For an image conscious Michael Jackson,
the pop singer put a lot of emphasis on his looks.
A simple instruction he would make to his
personal makeup artist, Karen Faye was to quote, Hurt me, hurt me.
Wanting to impress his fans,
Jackson strive for his image in the mirror to be so fantastic that it almost hurts.
Karen said, quote, It's one of his favorite phrases.
He says it all the time.
When he wants something to be brilliant, he says, hurt me, make it look great.
He wants his appearance to take people's
breath away, and most of the time it works.
Much has been made of the extreme lengths
Michael Jackson went to physically alter his appearance.
But in this video we will focus
on the magic of makeup. How the King of Pop physically evolved
and continuously reinvented himself over the years through the use of everyday
cosmetics, whether as a quick fix or to cause immediate sensation.
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Growing up and as the lead member
of the Jackson Five, young Michael Jackson's image as
an adorable, charismatic performer was one of the group's many assets.
But as Jackson grew into his teenage
years, he was plagued with common adolescent acne. A condition that many
self conscious teens find hard to deal with.
But any hardships were magnified
by Michael's incredible fame and teen idol status.
The pop performer made numerous attempts
to hide his imperfections with the help of common stage makeup when being
photographed or making a televised appearance.
As Michael's solo fame grew as he
progressed into his early twenties, the artist became increasingly conscious
of his image and made every attempt to perfect his looks.
Having already ventured into plastic
surgery himself, Jackson insisted to his childhood friend David Guest, quote,
you've got to make yourself always look better.
Although it is clear Michael Jackson also
loved the transformative nature of makeup, to not only make one more beautiful,
but to turn yourself into a monster or a creature from another planet.
This is demonstrated by Jackson's
enthusiastic portrayal of the scarecrow in The Wiz
and later during the making of his video Thriller, where Jackson is lavishly
decorated by the industry's best in prosthetic makeup.
After watching John Landis's An American Werewolf
in London, Jackson called the director out of the blue and employed the film's makeup
artist, Rick Baker, to transform the singer during his next music video spectacle.
As part of the project,
Jackson was turned into a werecat in a terrifying morphing scene.
Because I just didn't want to do another werewolf, said Baker.
According to Landis, the production involved the largest makeup
team in film history up to that point, with 40 makeup artists creating dozens
of silicone moulds, prosthetics, a system of pump action balloons,
eye contacts, artificial teeth, and every shade of theatre paint
you could imagine.
I was adamant that whatever he was going
to turn into, he couldn't be too hideous or unattractive scary, yes.
Creepy, yes, but not ugly,
director John Landis said. In the latter part of the video,
Michael Jackson's zombie type makeup
consisted of brow and cheekbone prosthetics and copious amounts of green
makeup in vastly different shades, giving a hollowed out appearance.
Although obviously ghoulish in nature,
this sharp, severe makeup style may have inspired Jackson's next look.
While on the Victory tour with his
brothers in 1984, an intimate photo taken by Harrison Funk captures Jackson applying
his own makeup, something he apparently took great pride in.
Quote, Him and Jermaine Jackson loved putting on their own makeup,
said the photographer, who added that Michael became more
and more interested in his appearance, more determined to look sharp.
Jackson's makeup routine,
according to Funk, was also a sign of the singer's gender fluidity.
Quote, It wasn't so much femininity
on Michael's part as androgyny he was fluid around gender.
As his Fame grew with the phenomenal success of Thriller, so did Jackson's attempts
to achieve higher levels of physical perfection.
Michael dropped a considerable amount
of weight during this time and wore heavier makeup that didn't go unnoticed.
Late night comedians soon began passing
comment with Joan Rivers joking on television that, quote,
the man wears so much makeup that when he takes it off, he's white.
Not only shaping his eyebrows and wearing
some base, Michael Jackson began applying a full face of makeup. Base,
concealer, contour, eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, brow pencil for his dramatically
thinner eyebrows, and copious amounts of finishing powder for the stage lights.
Theatrical makeup techniques like nose contouring that were largely unheard
of in the public realm, applications that transitioned into his day to day as
Michael Jackson's whole public life became a production where he could be
photographed at any point, in any lighting and from any angle.
Products the King of Pop preferred
included those by Los Angeles based Rachel Perry Inc.
Who provided holistic skincare items
that combined aromatherapy, natural ingredients and color therapy
through their eyecatching labels and designs.
The founder was also a devoted
environmentalist and animal rights activist, who promoted sustainable
harvesting techniques and rainforest preservation.
Perhaps an early indication of Michael's own passion for the environment that was
so heavily expressed in his later music and charitable interests.
