Live from New York, It's Time for Makeup!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 10:57AM For lovers of beauty-products, the Makeup Show (at the Metropolitan Pavilion, on West 18th Street) was the place to be yesterday and Sunday. Now in its fifth season, the event brought together more than 70 makeup companies, from Dermalogica to Smashbox. Booths overflowed with savvy shoppers eager to take advantage of the hefty discounts, which were up to 40-percent off retail.
Along with the fab make-up offers, the event featured a wealth of seminars, including a first-time event with Louie Zakarian, head of the makeup department at NBC's Saturday Night Live since 1997. Outlining his career trajectory, Zakarian explained how without much professional makeup training (but a lot of practice in his basement at home), he decided to send his résumé to NBC. Miraculously, he landed an interview, during which time he learned that to get a job on a network show he would need to be a member of The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Thanks to the generosity of his interviewer, the upstart landed a batch of assignments doing makeup for Donahue as a means of building the credentials he needed for union membership.
When he finally got into AFTRA, he landed a gig as a freelance makeup artist on SNL, in 1994. He must have made quite an impression, because they kept calling him back. Ultimately, he became a permanent staff member.
A Queens native, where he still lives with his wife and children, Zakarian excels in both prosthetic and fashion makeup. In a show of his skill at the Makeup Show, in the span of about 30 minutes, he transformed a young, brown-haired man into Vice President Joe Biden (a stellar Louie creation, as seen below).
Among his proudest SNL contributions include changing vibrant Demi Moore into a senior citizen; morphing Abby Elliot into Angelina Jolie; and turning Amy Poehler into "the Great Adventure Guy."
As for his favorite celebrity hosts, he cites comedian Jack Black..."he is exactly the same off-camera as he is on" and fake news guru Jon Stewart...who came up with the hilarious skit idea of genetically mutated boy bands--a concept that gave Zakarian endless creative possibilities.
Even if you're not on television, you still need great makeup, so Louie offered New York Insider these exclusive suggestions for make-up that will hold up during a NYC night on the town (and into the morning after, too). Here are some of his picks:
Lipstick: MAC Lucid
Foundation: Make Up For Ever
Powder: Make Up For Ever HD Powder
Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash
Make-up Brushes: A Design
Eye Shadow: Stila
SNL tapes from mid-September to mid-May, so what is Zakarian planning to do during the break? Along with sleeping as much as possible, he is developing the Green Goblin make-up for the new Spiderman musical.
Kudos to Louie for creating such memorable characters as part of his self described "dream job." He's proven that with enough NY moxie, dreams do come true...all you need is the right place, right time, and a kindly HR person.
The Makeup Show will return to New York next year (dates TBA) and will be in Los Angeles on February 26th and 27th, 2011. –-WENDY McSWAIN
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