If you’ve ever watched your screen in awe of the beautiful people who whisk you from futuristic utopias to Regency-era ballrooms, you have their on-set hair and makeup artists to thank. In Behind the Beauty, we take a peek inside the glam trailer with the experts who track each mascara-stained tear and carefully placed curl for continuity, wake up at 3 in the morning for early call times, and shape your favorite films and shows into the moments that define culture. Beauty is its own character, and here, we give it the stage.
The witchy tale of Practical Magic has haunted us (in a good way) since 1998. Though it was initially sluggish at the box office—as many cult favorites are—Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman led what would later become a beloved rom-com drama about an East Coast family of female witches plagued by a curse that kills any man who dares to love them. The fantasy film has been coloring the TV screens of millennial and Gen Z households with foliage-splashed scenes for dozens of Octobers, but in 2026, Practical Magic 2 will cast a new spell on a younger generation. Prepare to see even more wavy-hair TikTok tutorials and whimsigoth makeup trends inspired by your favorite coven.
“Younger people are still huge fans of Practical Magic, the original, even though they weren’t even born when it was released,” the film’s makeup designer, Graham Johnston, tells me over Zoom. As a 2000 baby who, too, fell in love with the Stevie Nicks–speckled soundtrack and autumnal beauty of this movie several years after its release, I tell him he’s right on the money.
Fast-forward to August 2026—nearly 30 years after the original’s debut—when I attended an early screening of the hotly anticipated sequel. It was a particularly blistering afternoon, and though the remnants of a steamy subway commute still clung to my skin, nothing could keep goosebumps from crawling up my arms as the first notes of Alan Silvestri’s “Amas Veritas” drizzled over the opening credits. I won’t spoil the plot for you, but I can tell you two things: The magic is back and better than ever, and the makeup and hair looks are just as covetable as they were in ’98. Keep reading for the full beauty breakdown on your favorite family of witches, straight from Johnston, hair designer Claire Pritchard, and the cast’s personal artists.
Creative Direction
Following a film as dimensional and beloved as Practical Magic wasn’t just a challenge for the sequel’s director, Susanne Bier, or Kidman and Bullock, who doubled as producers this time around. It was also a sizeable feat for the hair and makeup departments. Kidman’s vivid red hair—a physical manifestation of her fiery and flirtatious character, Gillian (Gilly) Owens—and Bullock’s brunette mane and minimalist eyes (the ever-sensible Sally Owens) have inspired fans to save grainy film stills to their fall beauty Pinterest boards for years. Pritchard and Johnston, plus their team of talented colleagues, had the difficult task of appealing to nostalgia while also bringing these witches into the modern day.
“It was important that it related to a modern audience with the same magic but with a more contemporary look,” says Johnston. From mood boards between actors and artists to test runs in the beauty trailer that Johnston and Pritchard split (there was just a thin corridor separating their workstations), the experience was wholly collaborative. Pritchard describes the beauty direction’s overall theme as whimsical and romantic with a “hint of magic.” It’s what we all loved about the first film, she points out. Pritchard pauses for a moment, a small smile spreading across her face. “I think there’s a little witch in all of us, really,” she adds.
The department heads were tasked with steering things towards the future (this is the sequel, after all), and the lead stars’ personal glam teams worked in tandem to create intentional references to Bullock’s and Kidman’s characters. “Honoring the original film was nonnegotiable,” Kidman’s on-set makeup artist Angela Levin tells Who What Wear. Levin, alongside hairstylist Kim Santantonio, worked exclusively with Kidman, and Bullock’s personal team consisted of makeup artist Whitney James and hairstylist Janine Thompson.
Levin shares that her creative process, much like Johnston’s and Pritchard’s, started with research and storytelling. “I began by looking at modern, pure, stunning witches—women whose strength, magic, and grace feel entirely contemporary and authentic,” she explains. Immediately, images of Florence Welch and Nicks, both of whom decorate the sequel’s soundtrack, come to mind. From there, it’s a menagerie of face charts and mood boards. “I love creating makeup charts by hand; it’s where I get to play, experiment, and capture what feels intuitively right so I have [a] visual and emotional anchor,” Levin adds. Even the smallest of touches, such as new ink with little screen time, are intentional. (Kidman bears two new tattoos on her inner arm in this film, per Levin, as a nod to her “romantic, unconventional soul,” though I have a theory about the first film’s rose garden.)
