One of the most subtle, but important, details in the enemies-to-lovers gay romance Heated Rivalry is Shane’s tiny yet impactful freckles. In both Crave’s mega-hit and Rachel Reid’s original romance novel of the same name, Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) lusts over Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and his beautiful freckles.
“I am always thinking about this slow f*cking hockey player with beautiful freckles… and a weak backhand,” Ilya confesses in episode six’s pivotal scene at the cottage.
Unfortunately, in real life, Williams doesn’t have freckles. But, it was a problem that was easily remedied by Joan Chell, the head of the show’s makeup department. Chell created Shane’s tiny yet impactful freckles using Maykoo’s surprisingly affordable freckle stamp. Maykoo’s Freckle Stamp is a waterproof, quick-dry faux freckle formula that comes with a stamper applicator.
“I just got them from Amazon,” Chell told The Looker. Chell used the lightest two colours: Light Brown ($9, Amazon) and Coffee ($9, Amazon) to create Shane’s freckles.
“The stamps were great because they stayed and had staying power,” Chell said. “When he would sweat, or if we had to add sweat, it would break them down a bit, so we’d have to retouch it afterwards. But other than that, I was really surprised how well the product [worked].”
Because the show is so physical, Chell would set Williams’s stamped freckles with European Body Art’s Pro Seal—a professional film makeup and effects line. Should you want to recreate Williams’s freckles in real life, Chell says you’d probably be fine with a normal setting spray.
For on-set touch-ups throughout the day, Chell would use Maykoo’s Waterproof Pen Set in the corresponding shade.
“I start with the darker [shade], and I do little spots here and there, either with the hard stamp, and then with the silicone stamp, and then I will dilute them a bit,” Chell told The Looker. Chell recommends keeping isopropyl alcohol and some Q-tips around to help lighten any freckles that may come out too harshly. You may also want to test-stamp on a napkin or tissue to ensure it doesn’t come out too heavy.
Chell told Page Six that she got Storrie and Williams’ makeup “down to a fine art” while working on the Canadian hockey romance, often spending “three hours every morning” preparing them for the show’s steamy scenes.
“They were so good. It was like they were part of the [makeup] team as well,” she said, quipping, “They made great assistants to us.”
You can shop the both the Maykoo Freckle Stamp and Freckle Pen in their amazon shop.
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