It's time for my annual Oscar review of the nominees for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling.  EMMA (Amazon) Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolze (photo from Google Search) This elegant yet witty film is gorgeous in its hair, makeup and costuming (also nominated). The makeup is clean and simple, as appropriate for the early 1800's. Mutton chops and ringlets are why this film was nominated, as they are in abundance and the delicate makeup and soft tendrils of hair on Emma exude the innocence we are supposed to believe of her character.  It's a lovely updated version, making this the twelve adaptation of the film.  Check out Vogue's article for more insight into the looks of the film.  HILLBILLY ELEGY (NetFlix) Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle and Patricia Dehaney My favorite kind of makeup is character makeup. Character makeup is subtle but incredibly transformative. The actor under the makeup is familiar but perhaps you can't quite put your ...

 Have you ever heard of The Community Loan Fund Of The Capital Region?  The Community Loan Fund is an organization that helps stimulate the small business economy. How? They provide low interest small business loans to women and minority owned businesses of the Capital Region (Upstate NY).  They also provide job training and technical assistance for entrepreneurs. The best part?  Individuals like you can invest extra cash to enable this success in your local community.  The Community Loan Fund’s growing number of investors – over 450 individuals, faith-based institutions, unions, foundations, banks, and other business and civic groups – collect interest on their investments and enjoy a 100% repayment rate. You may be wondering why I'm talking about this impactful organization this week. The Community Loan Fund is a huge part of The Makeup Curio Story. Because of them, I was able to move out of the back room of my house in 2017 and open our first retail space at...

  Every actor should know how to do their own theatrical makeup. It's one of the reasons I created the Theatrical Makeup Intensive - to provide the tools for success backstage. Our Theatrical Makeup Intensive includes the Graftobian Deluxe Student Kit but it was important to me to tell you why this kit is valuable. Here's highlighting the key items every actor should have in their makeup kit: Theatrical Creme Foundations With five shades of foundation, you're sure to get the perfect shade to match your skin tone. Don't forget for large theaters, your foundation color should be slightly darker than your skin tone, as the lights always wash you out. Setting Powder Every costumer will thank you for having an arsenal of setting powder in your kit. When set with powder properly, theatrical makeup doesn't move. Outdoor theater with heavy costumes? Add an alcohol-based setting spray tp seal the deal. Eyeliner Eyeliner creates character and accentuates the eyes. Become sin...

I often say I am a self-taught makeup artist. To me self-taught means no formal "school" training but self-taught never really just means "self."  Before YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, there were books (yes, books!). Books and practice (and a little YouTube later on) are where I got my start and I wanted to share my favorite ones that I still have in my little book corner that I continue to refer to. (This blog contains affiliate links) Stage Makeup by Rosemarie Swinfield This is the very first makeup book I ever had. It is a step-by-step guide with color photos for various stage sizes, aging, period makeup, hair work, and more. I still reference it when teaching because the photos and diagrams have been such a valued learning tool. The Makeup Artist Handbook by Gretchen Davis & Mindy Hall Interested in a variety of platforms to show off your work? The Makeup Artist Handbook discusses techniques for film, television, photography AND theatre. I continue to refe...

The Theatrical Makeup Intensive is a two day intensive modeled after a college level course.  Here's how it came to existence. The Who: I often say this course is for every actor, technician and makeup lover. It's for teens who want to pursue makeup as a career. It's for the college student who is pursuing theater as a career. It's for adult community theater actors who want to level up their professionalism. It's for the costumer who will be having to design makeup at a small regional theater with no training. And its for a professional beauty makeup artist who loves effects and wants to introduce "glam-gore" to their portfolio. The What: While I fine tuned the course structure, kit, and handouts during shutdown, the Theatrical Makeup Intensive was actually created in 2019, with one class executed in person in Feb 2020. A hands-on course, it teaches those enrolled how to do essential theatrical makeup techniques. It has always been important to me to inco...

It's Women's History Month and I would be amiss if I didn't highlight notable women who made the makeup industry bloom throughout the years and shout out some #womenwarriors I am proud to know as thriving entrepreneurs. (This blog contains affiliate links) Estée Lauder A woman who got her start going knocking on the doors of beauty salons, she went door-to-door selling skincare and makeup products to women waiting for their hair to be dried. The Estée Lauder Company was founded in 1946 by Estée and her husband on the premise that every women deserves to feel beautiful. In addition, she is credited with the business concept of "a gift with purchase." Source: Estée Lauder Companies   Ve Neill We all know the iconic looks of Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Captain Jack Sparrow. The woman behind them is Ve Neill. Since the 1970's, Ve has been spear heading major motion picture films as key makeup artist, department head, sfx artist and even hair stylist....

