makeup by lauren kayes.

Grooming for Chris O'Brien by me. 

So in love with the photos Bella Darling took on the set of Russian Red's John Michael.

Hair/makeup: Lauren Kayes

Was inspired by ghzel patterns last night but ended up just going with the flow. 

A couple more shots from the set of Russian Red's John Michael. Loved working with this girl and the rest of the crew.

I'm still technically new to the industry, and I've found that it's really important to keep up an equal balance of research, networking, and practice to get anywhere. I went to MUD in Burbank and I felt like that was a pretty good launching pad for connections/skill, but you have to push yourself once you get out of school to keep your skills sharp and to get work. It's a really competitive field.

At your age, I would definitely focus on doing some research and practicing whatever you can on whoever's willing to be a model for you! And even if you don't have a ton of people who want to model, practice on yourself. Whenever you watch TV/movies, pay attention to the makeup, and if you really like something you see, IMDB the crew and see who worked on it, check out their other work, etcetc. I keep a huge folder of reference images when I need to get some quick inspiration, and once you get to makeup school or start off in the industry it definitely makes a difference if you know who the big players in the field are. You never know who you might meet or talk to. If you're near a major entertainment hub like LA/NYC/Toronto/Vancouver/etcetc, take advantage of makeup conventions like IMATS that are open to the public, because there are always amazing demos/networking/learning opportunities there. 

For film/TV, you're probably going to need both beauty and SFX skills if you're looking to work on set rather than in a shop. Hair is also helpful for getting jobs initially. It's awesome that you already know what you want to do! I wish I had figured it out earlier so I could have gotten a head start.