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Check out this video with Laura Hannon, Creative Executive at The London School of Beauty & Makeup!

Visiting the London School of Beauty & Makeup

We know how many people are considering starting a career in makeup artistry, and we also know how many schools and courses there are out there. So as we love you all, we thought we’d do some of the leg work for you and take a look at a few. 

It was a cold and rainy afternoon when we jumped off the tube at Barbican station and paid a visit to the London School of Beauty & Makeup during their November Open Day.

The first thing that we were struck by, was how “normal” and professional the salon looked. There’s no hint that London Esthetique, the salon that is the storefront of the school, is part of a training facility. Modern and well presented, the salon looks exactly like you’d expect from a high-end London salon, with plenty of space and a number of retail stands for brands such as MUA Professional and Murad.

We were shown around by the lovely Marek, who told us that the school has been established since 1995, and its premises have had to grow with their success. Their now on their third location, which is five floors of training and treatment rooms, including the salon, a fully functioning spa and a makeup studio. The idea is that student can become comfortable with working in a professional salon environment whilst they train, so that they are 100% prepared to do it for real once they’ve qualified.

The whole school was incredibly clean, but had a really nice ambiance without any clinical feel that you often get with training facilities and the students were all so smart in their uniforms, you couldn’t tell them apart from their tutors!

We were particularly interested in the makeup courses LSBM offer, as we’re soon hoping to be able to bring you more tutorials. LSBM’s Creative Executive, Laura Hannon, took some time to sit down with us and chat about the school and the work they do training future makeup artists. Laura herself is a successful makeup artist who has had over thirteen years in the industry, working on photographic, fashion and bridal shoots among others. Laura is involved in many of the classes, and ensures that students receive as much practical training as the basics and theory also needed. LSBM say that they strive to help their students find work after they’ve graduated, and Laura and the other tutors often take their students onto shoots with them for some hands-on experience.

After we’d finished chatting, Laura performed a makeup demo to a packed studio to show students an example look. We’ve posted a piece on the finished look and how to recreate it yourself, which you can see here.

Once the demo was complete, we took a little peek at the masses of makeup in the studio, and for us it was like being in Aladdin’s cave! LSBM use many different brands, from MAC to L’Oreal, Illamasqua to Bobbi Brown, and we were pleased to see Laura extolling the importance of hygiene and sticking to the Safe Beauty Association guidelines on dispensing products and cleaning brushes etc.

We really like the variety of different courses that LSBM offer. For aspiring makeup artists like us, there are courses that would fit around most circumstances. They offer full-time, part-time, evening and weekend courses in most beauty and makeup subjects, from beginner all the way up to challenging courses for those already qualified. As well as NVQ’s, the London School of Beauty & Makeup offer students the chance to gain CIDESCO, CIBTAC and BABTAC certificates, as well as a number of other industry recognised qualifications.

During our visit, the staff were really friendly and made us feel so welcome. The facilities are incredibly impressive, and that combined with the large variety of courses makes LSBM a very exciting choice for people who want to break into this competitive industry and have really strong knowledge and experience before they do.

You can find out more about The London School of Beauty & Makeup and the various courses they offer here, you can give them a call on (+44) 20 7776 9767 or why not pop in for a chat?

You can also talk to them on Twitter @londest

Vintage makeup trends are everywhere at the moment, and we love this 60’s inspired look created by Laura Hannon, Creative Executive at The London School of Beauty & Makeup.

To recreate this look at home, you’ll need to start by applying a good base like MAC Face & Body. A dewy finish is key to keeping it up-to-date.

Apply a setting powder with pink base tones to give a more vintage look. Shu Uemura and Bare Minerals do great ones. Use a very light hand to apply this, you want to keep the dewy finish and just take the shine off the T-zone.

Laura recommends using a cake liner to get the best liquid liner effect, however if you don’t have that, a gel eyeliner would be a good alternative. We like Maybelline’s Lasting Drama.

Keep the rest of the eye makeup light. Blend a charcoal shade onto the lid and use a small detail brush to apply under the bottom lash line. Use a cotton bud to smudge and create a smokey effect.

Then add lashings of your favourite mascara, we love They’re Real.

Use a light pink lipstick as the final touch. We like Avon Colour Rich in Berry Glitz but if you can’t find the right colour for you, Laura recommends blending two together to create your perfect shade.

To complete the overall look, back comb the hair for Bardot oomph.

Voila, 60’s inspired gorgeousness!

The London School of Beauty & Makeup offer makeup & beauty courses full-time, part-time and at weekends. Take a look at their courses here. Laura Hannon is their Creative Executive and professional makeup artist. You can tweet Laura @makeupLSBM or the school @londest