Makeup: a daily activity and a form of art

Making oneself up is a daily operation that women from all over the world are used to do. But the makeup used daily by women is only one part of the universe of makeup, a universe that includes many other groups and that is also made of professionals that have attended special schools and courses and that have become real makeup artists also thanks to their passion, experience, ability and care.

The custom of making oneself up, for religious, cultural or only for aesthetical reasons, dates back to the mists of time and was popular also in many ancient populations (only think about the ancient Egypt); nowadays the art of makeup is declined in many different ways. Professional makeup artists, who work in many different fields, use their competences in the field of movies, art, television, fashion and photography, and their work is often praised through prestigious awards, like in the case of the Academy Awards, which belong to the main awards of the world of movies: not only actors, directors, screenwriters and other professionals are awarded with the academy awards, but also the makeup artists that have distinguished themselves by professionalism and ability, contributing to the success of the movie itself. There are movies, indeed, where makeup, along with special effects, is really essential: just think about those movies where actors are made older for script requirements or about costume drama and science fiction movies, for which actors' features have to be modified. In all of these cases, but also in the case of other types of movies, the work of an expert, who is able to meet the director's desires, is essential.

This is what happens also in the TV world, a field where the work of a professional makeup artist is essential to make TV stars appear at their best (and if you see the images of the stars without makeup it is easy to understand how the work of makeup artists can sometimes accomplish a miracle), and at the theatre. As happens for films, also in the world of theatre actors' features need to be modified for script requirements, and in this sense the work of makeup artists is really essential, also because at the theatre there are neither filters nor the possibility to use special effects or other tricks to change actors' features. Drama and musicals like Notre-Dane de Paris or Cats, just to make few examples, have been successful also because of the makeup artists' work.

The list of the fields where the work of professional makeup artists is essential is really endless, and also includes photography, body painting and many other types of artistic expressions. In conclusion, we can say that makeup is not only a trick to make oneself look better, it is also a form of art.