Makeup Artists Relationships with Clients

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love my part time job of being a makeup artist, specifically for crazy funky and avant garde photoshoots, but I can do makeup for anything from events and functions to tv and of course the lovely gorgeous brides that we all know and love for being difficult.

I had an interesting client a couple of weeks back and she really made me think about what my previous clients had thought of their makeup experience with myself being there makeup artist. This particular client was someone who didn't know anything about makeup, someone who doesnt wear makeup at all generally but as it was one of her first photoshoots the photographer convinced her that having your face done is essential and polishes off your look - she wasn't keen on having a makeup artist because she had a bad experience with her last makeup artist... someone whom I've heard of in the industry as being quite spectacular. She said, she specifically did not enjoy having her makeup done by this person because she took so long and would not let her see what she was doing to her face as she was done and she thought the makeup was "heavy".

I tried my hardest to explain to her for film and tv makeup is NEVER going to be as light as everyday use and I personally know a couple of people who love their every day foundation to be "heavy", I'm personally a heavy-ish foundation person, as my skin sometimes has a tendancy to go a little red on my cheeks, and I find that this can be covered if I have my heavy foundation on.

Makeup for photoshoots can always be difficult when there are models and photographers involved, as the model wants one look whereas the the photographer wants another, they both say they don't care and I must do my thing but if one wants a smokey look and the other wants a sort of natural look there can be big conflicts for my job as the makeup artist. Especially I want the client happy and the photographer as they will both tell everyone of their experience with me and whether or not they enjoyed it. The particular girl that I have spoken about in the post asked me via email to come and do her makeup again so I do hope she was pleased with the result that I produced on this particular day.

I am starting to understand now that not only am I a makeup artist, but I am also a under paid psychologist as I hear everyones problems and gossip and I find myself starting to offer advice to them from my point of view. Unfortunately- I'm known for not being the best person to give advice as my brain works in weird ways that seem to only work for me! :) So to any of my clients that I've given advice to, just remember to only take it with a pinch of salt.  

My relationship with a couple of photographers has grown to be a big success this year, as my calender for this month of November shows... I was lucky a couple of weeks ago to have three or four bookings over 2 weekends a month, this month has been quite hectic juggling all my time to accomodate everyone, and now I've got some lunch time bookings to skive off work to go and beautify some people - which is a very welcomed distraction as everyone knows I'm not the biggest fan of sitting behind a desk and being a slave for my collegues, but it keeps my brain very busy!

As you can see my makeup business is finally taking off - just in time for December for it to cool down and then start all over again in January after my little trip down to Cape Town in the first few weeks of January :) So excited for that, but thats a different post for another day!

See some of my latest makeup work that I am so proud of.... All photographs by Nicholas Goldsworthy of NGD Photography

Model: Christine Park

Model: Lucy Venables

Model: Imogen Meyer

Model: Kirsten Maarschalk 

(FHM Top 100 2011) Please vote for her - she deserves to win it! :)

Peace, love and cupcakes,

Flea

Everyday should be a C&H Day

The creators of C&H are seriously something else, but I absolutely loved this! :)



Comedy!

I've never really been interested in comedians, but lately I've been able to watch a good couple of live shows and shows on tv.

About a year ago, I was introduced to Jeff Dunham by a friend and ever since then I have watched that show so many times that I can probably recite it word for word, and between a couple of my mates and I we have our little inside jokes that relate to good old Jeff, with his puppets, and at the end of the day they're are so many people who actually know who Jeff is because he has become really popular recently.

My brother also absolutely loves Mike Naiker's comedy, who is a white  south african comedian, that grew up in durban and is probably a better indian than most indians, at times he can be funny... Just not when I'm trying to work and I have my brother making me listen to this guy talking about fly fishing being childish because you tease fish with false and fake flies for hours and hours. ha ha!

George, my friend also introduced me to the world of Kevin Bloody Wilson, and we went to go watch him live at Carnival City, although I never actually got to watch his show - I watched his daughter open for him and I was horribly drunk, but from what I can remember I almost pissed myself laughing at this woman. Singing about Catholic Girls being nice girls.... and the fact that chocolate is better than sex, amongst other things that really hit home for me and the boys didn't understand why I was laughing so hard. I was laughing so hard because it would of been things that the boys didn't understand. Once Kevin Bloody Wilson finally came on stage, I went to go and look after a very drunk Brett. I was drunk too, so I can't really complain. Good night though, I just learnt that I mustn't drink beer because of how quickly it gets me drunk. ha ha!

The most recent comedian that I watched last night, that had been recorded on my PVR at home. Jim Jefferies, the Aussie living in the UK and performing in the USA. An absolute laugh. I loved watching it... Simple and small facts that man comes up with, are literally outstanding. Really hilarious, but also so bloody true. If you haven't heard of him - youtube him NOW! You seriously will not regret it :)

I'm really trying to get a hand on this blogging thing... not sure if its working though, oh well, its always better than actually working :)

Flea

Spam/ Joke Emails

I love receiving emails that are jokes that are:
1.) funny
2.) New: that I haven't read before
3.) literally make me cry because they are so funny...
4.) are not sickening to read or ruin my day once I've read them...

But at some point, the people who constantly email me 100 times a day with joke mail, it actually becomes spam mail to me at least. If I am my pc at the time of the email being sent, then its great, I can open, read and load all the wonderful and sometimes very weird pictures that you have sent me but at other times, like for example over the weekend, I see them initally on my blackberry and can't always see the pictures properly for many reasons, one being that the pictures do not always load or you can't see them because of the size of the screen. And constantly when I look at my phone I see that tiny red dot flashing away at me and I somehow initially think that someone wants to get hold of me, but its just you, again sending on jokes, like you always do.

Now I know there are many solutions to this problem, change my email address on my Blackberry, mark you as spam, ask you nicely not to send these mails to me but I don't want to do any of the above. I only want to do the above when you send me horrifying and terrible imagery that in some cases makes my stomach turn and I have a strange urge after reading your mail that I want to throw up....

I understand that shocking things are happening all over the world and we all need to be aware of it, but I don't want to see it on my work email, if I want to see that stuff I will log onto news24, or switch on sky news, or I dunno - read the newspaper?

I've been guilty of spamming some of my friends mail boxes, but at the end of the day I don't do it as much as mine is spammed daily. Maybe we all need to think before we hit forward? I mean we all need to work sometimes don't we? Why don't you start to do some work today instead of forwarding me rubbish that has been going around cyber space for years! I have been going on the internet daily since I was probably 11 years old.... Lets not forward EVERY email we receive.

I challenge you today :) Lets see if you can do it!

Flea

Sincerly Hoping That This Is NOT True!