Events
Victoria Down brings Blockbuster Movie Makeup to Blanche Macdonald
Blanche Macdonald’s Makeup Program students learnt more than the correct application of Pros-aide transfers when movie makeup artist Victoria Down dropped by the City Square campus to deliver a pair of hands-on demonstrations. They also learnt why any movie’s Director of Photography is their best friend, what happens when the only porta-potty on an icy set slides off the side of a mountain and why Pierce Brosnan is the nicest guy in Hollywood. Even when his prosthetic beards don’t fit properly.
Victoria broke into the movie business twenty-six years ago, and since then has gone on to become makeup department head on movies including Thir13en Ghosts, Elf, The Chronicles of Riddick, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Night at the Museum 1 and 2, Shooter, Juno, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. 
The big filmography doesn’t translate to a big ego, and for nearly three hours in both the morning and afternoon, Victoria gave two fascinating and highly entertaining presentations, dishing out insider tips of how to get ahead in this competitive industry. The presentations culminated with Victoria, aided by Blanche Macdonald’s own Céline Godeau, giving step-by-step guides to applying Pros-aide transfers, the same demonstrations of new technology and technique she and Frank Ippolito had delivered to the professional movie makeup artists of the IATSE union, local 891.
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Exclusive contest from the Blanche Macdonald Centre: Enter to win the new Apple 32GB iPad with Wifi and 3G!
The Blanche Macdonald Centre is giving you an opportunity to liven up your life with the new revolutionary Apple 32GB iPad!
Since Apple introduced the iPad to the world, we haven't found a smarter and more stylish way to browse the net, watch movies in high-resolution, view photos, listen to music, get organized, flip through the hottest magazines, and shop on our favourite sites.
With its incredibly responsive Multi-Touch screen, sleek design, and brilliant applications, this device screams top-notch, chic, and mobile. One lucky Blanche Macdonald fan will be randomly selected so stop wishing you had one - sign up as a fan on our Blanche Macdonald page on Facebook® and enter our online contest entry form where you will be eligible to win an Apple 32GB iPad with Wifi + 3G! Retail value approximately $779.98 Canadian. It will be sure to keep you in awe.
Good Luck!
You must enter on or before September 10th, 2010, 6:00pm, Pacific Standard Time. The winner will be contacted by telephone and must answer a simple mathematical question. Please read the Contest Rules and Regulations for more details.
Over the coming months we will be posting DIY Fashion and Makeup tips, at-home Esthetics treatments, videos, contests and more!
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Blanche Macdonald Esthetics Graduate Chaline Hird: Circling the Globe and Coming Home Again
From jet setting to exotic locales as an International Spa Consultant to surviving a terrorist attack in Mumbai.
From behind her desk in Blanche Macdonald’s Downtown Campus Associate Director Chaline Hird is the very essence of calm elegance. Her office is meticulous. Her smile is welcoming. Any time a student has a problem or a question, Chaline listens attentively before delivering the benefit of her considerable wisdom.
Little has changed in seventeen years. In 1993 Chaline was an Esthetics student at Blanche Macdonald. Her favourite instructor was Lise Graham, who today is the Managing Director of the Downtown Campus and just happens to occupy the office next to Chaline.
“As a student she was always at the front of the room,” smiles Lise. “And there was always a grin. Everything she did was perfect.
“When I became Managing Director every time a position came up I’d say, where’s Chaline? She’s phenomenal, just like she was as a student. She’s a perfectionist. She’s very detail-orientated. And she genuinely cares about other people.”
It’s not unusual for Blanche Macdonald students to end up rejoining the family on a professional basis down the line. After all, they’ve had the best training. But Chaline’s journey as a manager, director, trainer and consultant for some of the world’s finest spas and back to the school is beyond remarkable. It’s taken her from Vancouver to Australia to England to India and back again.
Her incredible adventure began with the decision to come to Blanche Macdonald.
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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.
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Ever Dreamt of Styling a Rock Band?
Now's your chance! Calling all Blanche Macdonald students and graduates! Win a chance to create a new look for one of Vancouver’s most promising young bands!
Great rock and roll has always been about more than just music. From Roxy Music to the Sex Pistols to The Strokes to The Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Slipknot to Kings of Leon, the truly essential bands have always had a unique look to enhance their unique sound.
If you ever dreamt about having a band of your own to mould into the epitome of cool, you’re in luck.
For the first time ever, the Blanche Macdonald Centre is running a competition offering students and graduates the chance to style a living, touring, take-no-prisoners rock and roll band. The band in question then has the option of adopting their winning new image on a permanent basis. It’s a remarkable and unique opportunity for anyone interested in making inroads into the music business.
We’ve teamed up with celebrated Vancouver producer Don McLeod to select an act that we think sound terrific but, if we’re being honest, could look better. Allow us to present future stars (once you’ve finished with them)…Colin Grieve.
