Inventing Anna might center around the life and crimes of the infamous Anna Delvey (Julia Garner), but if you ask social media, the real star is a character who only appears in a handful of scenes. But she leaves behind an unforgettable — and glittery — impression.
Fans of the Shondaland series were quick to praise the shimmering eye makeup worn by the guard (Miche Braden) who talks with journalist Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky) when she visits Anna, who is in jail awaiting trial on Rikers Island. The guard — who is simply called “Glitter Shadow” — soon went viral, with thousands of people eager to know more about her story, especially her sparkly beauty routine.
As with many characters in the show, Glitter Shadow was inspired by a real person — a Rikers guard who journalist Jessica Pressler encountered while interviewing the real-life Anna Delvey — but the series takes a lot of creative license. Inventing Anna’s makeup department head Brenna McGuire tells Tudum that she and Shonda Rhimes decided that the guard would change her eye shadow color for each scene, rotating through a vivid cast of palettes that included rose-gold and a memorable emerald green. “I love glitter,” McGuire says. “And she was our Glitter Eye Shadow Officer… I was so excited about her.”
McGuire chose from an eco-friendly roster for these shimmering looks, because many sparkly products are harmful to the environment. “Glitter is actually made of little tiny pieces of plastic — microplastics — and they get into our oceans,” McGuire explains, sharing that she used products from EcoStardust, a UK-based company that sells biodegradable glitter made from plant cellulose. “Every bit of glitter you see on Glitter Shadow Officer is bio glitter.”
Prior to shooting, the makeup team did a test run with Braden to see which colors worked best under the bright lights of the Rikers set. “We definitely wanted to be very striking, so we tried all those colors... pink and green and blue and gold and silver,” McGuire says.
Of course, as anyone who has ever done a full sparkle look knows, glitter can be a little messy — and hard to get off. To get your lids ready for long-lasting shimmer, McGuire recommends using a glitter glue primer, which will help any loose glitter or rhinestones stick in place. When it was time to remove Braden’s makeup, McGuire says she turned to “an old drag technique” of using tape — but she doesn’t actually think people should try that at home. “I don’t recommend that people use tape on their skin,” she says. “Oily makeup removers are great.”
When putting such bold looks on an actor, especially just for a single day, it’s always a makeup artist’s hope that the performer will be up for a colorful adventure — according to McGuire, Miche Braden was just that. “She’s a jazz singer by trade and was totally down for it,” McGuire says. “She was a delight.” And now, she’s a glittery viral sensation as well.
