Editor’s Note: All week long we’ve been delivering major treats in the form of Barbara Crampton Divas of Darkness transformations, courtesy of Los Angeles makeup artist Brett Freedman. Today we present you with the grand finale, Barbara Crampton as…. the Halloween Queen, Elvira Mistress of the Dark! (And in case you missed it, you can see part one and part two of the series here!) Take a look below for Freedman’s Diary of a Makeup Artist and Barbara’s full photo set.
Who encompasses all that we love more than Elvira? Horror and humor with a side of boobs. I’m a gay man and still think Elvira’s slinky figure is what dreams are made of. Okay, so if you’re following along this week you’ve seen how we’ve morphed damsel in distress (and causing distress!) actress Barbara Crampton into iconic Divas of Darkness. How could we NOT pay tribute to the cheeky Cassandra Peterson persona?! Makeup- wise, this one was more straightforward for me. It was actually really fun to pull beauty shots of Cassandra and zoom in to replicate the details. I have to say I have an even deeper respect for the Elvira glam.
The tilted, exaggerated eye peeking out behind a curtain of jagged bangs is just so genius. We see a lot of the anime restructuring of the eyes with white and black liner, but Elvira has been doing this since the ’80s. Every contestant on RuPaul’s drag race sports this technique nowadays. Signature scarlet lips and black to red ombre claw-like nails complete the look. Costume designer Milda Bublys molded the form-fitting black dress with curtain-like cobweb serrated sleeves. When fanned out, the sleeves look like the world’s most beautiful sheer catacombs. Oh, and of course a slit up-to-there, leading the eye to a bejeweled dagger that Milda custom made.
Photographer Lesley Bohm shot Barbara on both a super bold red background and a gothic castle backdrop. She added hard, bright lighting that would turn the Mona Lisa into an eye-popping cartoon. Honestly, it was tough to pick which setting was more striking. There really is something about a primary color background. It feels so graphic and ’80s. Elvira was our last Diva of Darkness for the day. Energetically you’d figure Barbara would be a little low watt after a long day of shooting. Not the case! After spending the day in The Bride and Wednesday’s mostly stoic bodies, it was fun to see Barbara turn on Elvira’s zippy winky playfulness. I was actually shocked at how much Barbara looked like Elvira and how her over-the-top posing really brought it all to life. Check the BTS video to glimpse all the on-set shenanigans and the genius that is Barbara Crampton. It’s Halloween, and Barbara definitely brought the holiday ham!
Barbara Crampton shot at Loft 1923 on August 21, 2021
Photographer: Lesley Bohm @LesleyBohmPhoto
Makeup/Hair: Brett Freedman @BrettGlam
Costume Designer: Milda Bublys @MildaMade
Be sure to follow @FANGORIA on social media platforms to check out behind-the-scenes videos, makeup timelapse and more from the Divas of Darkness shoot.
