Netflix Save Story Save this story Save Story Save this story Morally complex and full of memorable performances, Netflix’s adaptation of East of Eden has quickly become one of the year’s biggest TV hits. The adaptation of John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel, created by Zoe Kazan (whose grandfather Elia Kazan directed the first onscreen interpretation of the book in 1955), centers Steinbeck’s multigenerational saga on the book’s most controversial character, Cathy Ames ( Florence Pugh ), exploring her agency and evil from a different perspective. Pugh’s performance is hands down the most memorable of the show, enhanced by her hair and makeup that serve as visual markers for the character’s shifting identity.
Creating beauty looks for a series that spans four decades offers a particular challenge for those working behind the scenes, like co-hair and makeup designers Nancy Hennah and Sarah Rubano . “ East of Eden is set over 43 years, so our beauty vision changed with the characters and with what was in fashion during each time period,” says Hennah. The first episode places the audience in New England, right after the American Civil War, and introduces us to veteran Cyrus Trask and his sons, Adam and Charles. We watch as Adam and Charles grow from boys to teenagers to men before a bloodied Cathy arrives on their family farm and disrupts their world. By the end of the seven-part series, we’re in the 1910s as men are being sent off to fight in World War I.
Hennah and Rubano collaborated closely with the show’s art and costume departments when researching the time periods and gathering historically accurate references in order to root the characters in realism across each chapter of their lives. “We focused mainly on the script rather than the book for reference,” says Rubano. “And Zoe [Kazan] was very descriptive and had clear ideas for most characters.”
Pugh on set with her personal glam team for the series, hairstylist Jaime Leigh McIntosh and makeup artist Heba Thorisdottir.
Pugh’s personal on-set hair and makeup team—who worked alongside Hennah and Rubano—also challenged themselves to work as historically accurately as possible. For example, hairstylist Jaime Leigh McIntosh avoided using hot tools when styling Pugh’s wigs. Instead, she “wet set the hair to create texture.” Makeup artist Heba Thorisdottir, on the other hand, had to take into account that in the late 1800s, at the beginning of the series, cosmetics weren’t yet widely manufactured or commercially available. But as Cathy moves through life and eventually into her role as a brothel owner (when she is known as Kate), makeup becomes increasingly accessible, aligning with her character arc. “The cosmetic availability went perfectly with the storyline of Cathy transforming into Kate and wearing makeup,” says Thorisdottir.
In Kazan’s remake, Cathy craves power and freedom and manipulates the men in her life to achieve those goals. Her beauty is one tool she uses, and if you look closely, you’ll spot cosmetic clues that hint at Cathy’s motives and power plays. Below, McIntosh and Thorisdottir reveal the hair and makeup details you might have missed. And a warning: There are spoilers ahead!
McIntosh, Pugh, and Thorisdottir on set.
East of Eden follows Cathy through the many chapters of her life, so it was important for her hair to reflect those changing realities, says McIntosh. “I needed to figure out her starting point and her end point and then fill the space in between to work o…