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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.

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.

From Reel to Reality: Makeup Graduate and Leo Award Winner Tina Teoli “Makeup is more about psychology than people realize.”

There’s a certain etiquette that comes with winning a Leo, British Columbia’s most prestigious award for its massive movie and television industry. Tina Teoli understood that even before she won the 2010 Leo for Best Makeup in a Short Drama for her work in the horror/espionage thriller, Serum 1831.

“I’d been to the Leo Awards before so I knew what to expect,” she laughs. “I went as part of Natalie Cosco’s team when she won for Smallville. They don’t feed you until eight, so you drink a lot of wine on an empty stomach, which isn’t necessarily good. I was on heels too, so when my name was announced I was concentrating on not falling over. You get a trophy and do your speech, then they walk you off set, take your trophy, give you another one, take a photo and they take the trophy back again. I have no idea where my Leo is right now.” 

Tina’s sense of humour makes any time spent in her company terrific fun. But she also knows that an outgoing approach isn’t appropriate for every situation. That’s one of the reasons why, over the course of nearly two decades in the film and TV business, the Blanche Macdonald makeup grad has risen to the top of her profession, including being named head of the makeup department for the last two series of Smallville.

Blanche Macdonald Makeup Graduate, Timothy Hung : Living La Dolce Vita.

It’s a long way from Vancouver to Milan, but it’s a journey Timothy Hung is very familiar with. As a freelance makeup artist with deep roots in the fashion industry, he feels perfectly at home working in Italy’s style Mecca. He should do. He spent three years studying fashion in the city, sandwiched around a year shining on the Makeup Program at the Blanche Macdonald Centre. 

Actually, there’s very little Timothy doesn’t shine at. He’s a brilliant makeup artist and an award-winning fashion designer. He’s also an accomplished pianist and composer, and a budding movie production designer. He has a cracking sense of humour too. 

“I’m a crazy perfectionist,” he laughs. “I always try to exceed people’s expectations. I either motivated my classmates or drove them insane!”

If Timothy set a high standard for his colleagues at Blanche Macdonald, it was only because that’s the standard he set for himself. Although, ironically, it was an unlucky break that brought him to Canada’s top makeup school to begin with.

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.”

Blanche Macdonald Makeup Graduate Teslin Ward: From Ballroom to Beauty

Calgary’s Teslin Ward didn’t grow up with a passion for makeup. Her young heart was elsewhere. On the dance floor to be precise.

“I used to be a competitive ballroom dancer,” explains the Blanche Macdonald makeup graduate. “I did Latin dancing. When my partner moved back to Montreal, I stopped, which was just around the time shows like Dancing with the Stars started to catch on. I’m still dancing, but not competitively anymore.”

Teslin can laugh now she’s one of the busiest up-and-coming makeup artists for Calgary’s fashion and print industries. Because if it weren’t for her time on the dance floor, she might never have made her way to Canada’s top makeup school.

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.”

Makeup Graduate Lily Lin Triumphs in Taiwan

Lily Lin is as modest as they come. Ask about her successes as one of Taiwan’s top makeup artists, and she barely mentions that she’s worked with model/actress superstars like Jaline Yeh, Andréa Chen and Elana Tsai, and fashion lines including Issey Miyake.

Lily doesn’t feel the need to proclaim her triumphs to the world. Instead, the Blanche Macdonald Makeup grad has the quiet confidence that comes from knowing she’s taken bold steps to create an amazing career for herself. A year out of Canada’s top makeup school and eager to immerse herself in the fashion industry, Lily decided to move back to her native Taiwan after thirteen happy years living and studying in Vancouver.

“I felt that there was more opportunity for me in fashion in Taiwan,” she explains during one of her regular visits to Vancouver. “That’s why I moved back. There’s a big fashion industry and lots of fashion magazines there.”