All about the beauty looks of Wuthering Heights From the Brontë blush and the thousand shades of red, to the symbolism of hair

In the new adaptation of Wuthering Heights (or Cime Tempestose), Margot Robbie’s face is not simply made up—it narrates her emotions throughout the entire storyline. And the detail that caught everyone’s attention wasn’t a red lipstick or a full make-up look, but a simple blush. Not the lifting kind, placed high on the cheekbones, which would have given the actors too much of an iPhone face. No. Here the color drops lower, staying on the cheeks. It doesn’t sculpt or pull upward: it flushes, as it naturally should. It’s a blush that stands out for its extreme naturalness. It works because it looks real, or at least real enough to make us forget there’s a top-level beauty team behind it. Then there’s the hair, which speaks for itself and tells Cathy’s story: from loose, wind-swept waves on the moors to the iconic vagina braids.

Everything about the beauty looks in Wuthering Heights

The Brontë blush: the most natural effect ever

Siân Miller, hair and make-up designer, together with her team, built an aesthetic consistent with the raw atmosphere of Emily Brontë’s novel. The goal was not to make Cathy reassuringly (and predictably) beautiful and perfect, but to make her look truly exposed to events, to the wind, to the cold, and to emotional tension. Practically speaking, she has a tormented relationship not only with Heathcliff but also with the landscape and the climate itself. The result looks so natural because the blush is applied exactly where we actually blush. And no, it’s not on the cheekbones, but on the cheeks, at the center of the face.

Margot Robbie’s Cathy Earnshaw blush

Behind that apparent naturalness lies a construction far more complex than it seems. Besides being applied on the cheeks, the real reason it looks so realistic is that it isn’t just one shade: the make-up artists used four different tones, layered together, to recreate a surprisingly believable flush. The technical base is a layering of creamy and liquid textures. The products used were Soft Pinch Liquid Blush by Rare Beauty, combining the rosy shades Happy and Hope as a base; Flush Balm by Merit Beauty, in the shades Postmodern and Aprés, to intensify the center of the flush; and finally the No.1 De Chanel Lip and Cheek Balm, to add depth and a veil of natural luminosity. Thin layers of product are applied and worked directly into the skin, allowing texture and pores to remain visible, without covering the real structure of the face. And that’s not all: if you noticed while watching the film, the blush keeps changing. The colors were also chosen to reflect the character’s emotions in specific scenes. Red appears in scenes of anger, desire, and warmth. Cool pink appears in scenes of wind, cold, and embarrassment. A muted, almost mauve pink, on the other hand, is used in the more melancholic scenes. Once again, in cinema, make-up isn’t just make-up, it’s a non-verbal language.

Isabella’s blush

Beyond Cathy, Isabella’s blush has also drawn attention. The make-up team chose a completely different effect from Margot Robbie’s: no complex layering or intense flush, but a delicate baby pink, almost doll-like, innocent, and slightly naïve. The product chosen to achieve this result was the Hybrid Blush in Winter Kissed by Kylie Cosmetics.

Hairstyles in Wuthering Heights

If the make-up tells the emotions, the hair tells Cathy’s story. More than 35 hairstyles were created for Margot Robbie, including custom wigs and extensions. Here too, the hair conveys meaning. On the moors, Cathy’s wavy hair is loose, wind-tossed, wild, and natural, just like the life she is living at that moment. At the Grange, everything changes: the waves give way to more elaborate hairstyles. Nothing is left to chance: 1940s victory rolls tell the more severe and cruel side of Cathy; the "vagina braids", two braids joined by a red thread, recall the most tension-filled scenes; and the hair chain worn during the wedding symbolizes her self-imposed imprisonment with Linton. It’s incredible how nothing was left to chance: every single detail is designed to tell something. And you: did you notice?