Diary of a Makeup Artist #35

I have so much I wish I could blog about, but I can't.  I signed a confidentiality contract that could cost me my imaginary life savings if I spilled the beans.  Which I suppose does bring me something to write about in for Diary of a Makeup Artist.

When you enter the world of celebrity or high profile-ness, there comes a certain trust and expectant behavior.  Which is why I'm so very reluctant to ever write about my celebrity encounters.  People can take what you say and misconstrue the words into something awful.  And as part of the backstage world, a certain behavior is a must.  You never make public what you see or hear your clients doing or saying.  Zip the lip if you wanna work in this town again.

So recently I worked backstage at the American Country Music Awards and the Brooks and Dunn Last Rodeo (televised tonight I think?).  I'm not a huge country fan so I have no idea who I was rubbing elbows with.  And you know what?  Ignorance is bliss, I can be myself and not care about who's in my chair or who's in the room.  I find that my chair gets visited more often than the makeup and hair people who are star struck and eager to get their paws on a celebrity.  Well I can say that I know this because I've been told this by celebs themselves.  Really they're just people who have a job to do.  The last thing they want or need is a hyped up makeup artist in their face.

Once I was working backstage at a televised show with numerous celebs and musicians.  The makeup room was filled with newbie vanities who were all in a tizzy with their cameras and autograph books at the ready.  Every-time a celeb would walk in the room they would pat their chairs and smile an over-zealous smile.

"You come sit in my chair for good makeup."

Well I kept my cool and actually ignored them as they walked in and 70% of them ended up in my chair for fear of the vultures in the room.  Brittany Snow literally said, "Oh s*!t, I'm scared, will you help me?".

And another note.  Never shun or diss a celebrity makeup artist, it will come back to bite you.  I was working another show, same situation and low and behold Cameron Diaz walks in.  The vultures were ready to attack, then her hair and makeup team walked in behind her, and the vultures turned into territorial cougars ready strike the celeb vanities if they dared look at their makeup station.  As far as they were concerned Cameron was getting touched up by one of them, not those outsiders she had with her.

 I had to laugh out loud this time.  I got out of my chair and offered it to the vanities, "You guys need some space?  I'm gonna go get a snack!"  They were very appreciative and Cameron herself thanked me.  Fast forward a year or so later.  I was day playing on a film that Cameron was in.  I was only working on background.  No biggie, low man on the totem pole.  See on this particular set a class structure had developed in the vanity department.  There was the background team and the celeb team.  Not much inter-mingling going on.  But believe it or not, Cameron's team (Robin and Lona) remembered me, came up said hi and chit chatted with me.  Later they referred me for another gig.  So it pays to be nice....

This is why you will rarely see me in a picture with a celebrity, or read stories of celebs that are my clients.  I'm a trust worthy makeup and hair designer bottom line.  AND I would never tell you of the time I caught Taylor Swift lip synching and dancing in front of the mirror in a backstage bathroom, just because she's not my client.