 I started the beginning of 2020 blogging with the intention to educate, enlighten, and entertain our audience but as you know, 2020 became quite a dismal year.  Much of my creativity went deep underground, including the desire to blog, do any makeup, paint, etc.  It felt hopeless. The Makeup Curio was closed and not providing services for almost 5 months last year.  I lost the biggest show season yet - 10 school productions.  Our summer line up of 4 camps went dark. I was selected to be an educator at the 2020 International Thespian Festival in Indiana, a week long event bringing thousands of students together to revel in all things theater.  I was looking forwarding to that experience but, as you can guess, it never happened.  Fortunately I was still asked to produce a virtual workshop.  And of course, our annual SFX Makeup Competition became an afterthought. Beauty clients became less and less...and less.  I am forever grateful for my dev...

I have a problem. Hello, my name is Jenn and I am a makeup brush junkie. There, I said it. Whew, it feels good to get that off my chest! But it’s more than just an obsession. On a regular basis, I work with an endless assortment of products, peopl e, and textures. Makeup brushes are my tools, and I need the right selection of tools to be able to do my best work on anyone and everyone. As a result, I have two sets of beauty brushes and one set of special effects brushes. Yes, each genre of work needs different tools. Beauty brushes tend to be softer, fluffier, and honestly, down right prettier. I have over 20 brushes just for the eyes, and another handful of foundation, contour, blush and powder brushes. SFX brushes are more dense, a little stiffer, and not as ornate. My collection consists of several of the same style (short and flat for general use), a couple specifically for glue, a splatter brush, and a variety of body painting brushes. Meanwhile, my personal brush coll...

This blog is written by Christine Lynch, owner of Local Color NYC and was originally published March 27, 2020 . If you are anything like me, you are NOT experienced with the WFH lifestyle. My cousin Meg, who works remotely (every dang day) gave me some great advice the other day. So, here is some Covid Era advice for working at home.  1. Put on pants! Dressing comfy is a great perk, but too comfy (ie- roll   right out of bed) and motivation can be a struggle and it's a slippery slope from there... 2. Have a dedicated office space - NOT in front of a TV, on the couch/bed or where it can be noisy (kids at home too?) Also, recreate your personal office vibe - play music, keep desk snacks, fill a water bottle, etc. 3. Stick to a schedule. Did you walk into work at 8:15 every morning with coffee in hand? Do the same going into your home office. Take lunch/coffee breaks at the same times you normally would. (This is also the opportunity for laundry/cleaning/dog ...

Did you know small business owners don’t qualify to collect Unemployment Insurance? It’s been a couple of weeks full of confusion and anxiety as we struggle with mandates forcing us to close our doors for an unknown amount of time. Just a few days ago, at the request of the Governor, The Makeup Curio, along with all other hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, and tattoo/piercing parlors were shut down. As of 8PM Sunday night, ALL “non-essential” businesses had to close. This is incredibly scary, but absolutely necessary. As we’ve seen in other parts of the world, this novel coronavirus has the potential to overwhelm our healthcare system and kill a frighteningly large number of people if we are not careful. And you know what? As difficult as it m ay be to face the loss of business in the short term, we accept these regulations in stride, because if anyone understands community responsibility, it is small business owners. That’s why we’re here in the first place! And we are still h...

Did your world just turn upside down this past week? We’re still reeling. At The Makeup Curio Unusual, all five of our theater productions have been postponed with hopes of being rescheduled late next month. Meanwhile, the Makeup Curio Beauty is moving forward by continuing to book Summer/Fall weddings and working to bring you virtual makeup classes! As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread and more changes occur, social distancing and quarantine are becoming absolute necessity. But that doesn’t have to mean neglecting self care; as a matter of fact, it should be quite the opposite. Since many of us will be spending more time home and less time out, we thought it may be a great time to offer tips on beauty health and home care. Beauty health, to us, means your skin. Did you know the skin is the largest organ we have? It lives and breathes, protecting and cleansing all the other systems. This is why taking care of the skin on your face, hands, arms, legs and every ...