Making up is hard to do

The Press

THE LESSON: Nicky Tawhara being made up by Kristen Stewart who has set up her own makeup school.

Relevant offers

Fashion

Footwear: the best contraceptive Material Girl shines in Givenchy Kardashian clan go leopard crazy French fashionistas' wake-up call In love with Christian Louboutin Angry models seek workplace rights Miss Piggy: I want to mentor Gaga Bumping it up: pregnancy fashion Monday most wanted: February 6 Collaboratory moments

Kristin Stewart thinks every woman should learn about makeup the same way they learn about cooking – from an expert.

There are moments in every woman's life when she looks in the mirror and says to herself, "Oh to hell with it. I give up, I can't be bothered with all this makeup stuff any more. I will go naked and unadorned into the world."

A week later the same woman is invariably standing at a shop counter wondering – once again –is that bright- red lipstick me? Do I need a lighter shade of foundation? Will the latest mega-expensive mascara give me the lustrous lashes I deserve?

Kristin Stewart thinks it's time every woman – girl – learns about makeup the same way they learn about cooking. From an expert. Grandmother or mother, fine, if they really are experts, but best by far is to sit in front of a mirror with a qualified makeup teacher over your shoulder.

She is biased, of course. Two weeks ago the Kristin Stewart School of Makeup (KSSM) opened for business in Christchurch, and as owner and teacher she is keen to see class numbers grow. But she has a mission beyond just filling the seats in the luxe little beauty box she has created.

"I really do think makeup can make you feel beautiful. It is never as easy as is made out – who really knows apart from professional makeup artists how to get a good finish on your skin, how to create smoky eyes, apply just the right amount of blusher, decide on the best colour matches? – but if someone shows you how to achieve this or that, in fact teaches you the basics, your confidence grows."

No argument about that, but isn't that what modelling-school courses teach?

Stewart is polite but not giving an inch.

"I have been studying makeup now for 14 years and although I started at a modelling school – years ago when Kirsty Lay had Exposure Model Agency, I think we've moved on from there."

KSSM has six part-time classes – Face Art to Basics – in applying your own makeup. These are all under way. However, the Big Ambition is the KSSM diploma course, starting in February.

Stewart is not interested in offering a course that emulates other diploma courses available in New Zealand. "I don't want to include all the elements they are required to provide. I don't believe they lead to anything in particular.

"I want to teach using the methods of the Glauca Rossi School of Make-Up in London, where I studied. It is a very prestigious course, hard to get into, but private. Not government-funded.

"Barbara Rossi, my teacher, is Italian, and she was very excitable and severe – lots of shouting and smacking brushes out of hands. That's not me, but what I learnt about makeup there, I'd like to pass on."

She adds: "I love teaching."

She says she once had plans of becoming a professional photographer but when she discovered she could build a career out of makeup she set about exploring all possibilities. " I have now worked internationally for model agencies, fashion magazines and fashion brands. I have been creative director for designer Adrian Hailwood, worked on London fashion weeks and for every NZ Fashion Week (Pieter Stewart owner and director of NZ Fashion Week is Kristen Stewart's mother), on films, and for magazines." Now she wants to share. To show others how to apply their own makeup, and the makeup of other people.

An elegant studio in Peterborough Street – all light and flowers, mirrors and scented lillies – is her first step. If the class on Stewart's Bare Essentials course is an indicator, she has the mix right. It is a makeup course with serious intent, but informal, friendly and easy.

Asked if they were there as group, attendee Sarah Fitzgerald says no. "My sister-in-law is here, but the rest of the class were strangers."

They seem to be having fun. And, if the makeup demonstration under way on Nicky Tawhara is an indicator, grasping the makeup issue.

"Confidence is the main thing at this stage," says Stewart. "When it comes to the diploma course, it will be more intensive, with students working to international standards."

So, how much acceptance will her diploma have? "I am very confident about that," says Stewart. "The school I trained at had an enviable reputation and its diploma is widely recognised. It is a not a 'tick the box' certificate. My own work in the makeup and fashion industries is well known and, I am told, widely respected. We also have the backing of MAC cosmetics, hair stylists and photographers. I believe it (the diploma course) will be a good investment for anyone who completes it."

For further details email info@kirstenstewart.co.nz or go to www.kristenstewart.co.nz.

- © Fairfax NZ News