10 TALENT: Meal Prep
Hi everyone. My name is Sarah Matton and I’m an entrepreneur. Over the past decade I have worked professionally in the field of musical theatre. I’m also the co-creator of the only temp agency for dance teachers in Canada, Quick Ball Change. I’ve been inspired to start an mini series vlog to share my knowledge as well as speak to those who work professionally in the industry. This is just meat to be an informal chat so we can hopefully all learn something and I hope you enjoy.
YOU CAN WATCH THE FULL VIDEO INTERVIEW AT THE END OF THIS BLOG POST!
Today we’re talking about hair and makeup. This is part two of the prep series on makeup. And I wanted to talk with the best in the biz. She is so creative in all aspects of her life. She is generous and hilarious on and off the stage. And she is so busy and she has taken the time to chat with me so thank you so much and welcome Kristen Peace.
1 | Kristen did you go to school to learn everything you know about hair and makeup?
I didn’t. Not at all. For me I think being someone who was an artistic person. Someone who painted a lot, I’ve always understood colour and shape and stuff like that. So it’s something that’s just always fun for me.
2 | When you play roles like Ursula or Paulette from Legally Blonde, if you don’t get a makeup plot how do you know what colours to use and where do you get your inspiration from?
I’m actually someone who prefers not to have the makeup plot. I find when people who don’t know your face give you a plot, there have been times when I have looked at it and it has been wrong for me. It’s going to be wrong for me, wrong for my face, and you’re not going to be happy with it. I’ve been very lucky that I work with people who trust me. So that I can say hey, this is what want to do, I have drawn up a picture of it, this is what it’s going to look like and I can do some test shots for you tonight so you can see what it’s going to look like. Most the time I have people who are great and just trust that I will give them, the best products that I possibly can. Ursula being a cartoon, and being such a well-known cartoon, you want to be able to pull in aspects of that cartoon but at the same time you need your face to be seen. So knowing that I’m not going to be able to paint my whole body purple or grey, I need to be able to just then contour purple or grey around my face to make my face be seen bur just get an illusion that I am a different colour. So I painted just the points of my face. The contoured points of my face my hands, my collar purple, so you don’t have to do a full body so people can actually see your face. And Paulette, she’s just to me she was just so there. Paulette was who she was you know. I felt like I knew her so well. And she was that girl she was like “ya know she’s like I want to be really fancy, but I don’t know what fancy is. So I do know that purple and like green and like blue are like my favourite colours so I’m going to put them on my face. “
(Sarah) Amazing
(Kristen) So for her that was just her. She wants to be so beautiful, it’s just all too much. Too much!
3 | do you have a rule on lashes? Do you wear them for every show? Do you change the length depending on the character?
I find it does depend on the character; it does depend on the show. I would suggest for people to know the show that they’re in really well. If you’re someone who’s playing…you know I’m off the street for Come From Away, I walk in, I rub some of this off! Like I rub it off and go on stage. I would never ever put lashes on for something like that. I would never put lashes on for a play, unless I was playing some severely glamorous creature, which I’m not going to play. You know what I mean so I wouldn’t do that. But for things like Rock of Ages you wear lashes. You wear 80s you go big 80s makeup for that. For character roles, like Mrs. Meers, you know I had made sure I had very spiky spider lashes for that
(Sarah) And beautiful nails.
(Kristen) You have to decide what the lash is for the person and you have to decide the lash that is good for the face because sometimes some people put very heavy lashes on and it completely closes their eyes off and you’ve got to be able to see their eyes.
4 | What is your red lipstick that you wear?
I have it here! (laughter) I use L’Oreal Paris actually the “Blake Collection” if you can see.
(Sarah) Amazing thank you!
(Kristen) This one has a nice matte to it. It has a really good blue undertone, which is what I need. I need things that are darker thicker richer because I am very pale, so I need to counter balance that with a red lipstick that has a blue undertone. A red lipsick that had a yellow or orange undertone, something that was too pail, pinky, coral, I look very sick. I look sicky, so…
(Sarah) So know your undertones
(Kristen) You have to know what your undertone is and you have to know your undertone of your makeup as well.
5 | Is there anything else in that bag that you can’t live without for a show?
I’ve got a couple really good things. OK this…my go to foundation, You’ve got to get yourself some Kat Von D. Can you see it’s really shiny?
(Sarah) I’ve never seen that before.
(Kristen) It’s fantastic. Buy yourself a brush. You don’t have to go cocoa beans with brushes. Like people get these crazy brush kits, and then they don’t use them. They don’t use them! Get yourself a foundation brush, a blush brush, you don’t need much more than that. But the Kat von D foundation is so good for our business and it’s high coverage. So its something if you wanted to wear it day to day, if your someone who doesn’t like a lot of foundation, little bit of your moisturizer, your daily moisturizer, little bit of this mix it up on your face. Great. But for stage it’s high coverage, easy to colour and paint on top of and it’s also not going to melt off your face. You can’t sweat it off, it’s incredible.
(Sarah) And where do you buy it?
(Kristen) Sephora
(Sarah) Sephora. Perfect.
(Krsiten) Kat von D. Kat von D’s entire line is magic. Is great.
6 | Any advice you have for emerging performers for makeup?
Lay off of the contour and highlight. There is nothing wrong with your nose. There’s nothing wrong. I have never seen ay performer in any audition come in and I think “that nose.” I haven’t. Your nose is fine. Your nose is beautiful. Stop screwing around with your nose. I’m seeing everyone come in with these brown lines and white stripes. And that’s not what contour and highlight is for. It’s meant for still shots and its meant in specific lighting and its meant by people who really really, really know how to change the shape of your face for a still shot. It’s not meant for day to day, and it’s not meant for auditions and its not meant for stage. Because you can see it! It doesn’t matter how much you blend it, you can see it. And there’s nothing wrong with the shape of your face and there’s nothing wrong with your nose. You have a nice big full cheek, don’t try to contour in cheek bones, Why? You’ve got beautiful big full cheeks, live them.
(Sarah) Embrace your cheeks
(Kristen) Give me your big full chubby cheeks. I want it. That’s what people want. They want to see your face. Stop trying to change the shape of your face. Stop it. You’re beautiful the way you are. Stop it.
(Sarah) I think that is such good advice because it’s so popular right now to contour. You know social media there’s so many makeup artists so it’s all over.
(Kristen) It’s constant. It’s all over instagram. It’s fine. You want to do it for fun, you want to play with your face, you’re like “ I want to drag myself out.” Then one hundred percent do it. I love it. Like you have to do that, sometimes. That’s really fun. But when we’re talking about day-to-day and we’re talking about auditions and we’re talking about all that kind of stuff. Don’t. You don’t need it. And especially if you’re using it as some kind of tool to be like I need to change the way I look, I need to change the way I am. Because clearly I’m seeing on all this stuff on instagram and everywhere on Facebook that’s telling me there’s something wrong with my nose so I need to get rid of my nose and I don’t have clout cheek bones so I need to create…There’s nothing wrong with your face. Your face is beautiful it’s your package you were given to travel the world in. Use your package!
Top 10 Takeaways
#1 You don’t need school to be good at makeup.
#2 Know your character when choosing makeup.
#3 You need your face to be seen.
#4 Lashes depend on the show and the character.
#5 Know your skin’s undertone and the makeup undertone.
#6 Kat Von D is great foundation for stage
#7 Get yourself a blush brush and a foundation brush.
#8 There is nothing wrong with your nose!
#9 You don’t need contour for the stage.
#10 Use your package!