It was so lovely to be asked by student Kathryn if I could be interviewed for her Final Major Project for which she is creating a Beauty Feature...so this is how I became Vicky Brown, Hair and Makeup Artist!
Vicky Brown, Age 24, Hair
and Makeup Artist from Hertfordshire
www.vicky-brown.co.uk
I’ve always been creative
and this has massively helped when it came to hair and makeup. It was never
about buying every new makeup product that came into the shops but more about
trying to be a little different and making the best of what you had. Back when
hair straighteners weren’t the norm, it was imperative to find ways to tame my
long frizzy hair! Whether this was with clips, plaits, hairspray or just
cutting it short (that didn’t work either!) you name it, I tried it!
When I was 16, I debated
whether to go study beauty therapy or to stay on at sixth form to do my
A-Levels. I’m still not completely convinced that further education was the
right decision but there was such a lot of pressure to stay on at school and go
to university…going to college or doing vocational studies was a bit frowned
upon and still is unfortunately. I stayed on at school, didn’t do so great in
my studies and decided that university wasn’t for me; I fell into office work
and realised quickly that this really wasn’t what I had in mind! By this point,
I was working in advertising in London and the thought of going back to being a
student and having no money, was a little scary so I looked into part time
courses available.
So began my sordid affair
with the beauty industry! After finishing work at the office in Oxford Circus,
I would quite literally run to Saks in Covent Garden with a huge bag of
hairdressing equipment or “overnight
clothes/stuff for the charity shop/my friends books,” or whatever excuse I
could think of for what I was carting around that particular day!
Either way, I was hooked
and soon began juggling multiple part time courses all funded by my full time
job; Makeup at London College of Fashion, Professional Makeup at Illamasqua and
multiple colour and hair courses at L’Oreal. This continued for two and a half
years and was not only exhausting but quite frankly left me broken at times but
I knew that if I worked hard, it would pay off eventually…it had to right?!
In the final 18 months in
London, I dropped down to working part time in the office and worked as a hair
and makeup artist in all my other “free” time. After all this hard work though,
I’m now running my own business and completely self employed, hurrah!
Likes
Making people feel good
about themselves! You really do become a bit of a therapist and learn how to
coach people through their concerns and insecurities. 90% of my work is
weddings and what a wonderful day to be part of, it really is a fun atmosphere to
be around and you know you have been a major part of making that person feel
good. Every day is different and although you do get the occasional celebrity
encounter and photo-shoot, generally you’re in different locations with
different people every day.
Dislikes
The hours are long and
anti-social! I got engaged last year and there really are times that my fiancé
and I are passing like ships in the night. Will works Monday to Friday in
London as a graphic designer and I work a lot of evenings and weekends to fit
around other peoples working hours. I really am looking forward to finding a
bit of time to plan my own wedding!
Advice
Work hard and it will pay
off! You don’t need to spend a fortune on courses to “learn” how to do hair and
makeup, practise, practise, watch some youtube tutorials and practise some
more! Invest in some good brushes and products and have a bit of confidence in
yourself; when you’re starting out you really do have to blag it a bit. Get
some work experience if possible as it really gives you an idea of what you
will be letting yourself in for. There are always lots of hair and makeup
artists around who will be grateful for the extra pair of hands, just be aware
that as with most industries, work experience isn’t always paid.
Diary
It’s Sunday, the day of
rest supposedly! I got up at 5am ready to leave the house at 5.45am and
although I have a horrible cold and it’s -4C outside, I still have to make
myself look presentable with a full face of makeup and my hair done! I arrive
at the house at 6.15am to start wedding preparation, it’s going to be an
incredibly busy morning as the bride has bought the times forward to account
for the snow outside and ordered a hummer limo just to make sure they get to
the venue safely!
This morning I have the hair
and makeup to do for the bride, her sister, her mum and mother-in-law, all over
from Australia for the wedding. Armed with a strong coffee and cold and flu
remedy, let the work commence!
Wedding mornings can
consist of blow-dry’s, intricate up-do’s, curling tongs, rollers and straighteners
all followed by makeup application and before you know it, you’ve been on your
feet for 6 hours with no breakfast! I always plan the morning down to the
smallest timings, with flowers arriving and unexpected phone calls for the
bride, time always runs away with you and the bridal party are always surprised
at how manic things can get; I see it every weekend so am quite un-phased by it
all now!
By lunchtime, I’m done and
I get 10 minutes to relax in the car with a bottle of water, some more cold and
flu remedy and something to eat! Today I have 2 consultations to go to;
weddings can book up to 12 months in advance so I always like to get an
opportunity to meet clients beforehand to introduce myself and also chat about their
ideas for the day. Some days I will have hair and makeup trials in the
afternoon which can mean another 4 hours on my feet before I get a chance to
head home and relax.
The evenings I usually
catch-up with admin and email enquiries before I head to bed to recover from a
busy day!
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