Speaker Bios 2013

Keynote Speakers

Mark Coulier

Mark Coulier won an Achievement in Makeup Oscar for his work on The Iron Lady, along with Roy Helland. A veteran make-up artist, his work appears in films including both parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, X-Men: First Class, AVP: Alien vs. Predator, Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, The Fifth Element and Nightbreed. His feature, World War Z, will be released this year.

Neill Gorton

In a career spanning more than two decades, Neill Gorton, with his company Millennium FX, has designed make-up effects, prosthetics and animatronic creations for hundreds of films, TV shows and commercials, including Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, Inkheart, The Wolfman, Doctor Who, Little Britain and Torchwood. In this time he’s won six Royal Television Society awards, three Welsh BAFTAs and a BAFTA Craft Award, along with several other nominations. Gorton also runs the Neill Gorton Prosthetics Studio, providing training in prosthetics and make-up effects to newcomers and professionals alike.

Joel Harlow

Joel Harlow’s career in make-up began in 1986. In close to 30 years as a professional make-up artist, he has been responsible for cutting-edge make-up and prosthetics featured in several high-caliber projects for film and television. His work has been honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, garnering him two Emmy Awards and an Oscar. His expansive credit list includes all four of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Alice in Wonderland, Star Trek, Dark Shadows, Green Lantern, The Rum Diary and this year’s highly anticipated The Lone Ranger, among many others. At IMATS Los Angeles 2013, he launched his custom line of professional silicone prosthetics through Frends Beauty Supply.

Photo by Karl Giant

Kabuki

Known best for his avant-garde editorial and fashion make-ups, Kabuki is one of the most exciting talents working today. Originally from the north of England, he landed his first job in New York as a textile designer before segueing from club kid to model to make-up artist. Kabuki's shoots have appeared in Italian, American and Paris Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, InStyle, Numero and Elle. His celebrity clients include Madonna, Lady Gaga, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gwen Stefani, Kylie Minogue, Naomi Campbell and the late Michael Jackson. His TV and film credits include Sex and the City, Party Monster and Strangers with Candy. Kabuki has worked with many of today’s leading photographers including Bruce Weber, Peter Lindbergh, Raymond Meier and Karl Lagerfeld. His recently released book 73 Drawings by Kabuki is available at the show.

Follow him on Twitter @kabukimagicNYC.
 

Featured Speakers

Stuart Bray

Stuart Bray is a freelance make-up effects artist who has worked in film and TV since 1994. He specializes in all aspects of prosthetic make-up manufacturing, from design to sculpting, molding and application. His credits include Gladiator, Shaun of The Dead, Stardust and Doctor Who. He also runs a blog, teaches his own workshops and teaches at several make-up schools.

Einat Dan

Einat Dan an award-winning make-up artist working in fashion, beauty and body painting. She has done campaigns for Valentino, Fendi and more. She has done fashion shows worldwide. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Elle, Posh and other publications. She teaches international master classes and workshops for students and professional make-up artists. In 2012, she created her line of beauty brushes, m.i.a. by Einat Dan. She is also the creative director of Le Maquillage.

Siân Richards

Siân Richards is an award-winning make-up artist, a mother and the owner of London Brush Company. Her career has spanned more than 23 years and has included all types of make-up, from editorial and commercials to prosthetics, special effects, character, period and beauty for motion pictures. Richards studied fine art, graphic design and photography at art school and feels a strong art background is important in helping make-up artists understand color and artistic technique.

Kazuhiro Tsuji

Educators

Matthew Ambrosio

Matthew Ambrosio plays several roles in the beauty industry. As a make-up artist, published writer and beauty editor, his choice and most important client remains the everyday woman. Ambrosio’s experience includes (but is not limited to) runway artistry, corrective make-up, skincare, retail education, international artistry, trade-show seminars, beauty-pro education, high-fashion editorial photo shoots and pageants. He also has his master’s degree in business and believes it is an integral part of his success.

Terry Barber

Terry Barber is M.A.C.'s director of make-up art for the United Kingdom. He has collaborated with fashion designers Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood and done print work for i-D, Dazed and Confused, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. His celebrity clients include Mary J. Blige, Grace Jones, Pamela Anderson, Annie Lennox, Dita Von Teese, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell.

Kevin James Bennett

Multiple Emmy Award winner Kevin James Bennett is often described as “a force of nature” and is a favorite information resource among industry insiders. His intense passion for the development and evolution of the cosmetic industry and the craft of professional make-up artistry has resulted in a remarkable career journey that spans almost three decades.

Mike Dargan

Mike Dargan is a 17-year veteran of special make-up effects and has worked on many film and TV projects, including Quantum of Solace, BBC’s The Body Farm, ITV’s Monroe and BBC2’s The Shadow Line. Dargan has more than six years’ experience in materials, development and industry-specific application. He is now employed as a materials specialist for Bentley Advanced Materials.

Karin Darnell

After graduating from the London College of Fashion, Karin Darnell began assisting, testing and getting magazine assignments. She worked extensively with the Spice Girls on photo shoots, TV appearances, tours and the band’s movie, Spice World. She has done editorials for Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Esquire and InStyle, and campaigns for Burberry, Levi's and Dunhill. She has worked with photographers Annie Leibovitz and Rankin; her celebrity clients include Rihanna, Victoria Beckham and Kate Winslet.

