milly & her make-up: Guest Blog: What it means to be a Make-up Artist

Hello lovelies,

So a while back I asked fellow Sheffielder and Makeup Artist Amy to do some guest blogs for me. Amy is a makeup artist trained in all areas of the trade, and is amazing at what she does, so much so MAC employed her straight away and she's still there creating beauty now! She also goes to uni studying Fine Art, blogs lots on her tumblr, has a long term boyfriend and finds time to look incredibly beautifully amazing everyday! Here's a picture of her :) look how perfect everything about her is! :)

microdermal please do not get ripped out this time

So here, I bring to you, Amy's first post!

What it means to be a Make-up Artist

When deciding what to write about for my guest post on this blog I thought about talking about something that’s very close to my heart and something I want to talk about more openly with everyone … which is what it means to be an artist.

My dream since being a little girl was to be noticed for my talent for art and photography and anything creative. I have such a passion for art that I was determined to make this a career. Nowadays I work for MAC and since doing that I am inundated with questions about how to get the job and what qualifications people need etc etc. No one ever asks me about my job outside the brand so heres my little post about what matters to me in art.

I think art is very open, there are so many avenues to explore that the desire to lead a creative life is always present. I live my life as an artist. Its about the way you think, the way you can critique work, how you approach life and overcome problems. Art is more about a way of thinking then just technical skill. It has to make your heart skip a beat.

I want to stress make-up artistry isn’t about the glamour or the ‘cool’ status that seems to get pinned to the title. Its about exploration, painting a real life canvas. Stretching your imagination as far as it will go and having no limits.

Its about personal ritual, having that quiet time to reflect or meditate on the day ahead, it's carving the person you are, letting them into the real world. How many people look exactly how they feel they are on the inside? Make-up stems from a primitive ages and has been used for celebration, war, lifestyle, adornment, as tribal protection and for spiritual purposes. Make-up can be so much more fascinating than a oil painted canvas because it is an art you live your life in. It’s a pure injection of personality, emotion, colour and vibrancy. Make-up has the power to do anything. Even on the lowest of days it can make you feel invincible. Every one is unique in make-up no two people look the same, every time you pick up that make-up brush there are subtle differences.

One of the problems professional make-up artists encounter is competition, feeling inadequate because of someones opinions, feeling like you haven’t the contacts, the skills, the willpower to carry on, especially if you have an awful client. Its not always easy to pick yourself up after a bad day. Luckily I feel I have overcome a lot of competition by staying true to myself and trying hard to achieve my dreams. There have been bullies and hardships along the way, I've lost several friends who resented me for making something of myself. MAC was a big hurdle, I enjoyed a new found sense of accomplishment, that out of hundreds of girls MAC thought I was special enough to invest in and give me this wonderful job, but the price of that was people I worked with became bitter and jealous and nasty towards me.

I think we all shouldn’t be as down on ourselves! True inspiration doesn't happen when we are stressed out and can’t cope. We try to juggle so many things and it ends up stifling our creative spirit! Its never wrong to take time out to reflect, pamper and enjoy your own company or spend time with loved ones, it helps the artist develop and its very important to feel free and open to new ideas. Humans are not machine we cannot work 24/7 and expect perfection!

A strong work ethic is important, but also not to take life too seriously, learn to laugh at yourself, push yourself and be brave and confident of who you are J

If lovely people have said to me I'm an inspiration to them; it’s the hugest and most amazing compliment I could receive!! To be in a position to be who you truly want to be…. sometimes takes effort and courage and to shrug off the opinions of people who say you cant do it. Because if you want something badly enough you will keep on trying until it happens for you! xoxox