Interview with Western Morning News Magazine

It was very exciting to see my work in the Western morning news magazine today. I thought I would share the interview with you on here. I was very proud to see my own photography, as well as my makeup in print. I have also added a couple of the Gatsby shoot pics taken by Emma Griffin, as I talked about the shoot in the interview.

Interview with the western Morning news Sally Orchard loves her job. A make-up artist based in Falmouth, she’s been painting faces for more than 20 years. It is only been a full-time job though for the past four years. There are two strings to sally’s bow. Her steady work comes from making brides look beautiful for their big day. Then there is her creative work, working with models and photographers to create fabulous picture spreads for magazines. “I have wanted to be a make-up artist since I was 10” she says. “In those days though, 20 odd years ago, there weren’t any courses, so I didn’t beauty therapy course I’m just learnt very basic make up. I then worked for Clarins, skin care company, in London and I was always the one that did the make-up, but it wasn’t a massive industry at that point,” Later, moving to Cornwall, Sally worked managing spas in Falmouth and worked with make up on the side. But it is only recently, with what she believes has been an explosion of interest in cosmetics on the Internet, that it has become her full time job. Sally does the make up for between 60 to 80 brides each year and, with Scenic Cornwall being so popular for weddings, this work underpins her business. “The reason I think I have become popular for Bridal makeup is that I enhance the person rather than creating a mask. I try to bring out their features rather than put on lots and lots of make-up. I look at the facial features and think about how I can balance what is there,” she says. “It is amazing when you get a bride coming in feeling self-conscious and a bit worried, and then they have their make up done and feel so different, so confident.”

The creative side of her work comes from working with new products, which she experiments with and writes a blog about on her website. Most recently she persuaded one brave model to leap into a bath what she painted her with glittery pigments for the eyes in the face, which stays on and shimmers under the water. “The creative side is trying new processes that are coming out all the time. You never stop learning, fashion changes that you are always learning.”

Sally also does photo shoots for magazines, which are real chance to develop her skills. Most recently she done the maths for fabulous 1920s style great Gatsby shoot at the Alverton manor in Truro, working with Photographer Emma Griffin. The trick with vintage style, so Sally is to update it subtly to fit in with the style conventions of the present day. “We had a 1920s theme, but in fact authentic 1920s make up was quite hard, they always had been eyebrows and thin lips. I wanted to make a more modern version so I took inspiration from that, but made to look more my own.” She went with her trademark smoky eyes for the model, but altered and look for day and evening looks, with a softer look for the daytime. “It was a long day, 8 to 10 hours, but everyone pulled together to make it a success,” she says. Being a good make-up artist is about being constantly alert to new trends, she says. Look for wonderful idea on the Internet and then experimenting until you get it just right yourself. “I have a passion for it,” she says. “I love making people look amazing.”