How ‘Tell Me Lies’ Makeup Designer Jenny Lin Created a Y2K Beauty Time Capsule
After three seasons, February 17 marks the official end date for the Hulu drama Tell me lies. The explosive series finale doesn’t just resolve plot points: It seals a college time capsule from the year 2000 that feels so accurate it’s easy to forget the series premiered in 2022.
Based on Carola Lovering’s 2018 novel, Tell me lies follows a group of college friends and focuses on the toxic relationship between sophomore Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and senior Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White). The story takes place in two separate timelines with two distinct, memorable aesthetics: one set between 2007 and 2008 at Baird College, a fictional campus in upstate New York, and the other in 2015, when the group reunites as adults for a wedding.
Since its premiere, Tell me lies contributed to the recent resurgence of Y2K beauty trends, inspiring online fans to dig out their smudged eye pencils and frosted lip glosses. But lead makeup artist Jenny Lin didn’t just want to recreate an iconic beauty era: she also used it as a storytelling tool. “Overall, the beauty language of the season is about makeup as emotional armor, identity, and the visual tension between control and the emotional spiral,” says Lin. Charm. “I’m really proud of what we did.”
“The show is so amazing from a makeup standpoint and that time period is so nostalgic for me,” Lin continues, noting that she worked closely with creator and showrunner Megan Oppenheimer to incorporate products they both used “to death” during their first years of college. “It’s part of the storytelling element and world-building. I’m so happy that people are noticing the subtleties that we all incorporated in the hair, makeup, costumes and props that are lying around.”
As the title suggests, Tell me lies is not a healthy story. As Lucy, Stephen and their friends intertwine in each other’s lives, the series explores themes of narcissism, emotional abuse, blackmail and toxic codependency. Friendships and couples form only to implode, and eight years of secrets, lies, and betrayals come to a head in the series finale.
Although (fortunately) not all viewers can relate to the specific trauma that the Tell me lies college graduates, the show exudes a kind of bittersweet nostalgia that’s hard to replicate. Specifically? How small and important the world can seem at 19 when you’re putting on makeup for a frat party and getting upset over the rumors sweeping across your campus like wildfire.
