UNDERSTANDING THE SKULL STRUCTURE AND GENERAL SUGGESTIONS

DAY 1

Today we learned to understand the skull structure of a person, touching each other's faces and underlining the hollows with black painting. This is very helpful to understand which areas we have to highlight when we makeup someone.

 It will also be very helpful for contouring the face; infact, the hollows in the skull are the parts we are going to contour.

Our tutor also explained us how to clean brushes: it is very important to clean your brushes everytime you finish to make up someone and even if you could use some chemical substances like IPA to clean them, it is always better to clean them under running water and some baby/neutral soap. Try to clean them very gently and after all the dirtiness has gone, give them the original shape and let them dry on a wipe. 

Remember to use chemical substances just when you are in a rush and have no choice.

Before applying any makeup, the face needs to be prepared : 

1- gently remove any makeup the person has on and apply a cleansing lotion giving the person a little massage with the tips  of your hands; this will also help the person relax

2- remove the lotion with two cotton wools humidified in water going around the face in circular motions

3- use a toner to remove any makeup excess and tone the face

4- massage a moisturizing cream and wait few moments to let it set into the skin.

While we are working we have to be able to self-support ourselves  and to not lean against objects or, worse, on the person we are making  up. To avoid back problems, a correct posture is very important and shoes are essential. Try to wear comfortable shoes a little bit higher in the back and absolutely ban flat shoes or UGG!

Do not wear any jewelery when you are making up someone, because it can cause injuries to the model and be uncomfortable for you.

Always use a hand sanitiser before you start working and a chewing-gum or a breath freshner. Remember that personal hygiene is very important for a makeup artist, because we work very closely to people's faces and it can be really unpleasant to be made up by someone who just peeled an orange or just smoke a cigarette.

Be sure that your model has ALWAYS a gown, so if you drop something it won't spot or damage the clothes or costumes. For men use tissues on the neck, especially if they are wearing a shirt.

That is all for the first day.

Write to you soon,

Michelle.