The other day I went to Ilamasqua and it held a seminar by the two leading makeup artists of Downton Abbey- Magi Vaughan and Vanya Pell!
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| The ladies who lunch |
They briefly told us what the abide by in the makeup industry, their experience and gave the best advice on how to conduct yourself as a makeup artist in this competitive industry.
Surprisingly, they both began their careers in theatre. This may show how versatile a MUA has to be, going from extreme makeup (clarting it on) to being very delicate and light handed for the minimalistic look of the 1900s.
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| Leading Actress |
Many would watch the show and would barely notice the makeup. If at all. But that's key to this era as women had very little, if anything to put on their face. I've heard of ladies putting flour on their skin for the 'fair' look and using beetroot as a lip stain.
Magi said the makeup they did use in this period was very crude and they tried to take it away from that and made the makeup less harsh and more flattering for TV. It's true, if they were to use deep reds or coloured eyeliner (which she said they stayed away from) it would look true to the period (which I personally would rather) but it would make them appear washed out/ possibly ill and much less attractive. And I think the producers like to give the impression (to America or other counties that are obsessed with the series) that England back then was all very regal, elegant and proper, pretty hair pretty dresses and eloquent surroundings.
American Actress Shirely Maclaine
"It's all about looking at a face and thinking, what can I do to make that face beautiful" Magi Vaughan.
Although the makeup is to appear non-existent, there are tricks that they use to enhance their assets. A very subtle Illamasqua matte brown eye shadow was used in the eye crease to extenuate the eye (Truth), individual false lashes on the outer corners, and literally a hairline past the natural lip line to line the lips. It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it looks unnoticeable.
They mentioned there is going to be some sort of club scene where they 'went all out' with blue or green eye lines and crude lip colours they had back then.
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| Leading Actress |
This is the best photo I could find of a recent makeup that Magi would have done. This is what the makeup looked like after she did the demo. As you can see, very minimal. Secret to the flawless complexion? Airbrushing.
"If you can see the makeup, you've gone too far" Magi
She went on to say that airbrushing is very compatible with HD because it is micro minuscule dots of product that is being 'air brushed' onto the skin. If you blend over the airbrushing with a brush then you have lost the essence of the airbrush, inevitably making it appear flat.
She says to go round the face and very slowly build up the product only where it's needed. The product used? Dynair. Also used on Desperate Housewives.
I think the secret to this look is the primer. I was taught to NOT use a primer because it adds an unnecessary layer, and you want the foundation to sit as a second skin. I agree with this view, but It looks so beautiful on screen to have that dewy gorgeous skin. The primer...Makeup Forever ( applied with a brush before being airbrushed).
Concealing. This is a tricky one, colour correction is needed obviously but to hide those unwanted friends is quite to do for this makeup. Magi says two conceal afterwards and to go in with as much product as you feel necessary. For Shirely, she mentioned she had some sort of skin condition under her eyes so she corrected this before doing the full face. Touch Eclat is also used.
The lady in the middle of this photo has had very subtle contouring.
On the lady pictured right, a cheek stain has been put through the airbrush and this product is none other than Benetint! (I also discovered later this works well as a blood stain too!).
Magi's favourite eye shadows are Dizzy, Toxic, Heroine, Truth and Incubus applied on the entire female cast.
Shirely
As equally important, or maybe more, is the hair. Finger waves are key at this time. There was a demonstration of this too, using tongs. Vanya said it's best to ringlet the hair beforehand so it already gives that same movement and then to brush it out (this may be for the non flat finger waves, not pictured). Do not use product beforehand and use little after. She also said that if you tong the wrong way, it's irreversible! So you need to be careful. Hold the tongs lightly, but with control to avoid a harsh crease.
The Jazz Scene product list; Skin base foundation (for that sweaty look!), Gleam (applied sparingly on cheekbones), Love and Nymph and Tweak high (high on the cheekbones), Eyes- Sophie Pencil and Precision Ink in Abyss and Powder eye shadows in Jules, Faith, Obsidian and Savage along with pure pigment in Furore and Ore helped create a variety od dark, sultry eyes. Eyebrows- Eyebrow Cake in thunder mixed with Sealing gel (this would mean when the actors got hotter, they would stay in place!), Lips- Medium pencil in Severe and Diablo, Howl and Box Lipsticks (possibly refering to Alex Box) and lipgloss in Hermetic.
The male dancers had darkened brows and eyes- Heroine, Obsidian, Drama, Jules and Vernau were all used along with Disobey to create contour on the cheekbones.
So informative!
x S-J x
