This Heat-Proof Mascara Was Used on the Set of The White Lotus

last updated 19 March 2025

Aimee Lou Wood on set of The White Lotus

Season three of The White Lotus is officially live on HBO—well, the first few episodes, at least. This time, the hotly anticipated anthology series takes place in Thailand, a locale known for its tropical heat and humidity. It goes without saying that this kind of climate can pose a challenge to on-set experts who are in charge of creating long-lasting, camera-ready makeup.

Recently, makeup artist and makeup department head Rebecca Hickey shared insight into the actual products she used on the actors while filming on location. One of them was a smudge-proof, budge-proof mascara that held up to the "scorching" Thailand temperatures. Keep scrolling to see which underrated and editor-approved mascara it is. Then, snag one (or three) before your next vacation or simply to prep for melt-proof summer makeup.

Michelle Monaghan on set of The White Lotus

The Exact Mascara Used on The White Lotus

MAKE Beauty

Lash Prototype Mascara

Here's the exact mascara that all the women wore on the set of The White Lotus. The three-in-one volumizing, lengthening, and defining formula contains a vegan beeswax alternative for a buildable, budge-proof lash look. As lash-obsessed beauty editors, we're big fans of this mascara, and we'd go so far as to say that it's underrated. Apparently, Hickey agrees.

“The Make Beauty Lash Prototype Mascara was used on every single woman this season of White Lotus," she said. "It adds so much volume but never smudges, which would have been a disaster with the scorching temps of Thailand! We needed a mascara to add volume and length without budging and this mascara was the perfect fit for filming.”

Thanks to Hickey's detailed Instagram videos, we know a few more of the actual products she used on set. Keep scrolling to see some of our favorite ones!

More Beauty Products Used on Set

EltaMD

UV Clear Face Sunscreen SPF 46

Hickey mentions this sunscreen during a breakdown of Michelle Monaghan's look, which was meant to be natural, glowing, and "clean." She calls it a "safe choice" because it will protect the skin from UV rays with "no breakouts, no irritation."

ciele

Tint & Protect Medium Coverage Serum Foundation With SPF 50+

"As for her makeup, we used a lot of Ciele Cosmetics," Hickey says. "They aren't pore-clogging but they also have SPF in them. Their Tint & Protect is like a serum foundation. I would actually use a lighter color on the middle of her face and a darker color on the outside. It gives this nice depth without having any harshness."

Indie Lee

Daily Spf 50 Primer

For Aimee Lou Wood's character, Chelsea, Hickey mixed this daily SPF primer with another glow-boosting primer (more on that in a minute) to create a "really beautiful base for makeup."

Iconic London

Underglow Blurring Primer

Here's the second primer. This one has a unique formula that does the (seemingly) impossible. It boosts the skin's glow without emphasizing texture or pores thanks to soft-focus blurring powders that give the skin an airbrushed quality.

Hourglass

Ambient Soft Glow Foundation

Hickey says she used the Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation on Wood, specifically. The weightless formula offers buildable, medium coverage with a light-diffusing effect.

Tower 28 Beauty

Beachplease Lip + Cheek Dewy Cream Blush in After Hours

To "play up" brown and berry tones in Wood's makeup, Hickey used this cream blush in the shade After Hours. "Don't forget the nose," she says.

MERIT

Shade Slick Classic Hydrating Tinted Lip Oil in Sangria

As for the lip look, Hickey says she alternated between using Maybelline's BabyLips Lip Balm ($4) and this beautiful, berry-colored lip oil from social media–favorite beauty brand Merit.

For more insight and products, I highly recommend following Hickey on Instagram.

This article was originally published at an earlier date and has been updated.

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Kaitlyn McLintock is a Beauty Editor at Who What Wear. She has 10 years of experience in the editorial industry, having previously written for other industry-leading publications, like Byrdie, InStyle, The Zoe Report, Bustle, and others. She covers all things beauty and wellness-related, but she has a special passion for creating skincare content (whether that's writing about an innovative in-office treatment, researching the benefits of a certain ingredient, or testing the latest and greatest at-home skin device). Having lived in Los Angeles, California, and Austin, Texas, she has since relocated back to her home state, Michigan. When she's not writing, researching, or testing beauty products, she's working through an ever-growing book collection or swimming in the Great Lakes.