeing Amy in her homes were probably the only times we didn’t have references to draw on. So, we relied simply on understanding the mood of the script and the moments of the scenes. These are the things that dictated those choices. We needed to consider whether the scenes were about a younger, fresher Amy…or whether she was struggling with her addictions. In regards to her makeup, there’s a time when her lifestyle is pushing through the makeup…where textured skin, dry lips and broken down eyeliner were the things that stood out.
GRAZIA: You individually applied Amy’s tattoos every day. How did you manage that process?
PD: Yes, sometimes the tattoos were on and off a few times within the same day, depending on the scene. We filmed the movie in reverse order so that was when she had the most tattoos, of course. It was a bit of a challenge to keep up with it all when doing quick scene changes on location but, luckily, everyone in the entire make-up team was all very much double-checking that the right tatts were on according to the timeline.
GRAZIA: Chat us through replicating Amy’s iconic beehive. What was important to get factually correct, and what could you take more liberties with?
PD: All the stand-out events in Amy’s heavily photographed life—like Glastonbury, the 2008 Grammys and even some of her more wild nights out—I felt had to be accurate. So many people. including her big fans, remember seeing those moments and I really wanted these moments in the film to feel authentic and not take away from the performance. I had more freedom in her private spaces.
GRAZIA: What was the most difficult part of capturing her essence on screen?
PD: I truly think that’s Marisa’s acting skills, she brought it all. I just did my best to try and make her look authentic and real.
GRAZIA: What scene were you most intimidated by to recreate
PD: In hindsight, all the scenes were intimidating. She was an icon who was—and is—loved by so many people and I wanted to do her proud.
Back To Black is currently playing in Australian theatres.
