Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro (42 page)

WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE THE SHOW

The Makeup Test
If it’s the first time you’ve worked with a designer, research his or her design style and history. This will give you an idea of the aesthetics of past shows.

About a week before the fashion show, the makeup artist and designer meet to discuss the look. After viewing the clothes, the designer will give you his or her vision for the collection. Designers are very visual, but aren’t always able to communicate what they want. Your role is to interpret their vision. Most designers have photos of inspirational objects to help you with the interpretation. Ask a
lot
of questions. If the designer mentions he wants a strong eye, ask if he’s thinking Sophia Loren in the 60s or the modern Gucci eye. Keep asking until you feel confident that you have the right vision in your head.

Next, do some trials and experiment with some options to show the designer and stylist your interpretations of the look. You may get the right look quickly, or it can take quite a long time. Sometimes makeup is done on a pretty assistant, but show makeup works best on a model. There is a reason models are models: they showcase makeup better than other people.

Once the final look is approved, sketch it. Purchase anything you think you will need that is not already in your kit, and complete a face chart that includes all of the products, with color identification, location on the face, and any special information needed to complete the look. You will need a makeup team. Find out how many models will be walking and hire one artist for every two to three models.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE SHOW

Stay calm. This is the key to working on a fashion show. There will be plenty of chaos, lots of distractions, and last-minute emergencies. You also have to be flexible; sometimes makeup is completely changed thirty minutes before the show.

On the day of the fashion show, you need to arrive two to four hours before the show is scheduled to begin.

Start by using one of the models to do a trial run of the makeup. When her face is done, bring her out onto the runway so you and the designer can check the results under the lights. If you have assistants working with you, bring them out as well so they hear what you and the designer decide.

Once the look gets approved, the team begins to work. Adjust the colors for each model’s skin tone. Even if the designer says he wants pastel pink on everyone’s cheeks, remember that the exact same color won’t work on different skin tones.

Many of the models will arrive backstage from another show. They will already have a full face of makeup on, and you will have only minutes to change their look completely. To save time, hand the model a tissue covered in non-oily makeup remover, and instruct her to wipe off her lipstick and eye shadow. You can have her leave the foundation and mascara on, but you must check it carefully to determine whether it will work with the look you’re trying to create. No matter how little time you have, if the foundation isn’t right, you must take it all off and start from scratch.

Right before the show begins, you need to check the models for refreshing or additional powder to combat shine.

Even after the models start heading down the runway, your job is not done. As the models change clothes, they might mess up their lips, or they might need a touch-up with powder. Your job is to continue standing by, ready to fix whatever might need fixing.

WORKING with CELEBRITIES

Working with celebrities is fun and challenging. Just like every woman, they want to find a look that is right for them while looking beautiful.
Whether you are doing their makeup for an early-morning television appearance, a movie premiere, a photo shoot, or the Oscars, you have to adapt the look to suit the clothes, lighting, and occasion.
And as with any relationship, if it’s your first time working with a certain celebrity, go slowly, ask a lot of questions, and hand her the mirror frequently to avoid getting big surprises at the end of the application. If it is a celebrity you’ve worked with regularly, just ask a few quick questions about what she’s going to be wearing and the look she wants.

Makeup kit owned by Frank Sinatra’s makeup artist.

Chapter 12

MEMORABLE MAKEUP MOMENTS & LEGENDS

the HISTORY of MAKEUP

c. 500,000 B.C.E.
Cave dwellers in Africa and South America cover their bodies with mud applied in decorative patterns. The mud also functions as an insect repellent.

c. 3000 B.C.E.
Egyptians use more than thirty different types of cosmetic balms and ointments made from ingredients such as beeswax, vegetable oil, and animal fat. Moisturizers are considered so essential, they are routinely distributed to workers and farmers.

Egyptian women have elaborate makeup chests, equipment, and products. They give themselves egg white facials, use complexion cream, and apply perfumed oils. Women paint their faces with a (deadly) powder made from lead carbonate and water. Nails are painted with henna, and lipsticks are available in several orange-based shades. The use of red is banned, as it is considered magical. To outline the eyes, they use either powdered kohl or crushed ant’s eggs. Eye shadows in red or green are created using plant stems. Other makeup tools include stone pestles for grinding, bronze or silver mirrors, ivory or alabaster spoons, bronze jars for holding face cream, linen, razors, ivory combs, and pumice.

c. 2000 B.C.E.
An Egyptian papyrus includes formulas for removing wrinkles, pimples, age spots, and other blemishes. One mixture includes bullock’s bile. Egyptians who want to get rid of wrinkles are told to apply a mixture of incense, olive oil, crushed cyperus, and wax to the face and to leave it on for six days.

