Interview: Senior make up artist Amber D

M.A.C. senior artist Amber D

Amber D is a M.A.C senior artist and member of the international M.A.C pro team. She is director of make up for several shows at New Zealand Fashion Week.

Which shows did you work on this week?

So far this week I've worked on Cybele, Jimmy D, Kingan Jones, Trelise Cooper (her two shows), Huffer, Carlson and Cherry Cotton Candy...I think that's all of them so far. And I'm doing Zambesi tonight.

Which was the biggest undertaking?

Probably Trelise Cooper. There were 30 models as well as about 20 kids that needed a bit of fairy dust and lip gloss as well.

What is involved in coming up with the looks for each of the shows? (Amber was the make up director for all of the aforementioned shows)

Basically we had a initial meeting with each designer, we went along and got inspiration, mostly had a little look at fabrics and things like that, and then went back and did a trial make up with them and tweaked the make up until it was exactly what they wanted. Quite often the hairdressers are there for that as well.

What were some of the inspirations behind the looks?

Cybele was a bit medieval, a bit Joan of Arc, crossed with Grace Jones was the look we were going for. We did big red eyes and nude beautiful skin so they kind of looked like they'd done it themselves a little bit.

Trelise was kind of...The Holy Sinner (was the inspiration). She kind of wanted to go for a look that was a little bit different. Not too overdone, so we paired it back and it was all about beautiful contouring and highlighting under the lights so the girls looked kind of sculpted and a bit nude.

For Huffer the look was 'glamour girls and homeless boys' and a little bit 'The Life Aquatic' for the guys. We used M.A.C. Sweetie Cake glitter nail polish in about five coats on the hands and feets so they were outrageously sparkley and then on the skin we used the new foundation Studio Mist, which is a spray, so they looked really airbrushed. Then we used cheek and lip stains so the colour was there, but not over the top. We also used false lashes.

Zambesi is a bit nautical…the usual kind of Zambesi twist, but that's later today, so you'll have to wait and see!

What was your favourite?

It's so hard to choose…They are all totally different and because I designed them all I feel a little attached to everything. They're all cool.

Do overseas make up trends at the big collections (New York, Paris) influence make up at shows here? or do NZ designers just do their own thing?

They definitely influence the shows here because the make up goes hand in hand with the trends that are happening at the moment. We get it filtered back because the M.A.C. pro team works on 150 or so international collections so we really pick up on the key looks overseas. We find out what products they're using and what the look is.

I also get a bit of info ahead of what they're doing at the moment in New York and the international fashion weeks over the next couple of weeks (London and Paris). Some of the key artists sent us through a little bit of info so we could be really current. We took some of that back to the designers here.

Did any of the designers here have strong ideas about what they want?

Some of them do. Zambesi always does, they have a good idea of what they want, and then it's just us putting our M.A.C. twist on it. (Amber has designed the make up for Zambesi the past three years at Fashion Week, as well as their summer collections in Australia)

What are some general trends we are seeing in make up for the next couple of seasons?

Some of the key looks M.A.C has identified for next winter have been things like a diffusion line which is a really beautiful diffused make up without any hard lines, everything is buffed into the skin. There's no really strong contours, everything, including eye shadow is really buffed away. Also masculine/feminine is huge, where girls are kind of boyish, and boys are kind of girlish.

Do you agree that the next couple of seasons are all about "the return of the lip" (as per Style.com)

Yeah totally, it's definitely all about picking what your focus is and working with it. If there's a strong lip look there's probably not a strong eye.

The lips are a little different with the diffusion style, its not that 20's glamour lip at the moment, its more underdone so while you get a really strong punch of colour on the lip, whether its really dark or really bright, its not hard lined, like the edges on a bright lip are buffed away, polished, its not high gloss.

What's your favourite lip colour?

It changes all the time. For this week there's a really beautiful red lipstick coming out called Rococo red, which is a punchy slightly orange red.