As the Thriller era passed and the Bad album approached,
the biggest changes in Michael Jackson's makeup style were his eyebrows,that he
grew in and gave a dramatic arch too, as well as his notoriously lighter base.
It appears that Michael Jackson started to wear lighter makeup on various dates
of the Victory tour, but the dramatic change had become much
more noticeable on the cover of his new record and during his music video for Bad.
Widespread speculation followed,
as many in the media debated whether the lightened look was due to extreme
skin whitening, facial peels, or just simply makeup. Based on images
we have of Michael from photoshoots
and on stage, versus private images, we can presume that the lighter appearance
was, at least in some part, the result of makeup.
Michael Jackson also became increasingly determined to maintain a matte finish
to his look while fiercely exerting himself on stage.
Tatiana Thumbtzen, Jackson's love interest
in The Way You Make Me Feel, has revealed that just before they appeared on stage
together at the 1988 Grammy Awards, Michael saw her apply some last minute
finishing powder backstage and asked her if he could use some as well.
She, of course, obliged and witnessed Jackson take the powder puff and apply
the product so heavily it filled the air around them.
Then he gave the compact back to the model and went on stage for his performance.
When asked what Michael Jackson's favorite
makeup product was, Michael's long time makeup artist
Karen Faye proclaimed, quote, Easy, hands down Lancome dual finish powder,
Lancome provides it by the case for me, said Faye.
Michael would have it and leave it everywhere.
He has it in every pocket.
While on the Bad tour,
similar to the Victory era, Michael Jackson incorporated contouring
techniques as part of his stage makeup to accentuate his chiseled features.
Although Michael Jackson had his full time
makeup artist at his every beck and call while on tour, Karen said that, quote,
for the most part, Michael does his own makeup in the hotel before the show.
I put a little kit together for him.
I fine tune him in the dressing room
before, and I'll touch him up a little during the show.
As the years progressed,
Michael Jackson's skin became increasingly patchy as his vitiligo developed
and the singer became reliant on makeup to even out his skin tone.
To achieve a uniform look, Jackson used specialist base makeup by Dermablend.
That's heavy,
total full coverage formulation was recommended for those hoping to cover up
the most severe of scars, birthmarks, and other skin conditions.
During the behind the scenes footage
for the video, black or white, Michael Jackson is seen constantly having
his face patted down and makeup reapplied during the physically exhaustive shoot.
As if any makeup failed to cover Jackson's
real skin tone, it would reveal the extent of his then unknown skin condition.
During this period, Michael Jackson's makeup was worn almost
like a mask for the pop superstar. A method to hide himself away and shield
him from the viciousness of the tabloid press.
While on the Dangerous tour in 1992,
British tabloid newspaper, The Daily Mirror, published an unflattering photograph
of the singer and stated that it showed Jackson's face in a state of advanced
decay after alleged extensive plastic surgery.
Jackson's team responded by threatening legal action against the publication.
With an already self conscious Michael Jackson,
emotionally shattered by the direct attack
at his appearance. Jackson arrived in London and was
photographed often covering his face while out in public.
As a result of the news story,
immediately after Michael Jackson's makeup style changed as he adopted heavier
eyeliner and more dramatic dark shadow on his eyelid corners.
The following year, Michael Jackson started wearing lipstick.
Most notably,
he grabbed a shade and applied it just before the camera started rolling for his
live worldwide interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1993.
Soon after, Michael Jackson started
experimenting with eyelash extensions, resulting in Bambi like flicks
at the corners. A treatment he most likely resorted to due to the longterm effects
of his lupus condition that can result in all types of hair loss.
This may also explain Jackson going
through more extreme beauty treatments, like having his eyebrows and hairline
permanently tattooed. Procedures that had varying levels of success.
Now a ghostly white shade of pale,
Michael Jackson more than ever needed some makeup magic to bring dimension to his
face so the bright stage lights didn't wash him out completely.
This period was characterized by even more dramatic contouring of his face and nose
as well as further tattooing, but this time as lip liner.
The look was befitting for the stage
but looked utterly bizarre when worn in any other context.
For example, when Jackson posed with his
new wife Debbie Rowe after their marriage in Australia in November 1996.
Having just performed in concert, Michael Jackson left the venue and back
to his hotel to engage in the wedding ceremony while still in his stage makeup.
Any images taken that evening were plastered all over the morning newspapers,
only adding to the already sensationalized nature of the shocking news story.
In the years that followed,
Michael Jackson never quite experimented with his makeup as he did previously.
In the 2000s, makeup was a necessity to cover up scars and camouflage
imperfections from surgery and longstanding illnesses.
Jackson's look softened as he battled
increasing levels of personal turmoil. As he attempted to prove his innocence
and reestablish his representation as a music icon.
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