Senior MAC make up artist Lesley Keane has made up the faces of stars from supermodel Agyness Deyn to TV presenter Cat Deely and pop stars Girls Aloud.
She also has worked on catwalk shows for the designers Matthew Williamson, Julian McDonald, Nicole Farhi and Louise Goldin.
We talked to Lesley about her work on London Fashion Week this year, how she began her career in make up artistry and her biggest beauty secrets.
How was London Fashion Week ’09?
London fashion week was fantastic this year as make up came back with a bang! As a make up artist it was great to actually do make up as opposed to a whisper of this product or add a breath of that. It was full on!
Which makeup looks were most popular for the catwalk shows?
Actually we were using a lot of eighties inspired colours, dark purple to electric blue and red on the eyes! At Nichole Fahri it was a lazy or raw 30's Hollywood look with a full gothic purple lip with a gloss stain. Also the idea of a bad girl with references like hard, bold or fierce. Like the defined black deep eye at noir or the electric blue visor peeping out under a low fringe at Louise Goldin.
What is the process for creating the makeup looks?
Well obviously the designer has a vision to begin with so it’s up to make up and hair to help bring it to life. So a couple of days before the show the key hair and make up people attend what is known as a fitting. There we decide in what could be two to ten hours what the final over all look should be. It is so inspirational to be there as you get to be part of what could be the next seasons hot make up trend.
What were your favourite, or most used, products during fashion week?
How did you get started in makeup artistry?
Well my first love was fashion and make up was more of a hobby with friends and family as guinea pigs. It was also growing up in the eighties and nineties and being surrounded by make up madness. I off course myself being the biggest victim with very erratic punk eyeliner and black lips I got lots of practice.
But having attended fashion college it was quite evident that I could not sew and all my elaborate one dimensional drawings turned out to be a disaster when they became three dimensional. So it was then that MAC landed on Irish soil and I interviewed for the Grafton Street location. I was successful and the rest is history
What are the main perks of your job?
I love the travel and meeting amazing people that have been an incredible inspiration, for example Vivienne Westwood, last season at her Red Label show decided she would join us to do make up, she put an individual touch to each face and was absolutely lovely, the true Queen of England in my opinion. And also make up artists like Kabuki where each face becomes a piece of incredible tribal or space age adorned piece of art I cannot tell you what a joy it is to work at Manish Arora with him.
What are your top tips for creating the hot makeup trends this season?
I would say not to directly copy a trend but to take aspects of make up that suit your own individual style also focus on you're favourite facial feature be it eyes or lips and experiment with the seasons make up shapes or colours, within reason. And don't match you're outfit to your eyeshadow or lipstick. Mix it up to create a modern touch. Also I know it’s an old one but avoid the tangoed look it immediately dates a make up look. There is nothing wrong with a little bronzer and blusher but a little goes a long way.
What is your biggest beauty secret?
I truly believe that a good brow shape and well applied mascara on curled lashes can take years of a face. Use a brow pencil that is a shade lighter than your brow hair and create a halo of colour to manipulate an arched shape, not rounded. MAC lingering brow pencil is a great colour.
And with lashes a lash curler is a must, if you are lash challenged you can opt for some individual lashes on the outer corners of the eye. Finally a recently purchased mascara applied to cover and separate each lash Blinking on a two year old lash wand will not work, it happens! Try Mac Zoomlash in either black or brown for the ultimate lash effect.