There was no stone left unturned in the hair-and-makeup trailer. Keep reading to see which beauty moments became scene-stealers in Practical Magic 2, from autumnal hair looks to 2026-coded blush.
The Practical Magic 2 Beauty Breakdown
Owens Red
One of the most vital beauty moments from the original film is Gillian’s copper hair, and the intentionality of this hue—and what it means for the characters who have it—is more prevalent than ever in the sequel. “You want to immediately recognize that lovely, rich auburn hair,” Pritchard says with a knowing smile. While Sally’s daughter, Kylie (played by Joey King), bears a similar hue to her aunt Gilly in the first film, we see a more mature Gillian with strawberry blonde hair today. “It had to complement her skin tone perfectly while capturing that magical Owens family lineage,” Santantonio explains. “We added lots of highlights to the wig, so it sparkled and came alive.”
While it was also important to customize Kylie’s red hue for her complexion, an important piece of movie magic was infused into her final shade. Being slightly darker than ’98 Gillian’s, Kylie’s color nods to the strong familial magic that runs through the family’s veins—Sally’s own daughter having a hair color halfway between her inky brown and her sister’s bright red. “It took a day and a half to get Joey’s hair color exactly right,” Pritchard recalls, as King came into the trailer as a medium brunette. “She was really thrilled with it,” the head hair designer adds, which is probably why King has kept the fiery hue for the ongoing press run. “She’s taken away the concoction and gets her hairdresser to match the color now.”
Legacy Likeness
There’s an obvious tie between Sally’s, Gilly’s, Kylie’s, and Antonia’s (Sally’s other daughter played by Game of Thrones alum Maisie Williams) hair colors, but what may not have been noticeable to fans beforehand was the connection between this and the aunts, Jet and Franny. They, too, demonstrate the brunette-and-redhead pairing that runs in the Owens family. “Softening Gillian’s hair from that wild strawberry red into a lighter, softer, almost dusty rose gold mirrors her stepping into the matriarchal tier,” Santantonio explains. “She’s no longer the rebellious, jet-setting younger sister. She has settled into the role alongside her sister, held by Jet and Franny.” Our original Owens girls are officially the aunts.
We see the butterfly effect of other beauty cues from the OG Owens in the next generation as well, with Kylie’s often-flushed lips modeled after Gillian’s flirty pink lipstick. “We wanted a lip that looked alive and completely kissable, so I reached for pink-based, translucent lip colors packed with hydration,” Levin says about Kidman’s rosy pout. Johnston recalls it being an “old-fashioned lipstick” from Dior. A similar, more Gen Z approach was taken when designing Kylie’s look. “She’s got a boyfriend. She’s slightly flirtatious, a bit more of a modern girl about town,” Johnston says of her flushed, natural makeup look. That sounds like another redheaded sister we know and love.
On the flip side, Sally’s look stays consistent: minimal makeup, glowing skin, and unfussy waves falling in rich brown ripples. We meet her in 2026 as a librarian, and Antonia, a nurse at the local hospital, has her mother’s disposition in both practicality and looks. “Maisie came to me with long pink hair,” Pritchard recalls of her early trailer days when she had little time to do a proper dye job. I bet you’d never realize Williams was wearing a Bullock-brunette wig. With their no-makeup minimalism and sensible lifestyles, it’s not hard to see that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Whimsical Waves
Bullock’s romantic waves have cast a spell on beauty lovers since the ’90s, and they are better than ever in the sequel. Pritchard confirms that Sally’s cascading locks—extremely long, thick, and full of texture—were inspired by her witchy ancestor Maria Owens, who was shown burning at the stake in the first film. “It was an intentional choice,” says Pritchard, citing a big portrait of Maria that was in the hallway of the home. “It’s that family resemblance that comes through the generations and now to the daughters. Then you wonder how long before the next film, and then it’ll be their daughters.”
