-Makeup artistry is a very serious career
and it does matter.
It's not just what you do on someone's face
that people remember it's your attitude
and it's if you're on time. Be there for the work.
Hi, welcome to my trailer.
This is where I spend most of my time on a daily basis.
Come in and check it out. Voila. This is my party bus.
So you want to know how I became
the Department Head of Makeup on Euphoria?
Take a seat. I'm going to tell you what it takes.
Number 1, how I learned to do what I do.
Hi.
-Hi. -Welcome.
-Thank you.
-So my career journey started
when I graduated from art school.
I went to Pratt institute in Brooklyn, New York.
This was 2012. I studied photography.
I think my background in photography and visual art
really influenced my work today.
That sort of like understanding and appreciation
for people in their element
and in their space definitely lent itself
to the work that I do now
because so much of it is about storytelling
and figuring out the back story to these characters
and then making sense of what the makeup
would look like on them. I have like a pretty good
understanding of lights and cameras
and like how light can really shift a look.
And then from my visual art background growing up
I did a lot of like painting and drawing and stuff.
A love of color is something I've had for a really long time.
How I built my portfolio.
I really didn't want to wait to get hired for the job
to then be able to put,
you know, the work in my portfolio.
So I would often like do looks on my parents,
my sister, my boyfriend.
At that time I was doing like experimental like glam
looks and like huge like scars
and like bullet holes like whatever,
whatever I thought like directors
might want to see in my portfolio.
I just had a regular digital camera,
photographed it like in daylight and threw it on a website
and then I turned to Craigslist
and I started answering any makeup ads.
So like I would go to like corporate offices
and like help people get ready for like their headshots.
And then I finally started
working with some film schools in LA.
My name started going around at like AFI, USC, UCLA.
So I started working with film students,
and I would department head their short films.
So I like learned how a set functioned.
That was really my training ground,
which led to my first feature film
and on that film I met a producer
who would bring me on to work on the film, Moonlight.
That was such a low-budget film
I didn't even have a makeup trailer.
We were all like so intimately involved
in the shooting of that beautiful film.
When Moonlight won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2017,
just to win and get recognized and like know
that my contribution helped the audience like feel something
when they were looking at the actors
was like everything for me
and obviously like being a part of a movie
that wins such an incredible award is super special.
Find a mentor.
I actually accidently found my mentor.
I didn't know any makeup artists at the time
so me knowing nothing and being incredibly and naive
I cold called a Hollywood film
and TV makeup artist, Jane Galli,
and I offered my free services and she ended up teaching me.
It was just a two-week crash course
where I learned everything from like special effects
makeup to beauty,
and I was just like she's a human and does makeup
and I think I want to do that.
I would never reach out to someone like that early on
and expect to be hired.
The point is to learn as much as you can, right?
And to be helpful for them so that they want you around.
You know, you're going in and you're asking questions,
you're learning most importantly,
you know, you're observing how this person is in the workplace
and kind of learning to anticipate their needs.
They'll really be honest they'll tell you
what the industry is really like,
they'll explain to you,
you know, when you've done something,
you know, that you could have done differently
and have a better outcome. How to build your makeup kit.
So you actually don't need that much in your kit.
For the beauty portion of your kit,
I started with like drug store makeup,
which is really good by the way.
There's like amazing products out there.
I would save money from my job as a wine server.
Obviously you need concealers and foundations
in a huge range of skin tones
and, if possible, I would transfer those liquids
into like smaller little bottles to condense your kit.
It's just easier to work out of.
Lip colors you don't need 20 shades.
You could have like 10 lip colors
and you could mix them to make custom colors
then you can really tailor your makeup to exactly,
you know, the person's face.
And then with blush you want to have like some cream products
and some powder but, again, you can mix, you can layer.
Bronze or highlighter, the same.
You could get the cheapest products,
you could get like the cheapest powder, highlighters
and blushes you can find. It's all about how you apply it
and then, you know, your own critical eye;
knowing when you've done too much,
knowing when you've done not enough.
So that you'll learn like by trial and error.
