Mandy Spencer - make-up artist

Mandy Spencer is a professional make-up artist with 20 years of experience in the fashion industry. Working on fashion shows, photo shoots and even doing make-up for an occasional wedding, she also manages to find time to answer questions about make-up and beauty on her web page. If you have any questions relating to make-up or the profession of make-up artist, click on this link to ask Mandy Spencer a question on her Q&A page.

Mandy initially trained in England, but then spent quite some time is US, training with Estée Lauder and becoming a Regional Make-up artist for them. Afterwards she worked with the celebrity make-up artist Daniel Sandler and was part of his team, before deciding to go freelance. Mandy has participated in numerous fashion shows and photo shoots, including Brides Magazine Fashion Show in the USA, as well as the up and coming new designers show during London Fashion week.

About her work, she says the following: "I love being creative - and this is a very creative profession indeed! You get to change someone's looks with just the touch of brush and colour... of course," she frowns slightly "you have to know what you are doing! Another great part about being a make-up artist is that you get to meet different people every day - no two days are the same.

"Besides having a lot of fun and getting to be creative - as a make up artist, you also need to learn a lot to start with. And some things only come with experience. You need to understand what works with different skin types, how it will look on photos, how it will look in the daylight and under artifical lights... There is huge difference in make-up done for a photo shoot and for a night out for example, or between day-time and evening make-up.

"Also, as a make-up artist, sometimes you are very much constrained by a client brief - you quickly need to understand what needs to be done and how it would have to look. Sometimes you will have to work under really hectic conditions - for example fashion shows can get very stressful. And during a photo shoot, you always have to keep an eye on the model, to quickly make adjustments when needed.

"On the other hand, on occasion you'll get a very open brief, where you really need to come up with ideas from the scratch. This is where the creative skills come into the play... of course, the great pictures you see in the fashion magazines are the result of cooperation between the model, photographer, stylist and make-up artist. It's all about teamwork and everyone contributing to the final results."

Mandy currently resides in Luton, although she travels quite far for her engagements as make-up artist. Should you want to get in contact with Mandy for professional enquiries, please e-mail her at: mandyspencer62@yahoo.co.uk But if you just have questions about beauty and make-up in general, ask Mandy a question on her Q&A page!! She'll be happy to give you professional advice on-line.

Examples of make-up done by Mandy Spencer: