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5 Insider Tips From Hollywood Makeup Artist Debbie Zoller

BellaSugar — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:00:00 PDT

With projects for Star Trek, Mad Men, and now Castle under her belt, it's no wonder makeup artist Debbie Zoller stays in demand behind the scenes. Over the past few years, we've interviewed the brains behind the beauty several different times, and now we've gathered up some of our favorite Debbie posts. From cake-free makeup to gory looks in time for Halloween, check out her insider tips below:

Beef up your cosmetic bag with Debbie's makeup essentials.
Find out where Debbie finds inspiration.
Achieve a cake-free face with these three tips.
Have a favorite blush? Try using it over your eye shadow.
Look to your pantry to create gory looks for Halloween.
Get ladylike á la Mad Men's Joan Holloway.

Try a Smoky Cat Eye For Fall

BellaSugar — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 06:00:00 PDT

"What I am noticing for Fall is a major cat eye with the heavy eye shadow," says Hollywood makeup artist Debbie Zoller (who has worked with stars like Patricia Arquette on Little Nicky and Christina Hendricks on Mad Men). "Last season for Fall it was more about the Mad Men look with the heavy eyeliner, but not really the eye shadow. What I am finding now, is that it's more of the heavy eye shadow that’s coming back," she adds. To find out Debbie's tips for getting the sultry, wearable look, just keep reading.

What's in Your Bag, Baby? A Look at a Pro Makeup Artist's Staples

BellaSugar — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 06:00:00 PDT

One of my favorite questions to ask makeup artists is what staples they have in their cosmetic bags at all times. The pros know, after all. Recently, I caught up with Debbie Zoller, head makeup artist for ABC's Castle, and asked her about her must-have beauty items. Find out her top picks below:

Rock and Republic Shadows: "Their eyeshadows are amazing and they come in three different pigments. There’s the matte, there’s a semishimmer, and there’s a high shimmer."
Rock and Republic everything else: "I love their pigments; their blushes are great; the eye shadows are great," says Zoller. Also great? The gel liners.
Make Up For Ever: "I love Make Up For Ever," says Zoller. "They [the products] kind of complete the look that I’ve been using on the show quite a bit. I seem to go to their stuff because this season gets a lot crazier. If I thought last season was big this season's even bigger. Last season we had the dominatrix [look] and stuff, now we are going into more underground cultural things."

For a peek at Debbie's work, be sure to catch the season premiere on Sept. 22.

Castle's Makeup Artist Talks About Where She Finds Inspiration

BellaSugar — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 08:00:00 PDT

Hollywood makeup artist Debbie Zoller is a wealth of makeup information. (See more here.) Not only has she worked behind the scenes on shows like Mad Men and popular movies such as Kill Bill and The Sweetest Thing, but she's currently the makeup department head on ABC's Castle. I recently talked with Debbie about the ins and outs of her job, from the craziest looks she's done to the every day styles she creates for the characters. Find out the unusual ways in which she finds inspiration when you read more.

3 Ways to Flawless-Looking, Cake-Free Makeup

BellaSugar — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:00:00 PDT

Cakey makeup does not a happy woman make. And that's why I asked Debbie Zoller, Castle's makeup artist (and former makeup artist on Mad Men), how she manages to make the characters on the show look like they're not even wearing makeup at all - even though they're often wearing loads of it. While Debbie's tips focus mainly on her methods for TV, her steps apply to real life just as much. Find out her helpful pieces of advice on staying smooth when you read more.

Here's Why Blush on the Eyes Can Work

BellaSugar — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:00:10 PDT

Have you already created a beautiful smoky eye? Then try this tip from Castle's makeup artist, Debbie Zoller, to give your baby blues (or greens or browns or hazels) even more punch.

"You can take a little bit of blush that has a heavy pigment, put it on your blush brush, and then wipe it completely over the eye quickly," she explains. "It makes it pop even more because you're giving it a little bit of color." So simple, yet so effective.

Want to Become a Makeup Artist? Here's One Way to Do It

BellaSugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:00:16 PDT

When watching the Emmys and/or Oscars, do you perk right up when hearing the nominees for the best makeup artistry categories? Do you have such a passion for makeup and theatrical stylings that you daydream about what it might be like to be a part of this aspect of the business?

After talking to makeup artist Debbie Zoller about her behind-the-scenes work on Castle, along with her techniques for making the gory details of her job come to life, I wanted to know how she got to where she is today. With an impressive resume including work on Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Sweetest Thing, I Heart Huckabees, Mad Men, and Castle, you might be surprised to hear that Zoller dropped out of beauty school and hit a few road bumps along the way before finding her true passion. To find out more of her inspiring story, just keep reading.

Look Behind the Scenes With Castle's Makeup Artist

BellaSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:00:52 PDT

For more than 25 years, Debbie Zoller has been creating makeup looks from practically every vantage point, whether it's her initial work as Lancôme rep at Macy's in LA, her 1960s-style creations on Mad Men, or most recently, her role as lead makeup artist on Castle. "People on the show are so incredibly nice," she said during a recent interview, where we talked about the gory details of her current position, along with what it's like to be a part of the behind-the-scenes action on the crime dramedy, now in its second year of production.

View 5 Photos ›

Check out some of Zoller's work in the gallery above. Then, to find out what she had to say about working with the cast, along with some of her favorite beauty products, just keep reading.

Castle's Makeup Artist Debbie Zoller Gets Gory At Work

BellaSugar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:00:00 PDT

As the head makeup artist on ABC's crime dramedy Castle, Debbie Zoller creates everyday makeup looks for the show's main characters. But, seeing that the program is not without its fair share of murder mysteries, Zoller must also create blood spatters, prosthetic detached fingers, and mangled body parts, often working in the most unusual of situations. "Last season we had [to create] a frozen girl dumped out of a freezer," she said. Yikes.

Recently, I caught up with Zoller, who is up for an Emmy for her previous work on Mad Men (more here), to find out more about what a typical workday is like onset at Castle.

View 5 Photos ›

To find out more about Zoller's work, read more.

How-To: The Look of Mad Men's Joan Holloway

BellaSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:00:22 PDT

Joan Holloway proves that you don't need to show skin to be the hottest woman in the room. (OK, she's often the only woman in the room, but still.) The Mad Men character has a sultry secretary style that would still turn heads today.

Makeup artist Debbie Zoller researches every character's look to make it as authentically '60s as possible, and she emphasizes Joan's personality through her makeup. "Joan knows how to get what she wants by using her skills and sexuality," Debbie says. "She reads all of the latest fashion magazines and knows what works best for her to make her presence known at Sterling Cooper. I play up her amazing eyes so she can mesmerize every man she comes in contact with."

For the behind-the-scenes scoop on the precise products used to transform actress Christina Hendricks into Joan Holloway,