"And Just Like That..." celebrates the beauty of women in their 50s
Since the early days of "Sex and the City," where the four original characters roamed the streets in Manolo Blahniks, toasted their cosmopolitans at Samantha Jones' fabulous parties, and shared their sexual exploits over coffee shop brunch, a lot has happened culturally and socially.
The series' new reboot, And Just Like That..., available to stream on Sky yesterday, reunites three of the series' original protagonists, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis). They struggle with the challenges that come with a new, more mature phase of life and the physical changes that are inseparable from aging. "There's so much misogynistic talk about us that would never be the case if it were about men," Parker told US VOGUE's December cover story of the anti-age comments about the actresses who dare their age with gray hair and fine lines to show on the screen.
"And Just Like That..." shows the attitude towards life and the beauty of women in their 50s
At the same time, an encouraging change has taken place in Hollywood: there are finally projects that celebrate the real life of older women and show, both in a realistic way and - as in the case of the new series "And Just Like That..." - with a desirable style and attitude to life. These things can coexist beautifully, points out Sherri Berman Laurence, makeup director of "And Just Like That...." "I'm a 53-year-old woman, so I kind of grew up around these women, so I think it's really exciting that a show like this celebrates so many women in their 50s in a genuine yet glamorous way."
To create the make-up for "And Just Like That...", Laurence sat down with showrunner Michael Patrick King and costume designer Molly Rogers "to make sure we were all pulling together on the stories." . "It's great to work with someone like [King] who really cares about the looks - the makeup, the hair and the costumes," says Laurence. "It all plays together. It can't be that one thing doesn't work, otherwise they all won't work. Michael Patrick King is a visionary and he knows exactly what he wants. He has a picture in his head and it's a really interesting one process of discussing this with him." While each character's plan was different, there was a common thread: "[King] was very particular about not making them look younger than they are, but rather enhancing the beauty that they already have," explains Laurence. "We all did our best to achieve that. And I think we succeeded."
