Congratulation to Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland for their creative genius behind the “Iron Lady” and for their win in the Best Make-up category at the 84^th Academy Awards!  Dick Smith was also in attendance on Sunday night, in order to celebrate his Honorary Academy Award. The award recognized his lifetime of makeup accomplishments as well as his unselfish gift of knowledge to the industry. Oprah Winfrey and James Earl Jones were also awarded Honorary Oscars this year.

Cinema Makeup School staff, graduates and instructors attended the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Symposium on Saturday, February 25^th, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater to celebrate the work of Oscar nominees in the Makeup category.  Emceed by Governor of the Makeup Branch of the Academy (and retired Director of Education of CMS) Leonard Engelman, nominees appeared in person and described their makeup secrets and discussed working in their respective films.  Even Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Glenn Close made surprise visits to show their support to the nominated makeup artists and hair stylists! 

Another Amazing Challenge On This Week's Episode of SyFy's FaceOff

Every week we love tuning in to see the creativity and skill displayed by the artists on the Syfy Channel's FaceOff, and this week's "Triple Threat" episode did not disappoint. Tara Lang had a lot of work ahead of her this week but she took it like a champ! The challenge this week was to create old age makeups on a set of twins, aging one to the age of 75 and one to 100. They were to look and feel like the same person, physically and personality-wise. But then the contestants were surprised with a twist! Instead of doing two old age makeups, out came another model for each team. Instead of twins, they were now creating old age makeup on triplets! 

Tara's makeup creation of a 75 year old man.

Each artist worked on one makeup, allowing the judges to evaluate each individual's contribution to the overall group product. Tara took on creating the 75 year old while her teammates Matt and Sue took on the 50 year old and 100 year old, respectively. Sue ended up winning the challenge with her makeup but it was a victory for the whole team.

CMS Takes London by Storm: IMATS 2012

Last week Cinema Makeup School flew across the pond to attend the International Makeup Artists Trade Show (IMATS) in London. Director of Admissions Lee Joyner and instructor Carlton Coleman lead the CMS booth which handed out information about the school and hosted two live Special FX makeup demonstrations and creature maquette sculpting. They were assisted in their work by CMS graduates Dave Felstead, Jodi Marie Spencer and Alexandra Myta.

The event, held in the Great Hall of the Alexandra Palace in North London, was a huge success, despite a surprise snowstorm Saturday night which organizers feared would keep attendees away. There were exhibits from makeup artists, brands representatives, and schools throughout the weekend as well as keynote addresses from industry professionals and the annual student competition. Exhibitors came from all over Europe, the US and beyond to participate in this exciting show!

Here are some images from last week's event:

The CMS booth featured a Special FX makeup demonstration by  Carlton Coleman and a creature maquette sculpture demonstration by Lee Joyner on both days.

K-2 Japanese Seminar

Last week Cinema Makeup School hosted 63 students from the KTWO beauty schools in Osaka and Nagoya, Japan. The students were given a tour of the facility and then got to see a demonstration on Special FX and character makeup led by two of our instructors, Kevin Brennan and Carlton Coleman. Here are some pictures of the event:

Kevin and Carlton led simultaneous demos for the visiting students. Kevin applied a silicone blister piece, while Carlton built up a burn using gelatin.