Kandee Johnson

Kandee Johnson has more than 10 years’ experience working on movies, TV shows, national ad campaigns, fashion shows and celebrities. She’s also a YouTube sensation, with almost a million subscribers. She runs her own beauty blog and was named an Elle magazine/CoverGirl Video Star. Johnson also contributed to the season finale of the Style Channel’s How Do I Look?, where she was featured as the special guest make-up artist, creating the new make-up looks for the show’s makeover recipients.

David Klasfeld

David Klasfeld’s make-up career began in the Nordstrom cosmetics department; after that, he did runway shows for Patricia Field, Heatherette and Diesel. His work has since appeared in print for Zink, Interview and New York, and for advertising clients including NBC, Target and Best Buy. In 2004, he founded Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, the first comprehensive color cosmetic line that’s not only cruelty-free but 100 percent vegan, for which he won an award from PETA.

Stephanie Koutikas

Stephanie Koutikas has been Mehron’s marketing director since 2007; she is responsible for the rebranding and marketing of the iconic 87-year--old brand. She is a licensed make-up artist and a graduate of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, with a master’s degree in beauty and fragrance marketing and business management. She has led the brand to multiple Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week runways, major editorial and television features and award-winning product launches.

Madeline Leonard

Madeline Leonard has been representing make-up artists since 1986. She is the owner/director of Cloutier Remix. “Originally we spent a lot of time face to face with artists and clients,” she says. “Portfolios were the main tool. Today our focus is much wider and more strategic ... how to reach clients in a crowded market, how best to showcase make-up artists' talents and how to facilitate lucrative and rewarding career extensions for already established artists.”

Rob Mayor

As a freelance artist, Rob began his career working on films such as Event Horizon, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down before joining Millennium FX. Now, as managing director of the multi-award-winning company, Mayor continues his varied career by supervising hit shows including Doctor Who, Being Human and Torchwood. As well as his extensive film and television credits, Mayor recently worked as a prosthetic make-up artist for Lady Gaga.

Roberto Pastore

Roberto Pastore started his make-up career in the late 1990s. He has worked as a trainer for London College of Fashion and Kanzaman Studios. While working in Italy for cinema and TV productions such as Squadra Antimafia, Capri, Rosso Malpelo and Convitto Falcone, Pastore also collaborated with other make-up artists such as Fabrizio Sforza and Bruno Tarallo. He then undertook further training in prosthetics and special effects make-up at Neill Gorton Prosthetics Studio.

Eve Pearl

Eve Pearl is an Emmy Award-winning celebrity make-up artist and 18-year industry veteran. She is the author of Plastic Surgery Without the Surgery: The Miracle of Makeup Techniques. She owns the Eve Pearl Cosmetics and Makeup Experience Studio and Boutique in New York City. An innovator of the Salmon Concealer, Pearl has been an on-air contributor and make-up artist to Meredith Vieira on Today and a key make-up artist and guest on The View. Pearl’s work has been featured in Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America, InStyle, Vanity Fair and more.

Sindy Perez

Sindy Perez began working in fashion as a model in 2003. Throughout her modeling career, she worked with, and learned from, the industry’s top artists and photographers, and became proficient in make-up artistry. She has been featured in numerous magazines and has worked on Mercedes-Benz and Funkshion Fashion weeks. Since 2008, she has been one of Mehron’s key beauty make-up instructors; she teaches throughout the United States and Europe. 

Jason Reese

Jason Reese is a technician on the marketing team at Smooth-On, Inc., a leading manufacturer of liquid rubber and liquid plastic compounds. He has first-hand knowledge about the wide variety of synthetic media available today. He has extensive experience in the fields of prop-making and special effects and in many applications, including theater, film, make-up effects and themed environments. Reese has represented Smooth-On’s products internationally and has been instrumental in the development of new products for effects make-up applications.

Karen Spencer

Bio coming soon.

Vargas

Vargas, a world-renowned body painter, is one of the most acclaimed body artists in the industry. His credits include three movies, more than 30 calendar productions, more than 40 magazine covers and countless presentations. He has a signature line of Royal & Langnickel brushes. His work has been displayed in the White House Rotunda and in a museum in Trenton, N.J. Vargas is also a photographer with one of the largest studios in West New York, N.J. An art professor for more than seven years, he shares his skills worldwide.

Anabel Vargas

Anabel Vargas is an award-winning international make-up artist and educator. She works in print, commercials, video production and film. Her work has been featured on MTV, Good Morning America, NBC, Telemundo, TV Land, Access Hollywood and E! Online. Some of the most beautiful faces in the world have benefited from her creative style and technique. As a member of the Kryolan International Team, she has worked with the Miss USA and Miss Universe organizations. She also owns and works out of her make-up studio in New York.

Bobbie Weiner

Bobbie Weiner is a make-up effects industry veteran and author. Her work appears in films including Titanic, Pumpkinhead ll, Behind Enemy Lines, Shooter and Dear John and the Broadway shows Wicked and Mamma Mia! She introduced her make-up line, Bloody Mary, more than 15 years ago, and her book, I Can Do This, came out in 2011. Weiner supplies the U.S. Department of Defense and funeral homes with her products, which will also be featured in the upcoming season of True Blood.

Kate Walshe

Bio coming soon.

Sheelagh Wells

Sheelagh Wells has worked on everything from TV period drama and science fiction to award-winning ballet and opera productions. Her broad spectrum of work also includes major documentaries and feature films. She was nominated by the Royal Television Society and won a BAFTA for her work on the Doctor Who series in 2006. She also worked on the original Doctor Who when she was a department head at the BBC in London.