Professional Beauty spend 5 minutes with makeup artist Daniel McLennan
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Starting out
I started my career as a hairdresser but had wanted to be a plastic surgeon until the age of nine, when I realised you had to operate on people. At the age of ten I'd do my families’ hair and knew I wanted to become a hairdresser. It wasn’t until I moved to London and started working in Albery Theatre, Leicester Square, doing wigs and hairstyling backstage, that makeup artistry appealed to me and it was the theatrical and creative side that originally struck me. I trained with theatrical makeup brand Screen Face and mainly worked freelance but also knew an agent at Chic and had friends employed in the music industry so was fortunate that getting work just happened for me.
Advice
I recommend new artists find a good photographer, experiment with looks and offer their services for free to get as much experience as possible, gain confidence and build their portfolio. Its important to keep inspired. What motivates me is making sure everyone looks good.
Low points
My lowest career-point was a partnership that turned sour and it was really hard to keep motivated. I had to go overseas to find inspiration. Travel is a big source of reference and inspiration to me. Being able to see what people are doing, what’s happening overseas, including at fashion shows is invaluable.
Beauty icons
My beauty icons are Nicole Ritchie, who has great hair at the moment and come a long way, and Alexa Chung, who has great style. A classic beauty icon of mine is Elizabeth Taylor.
Future
Ambitions for the future include NYFW and I’d love the opportunity to create a period Edwardian look. I have done wigs for theatre but never for TV or movies so that would be great. However, I guess my main ambition is to keep on learning.
Visit www.oneroom.com.au for further information