Comedienne beauty: Tips from Amy, Tina and Mindy’s makeup artist
We talk about celebrity makeup artists a lot. Who ever gets sick of reading about how A-list actresses get ready for glam red carpets and award shows that million and millions of people watch? Kim K’s million step routine? Got a master class for that. Rihanna’s constantly evolving nails? You can read her manicurist’s tips here. But what about A-list comediennes? Tina Fey, Amy Schumer, Mindy Kaling, and Kristen Wiig have all crossed over into acting territory, but they’re still comics first. And that means that there’s less pressure on them when it comes to makeup (weird—and maybe awful—but still true). In fact, their approach to beauty resembles actual, real people. Non-famouses.
So we caught up with Gita Bass the makeup artist behind our favourite funny ladies to talk about the difference between actresses and comedians, and how the hell she gets any work done when the funniest women in the world are sitting in her chair.
On Tina Fey’s 2015 SNL appearance
“It’s easy with Tina. She’s so beautiful and she’s an easy person to put makeup on. Her face is so gorgeous. It was just Liz Lemon but a little bit better. With her other character, the makeup was very similar. I was lucky. My job was just to make her look really pretty.”
On promo tours
“It’s definitely a collaborative situation beforehand. We look at the dress, talk about the hair and makeup, and we come up with different looks accordingly. Most of my clients trust me and want to have fun. They look at it as a fun, dress-up moment. They’re just really interested in trying new things. It depends on where they’re going, what they’re wearing, and what mood they’re in. We’ve got to take all those things into account.”
On Mindy Kaling’s affinity for bright colours
“Mindy has this gorgeous deep skin tone which allows her to pull of all sorts of bright colours. They just pop on her and look amazing. We always take her wardrobe and hair into consideration when creating a look. It’s definitely a collaboration and she’s not afraid to experiment.”
On Amy Schumer’s Girl You Don’t Need Makeup skit
“I love Amy’s skit! I think this heavy makeup trend has [gotten] a little out of control and people need to lay off the contouring. I see a lot of makeup “masks” these days and I think it’s aging and takes away from our natural beauty. I love her message that we don’t need to hide behind our makeup and that we should let our natural beauty shine through!”
On her intro to the funniest women in Hollywood
“Amy told me she was at a table with Mindy and somehow my name came up. I think someone asked who did her makeup and they were talking about me, which is really sweet. They all came from different sides.”
On not getting distracted by constant lols
“It’s more that it’s difficult because they’re writing all the time. They’re so busy and so brilliant, these comedians. Everything’s last minute. [Tina’s] always writing something. She’s so, so busy. They often look at hair and makeup as work time. Sometimes there’s a lot of laughter, so that does make it difficult. Usually, they’re just working. These girls work harder than anyone I know.”
 on Aug 12, 2015 at 1:47am PDT
We talk about celebrity makeup artists a lot. Who ever gets sick of reading about how A-list actresses get ready for glam red carpets and award shows that million and millions of people watch? Kim K's million step routine? Got a master class for that. Rihanna's constantly evolving nails? You can read her manicurist's tips here. But what about A-list comediennes? Tina Fey, Amy Schumer, Mindy Kaling, and Kristen Wiig have all crossed over into acting territory, but they're still comics first. And that means that there's less pressure on them when it comes to makeup (weird---and maybe awful---but still true). In fact, their approach to beauty resembles actual, real people. Non-famouses.
So we caught up with Gita Bass the makeup artist behind our favourite funny ladies to talk about the difference between actresses and comedians, and how the hell she gets any work done when the funniest women in the world are sitting in her chair.
On Tina Fey's 2015 SNL appearance
"It’s easy with Tina. She’s so beautiful and she’s an easy person to put makeup on. Her face is so gorgeous. It was just Liz Lemon but a little bit better. With her other character, the makeup was very similar. I was lucky. My job was just to make her look really pretty."
On promo tours
"It’s definitely a collaborative situation beforehand. We look at the dress, talk about the hair and makeup, and we come up with different looks accordingly. Most of my clients trust me and want to have fun. They look at it as a fun, dress-up moment. They’re just really interested in trying new things. It depends on where they’re going, what they’re wearing, and what mood they’re in. We’ve got to take all those things into account."
On Mindy Kaling's affinity for bright colours
"Mindy has this gorgeous deep skin tone which allows her to pull of all sorts of bright colours. They just pop on her and look amazing. We always take her wardrobe and hair into consideration when creating a look. It's definitely a collaboration and she's not afraid to experiment."
On Amy Schumer's Girl You Don't Need Makeup skit
"I love Amy's skit! I think this heavy makeup trend has [gotten] a little out of control and people need to lay off the contouring. I see a lot of makeup "masks" these days and I think it's aging and takes away from our natural beauty. I love her message that we don't need to hide behind our makeup and that we should let our natural beauty shine through!"
On her intro to the funniest women in Hollywood
"Amy told me she was at a table with Mindy and somehow my name came up. I think someone asked who did her makeup and they were talking about me, which is really sweet. They all came from different sides."
On not getting distracted by constant lols
"It’s more that it’s difficult because they’re writing all the time. They’re so busy and so brilliant, these comedians. Everything’s last minute. [Tina's] always writing something. She’s so, so busy. They often look at hair and makeup as work time. Sometimes there’s a lot of laughter, so that does make it difficult. Usually, they’re just working. These girls work harder than anyone I know."){kind=link}