While Kidman’s hair was often blown straight in the first film, her bangs and auburn tresses were also fashioned into whimsical waves for the sequel. “Bringing Gillian’s signature hair into the modern era for Practical Magic 2 meant honoring the nostalgic, free-spirited energy of the ’98 classic while evolving the look so it felt elevated, fresh, and grounded for the present day,” Santantonio explains. This meant swapping the wispy fringe for curtain bangs and cutting “lots of layers” at Kidman’s request. To create these romantic bends, the hairstylist used a 1.5-inch curling iron to make small ringlets before pulling out the curls with a flat iron. “I really concentrated on straightening the ends,” she explains. This technique creates the most natural-looking waves. To get things camera ready, she relied on a smattering of products—R+Co’s Chainmail Thermal Protection Styling Spray, Oribe’s Dry Texturizing Spray, and Olaplex’s Bonding Oil, to name a few.
Candlelit Blush
While I was often distracted by the witches’ poreless complexions, I couldn’t help but fall into a blush-induced trance when I saw a trend of warm, glowy flushes throughout this film. “We used a lot of cream blush on everyone and then a very little bit of powder,” says Johnston. He credits Bobbi Brown’s cream concoction and Tom Ford’s powder as his go-tos on the Practical Magic set. “I like cream blush because it gives much more of a translucence, and that was the whole thing with the makeup … to create that slightly magical feel,” he says. He stuck to a rose color palette to create a hearth-warmed flush, and Kidman’s makeup artist followed suit.
“I aimed for a fresh, sexy rose glow, and the Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Blush Stick in Pink was pure perfection,” says Levin. “It delivers a juicy, luminous flush that looks like natural warmth rather than makeup.” This simple step takes Sally and Gilly into the 21st century, pivoting from the matte formulas of the ’90s and incorporating a dewy flush into nearly every look.
Magic Touches
There are things that tie each of the witches together, but their personal beauty choices are what make them fan favorites. Case in point: Sally’s soft, smoky eye makeup (what I’m coining as “foggy eyes”) that accentuates her brown orbs in a wearable, daytime way. “It’s quite a classic look that works particularly for brunettes,” Johnston muses. If you want to create a similar look at home, he recommends the Armani Beauty Eye Tint for buildable color and an easy-to-blend formula. “It’s quite a classic look, and I think that’s the whole thing with the Sally character. She’s quite a classic beauty,” he says.
Separating Gillian is her “glam piece” makeup, as Johnston calls it. While Kidman donned black waterlines and icy matte eye shadow in certain scenes of the first film, Levin channeled the witch’s love of glam into something more wearable in 2026. “The eye look was built around Lisa Eldridge’s Betty Palette. I fell in love with using just the pink and lilac shades on Nicole to give her that delicate, magical sparkle,” she explains. “My approach was to evolve her look naturally, keeping that familiar bohemian warmth and charm but letting it reflect a woman who has lived—someone who took aunt Jet’s advice to heart and truly lived ‘a little, a lot.’”
Intentional hairstyles were another magical touch for the family of witches. “[Aunt Franny] was much more of a ‘magical’ kind of witch, which is why we did the dramatic streaks of white in her wig,” Pritchard states. Styling played a key role too. The sisters were known to wear braids in scenes where they’d need extra protection. “In folk witchcraft and traditional practical magic, loose hair is meant to receive energy and keep you open to the elements, whereas tied or braided hair binds and protects your energy,” Santantonio explains. When you see a braid, pay attention.
If there’s anything I’ve gleaned from my conversations with the hair-and-makeup team on this whimsical film, it’s that the real magic happens behind the scenes and, sometimes, beyond the set. “We had the occasional Friday-night margaritas,” Pritchard tells me with a mischievous grin, like a child admitting to stealing candy from the cupboard. I goad her for more, and she tells me that beyond the trailers, the actors, director, and beauty team would congregate over midnight margaritas. Bier even got a haircut at the same time with “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson playing over the loudspeaker. “We get the music on and just create that atmosphere,” she laughs.
It is this comfort and rapport between actors and artists that allowed the glamour to shine as it does—never distracting from the plot but always adding that touch of magic. “I always think we’re kind of the finishing piece,” says Johnston. “The costume’s done, that character’s created, and we finish the talk.”
Witness the sorcery yourself when Practical Magic 2 comes to theaters on September 11. Shop the hair-and-makeup team’s go-to products from set below.
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