You don’t need a whole glam squad to slay at work or at play. In fact, lauded makeup artist, Morag Steyn – who was worked with the likes of Roxy Burger, Minnie Dlamini and Maps Maponyane – believes every woman should be able to doll up her own face in about 10 minutes.
Don’t believe her? Well, she’s keen on teaching you. In Johannesburg this week only, the artist who is a part of Fashion Lab on Cliff Central has over 12 years of experience in the industry is hosting two Ladies’ Night masterclasses. And if you’re not in Jozi, you can follow her website to see tutorials that make smoky eyes and highlighters a part of your vocabulary with ease.
“All I want to do is inspire women to be amazing,” is the philosophy by which she loves. This week, she brings it to life. We spoke to Steyn about her classes, career and caring enough about the art to stay in South Africa.
Why did you want to host these masterclasses?
It’s nice to share my passion with people after all these years of being in the industry. The target market for these masterclasses is the corporate woman. Someone who is going to go have her hair done but might have kids and things to do so she needs to know how to get her makeup done quickly but have it look as if she had spent an hour on it. I want women to be able to do their makeup in 10 minutes.
What level of makeup proficiency must you have to join the class?
I would prefer that you don’t know how to do anything because that way, you haven’t built up any bad habits. You’re going to get a variety of women so the women who know a little bit more than others in the class will just have to sit tight and hopefully, they will learn something they didn’t know. I want the ladies to bring their makeup with them because I have found that women buy so much makeup that they don’t even know how to use. I will demonstrate on a model and do the masterclass with them and if they have products in their makeup bag that they don’t know how to use, I will teach them. It doesn’t help to come to a makeup class that makes you throw out all your old makeup and have to go spend another R5000 on new products. The classes are practical.
You work with both sexes in your profession. Does this require different skill sets of you?
Absolutely! Men wouldn’t necessarily use the same products as women. I’ve actually already done two radio segments about male grooming. Most of my celebrity clients are people I have advised to use a tinted moisturiser. Most men wash with just soap and water and probably use their body lotion on their face too. A tinted moisturiser has defined properties in it and it has an SPF in it and it’s a treatment. It evens out the skintone and gives a beautiful finish. It’s a tinted moisturiser, it’s not makeup! I’d love to do a male grooming masterclass too.
You did the special effects makeup on the award-winning South African film, Alison. What drew you to that kind of makeup?
I actually studied special effects makeup, that’s my baby. To be honest, being in South Africa means there isn’t a lot of opportunity to work in that. So I had to branch out into doing makeup. This is my life, though. In order for me to live, I couldn’t sit and wait for a special effects job to come up. It was amazing to work on the Alison movie. I loved it! The artists who studied special effects leave the country because the films are too few.
As a makeup industry veteran, what are the top tips for anyone who is learning how to do their own face?
You know how you see a piece on the runway and think: that’s so beautiful but it’s just not me? It’s the same with makeup. If it’s not you, don’t do it. Otherwise you’ll be uncomfortable and people can tell. There are many options. For instance, if you don’t like foundation, you can use a BB Cream instead. The second tip is: always get your foundation colour right! Ask a professional to help you get it right. The last tip is: always wear mascara. Nine times out of 10, if you have mascara on, you can take on the world!
Morag Steyn’s Ladies’ Night masterclasses take place at XOXO hair salon in Johannesburg on March 22 and 25. Info: 082 314 4599