Overseers stop all work on the pyramids until makeup supplies (kohl, green malachite, and galena) that help to protect the eyes of workers from the sun are delivered.

c. 2500 B.C.E.
Sumerians invent the first tweezers to get rid of unwanted hair and use a flat bone to push back cuticles.

c. 1800 B.C.E.
Gold dust is used by Babylonian men to powder their hair.

c. 1500 B.C.E.
Egyptian women use body oils scented with frankincense and myrrh to moisturize and protect their skin from the dry, dusty climate.

Mesopotamian soldiers are paid in bottles of oil and perfume, which are more highly valued than cash.

c. 1200 B.C.E.
Egyptians of this era are wearing a full face of cosmetics. They create eye shadows out of malachite, a copper ore that has a greenish tone, to line their bottom lids. Eyelashes and upper lids are darkened with powder made from lead ore.

c. 600 B.C.E.
Makeup and lavish clothing is worn by all Babylonians of rank. An ambitious warrior named Parsondes was said to have complained to King Nebuchadnezzar about the governor Nanarus’s focus on beauty rather than on government. When word got back to the governor, Nanarus ordered that the warrior shave all his hair and wear makeup and perfumed oils.

c. 400 B.C.E.
Women from various cultures use powders made from crushed minerals, such as ocher, hematite, and white lead, to color their skin.

FIRST CENTURY B.C.E.
Roman women use saffron or wood ash as eye shadow and antimony to darken their lids, lashes, and brows. Fucus, a purple pigment, is mixed with saliva and used for rouge and lip color. Blue paint is used to outline veins, which are seen as a sign of beauty. Nails are buffed with sheep’s fat. Pumice is used to whiten teeth.

SECOND CENTURY A.D.
Women in Palestine apply a mixture of starch, white lead, and crimson dye to their faces as an early form of blush.

THIRD CENTURY A.D.
Talmudic law forbids Jewish women from applying makeup on the Sabbath.

636
The first glass mirror is invented. Women hang them, placed in elaborate cases, on a chain from their girdles, and men keep theirs under their hats.

1370
Charles V of France receives a gift of Hungary water, a body rub made of an alcohol base with rosemary, cedar, and turpentine. Soap is a luxury, but the use of these waters sweetens the smell of the body.

c. 1400
Cosmetics, including a white paste made of flour to cover the face, become increasingly popular among the French aristocracy. Women pluck their hairlines and even remove their eyebrows in the name of beauty.

c. 1500
Renaissance women use a mixture of honey and egg whites to condition their skin. White lead is applied to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Mercuric sulphide is used for rouge. To keep complexions clear, some wash their faces in urine or a mixture of rose water and wine. To reduce ruddiness, raw veal soaked in warm milk for several hours is placed on the affected area.

c. 1550
Catherine de Médicis uses a skin tonic made from crushed peach blossoms mixed with almond oil.

1597
Gerard’s Herbal
is published. This is one of the first printed publications to include recipes for various skin creams, including one for acne.

c. 1600
To soothe chapped lips, it is recommended that sweat from behind the ears be applied to the affected area.

1603
Queen Elizabeth I dies and is rumored to have an inch and a half of makeup on her face at the time of her passing. This is not uncommon in an era when no one washes their faces, and makeup is used to cover the horrible scars left by smallpox.

LATE 1600s
A doll-like look with a pure white face and scarlet cheeks is all the rage. A foundation of white ceruse, which contains lead, is mixed on a palette with water or egg white and applied to the skin. Rouge is commonly applied by rubbing a piece of Spanish felt or wool that has been dyed scarlet onto dampened cheeks.

LATE 1600s TO 1700s
Silk taffeta or thin leather patches in shapes like flowers, stars, and moons become a popular product to temporarily conceal smallpox scars on the face. More than just cover-ups, however, the patches signal a woman's availability if placed near the lips. Engaged women wear them on the left cheek and switch to the right after marriage. Some even carry small patch boxes with them to social events to replace any that fall off. Small scenes are sometimes pasted over an eyebrow, and profiles of family members are sometimes worn on the face.