NI makeup artist who worked on Game of Thrones tells of the ‘exceptional talent’ of NI artists

A Belfast woman who is a film and TV makeup artist – previously working on Game of Thrones – has told of the ‘exceptional talent’ of the beauty industry in NI.

Katrina Doran has been a beauty writer for over 25 years and has been a makeup artist for the past seven years.

She has told Be how she got into working in the film and TV industry by chance and how her job that she is now “obsessed with” was never in her “wildest dreams”.

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By chance, the beauty blogger ended up doing two makeup courses when she began doing the marketing for a makeup school for Pamela Smyth.

Katrina, who is now a judge in the NI Beauty Excellence Awards which are proudly sponsored by West Coast Cooler and media partnered by Daily Mirror and Belfast Live, said: “I ended up going to work for her to run the school as she was so busy and ended up doing two of the courses, never actually intending to do makeup, but so I could understand what it was like to be a student.

“The first course was a foundation course and the second was special effects, and I completely lost my mind because I was like ‘Oh My God’.

“I came from a science background, doing anatomy and physiology as part of my course at Queen’s so I understood muscles, how blood runs, structure, skin – so when they were doing wounds I got the whole science behind it – how to do a bruise, how they fade over time and how wounds heal.”

Katrina, who shares skincare tips through her Instagram @skincare_katrina, explained how she then “fell in love” with this type of artistry even though she never imagined doing this as her career.

“I thought, ‘This is amazing’. I became completely obsessed.

“It wasn’t even in my wildest dreams. You don’t think these things are even possible until you do them.

“I had been a director of the company and went back to being a trainee, making the tea, whatever was needed, on Game of Thrones. I absolutely loved it and was loving life.

“I always think doors open for you when it is the right time for you. Just go with it – and that is what I did.”

Along with Game of Thrones, Katrina has now worked on Sex Education season 2, Krypton season 2, The Windermere Children, Dungeons & Dragons, The Northman which will be out next month, and North Sea Connections which will air on RTÉ next year.

“The industry kind of goes up and down here. You’ll get hired for a project, might work on something for six months, you are flat out working a 14 hour day and are absolutely exhausted – and then you don’t work for three months.

“It is quite up and down but when you are actually in it, it is amazing but is almost a risky industry to dip your toe in, as if you get sucked in, you’ll be obsessed with it.”

Katrina added how much talent she feels the NI beauty industry has.

“It’s amazing to see such a level of expertise in what really is such a small country.

“There is amazing talent here. The thing that is different, I’ve worked in the South of Ireland, Wales and in England, the thing about Northern Ireland is that there is a real care thing here.

“People really care about you as an individual. I’ve been to spas all over the world, a lot of the time, the therapist – you are just a number [to them], you are coming in, having the treatment, away you go and they’ll never see you again.

“In Northern Ireland, they treat you like a customer who is going to come back and they give you the absolute best experience. The customer service here excels. I just don’t think there is anywhere else in the world [like it]. It is because of the people, people here are really kind and they really care.

“It stands out a mile.”

The beauty writer and artist added how talented she feels local special effects artists are.

“Again I’ve worked all over the world and NI is exceptional. I think it is the standard we have here.

“When you are dealing with an actor over time, it is a relationship you are building up and they have to trust you.

“I honestly think the care and expertise in Northern Ireland is world-bidding, it really is,” Katrina said.

For young makeup artists wanting to make their way into the film industry, the Belfast woman has some words of advice.

“The big thing is to be obsessed with film. People will put up on their Instagram doing face painting on themselves, and while that is an amazing skill to be able to do, it doesn’t transfer into film.

“The act of putting makeup on someone else is completely different to putting it on yourself. They’ll do a dagger stuck in their eye and those shock kind of things and that is great, but you’ll never ever be asked to do that on a film set.

“When you look at films, break down the looks done, they are the skills we are looking for.”

Speaking to the entire beauty industry ahead of the 2022 NI Beauty Excellence Awards, Katrina said: “We want people to enter if they feel they are doing excellent work.

“It’s not just about running a beauty salon or hairdressers, it’s about the other things you do – the training for your staff, giving back to the community, the extraordinary things out of the day-to-day.

“With the first year of the wards, bigger salons entered and won… smaller salons feel it is too big for them, [but] it really, really isn’t.

“When entering, do not worry that it is out of your league. We are looking for excellence in the industry, not a perfect presentation.”

The 2022 NI Beauty Excellence Awards will be hosted by TV personality Pamela Ballantine and will take place at the Crowne Plaza Belfast on Sunday 15th May 2022. The closing date for entries is fast approaching, Friday 4 ^th March 2022. For more information on categories and criteria, please visit www.nibeautyexcellence.com.

The Awards are proudly supported by title sponsor West Coast Cooler , media partners Daily Mirror and Belfast Live and event partners, Luxury Tanning Brand, Bellamianta; leading skincare brand, Epionce; influencer app, Fetch Ireland; vegan and cruelty-free cosmetic beauty brand, Pearl Beauty; award-winning training academy, The Beauty School, technical event production specialists, Sparq, Med FX, supplier for all Aesthetics and Skin Rejuvenationproduct needs and Shop Beautiful, a supplier of premium, professional grade beauty brands.

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