Makeup department head Andrea Miller describes Verity as "a Hitchcock movie where it's this mystery you can't figure out, but you're just so involved in these gorgeous people." The Michael Showalter-directed adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel uses hair and makeup as quiet storytelling devices, telegraphing the shift between Anne Hathaway's bestselling author Verity Crawford and Dakota Johnson's ghostwriter Lowen.

Miller collaborated closely with hair department head Robert Lugo on the film, and both leads' beauty teams executed the looks: Hathaway's makeup artist Kyra Panchenko and hairstylist Fríða Aradóttir, and Johnson's makeup artist Emma Strachman and hairstylist Joshua First.

Why red dominates Verity's look

The film opens with Verity on national TV, praised by Gayle King in a pristine white suit and matte red lips. "Reds are very important in this movie," says Miller, who drew inspiration from costume designer Jacqueline Demeterio's all-white suit and pivotal red dresses, as well as Old Hollywood.

Verity's side-parted, voluminous lob—a wig matching Hathaway's natural color, created by Aradóttir—also channels the Golden Age of Hollywood. Notably, it departs from the source material, where Verity is blonde, something Hathaway has discussed on the press tour. Lugo says the classic style tracked Verity's arc: "keeping the hair simple, but still showing a transition in time. She's feeling like her sexy self, gorgeous, and powerful."

What does Lowen's smoky eye signal?

Lowen, facing eviction, heads to a meeting at Verity's publishing house with a smoky eye, tight-lined lashes, and over-lined mauve lips. Strachman built the lips with the sold-out Makeup by Mario Ultra Suede Sculpting Lip Pencil in Smokey Pink and MAC Cosmetics Lip Pencil in Sweet Talk. Lowen's narration says she prefers to "stay invisible" in New York.

"For [Dakota], being invisible is pretty bloody difficult," Miller says with a laugh.

The smoky eye carries weight. Strachman started with Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion, softened it with Armani Beauty Eye Tint Long-Lasting Liquid Eyeshadow in shimmery champagne, and finished with Westman Atelier Eye Want You Lengthening + Volumizing Clean Mascara.

"[The smoky eye] makes you question who Lowen is because she looks very sharp. It's not a sweet, innocent look, so you're wondering and waiting for your other shoe to drop," says Miller. "You look at her and you're like, 'Hmm, what's this about?' You're not quite sure. The entire movie—that's what you're doing."

How the hair mirrors the two women

Lowen's near-waist-length dark brown hair with golden-red highlights and thick bangs hints at Verity's. "There are similarities, right?" says Lugo. The dark color also honored the script's demand that Lowen blend into the street around her. "We wanted her to blend in with everyone else around her, so I feel like what made her stand out the most [as a co-lead] was just how glossy her hair color looks."

First used Le Labo Hinoki shampoo as the foundation for all of Johnson's looks. Styling staples across both leads included Reverie Milk Anti-Frizz Leave-in Treatment, a Kevin Murphy serum, and Rōz Milk Hydrating Leave-In Conditioning Serum for smooth waves.

How does the beauty shift once Lowen enters the Crawford house?

Hired to ghostwrite the next Noble Virtues installments after Verity's mysterious accident, Lowen moves into the Vermont home hidden in woods, designed by Danish sculptor Jens Quistgaard. As she is drawn into Verity's world and the orbit of her husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), her sooty smoky eyes soften into ethereal browns, and her mauve lip shifts to a matte taupe via Westman Atelier Lip Suede in Piqué and Victoria Beckham Beauty Lip Definer liner in #2.

"It has to be soft because we want you, the audience, to fall in love with her. Because she's sweet. Pretty, but not screaming," says Miller. "You see her vulnerable."

Flashbacks show Verity's first meeting with Jeremy at a champagne-drenched black-tie gala, in a draped crimson Versace gown, signature red lip, and a bouncier version of her lob. When Hathaway walked on set, "everyone was just like, 'Wow,'" says Lugo. "[Her hair] had that sexy, Hollywood texture where it was moving around. In Lowen's Eyes, when she [imagines] Verity in that red dress, she's just like, 'This is gorgeous and perfect. She can do nothing wrong.'"

The dinner scene that changes everything

Invited to a Bavarian restaurant and given free rein over Verity's designer closet, Lowen picks a slinky red Versace safety-pin slip dress reminiscent of Verity's gala gown, and restyles her hair sleeker. "She put in effort for that. She's going there with intention," explains Lugo. "She's going there with dignity. She has to impress him somehow."

Her makeup returns to big-city smoky eyes and a sultry dark lip—a mix of Dior Addict Lip Glow Balms in Mahogany and Blackberry. Did she also raid Verity's perfume and cosmetics? "That could have been," says Miller. "We don't know what went on in that head."

By evening's end, Lowen seems to morph into Verity. "She's empowered now," Miller confirms. "That's the turn—the meshing point," Lugo adds. "You're supposed to not quite understand what's happening," continues Miller. "We pull you all the way through it and at the end, it's like, 'Oh, didn't see that coming.'"