Mean Girls Hair and Makeup Secrets For Reneé Rapp’s Regina

It’s been two decades since the world was first introduced to Cady Heron and Regina George in Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls,” and now, there’s a whole new cast of faces in the 2024 musical reimagination, hitting theaters on Jan. 12.

In the remake, Angourie Rice plays the new girl, Cady, who falls in love with Aaron (Christopher Briney) and makes fast friends with Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey). Regina’s posse is comprised of Reneé Rapp as the Queen Bee herself, Avantika as Karen Shetty, and Bebe Wood as Gretchen Wieners. While the plot line is largely the same, this picture has a whole new feel, with new hair and makeup to match.

The magnitude of such a job wasn’t lost on the glam team. “When you’re taking on [a] reimagination of such an iconic film, at first, it’s really scary,” makeup department head Jenn “Jorge” Nelson tells POPSUGAR. “But we want to also acknowledge 20 years have passed, and a lot of different things have happened culturally and [in] art and makeup.” The goal was to update each cast member’s look in a way that “played homage to the original characters, but still showed an evolution.”

To learn more about the inspiration behind Rapp’s depiction of Regina, plus the exact products they used on set, keep reading.

Inspiration For the “Mean Girls” Hair and Makeup

Coming up with the many hair and makeup looks for the film was a group effort. “We spoke with each of the actors specifically about their characters and the vision,” says Nelson. They turned to TikTok to see what teenagers in real life were doing with their hair and makeup, as well as Gen Z influencers. “They’re so free and expressive with makeup and hair. They’ll walk out of the house with a pimple patch star on their face and bright blue mascara — it’s refreshing and fun to just see how liberated kids have become since the original.”

For this reason, the hair and makeup had to be completely leveled up in this remake. “They’re like a more modern version of how we were in the ’80s,” Dennis Bailey, the film’s hair department head, says. “In the ’80s, it was very free and artistic — that’s kind of what the kids today are leaning toward.”

How Reneé Rapp Transformed Into Regina George

Regina, then and now, is sassy, confident, and what Bailey summarized as a “blond bombshell.” They drew on classic depictions of the stereotype in films such as Cher Horowitz from “Clueless” and, of course, Rachel McAdams’s version of the character, as well as another Queen B. “Beyoncé was a big influence for me — especially for the Halloween scene when the hair was blowing,” says Bailey.

Regina has an effortless beauty about her that doesn’t require much effort; she sets trends rather than follows them. “I wanted to create an updated version of the original look but keep the same flawless elements,” says Shannon Renee, the key makeup artist responsible for Rapp’s makeup. This included beautiful, glowing skin, a classic, clean black wing, and “a very simple yet seductive lip.”

Beauty Products Used on Set

On the big screen, the fictional vanities of the movie’s cast were stacked with E.l.f. Cosmetics, but behind the scenes, the team used trendy products from Violette FR, Merit, Ilia Beauty, and more. For Regina’s look specifically, the makeup team used the Dior Lip Oil in Raspberry ($40) for her glossy lips — a fitting product for an It girl — and for that sharp-as-a-knife wing, she used the KVD Beauty Super Pomade Vegan Eyeliner in Black ($25). The bold red lip she wears in the holiday show, however, is courtesy of Juvia’s Place Liquid Lip in Scarlet ($10). Her perfectly manicured fingers featured a myriad of press-on nails, including Chillhouse Chill Tips ($16) and Static Press-On Nails ($18).

For Rapp’s hair, Bailey used the Unite Hair 7Seconds Detangler Leave-In Conditioner ($38), Ouai Leave In Conditioner & Heat Protectant ($30), and the Tecuane Scalp Tonic ($66). It’s almost as if the teens browsed the aisles of Sephora themselves with these products in their regimen.