Throughout the film, Shug Avery also has beautiful, deep red nails, something Rasheed attributes to Henson. “That was a decision that Taraji actually made herself in terms of what color red she wanted to use,” she says. “It’s those very specific, seemingly small things that really help make the character fully realized. color was definitely important to her character.”
The color purple hit the screens in 1985. Steven Spielberg was at the helm as director, with Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey starring as Celie, Shug Avery and Sofia. The 2023 version not only has a black makeup department head, but also a black director. Blitz Bazawule. “Blitz and I had long conversations and made mood boards about what the characters should look like in their makeup,” says Rasheed. “He wanted our black skin to shine like he does. That’s why I got the chance to show our skin as it radiates.”
That meant stocking her makeup kit with complexion products that truly “mimic skin,” and dropping the name Koh Gen Do, Kevin Aucoin, Armani beauty, ChantecailleAnd NARS as favorites. And don’t forget the tattoos; something that wasn’t very common in the early 20th century, but Barrino alone has quite a few visible tattoos. “tkkt”
Ser Baffo
For Rasheed: joining the crew and shaping the beauty The color purple was a dream come true. “I don’t think there’s a single one of us who hasn’t been influenced by that movie in some way,” she says. “It was a very heavy film at the time and I was really moved by it.”
