As the final episode of And Just Like That lands and - spoiler alert - Miranda's hair colour journey comes full circle, we only have one question. Why did Cynthia Nixon wear wigs during the series? While Donna Marie Fishchetto served as Cynthia’s personal hairstylist on the series, And Just Like That’s hair department head and wig maker Nakoya Yancey spoke exclusively to Grazia about some of the styling on the show. Here Yancey shares a few crucial behind-the-scenes details.
The award winning hair designer - who has over 28 years worth of experience and has worked on movies as timeless The Greatest Showman - is currently the hair department head and wig maker on Regina King's newest project, Shirley, a biopic of Shirley Chisolm, America's first Black congresswoman. For And Just Like That, Yancey played a pivotal role in defining new characters Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker), Seema Patel (Sarita Choudhury) and Dr. Nya Wallace (Karen Pittman) through their hair, and even built wigs for Nicole Ari Parker's character.
'Every day was always so much fun,' smiles Yancey, 'Michael Patrick King was hilarious too.' The And Just Like That creator had a penchant for dad jokes tells Yancey, 'I was once wearing frayed jeans on set and he said "What happened? Did you fall?", it was jokes like that all the time,' she laughs.
Now, onto Nixon's wigs. Miranda's hair colour transition from vivid red to silvery grey is made much of in the very first episode and Yancey confirms a few wigs and hair pieces were used during filming. 'Cynthia has no grey hair,' says Yancey, 'she might be 55, but she doesn't have grey hair naturally. Yes, as she's gotten older her hair has become less bright and vibrant, but she doesn't have the sort of grey hair that the show's creators wanted for Miranda.'
Yancey says that dying Nixon's hair wasn't an option either. 'In order to get Cynthia's hair to that shade of grey it would have been bleached twice. You'd have had to go past yellow to get a silver and that takes a lot of bleach,' she says, 'that's doable if you're working with lots of very robust hair, but Cynthia's hair is fine and hair colouring like that would have taken its toll, the process is very harsh. They brought hair pieces in and wigs in order to save her hair.' Mystery solved.
Browse: All The Beauty Lessons You've Learnt From And Just Like That
Beauty Lessons from And Just Like That
1 of 8Lipgloss is never a bad idea
As demonstrated by Carrie. SJP has been spotted applying it several times in between takes, and it's no wonder: the Dior gloss in question is comfortable, deposits great pigment and isn't sticky. You can read all about it (and shop the very same gloss) here.
2 of 8False lashes can look natural
That's right. Head of make-up, Sherri Berman Laurence, shared the exact lashes she uses on Carrie, and they look perfectly natural. The right pair adds definition to the eye area, and makes lashes look stronger and thicker.
3 of 8Dry your curls smartly
Caring for curls can be tricky business (Carrie would know). She opted to dry her curls with Aquis' luxe Hair Turban, for the way it absorbs water easily (no rough drying here) and minimises damage. Smart.
4 of 8Cream blusher delivers serious glow
Carrie makes an excellent case for cream blusher. Berman Laurence, the lead make-up artist on the show, divulged the exact product she uses to perk up Carrie's skin. Find out what it is here. The result? A luminous, just-been-kissed glow.
5 of 8Make your jewellery functional
Remember the scene when Charlotte corners Harry in the bathroom and persuades him to wear a health tracking ring?It's a smart piece of equipment indeed: its sensors can track your sleep, activity, and even your period. You can read more about it here.
6 of 8Flash periods are A Thing
Ever heard of flash periods? Perhaps not until Charlotte had one. It was Miranda who dubbed it a 'flash period': one that comes unexpectedly (even if you are in the throes of the menopause). The moral of the story? Always carry tampons.
7 of 8Get to know your eyeshadow palette
Lisa wears eyeshadow in a pretty genius way (in this shot, it's almost undetectable). Use matte, neutral or warm shades to define the crease of the eye and enhance their shape. You can find the palette Berman Laurence uses to create Lisa's daytime glamour, here.
8 of 8Want to look polished? Opt for Charlotte Tilbury
That's right. Charlotte's naturally polished, uber-groomed look is completed with Charlotte Tilbury's Cheek to Chic powder blusher. It could only be Charlotte Tilbury for Charlotte York-Goldenblatt, poster girl for pristine hair and make-up.
READ MORE: And Just Like That: All The Remarkable Beauty Lessons We've Learned So Far