How I started my career as a Make-up Artist

I am often asked "How I started out as a make-up artist and how I became successful" so I have decided to write a quick piece for you as to how I got started.
I have always had a passion for make-up, art, fashion and colour from as long as I can remember so following school it seemed the natural step to go on to do both a successful foundation art studies course at Camberwell college followed by a degree in hair & make-up at the prestigious London College of Fashion.

During my studies I worked part time as a MAC make-up artist which provided invaluable additional make-up skills. After studying I did indeed work full time for MAC for almost a year as a resident trainer. This role involved training artists on make-up application, customer service and hygiene. Whilst doing this I did an amazing training workshop with MAC in LA which to this day remains a high point of my career!

When I decided to leave MAC and work as a freelance Make-up artist the hard work and perseverance really kicked in. I had to do an awful lot of work for free to gain experience in the field and make contacts which you hope lead to further work but quite often do not. I have assisted various make-up artists to gain further knowledge, again unpaid and finally a lot of test shoots. Test shoots if you aren't familiar are an opportunity for you as well as the photographer, model and sometimes stylist to work together creatively to gain images for your portfolio. Test shoots sometimes work and you get beautiful images and sometimes they don't for whatever reason and you may not be able to use those images. As you can tell this is a long and hard process to go through and that is before you even get any paid work so you need to be 100% committed and supported by those around you.

I had an Agency represent me for three years and I think I felt I was successful when I managed to get an Agent as it can take a lot of phone calls and meetings initially to even get that far. I left my Agent this year as I like to be in control and organise what I do myself and knew I had enough experience, work and clients to go it alone. Gradually you do start getting more and more work and start to build clients that regularly work with you. I now mostly work for advertising campaigns and editorial magazines doing both fashion and beauty and real life/makeover shoots as this is the area I enjoy most. Clients include Shout, Red, Glamour, Prima , Boots, Argos and many more. There are many diverse areas of the make-up industry to work in so you really have to find what you enjoy most.

I will start with the low points in my career as I always like to end on a high! Being over an hour late for a shoot when everyone is waiting for the make-up artist to do their work so the shoot can get going has taught me to always leave at least two and half hours to get anywhere in London in rush hour. Being prepared to be quite poor for quite a while when starting out as it can be tough and literally have no shame when it comes to getting work sometimes badgering people may not be easy but it can get you a job.

The highs... LA for training, Milan for fashion week, London fashion week and other big London shows like Fashion Rocks and Armani One Night Only, and every single day I am on a shoot working I am always happy!

IN THE NEWS: NORTH FACE ETIP GLOVES

The Etip glove from North Face available at John Lewis (£25.00) are so amazing I had to share them with you. I constantly have the problem whereby I have to remove my gloves to operate my i-phone but no more! You can work your phone and laptop easily with these gloves on. The branded X-Static material on the fingertips manages moisture and regulates temperature to enable use in all weather conditions. Fabulous and great for make up artists on set working outside as these gloves are slim and easy to wear. The silicone grip on the palm of the gloves helps during all types of activity ie working outside in the freezing cold!
Better still they are Machine washable!

Christmas Wishes!

Today I am feeling festive maybe because its freezing outside and Christmas is now only a little over four weeks away! I thought I would share with you some lovely things that are on my Christmas wish list...

Bobbi Brown pink pearl eyeshadow no.16

Nicky Clarke compact heated rollers

Chanel Etrait de gloss no. 57 pink

Bodyshop cocoa butter

Aveda Hand cream

Chanel Allure perfume

Benefit brightening primer 'That gal'

Benefit 'U rebel' and 'U Rebel light' tinted moisturiser

Make up Forever HD microfinish powder

YSL Ltd edition shimmering gold highlighter pen

Thats all for now!

INSPIRE:A recent test shoot...

Last Friday I did a test shoot with Photographer Ian Hooten. The make-up and hair began quite natural and simple as you can see below. Next I went stronger with the eye make-up and for the last shot I experimented with some felt.... I am not sure I achieved what I was looking for with the felt but thats why I did the test, some tests work some don't! These are not however the final images just an example of what we did.

Eye Make up products I used were all by MAC and included carbon black shadow plus the following matte brown shadows (espresso, symmetry, cork and embark). Untitled eyepaint was used as a base, eyeliner consisted of MAC smoulder kohl pencil, Bobbi brown gel eyeliner and MAC splashproof black mascara. False lashes were added from Mister Mascara and applied using Duo adhesive. I also used this glue to stick pieces of felt onto the face in the third look. Base products used include Chanel Vitalumiere foundation, Laura Mercier secret concealer and MAC blot powder. On the lips... Daniel Sandler lipgloss in super femme worn over MAC Oak lip pencil and MAC lipstick in fleshpot. When the images are ready I will hopefully choose a favourite one or two for my portfolio.

INSPIRE: Images in my workspace...

Today I thought I would share with you some much loved images that I have collected and have dotted around my office at home to keep me inspired and smiling. I have to have colourful, visual and decorative works around me as I just couldn't work in a dull boring environment!
Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

IN THE NEWS: WATERCOLOUR BLUSH

My make-up product of the moment is Daniel Sandler's award winning watercolour liquid blusher in shade 'Cherub'. Many of my clients ask about this product as I apply the liquid to my hand from its dinky bottle it seems to attract immediate attention. I love Cherub watercolour because it gives the effect of a natural, fresh looking cream blush yet is waterproof and lasts all day. I like to apply with my fingertips to the cheeks, blend a little then use a foundation brush to blend further for a perfect finish. A tiny dot of this product goes a long way and there are a variety of other shades to choose from. Cherub is my favourite as it is a subtle baby pink that I find suitable for most skin tones. This oil free product is particularly great if you are prone to blush disappearing by lunch time!

Available from Harrods Urban retreat & http://www.beautique.com/ at £12.00.

Inspire: Moodboard fun!

I have been having so much fun creating a moodboard for a test shoot I am doing this Friday. My inspiration came from December's Star Vogue issue and my love of christmas and all things twinkling! After seeing a photograph of the model I think she has a look of Sophia Loren about her so I am thinking make-up and hair will be hollywood 'starlet' themed and painfully glamorous! I am going for dramatic eye liner and an abundance of lashes, big soft loose curls in the hair and then maybe a modern twist on a french pleat for a variation. To be a tad more creative, inspired by my favourite artist Henri Matisse and his cut out artworks I have decided to use felt attached around the eye using eyelash glue in the form of a gigantic star. Its a new medium for me as I have never worked with felt before so I am really looking forward to it. After the shoot final images will follow so I will keep you posted!