News

Blanche Macdonald Makeup Grad April Boyes, generating heat.

LEO AWARDS, HOT POCKETS AND HOT TUB TIME MACHINES.

Never underestimate the power of a stiff drink.

Not that Blanche Macdonald would ever condone excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, you understand. But for makeup graduate April Boyes it was a night of partying that began a journey that’s taken her to the corners of the galaxy with Stargate and Caprica, and brought her back to Vancouver to pick up a Leo Award for Best Makeup in a Feature Length Drama.

“Back in 2000 I was 20, studying criminology and working in a coffee shop with a girl who was going to Blanche Macdonald,” explains the native Vancouverite. “I was planning on a career working with criminals. Then we went out for Bellini Tuesday. By midnight I was yelling, ‘I’m going to makeup school!’ I called first thing the next day, and there were two spaces on the program left. I was there at 3pm with my deposit.”

Deciding to commit to makeup artist school was anything but blurred logic. That night of fun made April realise that the opportunity to pursue a passion was too good to pass up.

Ever Dreamt of Styling a Rock Band?

Calling all Makeup, Hair and Fashion Students and Grads! Don't miss this unique chance to break into the take-no-prisoners world of rock and roll styling. And win up to $2000 while you're doing it!

If you ever dreamt about having a band of your own to mould into the epitome of cool, you’re in luck. You’ll need to act quickly though. The competition is closing and we need entries in before August 6.

We're giving Blanche Macdonald students and graduates the opportunity to create a new look for one of Vancouver’s most promising young rock acts, The Colin Grieve Band! 

Your work may be used on the Band's promotional material on their rise to national and international glory. It may even end up on the album cover. On top of that, there's the added bonus of up to $2000 available in cash prizes!

Here’s what you need to do.

We want you to form teams of three: made up of one student or graduate each from the Makeup, Fashion and Hair programs. And in your teams of three we want you to present us with:

• a unified visual portfolio of your ideas for the band’s wardrobe, makeup concepts and hairstyles
• a 300-400 word written proposal explaining your plans
• a portfolio of your previous work: five photos from each team member demonstrating a variety of experience

Please hand your team’s completed band portfolio at the City Square Campus, attention to Kelly Schmidt or Jennifer Daerendinger, on or before August 6.

RSVP to our Facebook event for updates and to meet other students and grads who want to participate!  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101241073262466

The three top teams will be selected by the judging panel and will be announced on August 31. On September 8 these finalists will be invited to a studio location to put their ideas into action, dressing and styling the Band for a shoot with a professional photographer. Once those photos are in the judges’ hands, the panel, now including the actual band, will reconvene and decide the overall winner. The winning team's photographs will be used in The Colin Grieve Band’s press and promotional material in 2010. And maybe even more.

For more information please visit http://www.blanchemacdonald.com/news/current/2010/contest-style-makeup-band-colin-grieve/

Good luck. For those about to rock, we salute you.

Local Colour: Making up faces for MAC

BLANCHE MACDONALD MAKEUP GRADUATE AND MAC RESIDENT TRAINER JENNIFER DELESOY-ESMERIA: “MY GOAL IS TO GIVE PEOPLE AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE.”

“I always knew I wanted to work at MAC,” smiles Jennifer Delesoy-Esmeria. “It’s corny, I know, but it’s true.”

Landing the dream job might sound corny, but it’s also reality. For the past four years Jennifer has been a Resident Trainer covering the four MAC stores across Vancouver. It’s a management role that goes beyond the responsibility of teaching the best young makeup artists in the retail world. MAC, Makeup Arts Cosmetics, is the professional makeup artist’s choice after all. That’s why Jennifer is one of the first artists called when big events need the top professionals. She worked on Chantal Kreviazuk, Nikki Yanofsky, Tara Oram and Zaki Ibrahim when the Juno Awards visited Vancouver in 2009, and it was Jennifer who did the makeup for k.d. lang’s amazing performance at the Opening Ceremony at the 2010 Olympics.

Blanche Macdonald Fashion Design graduate Hrissa Soumpassis takes elika designs worldwide

When Hrissa Soumpassis was twelve, her parents asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“I told them I was going to be a fashion designer,” she laughs.

It was a bold prediction. Hrissa is now the Designer and Creative Director of elika designs, a high-end women’s ready-to-wear label selling to fans around the world.

“I was obsessively drawing clothing from the age of six or seven,” she smiles. “I loved clothes. I always had my own weird style.”

Hrissa took inspiration from the vintage clothing that found its way to her hometown of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and began designing as a teenager. 

“I started experimenting with clothing in high school,” she recalls. “I was making outfits for my friends to wear at parties. I could do magic with fun fur!”

Hrissa had two major ambitions on graduating high school. She was going to travel and she was going to break into the fashion industry. Preferably both simultaneously.

“After high school I did a year at a fashion design school in Saskatoon,” she recalls. “It was totally ridiculous. They were geared to teaching women to become seamstresses, not fashion designers. So I studied Humanities at university then went backpacking for a year. In New Zealand I interned with a designer who taught me a lot about the industry, even how to experiment with possum fur.

“Before I left Canada I knew I wanted to enrol in a Fashion Design program. I’d loved Vancouver when I’d visited, so I found its best fashion school – Blanche Macdonald. I got back from Australia, drove straight from Saskatchewan to Vancouver and started the Fashion Design program.”

The travel junkie quickly readjusted to student life.

Esthetics Graduate Michelle Ambrosone, Skincare Superstar. “Patients aren’t coming in for a treatment. They’re coming in to change their lives.”

Dr Frances Jang is a dermatological superstar. When magazines like Fashion or Elle Canada, or broadcasters like CTV News need expert advice, Dr Jang is the person they speak to. When she’s not sharing her extensive knowledge with the world, Dr Jang runs a private practice with plastic surgeon Dr Nick Carr: Vancouver’s most prestigious cosmetic dermatology and plastic surgery clinic, Skinworks. 

Blanche Macdonald Esthetics graduate Michelle Ambrosone is a key member of the Skinworks team. She’s been a Laser Technician there for the past six years, taking her position at the clinic straight after completing her program at Canada’s top Esthetics School.

“I started researching jobs before I graduated from Blanche Macdonald,” recalls Michelle. “I wanted to start working right away, so I literally went through the phone book calling every doctor asking if they hired estheticians. I was pretty motivated. It was actually one of my instructors, Erin Grimble, who suggested contacting Dr Jang. She ended up being the one.”

A Winning Weekend: Blanche Macdonald's Makeup Students and Artists create the 'Wow Factor' at Vancouver's International Makeup Tradeshow.

The first ever International Makeup Artist Trade Show (IMATS) to be held in Vancouver was a triumph for Canada’s top makeup school this April. Under the watchful eyes of many of the World’s leading makeup artists, students and graduates from the Blanche Macdonald Centre shone over two days of incredible creativity.

Two of the weekend’s highlights were a pair of competitions, Fashion/Fantasy and Character/Prosthetics, open to makeup students from across the globe. Out of thousands of entries from students and makeup schools around the world, no less than six Blanche Macdonald students were selected to compete in these finals.

“The fact that the IMATS has come to Vancouver speaks volumes about how big this city’s makeup industry has become,” explains Blanche Macdonald’s Makeup Program Director Karen Esprez. “It’s an incredibly exciting time to be a makeup artist in Vancouver. From beauty to fashion to special effects, the IMATS demonstrated that’s there’s an incredible amount of talent in this city.”