I love having like a palette
and scooping out product and creams
and kind of putting them on a palette
and everything is sort of happening on the palette.
Like you're kind of custom mixing your stuff.
How to create a unique makeup look
that's also authentic for that character.
So while I'm reading the script,
I also am sort of trying to read between the lines a little bit.
I will go and meet with the costume designer,
I'll look at some outfits that have been pulled
trying to get a sense of like what,
you know, what colors they wear, what their style is.
Of course we know how costumes and clothes,
you know, inform who someone is.
And then my favorite part is looking at the set designs
it's going to be like the atmosphere
for whatever they're doing.
So whether it's a bedroom or like
just their apartment, their car,
I like to know what all that stuff looks like.
It's never just one look brewing in my head
it's like their whole kind of vibe and style,
their color palette, the textures.
I'll talk to the actor.
I always like to sort of connect with the person first
and ask them like how they usually wear their makeup,
what kind of products they like, and I sort of try and tailor
the experience to sort of like gain their trust
and then I sort of add things on top of that.
I've had more success doing it that way than just sort of like
going in and doing what I think, and I know when I am nailing it
when like they leave the makeup trailer
and they are like embodying their character
and their behavior has changed.
So that's a good indicator to me.
A lot of what I do is sort of like toning down certain things,
making the lipstick look like it's been faded.
I do have to like stop myself sometimes
because I want the makeup to look amazing
especially on Euphoria,
you know, like there's a big makeup audience,
but the story is more important.
I also know what it feels like to be watching a show or a movie
and for the makeup to be distracting
when it feels like why is she waking up
with like eyeliner and mascara and lip gloss on?
I mean I've seen this before
and it like, I like never understand.
Being a makeup department head what it entails.
It's accounting and budgeting and scheduling,
delegating the successful department like you
really need to give responsibility away.
Try and channel your like Type A organize-y person.
That's not me. I'm not a Type A organizer
and so I struggle with this a little,
but like you got to be on top of everything that's coming.
If everything is organized,
if my team is ready to help, I feel like
I can make amazing things happen in a very short amount of time.
It sucks if you miss something because
then it's like your fault and you have to scramble,
and I've scrambled so many times.
The producer is like, you know, how is the fake arm going?
The one we're shooting next Tuesday?
And I'm like, yeah, it's great. And then like my head
I've forgotten to check in with the person
and I don't know if it's going to be ready by Tuesday
and like I've been in this situation a lot
and I've been doing this for 10 years.
You really have to be super prepared for anything.
How to make sure you're hired again.
So the people that are doing the hiring on a commercial
or TV show or movie or short film
or whatever they're looking for people
that have a really good team playing attitude.
They're looking for people who can get the job done,
who show up on time, and who can remain calm under pressure.
They don't want any drama and they want someone
who can really take the work seriously.
And if you really love what you do and you love makeup
and like designing looks and contributing
to whatever the story is for whatever the project is,
this will happen pretty naturally.
It's really easy to see when someone really cares.
It's about doing something, doing a look, looking at it
and making a decision is this good enough? Is this done?
Am I ready to show this to my department head?
Make sure it looks great from all angles.
Remember that the camera is going to be like over here,
here, here, here, whatever.
The lights could go dim, it could be really blown out.
Make sure you understand what your work is going to look like
because you don't want to be surprised
once you get out on set. How to stay sane.
If I could give my younger self a piece of advice,
it would be don't be so hard on yourself when you fuck up.
I have had moments on set where I'm like
practically having a panic attack.
I've learned over the years a really helpful thing
is to move a little slower, breathe, stay calm,
tackle one thing at a time.
A good thing to remember is like this is makeup,
it's not rocket science. We're onset, it's okay.
The act of putting on makeup I think is so therapeutic,
it's so connected to mental health.
I feel like it has uplifted me.
I've experienced like being kind of too shy
to wear certain looks,
and I now have experienced what it feels like
to confidently wear the looks I want to wear.
I hope, you know, to inspire others
to do the same things for themselves
because life is short so do what you want with your face.
Thanks so much for spending the day with me
and make sure to check out my new makeup line,
Half Magic Beauty.
♪♪