We're going to see a really strong lip at Zambesi, but I can't tell you what colour it is yet (interview was conducted before the show) but watch out for that…its amazing! That's my favourite.

For everyday wear, what do you wish people would do more of with their make up here in NZ?

I wish people would get down to a M.A.C counter and get some advice to be honest. A lot of people stroll up to a counter and pick out their colour, and quite often its wrong. So yeah, get some good advice.

For people on a budget...What's the easiest thing people can do with make up that you think has the biggest impact?

Concealer, mascara and a bit of lip colour.

If you could only have one make up item to wear what would it be?

What an outrageous question! [Laughs] Can I have two? That would be concealer, and my eyebrow pencil

What's been the best product innovation in the past few years in make up?

They've refined the quality. Foundations are getting to the stage where they look like you're not wearing foundation but you can have a light coverage or deeper coverage, without looking like you're wearing a mask. It's the same for eyeshadows, you're getting beautiful M.A.C. colours where you don't have to put tons on to really see the colour.

What product do you find that most people don't have, that they should have in their make up bag?

Good tools, good quality brushes. You can't achieve a great, nicely blended smoky eye without good brushes.

Dish the dirt...What's the most scandalous or diva-ish thing you've seen backstage>?

Ummmm...I really would like to give you something juicy but I haven't really got anything! No, its usually just busy, people running round crashing into each other. There's a little bit of yelling but it's to be expected. It's fairly rushed. No one takes anything personally if something's being yelled across the room we're all professional and aware of what's its like.

The biggest drama was probably the time a guy was walking along carrying a tray of champagne backstage, and walked straight past where the models were getting ready to walk on. Someone bumped into him and he dropped the tray smashing glass everywhere right as the girls were about to walk out. So that had to be sorted out pretty promptly.

What's been the highlight of you career so far?

Becoming senior artist in NZ and part of the international M.A.C. pro team. With that job comes being able to work with a lot of New Zealand's most talented designers, and also work on the international collections.

Best show you've ever worked on?

Working with Zambesi in Sydney was awesome in the scheme of things, I was feeling fairly nervous before my first one, but it was great.

And what would you still like to achieve?

Definitely still working with the designers I work with like Trelise and Zambesi and hopefully working with them on a more international scale overseas.

What do you love about working for M.A.C.?

Its actually not really like a job for me, its just like I'm paid to do really cool stuff all the time! Although I don't really go home very much, I'm always away. [Laughs] Also when international artists, musicians come over, we get to work with them. We've worked on the Kanye West tour, Missy Elliot, people like that.

Also it's great, wherever you go in the world, M.A.C. staff are all the same whether they can speak English or not, they're great, it's like a big family.

And they've got fabulous products!!

Do you have a favourite NZ designer?

I'm pretty eclectic when it comes to what I wear. I've got my eye on quite a few things I've seen backstage this week! That's the torment or working backstage on these shows..its like 'actually can I have that?!?!'

Such as?

The little denim mini dress with the cross back from Cybele... Hot! The Huffer overalls...Loving them. Zambesi of course, I'll probably need one of everything [Laughs]. I love Mala Brakovic.

Whats your favourite piece of clothing in your wardrobe right now?

Oooh hard to choose one. I've got my Cybele jeans with the zips up the back of the legs, my Mala denim jacket, my Marc Jacobs studded flats and definitely my Zambesi carpet bag which I've had for a couple of years. The older it gets, the better it gets.

Favourite accessory?

I don't wear too many accessories. I always have my Joanna Campbell ring on.

What music are you digging right now?

Justin Timberlake! Gotta love him. Lots of stuff... hardcore punk to a good bit of pop to sing along to. Nothing like a bit of Dolly Parton in the car.

Finally, your survival tips for fashion week?

Flat shoes. In fact I suggested to everyone in the M.A.C. team that they might want to stick to flat shoes.

And just trying to stay calm really. Everything gets done in the end.