Oscars 2023: the best make-up and hair predictions

We'll be updating all of our Oscar predictions throughout the season, so keep checking IndieWire for the latest news on the 2023 Oscar race. January 17, 2023, with official Oscar nominations announced on January 24, 2023. Final voting will take place between March 2 and March 7, 2023. Finally, the 95thOscars airs Sunday, March 12 and airs live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 PM PT.

Check out our early thoughts on what to expect at the 95th Academy Awards here.

The state of the race

Oscar nominees 'Elvis', 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' and 'The Whale' were the feature film winners with 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' on Feb. 11 at the 10th Annual MUAHS Guild Awards Awards (held at the Beverly Hilton).

"Elvis" won two awards: Period Makeup/Character and Period Hairstyle/Character Hairstyle; "Wakanda Forever" won the contemporary hairstyle award; and "The Whale" landed special makeup effects. "EEAAO", which was overlooked by the Academy, received the honor of contemporary makeup. Angela Bassett (Best Supporting Actress nominee for "Wakanda Forever) received the Distinguished Artisan Award.

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The other two MUAHS Oscar nominees are "The Batman" and "All Quiet on the Western Front", nominated for Best Picture and Best International Feature Film from Germany, which did not qualify for the submission of the guild.

The results indicate a two-way race between "Elvis" and The Whale," both of which offer impressive character work around their Best Actor nominees: Austin Butler as Presley in the wacky musical biopic by Baz Luhrmann and Brendan Fraser in Darren Aronofsky's intense drama about the takeover of a 600-pound online English teacher.However, "Wakanda Forever" and "All Quiet" are still very much in the running.

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In turning Butler into the King of Rock 'n' Roll, the "Elvis" team made a slight progression from the 50s to the 70s. The key was to get the right iconic pompadour: although they colored the actor's hair in the early 50s, wigs were used for the following eras, going higher and higher. Facial prostheses were applied and became more chiseled as Presley aged and his jaw hardened. Dreamy lashes and eye makeup complete the look.

The Elvis Guild victory went to makeup artist and hairstylist Shane Thomas, makeup artist Angela Conte and hairstylist Louise Coulston. The Oscar nominees are prosthetic makeup artists Mark Coulier and Jason Baird and makeup artist Aldo Signoretti.

The most innovative work, however, took place on "The Whale", which is why it has a slight edge. Fraser was transformed with the first use of fully digital prosthetic makeup for a major feature, pioneered by prosthetic makeup designer Adrien Morot. This took Fraser's weight to extremes without covering his face and obscuring his emotional range of expression.

The victory for "The Whale" guild went to Morot and make-up artists Kathy Tse and Chris Gallaher. The Oscar nominees are Morot, makeup artist Judy Chin and hairstylist Anne Marie Bradley.

“Wakanda Forever” achieved a MUAHS breakthrough for the team of Oscar-winning makeup artist Joel Harlow and hairstylist Camille Friend, who were not nominated for “Black Panther.” The hairdressing guild winners were Friend, Evelyn Feliciano, Marva Stokes and Victor Paz. The team expanded on Wakandan looks based on various African tribal cultures (especially for Bassett's Oscar-nominated Queen Ramonda – Marvel's first acting recognition). They also established the appearance of the underwater Talokans based on Mesoamerican tribes and cultures (especially their sun and moon worship).

"All Quiet" makeup artist and hairstylist Heike Merker and makeup artist Linda Eisenhamerová immersed themselves in the finer details of applying mud and blood to Paul (Felix Kammerer) and his fellow soldiers on the sodden battlefield . They helped convey their journey to becoming muddy, tired and demoralized soldiers. This involved matching wigs and lots of facial hair and keeping track of changing makeup and war hair (especially since the scenes weren't shot in order).