By Michele Shapiro

At 47, actress Elizabeth Perkins has transitioned beautifully from big-screen ingénue in hits such as 1988's Big and 1991's He Said, She Said to potty-mouthed PTA mom Celia Hodes in Weeds. But with the advent of high-definition television (or HDTV) in the ‘80s and its increasing popularity today, Perkins and the actors who share the small screen with her are subject to a new kind of scrutiny. And, quite frankly, it frightens her.

"I have an HDTV at home. It's a whole new thing and it's all happening so fast, so I don't think the industry has quite caught up with what that means," she has said. "It shows almost more than the naked eye can see. It's like a magnifying mirror. I'm a little scared about the whole thing."

And with good reason. Previously reserved for travel shows and sports programs, high def, which enhances both picture and sound quality on a screen far larger than the average 19-inch set, has begun crossing over to mainstream television—from news broadcasts and soap operas to some of your primetime favorites, such as CSI.

Fortunately, most of these shows employ experienced makeup artists who, through trial-and-error, have found ways to showcase their subjects' natural beauty while also managing to camouflage their flaws. A good thing, since the broadcast industry is moving toward a conversion of our current system to digital and high def, which presumably will be complete sometime in this decade.

GET SMART
"The ‘smarter' the electronics get, the smarter the makeup artist has to get," says Melanie Elaine Levitt, department head in charge of the makeup for CSI, which has been broadcasting in HD since its premiere in 2000. "If an actress or actor has good skin, you can use a lighter product. If not, you need to adjust for that." Of course, the trick for Levitt, who's worked in TV for 30 years, is to make that adjustment in a way that's inconspicuous to viewers. "Sometimes I have to use a thicker base, or a lot of highlight to hide blemishes. Sometimes I use color to change a look. But, she admits, "with HD you can't get away with as much as you did before."

To make things even trickier, the lighting used on the CSI set differs from scene to scene, depending on whether it's being shot in a studio or on location. "Our show uses a lot of blue light," Levitt explains. "It cancels any red or red-orange lipstick and gives a hard appearance to the skin." To combat that harshness, she uses soft brown or mauve lip color and a bit more pink in the base. "We also use yellow light in other places. I use more blush and color on the lips in those scenes," she explains.

While CSI and its gritty spinoff series, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY, tend to downplay glamour, soaps like The Young & the Restless are all about looking gorgeous, rested and, well, flawless. Patti Denney, key makeup artist for Y&R, who's been with the show for 27 years, admits that many of the soap's stars initially were nervous when CBS began broadcasting the show in HD around five years ago. After all, the advanced technology potentially brings every line, wrinkle, scar and blemish into focus. "I think it concerned the women on show for a while," she recalls.

One of those women, Michelle Stafford, who plays Phyllis on the long-running soap, agrees. "I thought, This is the end for us women. That glowy lighting is gone," she recalls. "But there's something about the colors on your face—they just pop [in HD]. I honestly think we look better."

LIGHTENING UP
While lighting differs depending on the show, all of the artists interviewed for this story agree on one thing: Applying makeup for HD requires a lighter touch than in the past. "You want to apply makeup as if you're painting with watercolors as opposed to oil paints," says Lisa Revellese Mirante, a celebrity makeup artist who worked with Leslie Stahl on one of the first shows that CBS shot in high def, 48 Hours. In the past, she says, TV makeup bordered on theatrical because the focus was on fixing, repairing and covering up. She says it's become the makeup artist's role to re-educate talent about what will look good in HD. "News people in particular are used to being so made up, they feel naked with the lighter makeup," she says. "If there's a strong dark lip, that's all you see. That's not what any television show wants."

Surprisingly, Revellese-Morante hasn't traded in most of her go-to products. "You can still use traditional makeup if it's applied properly. The industry is pushing airbrushed foundation for high def, but I think it can look too heavy. It's really more a matter of working as a team with your lighting people, and taking the time to know how the set is lit."

Like Revellese-Morante, Denney has made only minor adjustments to her former application methods. "The foundation is a bit more sheer. I use less lip liner and blend the eyeshadow carefully," she says. Some over-the-counter products that she has found to help create a flawless look include Laura Mercier Foundation Primer and liquid foundation, such as Max Factor Lasting Performance, rather than cream. "It gives a sheer finish," she says. Revellese-Mirante swears by Lancome Tint Idole Ultra, which reflects light and has an added bonus: "It lasts 14 hours," she says. Shine is also a concern, so while Revellese-Mirante has cut down on powder use, opting instead for a "natural glow," Denney relies on blotting papers or Lancome Dual-Finish Powder to keep oily skin at bay.

Although one would think HD would be tougher on more mature actresses, CSI's Levitt says that's not always the case. "I work on some of the most beautiful 40- to 50-year-old women who take really good care of their skin, and I've worked on some 20- to 30-year-olds who party too much and think, as we all do, ‘It can't happen to me.'"

Which is why smart small-screen stars, like Dexter's Julie Benz, are making a conscious effort to take care of their skin. Benz believes in beautifying herself from the inside out. "I eat better. I really watch what I eat because I think what you ingest affects your skin and how you look," she has said.

As for hiding the signs of aging, Y&R's Stafford believes a little self-acceptance goes a long way. "You get older and you get lines. I don't know how you're going to hide them. Some gals out here [in Los Angeles, where the series is taped] who've had a lot of surgery look like they're 40-year-olds who've had surgery."

And those who opt to go under the knife should beware: HD may bring out the worst in them. "Botox, lifts, nips and tucks are all going to show," says Revellese-Mirante. "If you watch the lids of someone who's had an eyejob in HD, you can see the lines."

Like computers, Ipods or any other technologies, HD takes some getting used to, both for on-air talent and those hired to enhance their beauty. But the industry is learning to embrace change rather than fight it. "If you're stuck with the old mentality of what worked," says Revellese-Mirante, "you'll be in trouble."