12 Fascinating Behind-The-Scenes "Euphoria" Beauty Facts, Directly From The Show's Makeup Artist

Filming in Los Angeles meant adjusting everyone's skincare routine to focus on one thing.

We're sadly approaching the season finale of HBO's Euphoria this upcoming weekend. 😭 It's fair to say that not only has the show become known for its captivating, thought-provoking storylines — but it's also made waves in the beauty, style, and makeup communities for its trademark aesthetic.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

Ever since Season 1 debuted in 2019, viewers have been inspired by the bold, colorful, glittery makeup looks seen on the show's characters. And those looks are often the creation of Euphoria's makeup designer and department head, Doniella Davy. Everything from Maddy's signature winged eyeliner to Kat's distinctive pastel-colored eyeshadow are all thanks to Doniella and her talented team.

@donni.davy / Via Instagram

Ahead of Sunday's finale, we spoke to Doniella about all things Euphoria and behind-the-scenes beauty — including how the makeup direction evolved from the first season to the second, the skincare routine she encourages for the cast, her favorite looks so far, her Euphoria-inspired makeup line that drops later this year, and more.

1. Even though the makeup looks from Season 1 immediately made waves, Euphoria's creator Sam Levinson insisted that the looks for Season 2 be completely different.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

Doniella said by the time filming began for Season 2, she felt like a caged animal due to quarantine, so she was ready to create the same type of colorful, glitter-filled looks she made famous in the first season. But Sam had other plans for each character's makeup looks. 

"Sam said to me, 'I don’t want Euphoria makeup," Doniella told BuzzFeed. "Ultimately, it was a really good thing because I also wasn’t trying to repeat what I did already — even though some people wanted that. I knew I was going to disappoint some folks without crazy rainbow colors and rhinestones."

"We did that hard on the first season, and [in Season 2], it was continuing the conversation but also changing it to be like, 'You can still experiment and have fun and be bold with your makeup — but the look doesn’t have to be visible from across the room," Doniella said.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

Ultimately, Doniella said she is always proud of the looks her and her team create on the show but always hopes it resonates with others the same way. 

"I hope fans like it too because I was definitely a little panicked, especially in the beginning, fresh off of quarantine. I was doing all of these looks on my face and I was ready to explode with [them] —  and then I quickly realized what we were redefining it all and I was caught off guard. It made it a creative challenge for sure," she said. 

2. Doniella draws inspiration for the show's makeup looks from the script, the characters' clothes, and — notably — the characters' bedrooms.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

"Ultimately, the looks are very, very driven by what’s going on in the scripts of the show. I'm reading between the lines, thinking about these characters, how they dress, their clothes, and their overall style," she told BuzzFeed. 

But beyond that, Doniella will also draw makeup inspiration from specific sets. "Honestly, looking at their bedrooms is always a great thing for me because I can pick up on colors and textures — and see what their world looks like," Doniella explained.

Doniella also said her inspiration for the show's makeup looks comes from consulting with the actors, as well as Sam Levinson.

"It’s this giant witch’s brew where thousands of ingredients go into creating these beauty looks," she said. 

3. Alexa Demie, who plays Maddy on Euphoria, was extremely involved in creating her character's makeup looks in Season 2 — even drawing on her signature wings herself some days.

@donni.davvy / Via Instagram

Doniella said Maddy’s makeup looks were inspired by how Alexa wears her makeup in real life. "Alexa came in and had these ideas of what she wanted to do and I helped her execute it," she told BuzzFeed. 

Those who watch the show know a dramatically sharp winged liner is Maddy's signature look and when it came to who actually drew on Maddy's liner in the makeup trailer, Doniella said it varied day to day. 

"Some days, Alexa would just start the wing and be like 'I’m done, can you do it?' So she would always help out a bit and sometimes I’d do her liner or Alexandra French, one of my team members this season, would do it and then I’d come in at the end and make sure everything looked perfect," Donni said.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

4. Of all of the looks created for Season 2, two of Doniella’s absolute favorites were Jules’ New Years Eve look and Cassie’s “Maddy” look.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

Although Doniella is quick to emphasize how tough it is to choose a favorites, those two were especially memorable.

"I was really pleased with how Jules’ New Years Eve look turned out. That one was really exciting to see on screen afterwards because it wasn't a very big look — but it had a lot of impact on screen so I really loved that," Doniella told BuzzFeed.

"I think Cassie’s 'Maddy' look was really effective too. I also loved all of Lexie’s little Twiggy-esque graphic stuff. Again, it's hard to choose a favorite — there are so many little details going on in each person that I loved," she said.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

5. Before each actor left the makeup trailer, every makeup look had to be inspected from all angles.

@donni.davy / Via Instagram

Attention to detail is crucial when it comes to the show's makeup. "It’s a film set —sometimes with unflattering light — and we want to make sure we’re doing everything in the makeup trailer to just make the makeup looks pop," Doniella told BuzzFeed. 

