Caroline Donnelly, M.A.C Pro Team Senior Artist talks to Kirsty Armstrong about the atmosphere working backstage during London Fashion Week, her desire to ‘make up’ singer, Paloma Faith, and must-have makeup products to stock up on for Spring.
Makeup at Graaeme Black
Caroline Donnelly is a member of the M.A.C Pro Team and collaborates with designers to create makeup looks for fashion shows and magazines around the globe. She’s worked with a range of celebrities including Erin O’Connor, Elizabeth Jagger and Kylie Minogue. Her work has been published in British Elle, The Observer and InStyle and she specialises in body painting and beauty makeup.
But how do you make it big in the makeup artistry industry? Here, Caroline shares her insider makeup knowledge exclusively with Focus On Style…
KA: When did you know you wanted to become a makeup artist and what inspired you to do so?
CD: I didn’t think about make up artistry being a job until after I’d trained as a graphic designer and realised it wasn’t for me. I loved the illustration side and did this for a few years and then saw a part time make up course at a local college. I loved it. My teacher said I should seek a career in this and so I decided to go for it. After that I won a scholarship at the London College of Fashion for two years. I’d always loved make up and watching my mum put it on. I used to do make-up for other people. I was five-years-old in 1977 when punk broke into the headlines and TV shows. My dad had a couple of albums. I was already fascinated by 1950’s movie stars, and then there was disco. Even at a very young age I was intrigued by these women and their hair and make-up.
Makeup at Richard Nicholl
KA: What was the first big opportunity/job you were given?
CD: My first paid make-up job was as an extra assistant on the BBC show Byker Grove. I still lived in Newcastle at the time, where it was filmed.
KA: In terms of catwalk makeup, can you talk me through the development process of a makeup look from conception to the final look?
CD: The job starts with the stylist’s vision of what the girls should look like in the show. We then interpret this onto a model in a test situation, days prior to the show. The make-up artist will work together with the stylist, hairdresser and designer to create the final look and this will then be reproduced on the day of the show.
KA: Where do you gather your inspiration and ideas for makeup themes and looks?
CD: I’m inspired by so many different things! It could be make-up I have seen, art, movie stars, real people, fabric. It depends on the situation and what I am doing.
KA: Out of all of the designer makeup looks you’ve created, which is your favourite?
CD: So many shows and so many incredible makeups. It would be impossible to pick just one. One of my most inspirational experiences was with the make-up artist Kabuki; watching how he thinks, designs and makes his visions come to life.
KA: In the makeup/beauty industry who would be your ‘idol’ and why?
