Every time I go on television, I am amazed by how much makeup you can spackle on and still look natural on the screen. This only makes Tammy Faye Baker's achievement all the more amazing to me.
Home | Atlantic FAQ | Masthead | Site Guide | Subscribe | Subscriber Help
Atlantic Store | Educational Program | Jobs/Internships | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Feedback | Advertise
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.






Most TV make up tends to be of some natural human coloration, or at least some color found in the wild somewhere. Tammy didn't limit herself so.
Makeup is of limited use when appearing on HDTV, since the layers of spackel look kind of like they do in real life. For a discussion of relevant issues see here. (Seems to be an issue with porn stars).
MadDoug,
Why? Who is looking at faces?
Check out this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGW38Zy4bJo
Its also amazing how flat, dull furniture and background looks fine on TV too. Basically you lose any sense of real texture.
It adds meaning to "superficial".
It's one thing to put on layers of naturally-toned makeup in an effort to cut the glare of studio lights.
It's quite another, as Ms. Baker's case, to look like Bozo the Clown fleeing from a boiler explosion at a Sherwin Williams.
A Porn Star,
razorburn, implant scars and stretch marks...
Funny you should mention Bozo the Clown, anony-mouse. I still remember pretty much word for word two lines from a London Spectator article about Tammy Faye back when she was front-page news: that she was "not so much made up, as iced, like a cake", and that, since she needed to be able to cry profusely without her makeup running, she wore "waterprooof clown makeup from a circus-supply catalogue".