Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to Behind the Chair. I'm Lauren Garfit, a professional hair and makeup artist, and I'm going to be talking about life beyond the makeup chair. Busting some beauty myths, gossiping with guests about our makeup icks, and getting down to the reality of the beauty industry. Making the beauty industry more relatable, easy to approach, and less intimidating. I can't wait to have a nana. So grab a cup of it and let's get started.
Speaker: So I thought I'd mark this first podcast by answering some commonly asked questions. So these are questions that I'm always getting asked and I'm going to answer some in the hopes that I'll never get asked them again. No, I'm joking. So first of all, this is probably the one I hear the most is how long have I been doing this?
Speaker: So I've been doing this job, hair and makeup, for about eight years and I started in the wedding industry so I started doing bridal hair and makeup first of all and then I sort of transitioned into doing more glamorous stuff like red carpet and sort of celebrity events.
Speaker: like photo shoot stuff, all sorts of different types of things. Basically when I got to like year six of being in the industry I decided to niche down and just focus on the bridal hair and makeup because that is where I feel most passionate about and I feel like it really suits my style really well. I love to do natural soft glam makeup that makes people look and feel their very best but also while feeling like themselves as well. So that's why I do bridal
Speaker: The next question is, why did I get into this job? I've always been creative. I've always liked doing makeup. I remember when I was from about 10, 11, I discovered the power of mascara and eyeliner. I absolutely would sit there for hours on end just doing my eyeliner and doing my mascara.
Speaker: I think as a person with blonde eyelashes, I think when I started wearing mascara, I was just astounded by how long my eyelashes actually were because you can't tell how long my eyelashes are unless I've got mascara on because they're completely blonde otherwise. So I just think, wow. Anyways, that's sort of where it all started.
Speaker: from there i just always sort of experimented with makeup and then i used to dance and i think that was a big part of being glamorous and stuff as well but i also just loved it amongst me and my like dance pals i was the one that was really good at doing the eyeliner doing the eyelashes
Speaker: i don't know i think i've always just had a bit of a knack for like fiddly things as well i've got really steady hands so i think it kind of was sort of meant to be and i think i've always kind of been an artist at heart i've always been creative the next question which people love to ask and i feel like i really want to give them the goss but i don't really have any um and it's people always say i bet you've had some bridezillas and honestly i'm so lucky like i work with such nice people i do think
Speaker: I do like to think that I attract nice people as well because I think I'm an alright person. As cringe as that is to say. I don't know why that's so cringe to say. Why is that so cringe to say? Is that a northern thing? I think it might be. So yeah, I don't really get brighter layers but I tell you what I do get is I get every now and again, I'm not saying every time, I don't upset anyone.
Speaker: but every now and again you get mother of the brides who are interesting. I've never had anyone sort of kick off or anything like that. I think with my line of work I meet so many different types of personalities and to be honest I kind of like all the personalities because I find them really interesting.
Speaker: it's kind of like watching a TV show sometimes but yeah I've never really been there's only been once where someone's made me cry I think every makeup artist can relate to that but that actually was nothing to do with the wedding it was just a photo shoot and to be honest I think she was a bit of a bitch and yeah this is a podcast where I'm gonna swear I've decided because I do swear so I'm just gonna be myself
Speaker: yeah she was a bit of a um she was a bit of a cow and she just i don't know what her problem was she was very strange okay next question what is my favorite type of makeup to do so my favorite type of makeup to do is soft glam which is basically what i do all the time uh which is great because that's what people know me for now
Speaker: i like makeup to look sophisticated and classy i always feel like i am improving like in my head the image of sort of where my makeup where i want my makeup to be if that makes sense where how i want my makeup to look my work to look is at a different sort of level and i'm
Speaker: i know i am good at what i do but i'm always improving and i'm always learning and i feel like as an artist in any sort of medium you're always learning something new and i learn from all sorts of different things i learn from nature and other art uh other artistic like avenues um and yeah i always learn from other makeup artists as well other hairstylists
Speaker: yeah always learning hashtag always learning the next question is what are your favorite brands a kind of this question stresses me out a little bit because i've basically got like a really long list but i will give you my top five let's try and keep it a five
Speaker: So my first one that I'd say is maybe on the top of my list is Charlotte Tilbury. Charlotte Tilbury, I just, I really like pretty much everything that she does. The only product that I think can be divisive and a little bit tricky to use and it doesn't work on everyone is the airbrush flawless foundation. I love that foundation on some people.