Music-wise, think epic rock. We’re talking 3 Doors Down, Theory Of A Deadman and Daughtry. Image-wise, think what you like. Oh yeah, don’t be confused by the name. Colin is the songwriter, but it’s definitely a four-piece band.
We need you to style and sculpt this band into what you think the next generation of rock and roll heroes should look like. The end result: a completely new style, which will be documented in a photo shoot that could very well be used by the band as their official press shot as they spread their music across Canada and the world.
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Blanche Macdonald Centre is giving away two tickets to see lady gaga in concert in Vancouver!
Exclusive Contest from the Blanche Macdonald Centre
Calling out to all you hot and beautiful Little Monsters! Blanche Macdonald Centre is hooking you and a friend up with two tickets to the hottest mega-show of the summer – Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball Concert on August 24 at GM Place! Phenomenal seats secured from the Advance Presale. Check this out - Section 114, Row 20, Seats 1&2!!!!
Total value: $189.75
Ga-ga oolaLA! It will be absolutely fantastical. Due to high demand and after completely selling out her August 23rd date, a second show has been added and is a MUST-SEE. Don’t miss this chance to see the chart-topping, most fashion-forward, and eye-popping cultural icon on the planet by joining our Blanche Macdonald Facebook® Page!
GAGA Details: Grab your lobster mask, power shoulders, body suits, lace, rimless visors, and old rotary phones and enter now:
1. Sign up as a fan on our Blanche Macdonald page on Facebook®
2. Complete our online contest entry form where you will be eligible to win a pair of Lady Gaga Concert tickets to Section 114, Row 20, Seats 1&2 for August 24, 2010, 8PM at General Motors Place.
3. Increase your chances to win -- tell your friends and have them sign up. The more friends you invite, the more chances you will have to win!
You must enter on or before July 9, 12:00PM, Pacific Standard Time. The winner will be randomly put into a draw and contacted by telephone and must answer a mathematical skill-testing question. Please read the Contest Rules and Regulationsfor more details.
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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.”
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Olympic moments: Blanche Macdonald gives Vancouver a Golden Glow
The sights and excitement of the 2010 Olympics will be forever seared into the memory of anyone lucky enough to have been in Vancouver during the Games. The two weeks were awash with unforgettable highlights: spectacular ceremonies, incredible performances, dancing in the streets and many, many Canadian gold medals.
The Blanche Macdonald Centre had its own share of Olympic glory, with instructors, graduates and students seizing the unique opportunity to play their part in ensuring the Games looked great from beginning to end.
“Blanche Macdonald was the only makeup school contacted by MAC and VANOC to assist on the Opening and Closing Ceremonies,” explains Blanche Macdonald’s Makeup Program Director Karen Esprez, “Associate Makeup Director, Jennifer Powell and I worked with MAC’s Pro Makeup Artist Caitlin Callahan to determine who would assist the MAC Makeup team. With the entire world watching, it was an incredible vote of confidence from MAC in the quality of makeup artist we’re producing at Blanche Macdonald.”
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Exclusive contest from the Blanche Macdonald Centre: Enter to win the spring 2010 marc by marc jacobs 'leola' hobo bag!!
Add a bit of "rocker chic" to your Spring / Summer wardrobe. Kick it back with the zipped up edge of MARC BY MARC JACOBS 2010 'LEOLA' Black Leather Hobo bag. Retail value, $644.00 Canadian.
With angled zippers and a graphic print lining, this new collectible gives your look that modern, edgy vibe.
Sign up as a fan on our Blanche Macdonald page on Facebook® and enter our online contest entry form where you will be eligible to win a Marc Jacobs 2010 'Leola' Black Leather Hobo bag! Retail value approximately $644.00 Canadian.
You must enter on or before April 30, 2010, 6:00pm, Pacific Standard Time. The winner will be contacted by telephone and must answer a simple mathematical question. Please read the Contest Rules and Regulations for more details.
Over the coming months we will be posting DIY Fashion and Makeup tips, at-home Esthetics treatments, videos, contests and more!
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Exclusive contest from the Blanche Macdonald Centre: Enter to win special edition fujifilm 'cheki' instax mini 7s camera!
Win the Fuji Instax camera - this is the new generation of instant photography. With adorable instant postcard size photos, these cute cameras are on everyone's wish list!
Sign up as a fan on our Blanche Macdonald page on Facebook® and enter our online contest entry form where you will be eligible to win a special edition of the new Fujifilm 'Cheki' Instax Mini 7S in White and a pack of Fuji Instax Mini film! Retail value approximately $106.00 Canadian.
You must enter on or before March 29, 2010, 6:00pm, Pacific Standard Time. The winner will be contacted by telephone and must answer a simple mathematical question. Please read the Contest Rules and Regulations for more details.
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