Elizabeth in Film - Elizabeth I & Elizabeth R

Elizabeth I - Helen Mirren

At the beginning of the first half of the film it is very obvious that they are trying to portray Elizabeth in her 'younger' years through the distinct lack of makeup. Although there are still elements to the makeup and hair that are Elizabethan in nature. For example; she does have a slightly pale face but not the extent that is seen later on in the film, her hairline is also very high as is typical of Elizabethan women. 

There are moments in the film that she is shown to wear slightly more makeup, especially on special occasions, such as when she is meeting the Prince of France. On this occasion there was slightly more rouge on the lips and cheeks. Furthermore at this moment her hair was a lot more elaborate, with more jewels and pearls being adorned in the hair along with the tight curls. 

During the opening sequence of the second part of the film, we are shown the process of the Queen having her makeup applied. This shows a change from the first film as she is noticeably wearing a lot more makeup, almost like she has 'become the Queen' through this process. We are also shown that she is wearing a wig, with her natural hair being very short and grey in comparison to the vibrant red hair of the wig. Again this could be seen to her hiding herself to become this 'character' of the Queen for the public. 

There is a further contrast between the two parts of the film, as the passing of time is shown so is the ageing of the Queen. Towards the end of the film the designers and artists have definitely made her look older and haggard to show the result of what has happened during the events in the film and her old age.

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Elizabeth R- Glenda Jackson

Across all the parts of Elizabeth R, there is a complete change shown through the use of makeup. At the beginning she looks very young, and looks like she isn't wearing any makeup at all. Her entire look is very simple, even her hair which is worn down and isn't as bright a red, it's more of a strawberry blonde colour. As it progresses into part two, she is shown to wear her hair up a lot more and the styles are more elaborate in comparison to the first part. She also begins to pale her face out a bit more, but not the extreme that is shown in the later parts. One element that I did find interesting in the second part was the idea that Elizabeth loved her hands. In part two she contracts smallpox, causing her to get spots on her hands, which she becomes very upset about.
By part four  she is shown to be wearing a lot more makeup, the face is paler and the cheeks are much more rouged. Furthermore she is also shown to look older, by the addition of wrinkles and bags under her eyes. By doing this it also causes her makeup to look like it has been caked on in thicker quantities, much like it would've looked for Elizabeth.
Finally by part six her hairline is so much higher than in previous parts, with the hair also being much brighter in colour - it is a bright red in comparison to the strawberry blonde colour at the beginning. She also looks like a mask has been applied to her face and neck to make her look older and add wrinkles to the face. The fact that the makeup has been caked on also makes her look so much older, her lips also look like they've been drawn on to look a thinner to make her look older as well. Furthermore it looks like her eyebrows have been drawn on, comparatively to previous parts where her eyebrows look like they have been lightened rather than look drawn on.

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(Accessed: 8 December 2015).

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(Accessed: 8 December 2015).