HE TELEVISION WORLD has a habit of underestimating Disney’s ABC TV network. Thirty years ago, ABC was dubbed Little Rock, and tended to stay behind CBS and NBC. Then one day, a chap called Charlie took three female cops away from their hazardous assignments, and ABC began shooting up in the ratings.
   No one expected Aaron Spelling’s Charlie’s Angels to succeed as greatly, just as no one expected Desperate Housewives to be come the hit of 2004 on the same network. Sex and the Suburbs, some called it, in reference to HBO’s final-season Sex and the City.
   However, when the stars make a Newsweek cover, there must be something to it. Now that Desperate Housewives has become a hit in nearly every country in which it has been shown, the experts are pointing to the way the major characters cover a spectrum. Or the clever writing. With one Golden Globe win (for Teri Hatcher) and 15 Emmy nominations recently announced, ABC did something very, very right. The comparison to Sex and the City is not unjustified, for each of the main characters—played by Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan—have a distinctive look. As do the men in their lives.
   Just prior to starting the filming of the second season, Lucire spoke to three of the make-up team on Desperate Housewives on how the looks were achieved—and got a few hints on what was coming up in the second year of the series.
   John Elliott leads the make-up on Desperate Housewives, with a very strong reputation in film. Elliott is an Oscar winner for his work on The Time Machine; a glance at his résumé shows that he is a make-up artist who is sensitive to the demands of a director. Since his college days, Elliott has had a fascination with make-up. ‘I walked by a room full of girls and I said, “What class is this?” They said, “Make-up.” I ended up taking the class, I ended up marrying one of the girls, and I decided it was pretty easy for me so I would pursue it.’
   After the class, Elliott got a job at Universal doing the tours, which included the make-up department. ‘I used to go down to the make-up department in the mornings and watch. They finally got sick of me down there and so I started calling the television networks. I got a job at ABC doing The Lawrence Welk Show.’
   As his role grew, he learned of a make-up course. Elliott became one of ten apprentices chosen to be trained in make-up by the Producers’ Association in a two-year programme.
   ‘I went three nights a week for two years. It was the best training ever. I thought I knew how to do make-up before I got there. I realized I didn’t.
   ‘This is the first TV show I have ever done,’ said Elliott. ‘I’ve always done features, and I’ve always been wary of television.’ But Housewives proved to be more than he expected. ‘This was such a pleasure last year, I may never do another show. I’ll stay on this as long as they’ll have me.
   ‘The pace’ is what sets apart television from film. ‘They want the quality of the feature with the pace of the television show, so it makes it a little interesting.
   ‘I’m really pleased with the way everything’s happening,’ he told Lucire. Elliott pointed to the high production values, but most importantly, ‘it’s probably one of the nicest crews I’ve ever had to work with. The cast is terrific. There are really no sour apples: it’s really nice.’
   He admitted that there was no expectation of Housewives being a hit. ‘Oh, God, no,’ he laughed. ‘I figured it would just fill in a few weeks of work, then back into the movies.’
   That work sees Elliott head the department and personally work on Hatcher. Occasionally, he will work on Sheridan and Huffman and some guest stars, though they are usually assigned to members of his team: Stacy Halax will work on Cross, Sherilyn Stetz on Huffman and Sheridan, and Gina Rylander on Longoria. Husbands’ roles and guests are divided fairly evenly among the team.
   ‘Teri’s a very pretty girl. You put a little bit of make-up on her and she looks just like a fashion model. So it’s very hard. I try to play her down. I try to make her less pretty than she actually is. She photographs really well.
   ‘I run her out there with almost no make-up. I just do some highlighting and a very little bit of eye make-up and a little on lips and I send her out.’
   Elliott gets to decide the looks for each of the characters. ‘The producers, the directors, and the actors all have a say. Mine is the last,’ he joked. Despite this, ‘When you send them out there, they always say, “Yeah, that’s what we were thinking.”’
   Product quality has helped his work. ‘It’s gotten to be that most of the products out there are usually pretty good. I always call and ask them what they like. And if it’s something I just don’t hate, then I’ll use it.
   ‘My theory is: it’s not the product, it’s the person that’s applying it. You can apply just about any of these products to look good, if you know what you’re doing.’
   However, he does have his favourites.

Read the full four-page story, including the behind-the-scenes happenings on the Desperate Housewives set, and what it’s like first-hand to work with Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria, in the August 2005 issue of Lucire, on sale August 8. To make sure you don’t miss out, click on the image at right to subscribe or order a single copy. (Click 'Yes' if pop-up boxes appear—you're being switched to our secure server and it is completely safe.)

Acknowledgements to Pamela Carpio and Joanna Black of Blink New York.

‘Teri’s a very pretty girl. You put a little bit of make-up on her and she looks just like a fashion model. So it’s very hard. I try to play her down. I try to make her less pretty than she actually is. She photographs really well’

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: Eva Longoria’s popularity has seen her become a L’Oréal Paris “face” (photograph copyright L’Oréal Paris and used with permission). ABOVE, FROM TOP: Publicity photograph from Desperate Housewives (courtesy TV2). Eva Longoria reads to children with cancer for Padres contra el Cancer. Nicollette Sheridan and Iraqi rescue dog Ratchet at the 19th Genesis Awards.