On The Couch With Swanilenga! (Weekly Interviews in Property, Fashion, Charity & Media)

MD: Swanilenga Group; Rosemary chats with Mandy Jhamat; a MUA -Makeup Artist with fab creative talent!
MANDY JHAMAT
MANDY'S CHANNEL

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SWANILENGA;
Mandy, thank you so much for allocating time to this interview! I first met you last year when I was working the runway at the Ndoro Childrens' Charity Fundraising Gala! You were one of the Makeup Artists and did a fab job, please tell me and our readers more about who you are and what you do.

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MANDY:
Thanks Rosemary. Well I am a freelance Makeup Artist focusing on fashion and beauty as well as teaching simple and quick techniques that can be applied to everyone's makeup regimes. My makeup journey began while I was living in Seville studying Spanish actually, and a friend suggested it as a career she could see me in. After a short course and my first job on a Big Issue 10th anniversary commercial, I began to agree with her. I am currently living and working in London on commercial, corporate and fashion projects. I am also Resident Makeup Artist at Cucumba (a beauty salon known as The Urban Pitspot) in Soho and recently been nominated for the "The Best Makeup Artist" at the BEFFTA Awards.

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SWANILENGA;
I have had first hand experience of seeing the creativity of work from the Cleopatra Shoot we did together (loved it, loved it, still love it!), where does your inspiration come from?

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MANDY;
I have to say you were a perfect candidate for such a dramatic look, the direction of the shoot was of course inspired by Queen Cleopatra but I wanted to have a modern seductive take on her classic look. Throughout my career I have used the different loves in my life as influences in my work. Cleopatra was famous for bathing in milk and so I wanted to play with the purity elements of white milk in a picture against the goddess's golden skin. I wanted a luxurious look to the shot so used lots of gold on the eyes and lips and painted on the eyebrows, extending the makeup high to give Cleopatra a more adorned appearance.

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SWANILENGA;
We are fast approaching the festive season, lots of gatherings, celebrations, what are your best make-up tips? What is the current look in your opinion, what colours should we be experimenting with?

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MANDY:
Xmas is a great time to add a bit more imagination to your makeup looks and get in the festive spirit. I have created 3 makeup looks called "Red Velvet Lips", "Winter Gold" and "Smokey Eyes" especially for the festive season. The series of 3 tutorials is called "Xmas Glitter and Glam" which will be posted on my You tube Channel on Saturday 11th December. All the looks are available to be booked in with me through Cucumba salon in Soho. They cover the look of the moment for me which is Red Velvet lips. My top tip is to mix a deeper red in to a classic red to add some depth and makes the look more current and base the lip edge with concealor. The other 2 videos cover golds, bronzes, maroons and deep browns for our eyes which are all great winter colours. Sometimes experimenting can be difficult if you are not sure where to start and can get expensive, so I do encourage getting clients out of their "makeup-comfort-zone" by introducing new colours or products they may not consider themselves.

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SWANILENGA;
You run your own Make-Up and Hair consultancy, tell us more about that. How did you reach the level you are currently at, from dreaming up the idea to actually seeing it come to fruition and hold its own?

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MANDY:
When you do something you love, an original idea starts to form itself and sometimes becomes simply an extension of you. Of course not without some hard work and determination : ) But every time I have helped a Bride feel brilliant for her big day, or taught a group of girls about good skin and makeup regimes. It is just me using my skills to help everyone I can look and feel great. The cosmetics and hair industry has really transformed in the last 20 years and consumers are spoilt for choice. All these products are no good however, if you do not know what do with them or how to get the best out of them. Myself and my team of artists are there to deliver makeovers and pampering with the best advice on how to use them for your needs. (Without trying to sell you products, which is often the case if you get counter advise) I even helped one bride do her own bridal look as she was getting married abroad and did not want to hire someone she did not know.

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SWANILENGA;
In my view, you are a STAR and great at your craft, more so that you had the opportunity to work with Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button (I am still in amazed about that); how was the experience?

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MANDY:
LOL.... That was beyond great! It is funny because you are there on a job, I was very excited to meet them being a F1 fan myself but once there everyone is focused on getting the job done well. We were working on a Maclaren commercial which features both Lewis and Jenson and their cars! So I was doing the hair and makeup for both of them, which was pretty straighforward. They are both really fun guys and a pleasure to work with : )

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SWANILENGA;
What does 'Mandy Jhamat - the brand' have in store for 2011? Who would you like to work with on an International level?

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MANDY:
LOTS of plans! I will continue to work on a one-to-one basis with brides, and clients wanting makeovers and lessons, but will be introducing Airbrushing makeup in the Spring for all those wanting a perfectly flawless look! My You tube channel will have weekly makeup tutorials, makeup tips and products of the moment. Creatively, I will be completing my Body painting professional qualification which is very exciting. There is also a book I will be co-writing with Vivienne Nweke (founder of Cucumba) which will be a beauty style bible for the modern-busy-but-gorgeous woman !!!! I would love to work with makeup artist Pat Mcgrath who is an amazing inspiration to my work and also to work more Indian designers as there is some brilliant talent on the Indian Catwalks but makeup-wise it is still all a bit safe. So I would love to start pushing some boundaries in Indian Catwalk Beauty.

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SWANILENGA;
Final words for our readers, how can they book you for jobs and get to see more of your work?

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MANDY:
My fashion and beauty work can be viewed at www.mandyjhamat.com which will have a Bride-to-Be section launching in Jan 2011. Bookings can be made through my website or directly via info@mandyjhamat.com. You can keep up-to-date with my work on my;

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MANDY'S CHANNEL

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FOLLOW MANDY'S WORK - FACEBOOK FANPAGE

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MORE ON MANDY JHAMAT - READ HER BLOG

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SWANILENGA;
Thank you so much hon, I wish you much success:)