Makeup Show Europe, Berlin: Tips & Tricks From Rea Morris

At The Makeup Show Europe last week, I got to meet Rea Morris. She was truly amazing, really nice, a fountain of knowledge & experience. And the best part, she was happy  to share :-). I caught up with her in the “Pro area”and I also attended her key notes address.

Here are some of the tips I picked up…

Working in the industry 

• You don’t need to be a professional hair stylist but it helps to have the hair styling basics down.
• Try practicing curls on a block of hair. Learn how to do the different types of curls, with different size curlers on 3 different types of hair.
•   Get an agent so you never need to talk about money. Go in as the starving artist that doesn’t care about money and let your agent deal with the money issues.
• Agents will also help you get certain jobs that will never hire an artist without one.
• Doing editorials for free is worth it because they can lead to bigger jobs.  Some celebrities choose their MUAs from magazine pages.

How to get big jobs

•                Assisting is the best way to get referrals.

•                You’ll learn more assisting than you ever will in makeup class.

•        To get work for a magazine, submit pictures that look like they could be in the competition; submit to Cosmo pictures that look like Marie Claire.

•                Take shots with a pro and send the retouched ready-to-be-published version to magazine editors. They may publish it to save the cost of organizing the shoot themselves.

•                In your shoots do not use high-end fashion pieces. Instead focus on hair and make up that way your photos will be reusable. 

•           Do make up looks that can be used in context. Eg. a look with winged eyeliner could be used to talk about an eyeliner trend.

•                All your pictures need to be perfect. Not just the make up but everything visible in the picture.

What you need in your portfolio

Skin. Great, real looking skin.

*For a real skin shot, do not use foundation. 

Leave the skin and pores visible. She uses concealer  where it’s needed and moisturizer everywhere else.

Bridal

• Staying for the whole ceremony or at least until the photos are finished is in your best interest. This way your work will look great in the pictures and word of mouth is a very strong means for referrals.

• For fresh top ups that look natural, redo the base (foundation) instead of setting it with powder.

• Do your bridal test at the end of the day. That way you can see the way the bride reacts to her own make up and know what you are dealing with.

Eye Make up tips

• Gel eyeliner works well on brows, as long as you fill then in stand by strand. She wears magnifying glasses for precision.

• To reshape the eye work the lower lash

line not the top.

•      To make eyes appear bigger,

line the lower lash line straight

out from the middle point of

the eye instead of following the

natural shape of the eye.

•    From the highest point of the

eye to the outer corner,

makeup should go straight out or

diagonally (upwards) for lift.

Hope this helps

Don’t miss any of my posts on The Makeup Show Berlin!

The Pre-show Press Event

Makeup Show Europe Part 1

Makeup Show Europe Part 2

Sneak Peek at Rea Morris’s Professional Brush Set

Makeup Show Europe, Berlin: Beauty Blogging and beyond with Felicia Walker

Benson Makeup Show Europe, Berlin: The Perfect Brow by Eugenia Weston 

Makeup Show Europe, Berlin: The Grand Finale, My Haul 

TTFN!