With Season 5 set to debut on Sept. 7, Netflix's Virgin River is the little show that could. It premiered in 2019 as an unassuming romantic drama about a big-city nurse named Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge, This Is Us) who steals away to a quaint northern California town and meets the ruggedly handsome barkeep Jack (Martin Henderson, X). But Virgin River performs a magic trick: The series delivers deeply moving character studies of people who have endured the worst—widowhood, PTSD, postpartum depression—while retaining that glossy, will-they-won't-they romance. It's a winning balance, and one of the chief architects of that magic is Robbi O'Quinn, Virgin River's Head of Makeup.
The cast of Virgin River starts their day in the hair and makeup trailer, making O'Quinn the tone-setter for often jam-packed filming schedules — or, as she tells it, "As a makeup artist, you're psychologist, you're listener, you're mom, you're best friend." Crafting signature looks for a large cast of characters (her "canvases") is no small feat, especially when those looks are subject to the wind, the wet and all other elements of the picturesque Canadian wilderness where the show is filmed.
Wide Open Country sat down with O'Quinn to talk about the delights and challenges of working on the hit series, including her go-to products (high-end and drugstore), the secret to Mel's dewy skin, what male actors actually wear on their faces and one crucial consideration when it comes to intimacy scenes.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Creating Mel's Signature Glow
Netflix
Mel is the queen of luminous, no-makeup makeup, and we have O'Quinn's skin-first approach to thank for it. "I'm not really big on a lot of makeup," she says. "I like to see skin. It tells a lot of stories."
O'Quinn joined the Virgin River makeup team in Season 3, eventually taking over glam duties for leading lady Alexandra Breckenridge in Season 4. Her first order of business was gradually warming up Mel's palette. Viewers probably didn't notice the shift to ruddy brown shadows and peachier lip and cheek colors, and that's by design. Not much time passes between each season, so Mel's look has to stay somewhat consistent.
Generally, O'Quinn sticks to natural tones and stays away from matte products that cake or sap moisture. Her rule of thumb? "Pay attention to the skin and add a bit of glow."
Skin Food Moisturizer
Weleda
To achieve Mel's healthy, vibrant glow, O'Quinn presses oils and heavy creams into the skin. One of her drugstore favorites is Weleda's award-winning Skin Food facial cream.
MERIT Flush Balm Cream Blush
MERIT
This little pot of gold is the secret to Mel's lit-from-within look. O'Quinn underpaints the blush, meaning she presses it into the cheeks before applying foundation. That way, the color doesn't sit on top of the skin — a no-no when filming in natural light.
"I just throw it across her lips or throw it on the cheeks and it blends and melts. I can really do a lot with it. I can throw it down her neck if I miss something — throw it on her eyes. It's such a beautiful product, and it just goes everywhere all at once."
Clé de Peau Radiant Fluid Foundation
Clé de Peau Beauté
"On Alex, we use Clé de Peau because it works really great with her skin and she has reactions." This lightweight foundation has hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture all day.
How the Men of Virgin River Get All Dolled Up
Netflix
Women spend anywhere from 30-45 minutes in the makeup chair. Believe it or not, men aren't far behind. It takes 20-30 minutes to get the gentlemen of Virgin River camera-ready. Much of that time is spent buffing and blending the product: "What takes me out of a scene right away is if I see makeup on men. It's my pet peeve."
But the boys aren't always so receptive to O'Quinn's makeup brush ("Sometimes, men are a little bit more delicate than women.") — not to mention the at-home skincare routines she enforces.
"I send them home with sunscreen. I send them home with moisturizers. When they go on their little vacations, I'm like, 'You better do it!' I lecture them all over. I think they've pretty much had it up to here, but they're very nice with my lectures. I'm like, 'Don't make my life more difficult. [It's] mostly for your skin health.'"
Colorescience Powder Sunscreen
Colorescience
Much of Virgin River is filmed outdoors in direct sunlight. O'Quinn keeps a powdered sunscreen on hand so that the actors' tones don't change scene-to-scene or day-to-day. She uses Colorescience's pore-reducing formula on both the men and the women of the cast.
Armani Luminous Silk Foundation
Armani Beauty
"We use Armani on the men. The trick is just to really blend that away because now, with 4K and 5K, you're going to see everything." The Luminous Silk Foundation is a higher-end classic for natural, buildable coverage.
Behind-the-Scenes Tips and Tricks
Netflix
You'd be surprised at just how collaborative the makeup department's job is. O'Quinn's process begins with the first production meeting of the season, from which she creates booklets of makeup ideas to pitch to the actors — who come with their own ideas. ("They know their character best, right?") The wardrobe department, directors and even set decorators must be consulted, too. For intimacy scenes, the question is, "How's that going to transfer on sheets?"
But it's not all business for O'Quinn, who knows their time in the makeup chair can make or break an actor's day. She lights candles and plays music for the cast of Virgin River. If an actor is gearing up for an emotional scene, she'll even put on something melancholy. She's particularly proud of the bonds she's forged with her leading men and women after three seasons of close proximity. Her love language? Pranking the more gullible subjects who dare sit in her makeup chair.
"I have an actor who I can sell almost anything to," she grins, recalling one particularly impressive con. She always receives scripts before the cast, so she told one actor lies about his character's fate in the season finale. He bought it, suffering through a whole day of shock before finally reading the script himself. The next season, O'Quinn changed tack and told him the truth about what would happen to his character. He didn't believe her, so she bet him $100 that she wasn't fibbing. What happened when he inevitably forked over the cash? "I'm like, 'I'm taking it!'" she gleefully recalls.
Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm
Burt's Bees
O'Quinn prefers a lip stain with a colorless balm on top, but sometimes the script calls for less, er, transferrable lipwear. "If she's out with Jack, I'll just give Mel a lip balm because they do a lot of kissing." She likes Burt's Bees tinted balms for a natural wash of color.
MERIT Concealer Stick
MERIT
No film set is complete without a touch-up stick. O'Quinn prefers MERIT's lightweight complexion stick to refresh and conceal between takes.
Rosewater Facial Mist
Heritage Store
"We have like a lot of spray refreshers," says O'Quinn. She likes a rosewater facial mist to revitalize makeup that's been worn for hours.
Virgin River Season 5, Part 1 premieres Sept. 7 on Netflix.
