The Blue Eyeshadow Effect: The Metamorphosis of The Madwoman

Contributed to Issue 1 of The Grey in print, by writer Zeinab Fakih

In technicolour, Elaine Parks’ eyeshadow is vibrant against her bare skin and barren

background of browns. Her red nails and clothes draw the eye, hypnotising the viewer with her

soft narrations.

The mad woman is the easiest to spot in film and television. She is the standout, the

complicated, and the boldest in her character and makeup. Frequently beginning her film with a

clean slate, her madness is exemplified by the addition of bolder, bewitching looks, until she is

unrecognisable.

These films bring a nuance to these women, allowing them to be more than “crazy.” However,

the simplicity of blue eyeshadow, signals to the watcher that our nuanced woman is reaching

her point of no return. Season two of Euphoria had its fair share of issues when developing the

character of Cassie. However, to the costume department's credit, they were able to tell the

story of her spiral through intricate looks. Namely, as she struck the scene in blue eyeshadow.

But what’s so special about blue eyeshadow, or blue in general, in moments of madness?

Unlike a smokey eye, which signals danger, or a softer eye, which is all about innocence, blue

eyeshadow is all about a freeness. So it’s no wonder that many of the characters who wear this

look are on the run and begin the film entrapped.

Elaine Parks is running away from a man who, we find out, had been abusive to her. Maxine is

running to get out of her small town and is driven to murder to get what she wants. Cassie is

running from her insecurities surrounding men due to, like Elaine, a toxic relationship.

While this can apply to many other characters in film (i.e. Tonya Harding trapped by her mother

and slowly losing her mind under pressure, Maddie from Euphoria being trapped in an abusive

relationship, etc) we will be focusing on Elaine, Maxine, and Cassie.

All trapped, the blue eyeshadow represents a freedom they do not possess. Soon enough,

these eyes that signal freedom and youth are tainted with blood (or, in Cassie’s case, vomit) as

they come to realise that this freedom is not all it appears to be.

We see these women develop obsessive tendencies and hold an anger in them that is

emphasised by their bold looks yet kept hidden through most of their films/series by this angelic

shade. They are, to put it bluntly, the crazy women of their respective films. Often, nuances are

ignored and that is all they become. However, we must not forgo the eyeshadow colour. The

naivety and innocence it represents even if these women do possess murderous and

manipulative qualities.

Often the most interesting characters, they become faces for hysteria and limerence. T-shirts

are put out of Maxine’s “I’m a star” cry, Elaine’s “love me” plea, and Cassie’s crying surrounded

by a bed of flowers.

As Amy Houghton states in her mxogyny article on Vogue Portugal’s 2020 issue, fashion has a

problem fetishizing mental illness.

These three are it-girls of their respective worlds and their mental breaks are their respective

forms of currency. While this can be a necessary change—no longer are the girls forced to be

beautiful as they break, allowing them to show the “ugly” and uncomfortable reality of their

hysterias—what about the harms that follow?

There is an enticement when it comes to the madwoman. She is meant to allure and seduce the

viewer into her web. Tees litter the walls of stores that read “delusional” and “hysterical,”

allowing us to cosplay as her. Meshing fashing with madness is often rooted in an apathy

towards women who suffer from mental illness. Think: she’s pretty when she cries.

While these women can be relatable to their viewers who share in their mindsets and

experiences, the media's further portrayal of them makes the struggling versions of these

characters aspirational to the viewer. When Cassie was at her lowest, she developed an almost

compulsive and clearly obsessive routine of getting ready. Her eyes were wide and determined,

her skin red with the pain of becoming the ultimate fantasy. Arguably, this is when her shift into

madness piqued and it’s also a moment of hers that viewers desired to emulate. Her spiral

became aspirational and her makeup look, recreated.

The images of these spiralling women trending trivialises their pain to be nothing more than a

beautiful moment. While these are fictional characters, they represent the tragedy of dismissal

and fear of entrapment. Makeup artists and costume designers are balancing their fears and

desires with colours that surround lost innocence. The blue eyeshadow effect is about loss and

their search for approval, hidden under the beauty of our mad women.