How has everyone’s Sunday’s been? I have to admit getting up at 7am was not the highlight for me..but I travelled into London for a taster course at the Session School. The Session School is a make-up and hair training centre which I was in introduced to by my hairdresser the amazing Natalie Shirlaw (check out her website here she does celeb hair and is really the loveliest lady!!). She works with Dani Guinsberg the founder of the Session School on shoots and was full of praise for the school (she still takes courses there even as a professional hairstylist)!!
I have been interested in taking the blogging a little bit further and doing a youtube channel (yeah I know like everyone else!!) as well as working as a freelance makeup artist. That would obviously require me to have make-up artist training and this is where I got lost! There are about a million different ‘schools’ promising you the world in exchange for a few thousand pounds and I have to admit my expectations weren’t too high for any of them! The thing that made me give the Session School a go was that they offer a taster class. For £25 you can go along for 2 hours and have hair and makeup tutorials and some information about the courses offered. Below I will show a review of my experience based on different things…
1. The School
I loved the building (an old church) which is spacious and beautifully finished in whites and creams giving a calming atmosphere. It was hard to believe it was in Baker Street a buzzing part of London and it really has been laid out to give students the optimum space for learning and watching the professionals.
I loved the building (an old church) which is spacious and beautifully finished in whites and creams giving a calming atmosphere. It was hard to believe it was in Baker Street a buzzing part of London and it really has been laid out to give students the optimum space for learning and watching the professionals.
2. The Teachers
We were given tutorials by Amanda Bell a top makeup artist and also by Chris Sweeney a top hairstylist. They worked really well together, showing us a ‘natural glowing’ face (on a real model of course) which would look great on the catwalk and then Chris showed how to transform hair from a volumized ‘do’ to a beehive with a messy deconstructed style. After Chris had finished Amanda added to the makeup showing that the makeup should be reflective of the hairstyle and changed the natural look to a golden look (think Charlize Theron in the Dior Adverts). The overall effect was really beautiful and I was shocked at how easy they made it look!!
3. The Taster Session
As above the session was amazing at showing the sorts of things you will be learning, but also I learnt so much in the 2 hours I can see how worthwhile the course would be. I picked up some great tips especially about foundation application which I struggle with!! We actually went over by 45 minutes (so nearly a 3 hour session) and there was no sense of rushing us out even though they were coming in on a day off to show us the school!!
4. Overall impressions
The school is very different to others on the market. I was impressed that they offer a taster so you get to actually see the space you would be working in. The teachers were fantastic and gave you confidence in their abilities which I think would give me confidence in class, I also loved that there was NO pressure at all to book a course they didn’t mention it at all. They did give a 10% off voucher for a full priced course though which is a great saving if you are looking at a £2250 course!!
I will definitely be doing the Professional Makeup Course which is both the foundation and advanced course combined. It is BABTAC accredited as well and the school is keen to help students finding work after finishing their course which is rare from what I heard from other people at the taster!
If you are interested in the Session School then take a look at their website here!!
What are your thoughts about doing a professional makeup course?
Let me know what you think!!
Charlotte
xx
So happy you had a great time! I’d just like to say One of the reasons I’ve done so well is because of the aftercare and support the session school have given me. they give you a great start in the industry!
Natalie xxxx
Sounds really good, it’s great to get an idea of the course, and still pick up some tips.