Make-up, Life and the In-between

Yet again, I have let months pass without updating The Make-up Darling blog.   All I can say is that life has got in the way, although that is no excuse – if world leaders can find the time to do their job and still have a family and a social life, I should be able to too!  But in the last few months there have been a lot of changes: a new job as a Retail MUA, a new house with my own make-up studio, many fashion shows (including one on which I was lead MUA and designed the look), weddings, proms, photoshoots, my own website (www.donnaharris.co.uk)  and just normal life squeezed in.  When I started this journey just shy of a year ago, I had no idea of what would be in store for me and I just knew with absolute certainty that I had to make the change. Looking back, I am so thankful that I did.  I feel like I have been a make-up artist all my life and, for the most part, I am a happier person because of it.  Sure, I may not be making the money I did when I was a stressed out Event Manager and I spend a large percentage of my time now cleaning brushes and dragging a suitcase full of make-up around, but I feel much more fulfilled in my career. 

I know I have also changed a lot as a person.  The way I look at things has changed and I am more open to new ideas and experiences.  It’s hard to articulate how I view things now and what interests and inspires me, and I’m sure to my friends I seem more vacant, detached and boring than I once was.  I don’t mean to be, it’s just that my mind if filled with so many thoughts and images now.  It’s like the right side of my brain has finally been kicked into gear after being suppressed for so long.  When I watch films now I get so caught up in everything- the make-up, lighting, the costume, the emotion.  I find myself staring at people’s faces, looking at the arch of their brow, the colours (yes, colours!) of their iris, the curve of their lips. Sometimes I think people must find me quite strange!  Trying to explain to a non-make-up artist what I spend my time doing on a week by week basis is hard because it must seem like very little, but honestly sometimes I feel more exhausted than ever because my brain is continually processing, planning, seeking inspiration.  I carry notebooks with me so everywhere so I can scribble down words, thoughts and poems, and constantly seem to be taking pictures.

I wouldn’t say it’s been the easiest transition to make and I am often plagued by self-doubt.  Natural confidence isn’t something I am blessed with.  I don’t find it easy to ‘let go’ and ‘just go with the flow’ and I always want to know where I am heading, so I often feel like I am going against my nature.  I don’t want to just be a good make-up artist; I want to be one of the best- the next Pat McGrath, Alex Box or Kevyn Aucoin.  I recently assisted Salina Thind on a shoot for Conde Nast’s Brides Magazine (September/October Issue- out now) and was so happy to have my work published in the magazine, although I wasn’t credited, but one day soon I want it to be my name that the world sees in the margin of the page.  I have no idea how to get from where I am now to there, so I guess I just have to keep doing what I’m doing and hope I’m doing the right thing.  I want to know more, do more, be more.

So, anyway, I am really grateful to whoever reads this blog- I hope that you get something from it; whether that is inspiration or just satisfaction that you are doing better than me!  I find it cathartic to write sometimes and get all my feelings out, but I realise posts like this might be boring for people to read, so I will endeavour to write shorter posts with more photos in the future.  Those of you that just want to see my work without reading me bleat on may want to follow me on instagram (deeh_mua) or twitter (@donnaharris_mua) or even just check out my website (www.donnaharris.co.uk).

I can’t leave you without any photos, so here are some photo collages of some of my recent work:

All That Glitters...

Hello all!  I’m sorry that I haven’t posted anything for a while.  It has been a crazy couple of weeks for me.  There is so much I want to share with you so expect more than one post this week.  You can also now follow me on Twitter (@donnaharris_mua) and of course there’s The Make-up Darling Facebook page (link at the bottom of the page), where I post extra photos of my work and chat about products that I like.

This post is a cautionary tale.  I recently received an email, forwarded from a very reputable source, asking for trainee make-up artists to assist a make-up team backstage at a big fashion show in an exclusive London nightclub.  The position was unpaid but as catwalk make-up is an area that I am very interested in getting into and as the email stated that we would be assisting “top industry professionals”, I jumped at the chance as I thought it would be a great way to gain experience and network with top make-up artists that may like my work and want to use me again in the future. 

So in an effort to impress and appear professional to these top make-up artists I made enquiries into what was the go-to foundation of choice of make-up artists when doing a fashion show: something that was certain to photograph on a models skin when all the flashes from photographers’ cameras go off.  I went out and spent money I don’t really have on three different shades of the recommended foundation (MAC Face and Body) to make sure my kit was full.  I also bought a new outfit as I was told by the organiser that they’d be a videographer and photographer doing backstage interviews and taking photos.  Well, a girl’s got to look her best, hasn’t she...especially when it could be her big break!

So last night I turned up at the venue (which, incidentally was on the other side of London from where I live) all giddy with expectation and the effects of a hastily downed can of Red Bull, only to find that there were no top make-up artists to be assisted – only around seven other students or recent graduates of various London make-up schools, just like me!  Imagine my disappointment!  And what made it worse was that (maybe naively) as I thought I would be assisting a professional, I had not asked the fashion stylist/organiser who emailed me what look she was going for with the make-up because, well, why would I when I thought I would be briefed by a professional make-up artist?  So I hadn’t packed my craft box full of gold leaf, sequins, diamante, feathers etc, which turned out to be exactly the type of thing the stylist wanted!  Thankfully, I had enough black and gold eyeshadows, gold glitter and eyeliner to get by, and what I did not have was provided by another student make-up artist. 

The poor models were call complaining because they had been at the venue for hours, un-fed and un-watered, and some didn’t know how they were going to get home after the show (which was due to start at midnight).  I ended up playing counsellor and pharmacist to many of them who had headaches and came to my makeshift make-up station (in the disabled toilet!) for paracetamol and a chat. Thank God I’d packed a First Aid kit. These girls were working unpaid to with the promise of a professional photographer backstage taking shots for their portfolio – again, something that never materialised.

In the end, we managed to fulfil the stylist’s make-up brief and make the models look gorgeous.  The MAC Face and Body foundations went on beautifully on one model’s face and another model’s legs (mysteriously covered in cuts and bruises) so I am thankful that I bought them.  But last night served as a harsh reminder that not everyone out there is as genuine as me and that some people will lie to get what they want at the least expense.  It’s a lesson I learnt in my dancing and modelling days; people will always take advantage of your passion for your art and your desire to reach your goals. 

Oh, the joys of working in a creative industry....!

Make-up by me except for the gold leaf, which was added by another MUA