Last Wednesday Illamasqua announced the four winners from The Distinction In Make-up Artistry Awards 2012. I caught up with the winners to find out how they felt about winning the award……
Non-Professional
Anastasija Bondarenko
What did you enjoy most about the live competition on the 13th of October?
Josephine, I have to say I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the whole thing, it was such an adrenalin buzz to be able to work with and in front of such experts and experience such an intense but invigorating experience with others in the industry that are held in such high esteem.
Why did you enter The Distinction In Make-up Artistry Awards?
I entered to learn, to enjoy and to ultimately try my hardest to win. I strive to show others the extent of my abilities and I thought this would be the best platform to do so.
What advice would you give to people who would like to enter the competition next year?
The best advice is to just go for it, push your limitations, strive to over achieve and inspire awe in your work and designs and ultimately know your plan and outcome inside and out.
What have you got planned for 2013?
Well to be honest I am actually just about to open my own make up store in Belfast City Centre where I will be able to carry out applications on a daily basis and also sell retail and it will have my academy with in it as well so as you can imagine it is all go at the minute. Other than that I plan to try and get some sleep at some stage but I guess that wont happen very often.
Illamasqua Team
Kat Sykes
What did you enjoy most about the live competition on the 13th of October?
I really related to the brief that was set as the theories and techniques used by artists and within art movements is something I am particularly interested by. The concept of taking elements from these techniques and transferring them onto a live model to create my own interpretation of the artists work is something I really enjoyed.
It was also interesting to observe how the other contestants tackled the brief as everyone perceived the artists work in their own unique way.
Why did you enter The Distinction In Make-up Artistry Awards?
It was a valuable opportunity to have my work critiqued by such an esteemed panel of judges and to showcase my image to hundreds of people online. Part of my role at Illamasqua involves decorating mannequins, props and faces which are displayed within the stores and window displays. I’m primarily a make-up artist so I saw the competition as a chance to combine aspects from both of these areas. I work a lot with stenciling and airbrushing at Illamasqua so I tried to utilize these skills in the look I created.
What advice would you give to people who would like to enter the competition next year?
I would say to take it as an opportunity to explore and expand your ideas and showcase your work. Utilise a skill that you are confident with and push it further by combining it with techniques that you may have never tried before.
What have you got planned for 2013?
I feel very fortunate to work for a company that actively promotes and encourages creativity and individualism. It’s rewarding to be given the opportunity to work within so many different creative projects that encourages me to utilise and build on my own creative skills. I hope to continue to be a part of this growing company and to keep on progressing myself as an artist.
For the back stage video with interviews with this year judges go to click here .