Comfortable positions to do someone's makeup?

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So, at school they told us to do your model's makeup while she is facing the mirror and you do all the work from the sides. They also said that if you needed to check out something (like her eye shadows, blush, lines etc..), we should look straight at the mirror for any possible mistakes.

The issue here is that I find that INCREDIBLY exhausting and difficult, because I keep fighting the urge to turn them around facing me so I can get a full look of their face. I feel like if I work this way -specially while doing eye makeup- the eyeshadow ends up uneven, I mean, the eyeshadow looks higher on one side and I waste a lot of time correcting those mistakes. 

Is this actually the way to do someone's makeup? Or is this just some other technique cosmetologists use? Is it wrong to have the model/client facing you? I would really appreciate some feedback and opinions from experts. Is just that I feel l would do a better job if the model was facing me instead of the mirror.

Thank you so much for reading this and I hope to read some responses soon!  :luv:   :luv:   :luv:

Killer Queen

 
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So, at school they told us to do your model's makeup while she is facing the mirror and you do all the work from the sides. They also said that if you needed to check out something (like her eye shadows, blush, lines etc..), we should look straight at the mirror for any possible mistakes.

The issue here is that I find that INCREDIBLY exhausting and difficult, because I keep fighting the urge to turn them around facing me so I can get a full look of their face. I feel like if I work this way -specially while doing eye makeup- the eyeshadow ends up uneven, I mean, the eyeshadow looks higher on one side and I waste a lot of time correcting those mistakes. 

Is this actually the way to do someone's makeup? Or is this just some other technique cosmetologists use? Is it wrong to have the model/client facing you? I would really appreciate some feedback and opinions from experts. Is just that I feel l would do a better job if the model was facing me instead of the mirror.

Thank you so much for reading this and I hope to read some responses soon!  :luv:   :luv:   :luv:

Killer Queen
Ah good 'ol school. We've all been there. The problem with the current teaching methods is that it's outdated, like 1970's outdated  :rolleyes:

Your instincts are correct Killer Queen. Here's what most of us Pro MuA's do... I've generalized for everyone.

The mirror is your enemy if you're a MuA. But the mirror is your best friend if you're a hairstylist. Why?

Hair styling: You need to look at symmetry at how the hair style is progressing. That's why you will always see a hairstylist working from behind the person in the chair, or they constantly move to the back of the chair so they can see how the style is progressing in the mirror.

Make-up Artistry: When you look at persons make-up, you face them, this way you tell what what is needed or what needs to be taken back or away. Also faces are not symmetrical, you need to build that symmetry with product but more importantly with technique. And how do you do that? You need to face them. You never see a MuA look at their work from behind the person looking into a mirror. Why? Because you can't see detail. We as MuA's need to see detail. Because that's what the camera will see regardless if it's a photo shoot or film shoot.

How to use a lighted mirror set up:

The best way is to stand on your dominant side (right or left) side of the chair, for most people it's either if they are right or left handed that determines what side of the chair they stand on. 

Standing directly in front of them is not practical. Their knees are in the way and you have to over stretch and your lower back will give out in less than 5 minutes.

For me what works which includes elements of saving time, (which I will explain later), I stand diagonally to the chair. I also move the chair at least 3 feet away from the table, that way I can move unimpeded and fast to what I need without hitting their knees or the edge of the table. In other words, I need to walk unimpeded totally around the chair. Also they can't see themselves in the mirror at that distance depending on the make-up room set-up, which is to your benefit, (I've explained this below). Make-up trailers are already configured so you have to work within the confines of your station.

Ok, I am standing diagonally to the chair, close to their face. Always turn their head to face you, remember you need to look directly in front of them. This way you are close to them for any detailed work,  thus you can step back and see how your symmetry is working, like brow work or liquid eyeliner styles (this is especially crucial for period looks), lip liner balance and so on. You can never see this type of detail looking at a mirror 5-6 feet away from you, remember the mirror is already by default 2-3 feet away from the make-up table so the distance is huge.

Also the less you bend, the less fatigue and low back strain you will experience. Always stand straight, feet hip width apart or slightly wider with your knees not locked. 

Keep moving around the chair to a minimum. It's a lot easier for them to turn their heads to face you. The more you move around the chair, the more time you waste by repositioning yourself. Sometimes you need to move around for prosthetic work like working around the ears or applying / removal of facial lace hair pieces like side burns. 

Also, the more the person in the chair looks in the mirror, the more questions and concerns they will raise with you causing you to slow and stop your progress and you alleviating their concerns, thus a 20 minute application now becomes a 90 minute process from Hell.

Some people sit in the chair and they automatically move the chair directly in front of the mirror, I just ask them to move it back to where it was.

When a MuA does finals, whether if it's on a film set or a photo shoot, they are facing the person to do any tweaks. When a hairstylist does their finals, they work from the back and side of the head, rarely the front. Again, no mirrors. 

Remember, we are working in a HD digital world where the camera sees the smallest sharpest detail. 

OK, lets talk about lighting!

The H/M set ups on film productions / fashion shows, always has the director's chairs for the make-up stations, so when the person sits in the chair, the height of the person's face sitting in the chair will be above the height of the mirror, so they never see themselves in said mirror. However, the hair stations have the lower chairs so the person's face is directly in front of the mirror.