Speaker: when I've used it on the right person people go oh my god what did you use and if it's used on the right skin it looks flawless so yeah but I have recently invested in the beautiful skin foundation for my kit and that is
Speaker: bang on my a bit of me it's a bit of me because it's a natural skin finish it's glowy but not too glowy it's not like shiny and it's buildable which is one of my favorite features of any foundation is if is it buildable is it workable um when i say buildable if you're not sure what that means that means that you can add layers upon layers so you can build
Speaker: the coverage to your specification. The next brand that I love, which I use a lot of at the minute, is NARS. I use a lot of their concealers, especially the soft matte concealer. That's my favorite at the minute. And I like their bronzer. Yeah, they do lovely blushers. I really like the depth of color in their blushers. The next brand is Hourglass. As you can tell, I'm a bit of a bougie one. I do like the luxury brands. Hourglass is a luxury brand. A brand?
Speaker: a luxury brand and my favorite things that I use from Hourglass are the concealers. I'm currently using the concealers and I also have some of the powders in my kit. The reason why the powders from Hourglass, if you've not heard about them, the powders are really really finely milled and what that means is you get a really
Speaker: beautiful finish on the skin so it doesn't feel like powder and it glides onto the skin and it's really easy to apply it's hard to apply too much they're just really fantastic powders and they last a really really long time depends how much bronzer you use on a daily basis but i think if you're using like a moderate amount every day i think it would last you 18 months it's a beautiful bronzer
Speaker: Do you know what? I'm going to leave it there. That is my top three favourite brands at the minute. I was going to name five, but no, you know what? Top three. That's it. This next question is really a question. It's more like a comment that I hear all the time. And it's always from the father of the bride. And it goes like this. It goes, what can you do with this face? Or he says, my turn. Or he says,
Speaker: He's got no hair on his head and he says, what can you do with this? And then he strokes his head. It's really funny, I've never heard it before. It's a real original one. No, my usual response is either there's no way I could do anything to make you look better than you already look or you don't need it, you're naturally beautiful. I sort of gauge what their personalities like and see how far I can push it.
Speaker: know because I like to have a bit of a laugh with the father of the bride you know the men usually like to have a little bit of a little bit of a laugh and don't take themselves so seriously so yeah I like to poke fun at them a little bit. The next comment this isn't a question this is more of a comment well people do ask me questions about it they say I bet your kit is expensive and yes my kit is very expensive and it's something that I'm constantly updating when I first started doing makeup eight years ago the industry looked very different the main
Speaker: brand leading brand in the industry was Mac and I had a full kit of Mac basically I had the foundations I had all the concealers I still I still like the Mac concealer I really actually do rate the Mac concealers but I don't use the foundations anymore and I don't use any of the sort of skin products
Speaker: Just don't get on with them as much as I used to when I first started out and the variation out there now in the market is so huge. There's too many competitors now and yeah, Mac are still fantastic for certain things. I swear by the paint pots. I absolutely love the paint pots. I can't ever imagine using anything else and yeah. This next one is not really a question either. It's more of a comment and this is one that makes me quite sad. I find it a bit sad anyway.
Speaker: People say, can you get rid of my wrinkles and my double chin? People say something along those lines, or they say, can you make me look 10 years younger? It makes me sad because, first of all, don't put yourself down. Second of all, wrinkles tell the story of your life, so why would you want to get rid of them? I'm sorry, but I can't get rid of a double chin.
Speaker: And I mean that in no way whatsoever. I just mean that in a factual way. I think the reason why people do this is people apologize for the fact that I'm having to do their makeup, which is just so sad. I don't know why people feel a need.
Speaker: apologize like you never need to apologize for sitting and having your makeup done because my job is to make you feel good not just make you look pretty the way i look at it is i don't just look at it like oh i've got to make them look a certain way i also make it an experience i like to massage the skin
Speaker: and you know when I'm cleansing the skin I like it to be relaxed and experienced. Pretty much everybody who sits in my chair says oh god you could just keep going with that facial massage like people really don't take the time out for themselves so when they do sit in my chair that time can be really precious to some people and really important so to me if that's what I'm giving them that is a fantastic addition to someone's life someone's day so please do not
Speaker: apologize for being in someone's makeup chair. I'm pretty sure that I've covered all of the questions that I get asked all the time. If there is another question that you're dying to ask me then please let me know over on my instagram Lauren Garfit makeup and that's it for the first ever episode of behind the chair with myself Lauren Garfit. If you enjoyed this podcast then please subscribe and even better please share with your friends and family. Stay classy, bye!
