Once in a while, I get to work for a fashion show project. My last one was the”Naked Show” for Bench Underwear September, 2014.
I normally do not accept fashion shows as these are not exactly my cup of tea, but the thought of doing a lot of sexy bodies can be quite a tempting exemption at times.
Doing fashion shows needs speed, preparation and proper coordination when it comes to doing make-up. Make-up artists are hired to do quite a number of faces/models and the pay is half that of normal or regular work fees. Normal fashion shows like couture shows are actually easier to do than underwear shows.
People would think that putting on body make-up is easier and twice the fun than doing just facial make-up. Especially when you are tasked to do the make-up of the top male models. Actually, that was also what I thought before.
Doing make-up for an underwear show means doing not just the face, but the whole body and some abdominal make-up as well. Painting abs is sometimes quite tedious after you have been doing abs for 6 guys already. Most models are vain, so no matter how nice their bodies already are, they still would insist on having their abs enhanced. It’s tiring because the models get to be made-up only after their rehearsals and that is usually one hour before the actual show. This happens because the models are paid on a per day basis, meaning it is, sometimes, only a day’s work for them, so rehearsals happen on the same day as the fashion show itself. That one hour window for prepping up is the most challenging one hour for a make-up artist.
Make-up for fashion shows are also different from print or other media as the light used are brighter and stronger. Hence the abs and contouring are requested by the seasoned models themselves. Bronzers are poured, bodies are oiled. But all in all, doing fashion shows can be fun, especially the after-show party when you can mingle with all the hot models. Just a little perk to the job.
inmymakeupchair 