Very few MuA's swap out the director's chairs for the lower chairs, but these MuA's like to sit while doing a person's make-up, that is a personal comfort call and that works for them, but also the lights of the mirrors hit the person's face better. Coincidentally, these sitting MuA's also place their sitting chair diagonally to the person's chair, so when they lean in, the reach is not too far. Again the fatigue issue.

How to alleviate sitting fatigue... Sit near the edge of the chair as comfortably as possible, this position will automatically make you sit more upright. Spread your legs as far apart as comfortable as possible so that one thigh is parallel to the side of the make-up chair and your other inner thigh is parallel to the persons knees. This will bring you as close as possible to the person without touching them. You can either sit with bent legs or legs straight out, your call. Again let the person turn their head so they face you. In this position, you can also lean out of the way of the mirror light if your body or arm is blocking any light. If you need to reposition yourself, just move your chair to the other side of the make-up chair and do the same set up. If you experience any numbness, just get up and walk around and stretch for a bit.

On the regular make-up station set up, we use the ambient lighting to light the person and the mirror lighting to use as a "fill light" or a "balance light" to see skin tone matches. How I approach this particular mirror / lighting set up, is the very first thing I do before the person sits in my chair is that I get them to bend and look into the mirror so that the light "surrounds" their face rather than the lighting "washing" or "blanketing" their face and then I do a foundation match which takes about 5 - 10 seconds tops. Then I get them to sit in the chair and then I proceed with the application. Again they never see their face in the mirror, thus you will be uninterrupted in your application.

In bridal consultations, the bride-to-be will most likely be holding a hand-held mirror, but this is a unique situation as this is a consultation, so a lot tweaks and changes will be happening as your lighting will not be the best. On-the-day-of, some brides will have a hand held mirror, but this is due to constant interruptions from others in the bridal party playing make-up artist. This is where diplomacy comes in on your part and is a discussion for another thread. 

For older / senior celebrities, a lighted magnifying mirror is their best friend. These types of socialites are vanity driven, I guess vanity never goes out of style... Again with these types of gigs, a lighted magnifying mirror is a special request item for your kit. And I don't mean the small circular ones you see at drug stores for your bathroom. They want wall mounted picture sized ones. So I am talking rentals here. Some senior celebrities have one set up in their hotel room, but as a MuA, they assume that is part of your kit, so you need to provide that. If it's their home, they already have a built in one in their vanity / make-up room. 

I know this is wordy, but if you need any specifics or clarification, let me know!  ;) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

HTH.

 
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I am going to add some picture references...

Here is your typical portable lighted mirror set-up that all MuA's are familiar with:

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However you can adjust the the amount / intensity of the light by turning the mini / micro tubes at the socket ends so that the sliver / grey shield will block the amount of light.

IMG_1925.JPGIMG_1924.JPGIMG_1927.JPGIMG_1926.JPG

Now the lighting inside of a trailer is slightly different in that every station has a bank of both cool and warm daylight corrected tubes, which you can only turn them on/off in any combination of colour temperature you need.

This is the make-up trailer for Hannibal. The lights on the ceiling are the ambient room lights. In this photo, both the warm and cool mirror lights are on.

IMG_0437.JPG

Make-up station inside of a 3 ton cube van. This is my trailer for Mayday... :rolleyes:   Notice the ambient light coming in from the translucent roof, (This set up is only good in the daytime), the mirror lights are off for the moment. For nighttime, the Electrics would provide me with a couple of lights, and production provides a heater.

IMG_1928.JPG

Now let's talk about the MuA's position in relation to the chair, mirror and how we make use of the ambient light. Notice the make-up chairs are no where near the make-up mirror...

On location - Mayday S14E02. The S F/X MuA is applying a prosthetic piece.

FullSizeRender.jpg

On location - Transporter: The Series S02E09, E10. This MuA is a Personal MuA for the actor in the chair, she is applying blood to his head and hand. There is no light or mirror inside of the tent, so she is using the partial light of the Sun and her body position to light her actor. 

FullSizeRender.jpg

Also you would NEVER use the full on light of the Sun to light the person in your chair, as you will hardly see the true colour of your make-ups and the reflected light off of the face will blind you out.

Make-up Room - Mayday. S14E05.  Notice how far my chair is from my station, you can just barely see the edge of my make-up station. Here I am making the most of the ambient room and mirror lighting. The make-up station behind me is unattended, and yes I do make use of that light as well to help light the right side of the actor.

IMG_1337.JPG

On location - Mayday S15E02. Here I am using the ambient light in a room where our monitors are set up (Video Village) to touch up one of my actors. There was no director chair for the actor to sit in, so I used my comfy set chair.

IMG_1743.JPG

Anyways, this is a small sample of how we Pro MuA's do our make-ups. Now we also do this on night shoots. For those type of shoots we have the Lighting Division set up ambient light sources in tents for us and as a courtesy light for the actors. Most times we also use Hi-LED flashlights / Smartphone lights for our touch ups. I don't have any photos as camera flashes can destroy the set lighting, it's very unprofessional to both cast and crew, and it washes out any detail. If the flash setting is off, then you get zero detail.

 
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