"We always needed to make sure everybody looks as great as they can — and not just from one angle — because we would often have no idea where that camera was going to be filming," she explained.

"Sometimes a winged liner could look perfect from one angle, and then from a different angle, all of a sudden there’s a big lump," said Doniella. "It was all about making sure the makeup looked sharp and perfect from all angles, which sometimes could be impossible."

6. While filming, the actors were discouraged from getting facials or any invasive treatments that could irritate their skin.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

"I mostly try to encourage all the actors to stay really moisturized while filming," Doniella told BuzzFeed. She also prefers that they stay away from facials, peels, or doing anything with harsh chemicals.

"A lot of these girls get facials often, which on the one hand can be really wonderful, but on the other hand it can leave the skin a little damaged or irritated before it reveals," she said.

7. The show's makeup team also asked the actors to follow a very simple skincare routine when filming. It's one that prioritizes moisture, which is key against the dry Los Angeles heat that Euphoria films against.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

"I have the 'treat the skin like baby skin' approach, where I’m like 'keep it clean and very moisturized." That’s the best approach for us," Doniella said. 

"[We film] in LA — so it’s very dry and can result in us battling dry skin. So we also spend time really massaging products in," she continued. "Some actors come lubed up, ready to go with their skincare on and others, we start from scratch. It’s different with each person."

8. Due to the show's quick-cut style of directing, a lot of makeup looks don't even make it onto the screen.

@donni.davy / Via Instagram

"There are tons of looks that don’t get to see the light of day on screen because they’re in the shadows or sometimes because of the way Sam directs with his quick cuts. There are so many scenes in one episode," Doniella told BuzzFeed.

"We’ll do a look for one scene and then not realize the way he is going to film is having the camera behind the actor's head and as the actor turns their head, the camera pans away. So there are makeup looks that I feel didn’t get their moment which is why I try to showcase them on my Instagram," she said.  

9. Actors like Zendaya and Alexa Demie came in already knowing so much about makeup, the show's makeup team often felt the need to constantly improve on their craft.

Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images for HBO / Via Getty Images

Doniella said while filming, she learned a lot of tips and tricks from the actors because they’re all so savvy with beauty and fashion.

"These girls are used to getting their makeup done by incredibly talented artists, which definitely puts the pressure on me and my team, which is good because we want to get better all the time," she told BuzzFeed. 

"We always want to improve our skills and learn. We’re always on our toes because these girls are coming in getting amazing skincare treatments and makeup done elsewhere, so they have a high standard and we try to keep up," Doniella revealed.

10. Glitter makeup looks were at the forefront in Season 1 — and Zendaya was actually the one who taught Doniella how to easily and effectively remove it.

Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images for HBO / Via Getty Images

Donni said that in Season 1, Zendaya taught her a simple but effective technique to remove glitter using any sort of makeup wipe. "To remove glitter, I took cues from Zendaya because she is very good with makeup," Doniella told BuzzFeed. 

She explained: "You take a makeup wipe and you do one swipe across the glitter and then fold it over so you’re not redepositing glitter on your eyelid. Then you do another swipe, fold the wipe, another swipe, fold the wipe, and try to get as much of it off — and that way we’re not putting all the glitter particles down the drain. I found this method to be the best, most effective way to remove all of those glittery makeup looks," she said. 

11. Doniella said contrary to what some might think, Euphoria was not her place to wildly experiment with makeup looks just because. Instead, she believes that the makeup looks must always be in service to the script.

Eddy Chen / Via HBO

"I'm in service to the script and the story and just getting the actors ready and to set on time, which is the goal," she told BuzzFeed.

12. But something that Doniella can experiment with is her new makeup line, Half Magic Beauty that is launching later this spring.

@donni.davvy / Via Instagram

Doniella said she began thinking about and working on her own Euphoria-inspired makeup line after Season 1 aired in 2019. "We — me and the creative producers behind Euphoria  — started talking about a makeup line in the summer of 2019 after the first season aired.

"They asked me, 'what would you want to create and how would you want to start a line? Is it a collaboration with an existing brand or is it one of our own lines from scratch?' I started realizing that if I want to make something and my name is going to be attached to it, I want to create it from the ground up. From scratch," Doniella said. 

Doniella said when creating Half Beauty — which is a collaboration between Euphoria and A24 Films — she thought about the Euphoria makeup community that has grown since the first season of the show. "I was thinking about what products I would want to make for the community. Looking at who these people are — we have makeup newbies who have just been inspired to start doing makeup, and we have pro makeup people who are incredible at their own work," she explained.

"I wanted to make products that speak to everybody, have incredible formulas, fun packaging, and be at an accessible price point. I wanted to provide people with tools that allow them to create layered color-scapes on their eyes — and these products are designed to layer and be compatible with each other to create bold, high-pigmented colorful, sparkly eye looks," Doniella said. 

For more from Doniella Davy, follow her on Instagram.

What's been your favorite look from Euphoria so far? Any predictions for the finale? Share in the comments!