News

Blanche Macdonald Makeup Artistry Graduate: Global Glamour with International Makeup Artist Janeen Witherspoon

Variety is the spice of life. And for Blanche Macdonald graduate Janeen Witherspoon, it’s the application of her makeup skills across a variety of industries that continues to take her around the globe.

From fashion shows with Jean Paul Gautier to shoots with Naomi Campbell and Cameron Diaz to music videos with artists including Oasis and Amy Winehouse, Janeen has done it all. Now working her makeup magic and running a successful hair salon in the fashionable English city of Brighton with her husband, Janeen’s story begins when she decided to move from her native Ontario to sample life in Vancouver.Now working her makeup magic and running a successful hair salon in the fashionable English city of Brighton with her husband, Janeen’s story begins when she decided to move from her native Ontario to sample life in Vancouver.

“I moved west and starting working for a wonderful man called Jon Paul Holt, who owns Avant Garde hairdressing in Yaletown,” she recalls. “I was fortunate to become one of his assistants. He took us on photo shoots and we were constantly exploring creative avenues. I knew I wanted to be part of the industry. I was training as a hairdresser, but a part me of wanted to do makeup. Jon Paul gave me a push. We started looking for schools and found Blanche Macdonald.”

Janeen liked what she found and signed up for the nine-month part-time Makeup Diploma Program.

Blanche Macdonald Party Makeup tips featured on major Chinese newspaper publication, Ming Pao.

BMC Freelance Makeup Instructor Jayna Bussiere and Fashion Merchandising Instructor Melanie Watts starred in Ming Pao's Weekly Saturday Magazine this Christmas, delivering expert advice and showcasing makeup and fashion trends for the holiday party season.

To read the article in full screen, please click on the image above.

Click here to read more about our Makeup Artistry Graduate and Freelance Makeup Instructor, Jayna Bussiere.

Blanche Macdonald Makeup Artistry Graduate Jenna Kuchera: Makeup Artist on Top of the World

There are plenty of great makeup artists, but not many can claim the title of World Champion. That’s one of the highlights of Blanche Macdonald graduate Jenna Kuchera’s resume after she claimed first place in the Beauty/Fantasy category at the 2009 International Makeup Artists Trade Show (IMATS) in Pasadena, California. Widely considered the Olympics of Makeup, her victory at the big event wasn’t exactly unexpected. Jenna had already placed first at the Canadian Makeup Show in Vancouver earlier in the year in no less than three categories – Glamour, Fantasy Runway and Body Painting/Airbrushing.

From Paramore to Passion Pit; BMC Makeup Graduate Sarah Appleby takes a big bite out of the Big Apple

In May last year Blanche Macdonald Makeup Artistry graduate Sarah Appleby made the move from Vancouver to New York City to further her career as a freelance makeup artist for the fashion, print and music video industries. Since arriving there, she’s worked for clients like Victoria’s Secret, BMW, Dove and MTV, magazines like Rolling Stone, Nylon, Paper and Glamour and with musical stars like Little Boots, Tyson Ritter, Paramore, Taylor Hanson and Dave Matthews.

There may be more glamorous jobs than Sarah’s in the world, but it takes a while to think what they might be.





"The day it stops being a creative adventure is the day it stops being fun,” she smiles. "I love makeup. I love the creativity and the art of it. I love working with artistic, passionate people. My place in the industry lends itself to incredible opportunities, fun collaborations and such inspiring workdays. Working with people who are so good at what they do is such a privilege."

Makeup ER

Vancouver's Finest Turn to Blanche Macdonald Centre for Emergency Response Realism

Vancouver’s Emergency Response Training is a serious business. In the event of a major disaster hitting the city, an earthquake for example, it will be volunteer Emergency Response Teams that will be working with the city’s population when the Ambulance and Fire Departments are stretched to their limits.

