Scottish media gets made up

Something very exciting is happening in Edinburgh this year in terms of beauty and fashion. Renowned make-up artist to the stars, Allie Smith, and businesswoman Alison Boyes are set to launch the Edinburgh School of Media Make-Up (ESMM). Wednesday 23 February heralded the launch party of Edinburgh School of Media Make-Up. In order to find out some more about the school and what it has to offer, I was privileged enough to attend what turned out to be a fantastic event .

The school is set to open in September in an unfinalised location and will provide first class training in media make-up. Running fourteen week courses, students will be fully prepared  for a career in the arena of professional hair and make-up in the media. Allie Smith, make-up artist and Director of the school told me how the school has already been “overwhelmed with positive feedback”, a fact that was clearly echoed by the excellent turnout to the ESMM Edinburgh launch party.

Allie told me how the principles behind the school lay in the “gaps in good training north of the border that are industry focused” illustrated by the majority of successful make-up artists graduating from London based schools. However, there is still hope for us up north, as all involved with the school are passionate about Edinburgh and seeing local people and students make it as the next big make-up artist.

As if this doesn’t sound exciting enough there's more to come; the school is firmly based on a bank of world-renowned make-up artists and hair technicians as well as having close links to television directors and film producers, providing direct access to the work in the industry.

The Edinburgh School of Media Make-up are extremely privileged to have on board Tina Earnshaw, a twice Oscar nominated make-up artist who has previously worked alongside stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, also teaching at ESMM ia Jan Archibald, a make-up artist and wig professional who has a repertoire including an Oscar for her work on film La Vie En Rose and eight BAFTA nominations. Both Earnshaw and Archibald helped to design the courses for the school and will provide hands on, industry-focused teaching. If you’re going to learn why not learn from the best? 

Allie Smith herself has worked in films such as Harry Potter, providing a wealth of contacts, preparing all students for the world of make-up in the media. Usually
such name-dropping  may be viewed unprofessional, but in this context I believe the ESMM provides a fantastic opportunity. When catching up with the girls they told me how many students were coming out of beauty college without any contacts. With the teachers and make-up artists on board at this school this is what they hope to provide.

They aim to provide hands on teaching from experienced make-up artists who have spent years in the world of press, media, TV and film giving you the tools to prepare you for the industry. But if a career in make-up isn’t something that you wish to pursue then don’t think this isn’t for you. The school is also preparing to put on make-up master classes in which groups of women can learn from some of the best about how to apply your own make-up, whilst picking up some new tips and tricks straight from the screen.

The launch party itself screamed glamour and high fashion, something we can all agree Edinburgh needs and I personally am extremely excited about the opportunities and new chic ESMM is going to bring to this city. Flown straight in from London Fashion Week, Lauren Gollan, MAC pro make-up artist and one of the schools fashion tutors, was at the event and I was able to catch up with her getting the ‘straight from the runway’ tips on this seasons hot looks.

Working with designers such as Nicole Farhi, Mulberry, Vivienne Westwood and Henry Holland, Lauren dropped hints that this season’s make-up was focused on the skin with dewy, 14 year old natural skin, glossy eyelids with a full lip. Models wore MAC C1 on their face with a clean blush falling within the dewy tone, with a “less is more look with the skin” and then a dark lip in deep reds and berry tones. I asked Lauren for her thoughts about the opening of ESMM and she seemed just as excited as everyone else commenting that “this is something Edinburgh has been missing for a long time, I wish there had been somewhere like this for me to train”.

So if a future career in media make-up is something you may consider or whether you're looking for a fun day learning how to do your own make-up, look
out for what is an exciting place to be: Edinburgh School of Media Make-up in September.