Here's What NCIS Star Pauley Perrette Looks Like Without Makeup

On "NCIS," Pauley Perrette's popular character Abby Sciuto brought some brightness and vivacity to a forensics lab, where it wasn't uncommon for her to examine macabre evidence. She made her job solving murders seem slightly less grim by rocking a peppy, punk-goth look that was perfectly suited to her quirky personality. Abby's makeup usually included a bold lip and dark eyeliner that was striking against her pale skin. Her look didn't change much at all during her 15 seasons on "NCIS," but Perrette was content to keep on rocking pigtails and chunky combat boots. "She's very much like a little cartoon," the actor said of her character on "The Queen Latifah Show" in 2015. "She's always looked the same, and you don't want to see a big change."

In a featurette video for the "NCIS" Season 5 DVD set, Perrette gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at how late makeup artist Joe Hailey helped her transform into Abby. The process was fairly simple, and it began with an important product: sunscreen. "Because neither me nor Abby like the sun," she explained. Before applying foundation from a compact, Perrette revealed that she was "resistant to how much makeup Abby wears." She actually did most of her makeup herself, including her eyeliner and mascara. After coloring her lips in with a lip pencil, she shared "a little secret" about Abby's eye makeup: She also applied the lip color on her eyelids.

To learn how Perrette's beauty routine differs from her character's, read on.

Some celebrities spend a lot of money on beauty treatments like injectables, lasers, and light therapy. Then there's the infamous vampire facial, which seems like it would be right up "NCIS" character Abby Sciuto's alley. However, Pauley Perrette's own beauty routine is extremely low-maintenance. "I have some soap and a washcloth and some baby oil that I use every night," she said in a 2017 Twitter video. "My whole beauty regimen costs about four bucks."

Contrary to what some skincare scammers wanted consumers to believe, Perrette has not authorized any beauty brands to use her likeness in their ads. Instead of claiming that her youthful visage is the result of using pricey products, she believes she can thank genetics and possibly yeasty beverages for her glowing skin. "My mom was so much more beautiful. I give 'not aging gene' to her," she tweeted. "And beers maybe? I love beer."

To the horror of everyone familiar with the word "non-comedogenic," Perrette has revealed that she uses Vaseline as a moisturizer. She also shuns the sun and does one other thing that might be beneficial for her skin. "I do not wear makeup unless I'm being paid to," she tweeted. When she does use cosmetics, she prefers a natural look. "My eyelashes are part blonde so mascara is my friend on camera!" she wrote on Twitter. "And my lip moisturizer is great! Otherwise I don't wear anything."

Pauley Perrette is naturally blonde, so she had to dye her hair black the entire time she portrayed Abby Sciuto on "NCIS." In true goth girl fashion, she darkened her tresses herself. "I dye my own hair black at home for NCIS with store bought dye," she tweeted in 2013. "I'm absolutely NOT a salon girl!" Unfortunately, she suffered a scary allergic reaction to her hair dye in 2014. She broke out in a rash and experienced severe facial swelling. "The other half of my face had become twice the size of my head," she told KCAL9. Perrette tweeted that she "almost died," but she refused to change Sciuto's hair color. Instead, she began using a product called Elumen to keep her roots looking like a raven's wing. 

Perrette's frightening experience with dye didn't deter her from experimenting with hair color after she retired from acting in 2020. "I've been under a film or television contract for decades, my entire adult life," she told Entertainment Tonight. "So I could never change what I look like." She celebrated her freedom by coloring her hair using a process she claims to have invented herself. She separated it into knots that she dyed half a dozen colors, creating a tie-dye effect. "My hair's awesome," she said of her new look in a December 2020 Twitter video. So she basically traded Abby's "skull spider bows" for a rainbow, and we're really digging the results.