Archives for January 2014

Exploring the Many Careers in Makeup Artistry

Makeup artists may be most visible on the set of a fashion shoot, but this fast-growing community of workers and entrepreneurs are expanding into specialized jobs outside of the fashion industry. While many makeup artists do makeup for print advertising, catalogs, head shots, and runway shows, more are finding jobs in film, television, theater, and special effects. Within the field, you can also focus on airbrush makeup and tanning, bridal and glamour makeup, or creature design. You can even go into business for yourself.

Not sure which field you want to specialize in? Here’s a look at the many career paths you can take as a makeup artist and the education you need to get there.

Bridal and Glamour Makeup

With the right makeup training, you can do makeup that is specifically designed for the camera. “Camera ready” makeup is required for brides, special events, pageants, and the runway. By learning bridal and glamour makeup from the right school, you can work for yourself as a bridal makeup artist. Another way you can earn a living as a glamour makeup artist is to specialize in doing make up for pageants. Bridal and glamour makeup training is also useful for learning how to apply the right type of makeup for shoots in the studio, outdoors, and on the runway.

Film and Television Makeup

When it comes to making a good film or television show, makeup is a crucial element in creating the right character for the part. With the right training, a makeup artist can work on the set of a television show, a film, sitcoms, commercials, or music videos. However, each type of media requires different makeup, which is why receiving the right education matters. Standard makeup training for film and TV includes learning character design and execution; breaking down the script, injury simulation; trauma injuries; avant-garde makeup; theatrical makeup; and special effects, to name a few. You can attend one of the top makeup artistry schools or special effects makeup schools to receive a well-rounded education in makeup for film and television.

Fashion and Beauty Makeup

As a fashion makeup artist, you don’t have to be limited to working with models on the runway. Instead, fashion makeup artists can do make up for different types of photography shoots, including commercial catalogs, head shots, in-studio photography, outdoor photography, and editorial spreads. To compete with others in the same field, make sure to find a school that offers makeup for fashion.

————————————————————————————————————————–

This guest article has been provided by Cosmix Inc., a licensed makeup artistry school in South Florida. A post-secondary technical institution, Cosmix offers makeup artistry classes in fashion, beauty, film, television, and special effects.

Sasha Bakhru Discusses Realistic Stem Cell Treatments

Stem cells are like interchangeable parts that can be used to repair other cells, or even create replacement organs. While stem cell research and applications are still in their infancy, there are some realistic treatments that exist today and incorporate stem cells. In the future, we will see more applications but stem cell medicine is already here.

Drug testing

Differentiated cells, or stem cells that have been activated, can help simulate the human body’s reaction to certain medications. Because the conditions must be extremely precise, scientists have to precisely control how a cell develops. Current science falls short of these extremely high expectations, but testing has already begun using human pluripotent cells.

Regenerating Damaged Tissues

Scientists have discovered that when mice with damaged heart tissues show actual improvement when injected with stem cells. This suggests that it may be possible to direct stem cells directly into heart muscles or bone marrow, and actually heal our bodies from within. While not yet mainstream, there have been some exploratory tests where patients with cardiovascular diseases  have been injected with stem cells. The results have been promising thus far.

Future

Stem cell applications are still very much a new field of research. In order for the medical science to become viable, stem cells must:

  • Consistently differentiate into the proper cell
  • Survive in the host after transplant
  • Integrate successfully with surrounding tissues
  • Avoid harming the host

Thus far, testing on these fronts is inconsistent. Much work is needed to improve the efficiency of our methods, but stem cell treatments are here and will only become more prolific.

Bio: Sasha Bakhru is an engineering science graduate who studies stem cells. Sasha Bakhru is currently developing a process to engineer tissues with stem cells.

3 Historical Facts About Istanbul’s Past

Posted By Phineas Upham

The city of Istanbul is currently the largest city in Turkey, and it is the cultural and economic hub of the country. Its strategic placement along the Black Sea gave it an important position as a center for trade in the middle ages, and the country has only grown in popularity since then.

Undersea Tunnels

Istanbul may have been around 3500 years before we thought it had been inhabited. An excavation of the area revealed an undersea tunnel that originates from the Neolithic period. Though historians do not believe this bridge was necessary, it’s proof that people have been crossing into Asia for the past 5000 years.

Trading

Yoros Castle, located in the Bosphorus on the Black sea side, used to be a thriving Phoenician trade hub. Civilizations from all around the Middle East were skilled in maritime navigation, and so Istanbul was the largest of many trade routes plotted around the river. This also made Istanbul an important place for these sailors and traders to retire after a life of hard work.

Constantin the Great

Istanbul was such a grand city that when Constantin the Great finished the unification of Eastern and Western Rome, he moved the capital to Istanbul. He also changed the name of the city to Constantinopolis and turned it into the biggest city of its time. Constantin’s conversion to Catholocism led to construction of the Great Imperial Palace and the first Roman church in Istanbul.


Phineas Upham is an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Phineas Upham website or Facebook page.