That’s why it’s vital for Emergency Response Teams to receive the most effective and realistic training possible. This is why this September a Blanche Macdonald class midway through the special effects makeup module spent a day at the UBC fire hall creating realistic, believable disaster victims, enabling the Trainee Response Teams to experience what they could face in the event of an actual disaster.

Michael Smith is Vancouver Fire Department’s Emergency Preparedness Lieutenant. He’s married to Blanche Macdonald’s Makeup Instructor Sandra Anderson, and has been calling on the service of Blanche Macdonald students and instructors for years. This September was the first time an entire class had been invited to attend the training, providing more injured victims and a more realistic experiences for rescuers.

CJ Wills: Transatlantic Triumphs

CJ Wills is a woman who believes in challenges. You set your goals. You meet them. You move onto the next challenge. It’s a philosophy that began at an early age and has taken CJ from her native England to A-List Hollywood movie sets to the classrooms of Blanche Macdonald.

"When I was at school we had a career officer come in for a day," she recalls. "I mentioned that I might be interested in becoming a makeup artist. He told me I could never do it and my best plan would be to work on a cosmetics counter in a store."

CJ never took that store job. Instead she went to Tottenham Technical College in London to study hairdressing and beauty therapy and launched herself into her career. During her early days CJ was makeup artist on The Muppet Show, where she worked with superstars like Diana Ross, James Coburn and Christopher Reeve. She turned freelance in 1988 and soon became key makeup artist on hit shows including The Bill, Broker’s Man and Peak Practice, whose star, Kevin Whately, would always insist on working with her.

Blanche Macdonald Makeup tips featured on major Chinese newspaper publication, Ming Pao.

Senior BMC Makeup instructor Mani Bratch showcases her Makeup Fashion tips on one of our BMC Makeup students, Misha Sung, in Ming Pao's Weekly Saturday Magazine on Fall/Winter 2009 makeup trends.

To read the article in full screen, please click on the image above.

Click here to read more about our Makeup Artistry Graduate and Senior Makeup Instructor, Mani Bratch.

Doug Morrow

It’s hard work conducting an interview with Blanche Macdonald graduate Doug Morrow. It’s not that he isn’t charming and eloquent. Because he is. And it’s not an issue that Doug’s in his hometown of Winnipeg and we’re in Vancouver.

The problem is that every five minutes Doug’s cell phone rings and he has to pause the interview take it. The reason? He’s expecting a call from actress Rebecca De Mornay. As key makeup artist for a long list of major movies, speaking with the stars is a regular occurrence for Doug.

Susana Kam, Freelance Makeup Artist and Owner of Show Attitude

Makeup Artistry Graduate
Freelance Makeup Artist and Owner of Show Attitude – Richmond, BC

After graduating Blanche Macdonald’s Makeup Artistry Program, Susana Kam established her Richmond and Burnaby boutiques Show Attitude on the basis of representing all the best aspects of beauty – cosmetics, fashion and photography. When she’s not coordinating fashion shows or running beauty workshops for Show Attitude, she’s working as a popular freelance bridal makeup artist, traveling abroad to New York (where she’s worked with the Creative Director of Clairol Professional at a photo shoot) and Shanghai to unearth up-and-coming fashion designers and promoting local Vancouver-based Asian artists and stylists by incorporating their designs into her boutique.

Join Vancouver’s Zombie walk and become part of the living dead.

Get into the ghoulish spirit. 
Learn how BMC Makeup Grad, Shayne Gemmell’s transforms 24 Hours reporter, Kristin McKenzie into a flesh eating Zombie.

Attention all zombie slayers! The undead will rise on August 15 as the participants of Zombie Walk Vancouver congregate on Robson at the Vancouver Art Gallery and then flood the streets of downtown. Blanche Macdonald makeup students have been participating in this drop-dead-fun tradition several events in the running, and this year, BMC Makeup Grad Shayne Gemmell takes advantage of the safety offered by our City Square campus to prepare a reporter from 24 Hours Vancouver for the upcoming invasion, transforming her into a flesh-eating zombie.

Want to join the ranks of the undead too? You’ll need…