Lecturer, Author & Make-up Designer

A Bit About Me

I began my career at the famous Max Factor Salon in Old Bond Street. 

After leaving there I started work as a freelance make-up designer in fashion and photography, working with many top photographers including Terence Donovan, David Bailey, Lord Lichfield & Lester Bookbinder. ​

This led to commercials and later films.

Uniquely I have worked with the three legendary kings of horror movies; Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing & Vincent Price.

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During this time I was invited to re-establish make-up training at RADA, the UK's top drama school, where my students included many of today's leading actors, including Kenneth Branagh, Sean Bean, Imelda Staunton & Fiona Shaw.

LAMDA then recruited me and thus begun a forty year association training students, make-up design for productions and lecturing, where my students included David Oyelowo & Ruth Wilson. 

As a make-up designer for a number of Royal Court productions in London I worked with Rufus Sewell, Nigel Hawthorn & Rosamund Pike among many others. In the West End, I designed make-up for directors Max Stafford Clark, Stephen Daldry & Sam Mendes.

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I have written four books on Make-up and Hair for the stage and guest lectured worldwide. I curated Slap, the only ever UK exhibition on Theatrical Make-up for the V&A and the Hollywood Make-Up Room for The Museum of the Moving Image. 

Throughout my career I have always lectured, firstly for Max Factor, later the American company Bob Kelly and more recently for top British drama schools and private colleges. I have also given talks on etiquette and style in past centuries for the V&A,. professional organisations, women's groups & I am a featured speaker for the WI.