With Season 5 set to debut on Sept. 7, Netflix’s Virgin River
is the little show that could. It premiered in 2019 as an unassuming
romantic drama about a big-city nurse named Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge, This Is Us)
who steals away to a quaint northern California town and meets the ruggedly handsome barkeep Jack (Martin Henderson, X). But Virgin River performs a magic trick: The series delivers deeply moving character studies of people who have endured the worst—widowhood, PTSD, postpartum depression—while retaining that glossy, will-they-won’t-they romance. It’s a winning balance, and one of the chief architects of that magic is Robbi O’Quinn, Virgin River’s Head of Makeup.
The cast of Virgin River starts their day in the hair and makeup trailer, making O’Quinn the tone-setter for often jam-packed filming schedules — or, as she tells it, “As a makeup artist, you’re psychologist, you’re listener, you’re mom, you’re best friend.” Crafting signature looks for a large cast of characters (her “canvases”) is no small feat, especially when those looks are subject to the wind, the wet and all other elements of the picturesque Canadian wilderness where the show is filmed.
Wide Open Country sat down with O’Quinn to talk about the delights and challenges of working on the hit series, including her go-to products (high-end and drugstore), the secret to Mel’s dewy skin, what male actors actually wear on their faces and one crucial consideration when it comes to intimacy scenes.
Creating Mel’s Signature Glow
Mel is the queen of luminous, no-makeup makeup, and we have O’Quinn’s skin-first approach to thank for it. “I’m not really big on a lot of makeup,” she says. “I like to see skin. It tells a lot of stories.”
O’Quinn joined the Virgin River makeup team in Season 3, eventually taking over glam duties for leading lady Alexandra Breckenridge in Season 4. Her first order of business was gradually warming up Mel’s palette. Viewers probably didn’t notice the shift to ruddy brown shadows and peachier lip and cheek colors, and that’s by design. Not much time passes between each season, so Mel’s look has to stay somewhat consistent.
Generally, O’Quinn sticks to natural tones and stays away from matte products that cake or sap moisture. Her rule of thumb? “Pay attention to the skin and add a bit of glow.”
