How Emma Stone Transforms Into Sally Bowles for 'Cabaret'

At 5 o'clock on a regular Monday afternoon, I did something theater geeks and Broadway diehards everywhere would kill to do: I took the stage of Cabaret before Emma Stone. The Oscar-nominee has been playing the role of Sally Bowles since mid-November, taking over for Michelle Williams, and killing it with eight performances a week.

Before Stone or her castmates arrived for the performance, I went backstage at Studio 54 to get the Sally Bowles treatment—which is even more complicated than it seems. The hair and makeup magicians behind Sally's look, respectively Robbie Amodeo and Carrie Rohm, went to work immediately, explaining that once their Sally is in the chair, it takes about an hour for the transformation to be complete.

But, the duo explains, once the actress gets used to the role and the beauty routine that goes with it, she basically takes care of her own hair and makeup herself. Which, after a full 60 minutes of being primped and painted, I found very impressive. Amodeo says Stone now applies her own makeup before the show to save time and allow her to get to the theater at a more reasonable hour—giving him the time to apply the full body paint that Alan Cumming's part calls for. (Full body paint!)

As he starts to prep my face, Amodeo also reveals that Sally's makeup look changes slightly depending on which actress plays her. With Stone, the artist took a slightly sweeter approach, giving her a softer look compared to her predecessor's. Where Michelle Williams' brows featured a dramatic arch, he took Stone's in a less severe, more youthful direction. But with both actresses, the eyebrows needed to be thinned out to fit with the time—and so he tackled mine. While today's brow trend might be full Cara Delevingne bushy, the Cabaret-era craze was Clara Bow skinny. Amodeo applied concealer to my thick brows, cutting nearly half their hard-earned girth from the bottom.

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Hellin Kay

Using all M.A.C products, Amodeo applied foundation and highlighter to my face, evening out my skin tone and giving me a definitively paler look. But he wasn't shy with the rouge. Like Emma Stone's Sally, I had cream blush blended into the apples of my cheeks, which was topped by a powder blush, giving me an almost doll-like look. Then came the lashes. "Have you ever worn bottom lashes?" Amodeo asked. Nooooo. "You'll get used to them," he assured me as he glued long, spidery, faux eyelashes to my bottom lid.

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Hellin Kay

Finally, my lips were carefully painted a deep purpley red with a combination of two M.A.C. lipsticks and a lipliner. Amodeo meticulously lined the edges of my mouth, adding definition to my now sultry pucker. Meanwhile, as Amodeo was transforming my face, Rohm was tackling my hair. "Does your hair hold a curl?" she asked me, examining my locks. "Never," I answered. "For my senior prom I asked for 'Jennifer Aniston beach waves and the stylist laughed at me. I ended up with sad strings." "Let's see what we can do," Rohm said, curling iron and Bumble and bumble hairspray in hand.

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Hellin Kay

Rohm combed out my hair, cleaning up my side part and sectioning off pieces which she then attacked with a curling iron. As she clipped back each perfect curl, the hairstylist explained that—surprise!—Emma Stone's perfectly coiffed onstage 'do is in fact a wig. "With eight performances a week, it would destroy her hair to use a curling iron before each one," she explained. "So she wears a wig that looks like her own hair." And even up close, it looks crazy real with the hairline, part, and hair appearing completely natural.

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Hellin Kay

"She isn't wearing a wig in any of the posters," Rohm revealed. "But for the shows most of the performers wear wigs—it also saves time." After spraying my hair down and letting it sit, clipped into strategic curves for 20 minutes, Rohm released the curls (I had curls!), combing them through. She then used bobby pins to secure the strands near my face, to accentuate the waves and keep my Sally makeup look in full view.

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Hellin Kay

 When I was deemed done, the three of us surveyed my final look: the makeup was intense—definitely stage makeup—but there were elements that I was already planning to recreate in my regular, Sally sans Bowles life. The hair, obviously, was a win for me (take that Edward, you prom-dream-squasher), but I was also into the shadow, the gorgeous lip color, and the lashes. No longer feeling heavy, my eyes seemed to bat on their own free will.

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Hellin Kay

I had worn thigh-highs and an all-black getup to mimic Miss Bowles, but before being ushered into the front of the theater I was handed an ornate vintage robe, embroidered, fringed, and completely magnificent. I slipped into that sucker and felt great. Sure, I was no Emma Stone, lithe, stunning seductress that she is, but when my team led me to the stage and I surveyed the empty seats of Studio 54, which would soon be packed for the evening's performance, I was thrilled. I almost wanted to break into "Life is Cabaret, old chum, come to the Cabaret"...but I restrained myself.

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Hellin Kay

After I waltzed (or cabareted?) around on stage a bit, I was given a 10-minute warning—the cast would be arriving soon for the show. Horrified at the thought of coming Sally Bowles face to Sally Bowles face with the lovely Emma Stone, I took a final bow and skedaddled back to the ELLE.com offices to show the team my new look. Emma might wash her face before exiting the theater, but I was leaving this stuff on. Emma Stone stars as Sally Bowles until February 15, when Sienna Miller takes over the role. If you haven't seen "Cabaret" yet, do it...or, if you simply want to add a little Sally Bowles to your beauty routine, here's how to recreate the look below:

For Hair:

Step 1: Curl 1-inch sections of hair around a ¾ inch curling wand.
Step 2: Comb the wave pattern into the hair and secure with duckbill clips.
Step 3: Spray hair all over (we used Bumble and bumble spray demode hairspray). Let sit in clips for 20 minutes.
Step 4: Remove clips. Brush through with fingers to create a loose wave.
Step 5: Use bobby pins to secure the bangs out of the face. Spray once more with hairspray. Done!

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Hellin Kay

For Makeup:

Products used:M.A.C Lightscapade Shimmeron cheekbones, M.A.C NC15/NW20 concealer pencil on brows, M.A.C Petrol blue eyeliner, M.A.Cspiked brow pencil, M.A.C eyeshadows in Bamboo, Twinks, Sketch, and Vapour, M.A.C False Lashes mascara, Alcone false eyelashes for top and bottom, M.A.C Pink Shock cream blush, Peony Petal blush,Vino lip pencil,Media and Ruby Woo lipsticks.

Step 1:  Apply luminous shimmer with Lightscapade to the cheekbone.
Step 2: Apply signature top and bottom- false eyelashes with a coat of mascara on top.
Step 3: Brush diffused eye shadows onto lid, lining the eyes.
Step 4: Rub pink cream blush onto the apples of cheeks and blend outward.
Step 5: Blend Media and Ruby Woo lipsticks for Sally's Act II lip color.

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Hellin Kay

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