Every Beauty Secret Behind Julia Garner's Who What Wear Cover Shoot

(Image credit: Morgan Maher and Who What Wear)

published 30 January 2025

If you’re familiar with Julia Garner’s repertoire of work (whether it was her feisty breakout role as Ruth Langmore in Ozark or her more recent role as Charlotte in this year’s Wolf Man), you already know that the actor is the ultimate shape-shifter when it comes to getting into *extremely believable* character. And for our January cover, the transformation was, aesthetically, just as impressive. Garner’s deeply side-parted, acid-wash pink pixie and magenta makeup draw inspiration from the post-punk era—with a twist. “Julia is the ultimate muse and is always so inspiring to work with,” confirms celebrity hairstylist Bobby Eliot. “She truly transforms, which makes working with her so incredible.”

Below, we’re taking you behind the scenes as we discuss every hair and makeup detail, point by point.

The actor’s sleek and glossy hair look of the day was the complete antithesis to the signature blonde curls the public may be used to. “This was our take on a sleek micro bob or pixie,” notes Eliot. “The key to achieving this look was a gloss and a heat protectant.” For a touch of shine, Eliot relied on Oribe’s Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil ($59) in addition to the brand’s Balm d’Or Heat Styling Shield ($48) to simultaneously ward off potential heat-induced damage.

Meanwhile, light washes of coral and juicy bursts of bright pink inspired Sandy Ganzer, Garner’s makeup artist on set. After prepping the actor’s face with moisturizer and foundation (Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream, $190, for the former and Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Foundation, $49, for the latter), Ganzer reached for a color palette of tangerine, peach, and vibrant rose for eye shadow and blush. “For this first look, I added a neutral color wash on the eye using Violette_Fr Yeux Paint in Petite Culotte ($32), punctuated with lots of black mascara,” says Ganzer. “From there, I created a kaleidoscope blush look with tones of marigold, coral, and bright pink using Haus Labs Color Fuse Blush Powder in Pomelo Peach ($32) and Dragon Fruit Daze ($32).”

Garner’s second makeup look prioritized a fresh bold lip as the main focal point. “I kept the rest of her makeup quite pale and used my all-time favorite lipstick, Shiseido’s Modern Matte Powder in Majo ($26) to create the perfect plummy brown,” shares Ganzer.

Later on, undertones of ’90s punk (including a faded, bubblegum-pink hair color) usurped the actor’s Twiggy-esque hairstyle. “The overall vibe for the shoot was ‘underground punk London,’ and then we just built from there,” Eliot explains. “The pink was actually an idea that Julia and I have talked about before, and this was the perfect moment for it.”

While going pink might look daunting, taking the color for a test-drive is easier than it may seem. To achieve a similar rock ’n’ roll shade of pink, Eliot recommends grabbing a pastel pink temporary hair color, and—here’s the key—diluting it with conditioner. That way, the result looks a tad faded and lived-in. As for styling, Eliot used Oribe’s Curl Control Silkening Cream ($46) to enhance Garner’s natural wave and curl. “When it comes to working with curls on set, I look for products that are buildable and won’t go crunchy on me as the day goes on,” says Eliot.

“The pink hair was such a fun part of the shoot," Ganzer adds. “Bobby did a great job making it look lived-in and faded even though it was done that morning.” And with the makeup, the goal was to keep everything looking harmonious—aka lived-in—and not too precise or perfect. Ganzer intentionally chose colors that were vibrant but strategically layered them on top of dull dark grays and cool browns to create a washed-out effect.

“This final look was an all-out dark and moody raspberry fantasy using a mix of colors from Natasha Denona’s My Dream Eyeshadow Palette ($69) to create a deep but vibrant smoky effect,” Ganzer details. “I rimmed Julia’s eyes top and bottom with Victoria Beckham Beauty’s Satin Kajal Liner in Black ($34) and gave her a few coats of mascara. Julia’s eyes are absolutely stunning. The shape, the piercing blue color, her crazy long lashes … so I definitely like to make them the focus.”

Then, to keep everything cohesive, Ganzer finished off the look by adding a bit of Lancôme’s L’Absolu Rouge Cream Lipstick in Paris S’Eveille ($35) to the Shiseido formula in Majo that was already on Garner’s lips. This layering effect, Ganzer explains, helped match Garner’s lips to the color palette of her eyes.

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Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over five years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor.