Speaker Bios 2011

Keynote Speakers

Tami Lane

Oscar winner Tami Lane has more than 12 years of experience in the film and television industries as a make-up and special make-up effects artist. Her credits include The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy, Superman Returns, Surrogates and many others. She is now working in New Zealand as the prosthetics supervisor on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. In 2006, she won the Achievement in Makeup Oscar for her work on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Napoleon Perdis

Hollywood make-up artist Napoleon Perdis is devoted to bringing out the inner celebrity in all women. Since picking up his first brush at the age of 13, the Sydney native, who now resides in Los Angeles, has used his expertise to transform runway looks into a wearable reality. The Napoleon Perdis philosophy is not dictated by fashion: it’s about accentuating your natural beauty with confidence-building products. Vibrant colors, skin-nourishing formulations and fabulous tips are just some of Perdis’ hallmarks.

Educators

Yolanda Bartram

Yolanda Bartram specializes in special make-up effects in body and face art. She runs her company BodyFX in New Zealand and travels the world teaching and competing. In 2010 she won first place in the Special Effects category of Austria’s World Bodypainting Festival, as well as first and second places at prestigious American body-art competitions. Her company sells BodyFX Prosthetics worldwide through www.bodyfx.co.nz.

Elessa Jade of Pursebuzz.com

Southern California native Elessa Jade loved art from a young age; she brought her painting and sculpting skills to make-up. After 10 years in the beauty industry, she felt it was time to share her tips and tricks with the world. In 2006, Jade started a website geared toward teaching individuals how to apply make-up on their own—to be their own make-up artists. Pursebuzz.com now has close to 100,000 visitors from around the world, and Jade is best known as the face behind the beauty channel youtube.com/pursebuzz.

Tiarna Leeson

Tiarna Leeson has worked in the make-up industry for more than seven years, specializing in fashion, runway, photography, advertising and airbrush make-up. She has contributed to editorial and runway events such as Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival, Swim Fashion Week, the Wella International Trend Vision Awards, OK! Magazine, Australia's Next Top Model and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Sydney. Leeson has also held senior roles as a make-up lecturer at the Academy of Makeup.
 

Donna Mee

Donna Mee is a 29-year-veteran make-up artist and beauty expert who has worked in print, runway and television.  A former director of make-up with Make Up For Ever, she specializes in corrective beauty make-up for print; she travels internationally, teaching advanced artistry skills. Mee has the ability to relate complex science and theory into easily understood tips and techniques that greatly impact artists’ work.

Rae Morris

Rae Morris has served as make-up director of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week; she is also a four-time winner of Australia’s Makeup Artist of the Year award and the author of Makeup: The Ultimate Guide. She has also served as the Australian make-up director of L’Oréal Paris and has worked with international models, actors, designers and celebrities. Her work has appeared in print, on television and in film.

Elle Shams

Elle Shams is a make-up artist who specializes in contouring and highlighting. She has more than nine years' experience as a make-up artist; she joined Napoleon Perdis last year to be part of a team she feels is both innovative and inspirational. Shams’ first IMATS experience was in June at IMATS Los Angeles. “The speed at which we worked and what we created was amazing,” she says. “I get an amazing surge of creativity when I am about to create a face.”

Brian Sipe

Brian Sipe has been working professionally since 1989, through his company, Gamut Studios, and as a freelancer. Several major Hollywood make-up effects companies and production studios have relied on his extensive knowledge as a character effects designer and project manager. His film and television credits include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Star Trek, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Syriana, Ali, The Passion of the Christ, Friends, Will and Grace and others. His make-up design for the reality show Black.White. garnered him an Emmy Award in 2006.

Nicole Thompson

M.A.C. Senior Artist Nicole Thompson specializes in body art and high-fashion make-up design. Her editorial work has appeared in several fashion magazines, including Oyster and Harper's Bazaar. She has worked with consumers; backstage and on-set with designers including Leona Edmiston, Collette Dinnigan, Gail Reid, Magdalena Velevska and Juli Grbac, or working with celebrities Hugh Jackman and Dame Edna. Thompson cites industry heavyweights Liz Kelsh, Gordon Espinet, Nadine Luke and Joanne Gair as her heroes and inspiration.

David Willis

David Willis is an international make-up and special make-up effects artist. He is creative director at Studio Vida, which creates make-ups, props and models for TV, film and advertising. His credits include the Matrix trilogy, Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, Superman Returns and House of Wax. His work has also appeared on runways from Los Angeles to New York to Sydney and in Harper’s Bazaar, Clear and Oyster magazines. He is currently the chief make-up artist at Universal Studios Singapore. www.studiovida.net