I went to see Zach Snyder’s film “Sucker Punch” over the weekend and the high-intensity action sequences weren’t the only thing that popped off the screen — the characters’ hair and makeup packed some serious cinematic punch, which inspired this post.
Below, I’ll show you how to recreate the hair and makeup looks seen in Sucker Punch, with style breakdowns for each of the main characters.
About The Film
Rotten Tomatoes explains the plot and premise behind “Sucker Punch”:
“An epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Babydoll (Emily Browning) is joined by Sweetpea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung) on her quest for escape from captivity.”
Now that you know what the film is about, let’s talk beauty. The hair and makeup in Sucker Punch was not only dramatic, but, even better, was tailored to each character. Below, I’ve provided a beauty breakdown for the main character Babydoll, as well as the other main girls in the film.
Babydoll
The main makeup artist for Sucker Punch, Rosalina Da Silva, said in an interview with The Beauty of Life that Babydoll’s makeup was “inspired by Brigitte Bardot with a splash of Anime characters.”
“With faux eyelashes, nude lips, and ’60s eyeliner, Babydoll conveyed innocence simultaneously with fearlessness,” said Da Silva.
For a similar look that’s real life-wearable, shoot for a similar version of Babydoll’s look with the following steps:
- Apply a sheer, shimmery beige or silver eyeshadow to your eyelid and sweep a little bit of a darker beige or grey in the creases of your eyelids. The darker color should be kept light – its purpose is simply to add depth to the eye. Apply a small amount of a sheer white or silver right above and around your tear ducts. This will brighten the eyes.
- Line your upper eyelids with a black liquid eyeliner.
- After curling and coating your eyelashes with mascara, apply one set of faux eyelashes. Blend them in by trimming them (before you apply them) to fit your eye better. Curl them and apply another light coat of mascara.
- Sweep a light blush upwards on the apples of your cheeks for a little warmth.
- Apply a nude lipstick or lip gloss for a finishing touch.
Rocket, Amber, Sweetpea & Blondie
In contrast to Babydoll, the rest of the Sucker Punch girls sport darker makeup, filled with glitter, lots of eyeliner, and dark lipstick and blush.
The trick to translating these looks outside of the film, where dramatic makeup enhances the characters, is to simplify the makeup while keeping the idea the same:
- Apply a shimmery gray shadow to your eyelids for a base. Using a darker gray shadow (or even black if you’re feeling adventurous), apply more color in the creases of your eyes and right along the end of your upper lash line. This should create an illusion of big lashes even before you’ve applied mascara.
- Line your upper eyelid with a black eyeliner, right along the lash line. Line your lower lash line lightly, extending the line from the outer corner of your eye to about the center of the lash line. Blend this line with your finger for a smudgy look.
- Curl your eyelashes and apply a coat of mascara before adding one set of faux eyelashes. Curl your eyelashes again and apply another coat of light mascara.
- Sweep blush up your cheekbones for definition.
- Apply a berry-colored lipstick or lip gloss.
BONUS: If you’d like to add some glitter to the mix, use Urban Decay’s Heavy Metal Glitter Liner to draw a line of glitter along your upper lash line after you’ve finished your eyelashes. But beware: While glitter can be a fun way to spice up your eye makeup, it can take a really long time to get off!
Hair
Sucker Punch featured varying hairstyles, but the main trends were big volume, curls, headbands, and one short, spikey do.
Sweetpea (center) and Babydoll (above) sported elastic headbands in the film. To get Sweetpea’s ’60s headband look, follow these easy steps:
- Backcomb your hair at the crown and spray it with hairspray for staying power. This will give you the lift at the top of the ‘do.
- Take a curling iron and curl your ends inward.
- Put on the elastic headband, and you’re done!
If you have shorter hair, you can easily replicate Rocket’s spikey ‘do (above left) by taking a little hair product and either creating a piecey-look by twisting pieces of hair between your fingers with the product, or spiking it upwards for a subtle lift.
To get Amber’s soft curls and big volume, start by teasing and backcombing your hair at the crown, then spray it with hairspray. Next, take a curling iron and curl the rest of your hair. You can even use bobby pins to sweep your bangs to the side.
Your Thoughts?
Did you see Sucker Punch? What did you think of it? Did you like the dramatic hair and makeup? Would you sport any of these hairstyles or makeup looks? Which was your favorite look? Let us know in a comment!
*All photos from imdb.com and suckerpunchmovie.warnerbros.com.
Uh, the whole POINT of this movie was that these women are fighting back for themselves. I think this post is awesome, and that the movie was incredible.
I saw the movie last weekend and yes, it’s nice to see women fighting back–we certainly don’t have enough of that in Hollywood. However, the fact that they were unable to do it without blatantly oversexualizing every single character is kind of ridiculous to me. Maybe it was about female empowerment, but the fact that they seemed to feel the need to appeal to guys looking for tiny skirts and barely-there shirts is a bit annoying.
Can we please just agree that the oversexualization of women in movies like these is a big problem? And no, the rare movie like 300 does not equal the playing field. Are male politicians accused of having cankles like it’s relevant to their platform? Are men who are sexually abused or assaulted accused of asking for it or of throwing around allegations to get attention? Do male college graduates ever get asked if they went to get their “Mr.”?
If this sort of movie helps some people, well, that’s all well and good, but please don’t stoop to those pseudo-equality arguments to defend it. If you like it, that should be enough for you. Don’t pretend that objectifying women to this extreme isn’t a problem because we are somehow in a post-sexism society – we are far from it.
Honestly, I’m not all that upset about the exploitation business. I saw the movie with four guy friends and a girl friend. I and one of my guy friends hated it, while th others didn’t think it was that bad or good. The action scenes were tedious, and the ‘meaningful’ lines were ill-timed. Basically, it was clearly geared towards a male-gamer audience, which was fine. As far as substance, there was none, but that’s also fine. Makeup-wise, they were pretty consistent, and there were some epic shoes in there. Can we all calm down now?
@Casey, I agree and you have the best point so far. I loved this movie! It was different then most “girl power” movies such as Kill Bill, tank girl, GI Jane etc. I agree that the action scenes could of been a bit more dramatic and bloody, but what I loved about it was the way they integrated the story line with reality and fantasy. I went to see it with 8 Army friends and 6 were males. 3 of them did not like it or thought it was ok. When I asked why and heard them out, they showed they missed the main point of the story. Its after I explained to them what was really going on, then they agreed it was a good movie. The reality was there was an underground brothel going on in the mental institution. Babydoll (main character) in order to escape her reality of the awful things done to her and the other girls, she would imagine a different world which was the dance club and all the action scenes in it. Overall, it was AWESOME!!!!
By the way beauty should never be censored, it should be celebrated. Just as in the amazing works of art in the past during the renaissance movement. The statue of David. Its just a large naked man (literally). All the statues and paintings of nude people. There is nothing wrong in showing your sexuality and being sexual. After all, we are all sexual beings. We are created sexually and we are sensual. This is a fact and if you want to oppress your natural way of being then you will forever be miserable.
Carmen- i dont think its empowering for women to feel we can bring men to their knees with beauty. Especially if it can be used against us. There are a lot of people who blame rape victims for looking to attractive saying a man cannot control himself. thats insulting to men as well. that also seams to be the logic behind the face covering veil
But botton line….the movie was crap…..i want my money back
Late to the comments, ha ha, but I don’t remember if the movie was especially exploitative or whatever, but it was pretty awful. It was very obviously made by a man.
I just came across this article, and after reading the comments, I’m a little confused. Weren’t the girls supposed to be in a brothel? That was why they were wearing the skimpy clothing. I personally really liked it.