Glenn Close and Janet McTeer are made up as women who dress and pass for men in "Albert Nobbs." Their hair and makeup could put this in contention, given an added boost by late 19th century styling for other characters played by Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, and others.

Queen Elizabeth I, portrayed by mother and daughter actresses Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson, is a favorite of the makeup branch. In 1998 alone, they favored biopic "Elizabeth" which won the category. Fellow nominee "Shakespeare in Love," which included an older, heavily powdered Elizabeth, was surely a close second. "Anonymous" has more hairstyling and period makeup than any of the other contenders. It's something of a lock.

French singer Serge Gainsbourg's life story is told from the 1940s to the 1990s. The Oscar's makeup branch absolutely adores aging makeup, as proven by "Barney's Version" last year and countless films before it. They also have no bias against foreign language films having nominated "La Vie en Rose" (2007) and "The Sea Inside" (2004) in recent years; "Gainsbourg" is primarily in French.

Surprisingly, no "Harry Potter" film has ever been nominated in this category before. Bizarre creatures abound in this final installment. There is heavy makeup on countless goblins at the film's start and villainous Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort also is an iconic character because of his styling. Even Harry's famous lightning bolt scar should help make this final installment a contender.

Hairstyling pushed "The Young Victoria" into the final three back in 2009. Since there is not much makeup to laud in "Hugo," its spectacular period hairdos could give it an edge. Sacha Baron Cohen and a multiple of other supporting characters have very memorable looks.

Solidifying its Best Picture frontrunner status, "The Artist" is something of a surprise on the makeup shortlist. Sure, there are period hairstyles and there was surely extra thought that went into doing the makeup for a black-and-white film. (Though how hard can it be to put pomade in Jean Dujardin's hair and slick it back?) But this would be an oddity among the final three nominees in a category that favors especially showy work.

Spanning decades in the life of Margaret Thatcher, the aging makeup on Meryl Streep here is outright dazzling. Her transformation owes much to the film's makeup team. Biopics also tend to do well in this category: "The Young Victoria" (2009) was nominated, and "La Vie en Rose" (2007) won.