Students First Guest Blog @CLMAcademy!

Elena and Natasha’s Week 1 Blog

Yippeeeee……the much anticipated first week at the fantastic Cassie Lomas Make Up Academy has finally arrived! All 12 girls in a bubble of brushes, blusher, bronzer and brews.

As part of our first week’s homework we’ve been asked to blog our experiences and share what we’ve learnt, what has surprised us and what we feel our strengths have been…… so here we go.

Day One.

Our first morning was packed full of everything that we need to know about studio etiquette, health and safety, personal kit and the standards that are expected of us while we are part of the Cassie Lomas experience. All of these things being of the highest importance to us as they will be the standards that we keep and maintain as we progress to our new careers. Zoey Clarkson a graduate of Cassie’s was our tutor for the day which was really great not only because she’s a busy, working, experienced make up artist but because we were all able to ask a previous student lots of questions on her experience. Something I think we all appreciated on day one.

After lots of theory we then moved on to the super exciting task of getting familiar with our kits and brushes!

N – “Really fantastic getting settled into the studio and meeting all my new friends and getting to grips with our exciting new kit and brushes.”

Zoey took us into the afternoon with getting to grips with the basics. We were all quick to learn that getting this spot on is absolutely crucial.

E – “We were shown a concealing technique by Zoey which takes the concealer in a ‘V’ shape under the eyes and down to a point on the cheek. This highlights the cheek bones … A fantastic tip!”

Day Two.

Today we had the pleasure of Collette Casey as our tutor. Collette is another highly skilled make up artist who has worked with a host of celebrities over the years so we were all keen to learn as much as possible from her.

The first part of the morning was to learn about the importance of removing make up correctly and thoroughly, cleansing, toning and moisturising. We all had lots of questions about recommended products and techniques.

The afternoon was dedicated to 1950’s glamour. Colette performed a demo on one of the students which we were then to go away and practice on each other.

N – “The 50’s is one of my personal favourite looks. Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn have always been icons of mine so obviously I was very excited to get cracking with this look on my 2^nd day! It’s harder than it looks to create the perfectly shaped liner for this era and it’s something I need to practice lots but I was pleased with my overall final look.

I learnt lots about defining sockets and blending, crucial!”

E – “I also really enjoyed practising this look, I’m used to applying liner on myself and on my friends so I was confident on my ability but what I found challenging was getting the symmetry right. The full red lips were challenging, I think on reflection I could have used a more matte red lipstick for a better final look which I will know for next time”

Day Three.

Day 3 kicked off with a tutorial on colours and the importance of how one colour can counteract another. This is really important in make up in order to bring out the best in the clients features and to create a balanced look.

Colette’s demonstration today was the 1920’s look which heavily leaned on the removal of eyebrows (in the 20’s they would be shaved off) and then pencilled back in, obviously we couldn’t do that! Colette taught us a technique to block out the brow using soap or Pritt Stick. The 20’s lip shape was a rosebud/love heart which was painted deep red or burgundy.

N – “Wowwww…..a really tough look to recreate and get right! Lots of practice needed for this one. Blocking out the eyebrows was the hardest, my model had very beautiful dark eyebrows so I found that a challenge. The shadow and blending I did well with after lots of blending and building and my model was very happy with her beautiful rose bud lips”

Day Four.

A new tutor for us today the stunning Danni who brings with her 10 years of working with MAC  and freelancing at London and Paris Fashion Week, weddings, photo shoots and party make up. Today the look we were given to practise was the wonderful 1960’s.

The classic 60’s look is the doey eyed, heavy black liner, pale face with the faintest of blush and nude lips, all in a matte finish. Think Twiggy!

N – “I think all of us girls were itching to get started on this look, the demonstration Danni did was stunning. It was another opportunity to have a practice at perfecting the thick black liner with a flick look. Danni gave me some great pointers which I took on board and really helped my finished look. I loved doing the blending with the white shadow and finishing with a lovely soft matte foundation”

E – “I enjoyed creating this look! The 1960’s were fabulous and I love the whole package. I found doing the thick eyeliner and flick an easy look to create as I wear it myself. My model for the day was Maria who totally rocked the look”

Day Five.

Exciting day for all the girls as Cassie herself was in the studio to teach us today! We all had lots of questions for her and she was keen to catch up with how we had got on through our first week. It was fantastic to hear that Cassie had been given excellent positive feedback from the week’s tutors on our skill level and attitude, it was a lovely boost for us.

Today’s demo was on Highlighting and Contouring which was an eagerly anticipated subject for all of us down to mainly the popularity of Kim Kardashian. It was Kevin Aqcoin who has made contouring and changing faces famous.

The idea with highlighting and contouring is to make areas of the face either stand out or reduce/stand back in photos. This is created by using light and dark make up in specific areas and shapes on the face and jaw lines.

N – “I was very much looking forward to recreating the contoured look, I could tell that it was going to be harder than I thought but the basic principles are straight forward and make total sense. Contouring is very popular and something my friends all talk about and want to create themselves. I think the key to remember is that this look is a heavily made up look which then looks very effective under the lights and camera flash”

N – “A jam packed, fun, hard working week was had at CLMA this week, I personally felt a huge sense of achievement and confirmation that I have made the exact right decision to follow my heart in to make up…..I can’t wait to see what’s in store next week!!”