How Jeremy Dell Established a Signature Beauty Language for the Characters of 'I Love Boosters'
We spoke with the makeup artist about bringing the film’s surreal universe to life.
From director Boots Riley, I Love Boosters unfolds in an absurdist universe where a crew of professional shoplifters clash with a cutthroat fashion maven. Starring Keke Palmer, Taylour Paige, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter and Poppy Liu, the film’s makeup artist Jeremy Dell conceptualized maximalist glam to shape the distinct visual world the characters live in.
Fueled by monochrome ensembles and a plethora of multicolored hair looks, I Love Boosters’ irreverent playful nature allowed makeup details to morph into a necessary part of the film’s world building. Because of this, Dell set out to establish a signature beauty language for each character. For Keke Palmer’s character Corvette, that meant leaning into her bold energy with statement lips and a neon color palette.
As a master of references, Jeremy Dell pulled inspiration from beauty trends of past eras in order to land on a makeup aesthetic he calls “expressive, strange, theatrical and emotional — all at once.” Thanks to close collaboration with the costume and hair department, Dell’s skillful glam didn’t only influence I Love Boosters‘ avant-garde imagery, it serves as a core part of the film’s DNA.
Ahead, we speak to Jeremy Dell about working on I Love Boosters and the role makeup plays in the film’s storytelling.
On Dreaming Up the Makeup in I Love Boosters
When designing the makeup looks for I Love Boosters, I wanted every character to have a signature beauty language that reflected their personality and energy. A lot of the inspiration came from blending fashion references, subcultures and emotional storytelling through makeup.
Corvette (Keke Palmer) is bold, loud, and impossible to ignore, plus she’s obsessed with Happy Rustlers candy, so I leaned into statement lips with punchy, vibrant colors every time she appeared on screen. Christine Smith (Demi Moore) is the ultimate designer archetype. I wanted her glamour to feel timeless and controlled, so we kept her look classic with polished skin and a stained red lip. Sade (Naomi Ackie) is the dependable best friend who’s constantly overlooked, so I played with the idea of her being Corvette’s “sun and moon.” Her ombré sunrise eye and moon embellishment underneath the eye were directly inspired by Erykah Badu.
Mariah (Taylor Paige) has this boho-meets-edge quality. I wanted to reinterpret a cat eye in a way that felt unexpected, so instead of extending the liner outward, we placed it through the center of the eye. Jianhu (Poppy Liu) starts as a factory girl and evolves into a fashionista, so her makeup had a more expressive K-pop and Harajuku-inspired energy. Violeta (Eiza González) is the hyper-aware, philosophical pothead of the group, so I drew inspiration from LA and Bay Area “Chula” beauty — skinny brows, lined lips and a septum piercing.
And then there’s Pinky Ring Guy (LaKeith Stanfield), who I always described as this vampire snake charmer. We played with vampy eyes and stained lips to heighten the mystery around him. There are so many more looks throughout the film, but those are a few that really capture the spirit of the world we created.
On the Creative Process
The entire creative process felt like a dream, honestly. Working with Boots Riley was incredibly inspiring because he really encouraged creative freedom from the very beginning. After reading the script and sitting down with Boots, I started building visual references pulled from everywhere — different eras, beauty trends, textures, patterns, even random imagery that sparked emotion or curiosity. From there, my team and I tested looks extensively to figure out what best served the story and the characters. What made the process so exciting was that nothing felt too safe or too limited. We really got to experiment and push things visually.
On the Film’s Absurdist Vibes
I loved that the film gave us permission to create makeup that felt artistic instead of strictly realistic. We weren’t trying to recreate everyday beauty — we were building a heightened universe where makeup could become part of the storytelling itself. That freedom allowed us to take risks and make choices that were expressive, strange, theatrical and emotional — all at once.
What makes the [makeup] looks special to me is that opportunities like this don’t come around often — where you’re truly encouraged to go all-in creatively. Every character had a distinct visual identity, and we were able to build an entire world through beauty.
On How Makeup Allows a Character to Come Alive
Makeup absolutely helps ground a character emotionally. I wanted the characters’ “real world” looks to feel lived-in and imperfect — weathered lips, uneven liner, skin that wasn’t overly perfected. But once we entered the heist worlds, everything [became] elevated. The makeup became more stylized and cinematic to help transport the audience into that heightened reality. Of course, that transformation only worked because of the collaboration between makeup, hair designer Jessi Dean, and costume designer Shirley Kurata. We really approached the film like a family — making sure the makeup, hair, fashion and overall visual language all melted together into one cohesive world.
On What Initially Drew Him to I Love Boosters
For me, it always starts with how a script makes me feel emotionally. If I’m laughing, anxious, inspired, emotional or completely unable to stop reading, that’s usually a sign I want to be part of it. With I Love Boosters, I was hooked almost immediately. What really stood out to me wasn’t just the dialogue — it was the stage directions and the imagery between the lines. Boots Riley has such a vivid and unconventional way of storytelling that I already felt creatively inspired before I even finished the script.
