Originally from London, England, now in Toronto, new CMU faculty member Nilofar Mussa’s journey as an artist has taken a diverse path. From her time at internationally renowned makeup brand Illamasqua – where she worked her way up to become its Head of Artistry – to magazine work, music videos and commercial opportunities, Nilofar’s determination and a life-long love of makeup has guided her through a very bright career so far. Learn more about Nilofar’s journey as a makeup artist, and what brought her to teach at CMU.

Nilofar has been fascinated with makeup and the art of transformation ever since she can remember. She have early memories of being around six or seven-years-old and watching films and TV shows she probably shouldn’t have been watching, like Nightmare on Elm Street or Spitting Image and Red Dwarf. Music and art also play a huge part in her love of makeup. She was a bit of a goth in her teenage years and experimented with a lot of different looks! Her love of music still influences her artistry to this day and her style is quite expressive.

She studied graphic design initially, and that was how she began to learn a visual language. Through graphic design, she learned about shape and form, and how to structure an image. She soon realized that the parameters of graphic design were too restricted for her and that she wanted to pursue a more creative direction. She then went on to study special effects.

Alongside Nilofar's study, she got a part-time weekend job working at M.A.C. It was at this time that she began to sharpen her beauty skills and learn the fundamentals of beauty and makeup – eye shape, skin tone, correction, etc.

She’s been in the industry for 11 years now. Apart from my SFX degree, she has no formal education in makeup – she's completely self-taught. According to her interview, she’s been hugely lucky and have worked with some incredibly talented makeup artists all over the world from whom she learned a huge amount. She spent eight years of her career with the British beauty brand, Illamasqua. She started as a retail artist, and over the years worked her way up to senior educator and eventually Head of Artistry for the brand. As Head of Artistry, she led artistry for brand campaigns, hosted global masterclasses, collaborated on new product development, and devised training and education strategies to bring the brand’s vision to life. She also managed the Illamasqua School of Make-Up Art, where she wrote and delivered courses to beginners and professionals.

As a makeup lecturer, her suggestion is listening to the client and fully understand the brief. Whether it’s a bride, a fashion designer or a celebrity, it’s your job to collaborate with them to bring their vision to life; and to also understand how to adapt a makeup to complement any face shape or skin tone. And also, you can never be too prepared!

Besides, she think applying makeup is actually only a very small fraction of the job. The qualities that determine your success in the industry are adaptability, problem-solving, professionalism and time management. If you turn up to a job fully prepared, with a great attitude and are able to bring positive energy to the team all whilst delivering the brief, that is what will get you noticed and rebooked. You can be the most technically skilled artist in the world, but if your attitude is negative very few people will want to work with you. She goes into each and every job as a problem solver, and it’s her job to find the perfect solution for each client to be able to fulfill the brief as best she can.

She says, “Editorial and runway is where my heart is. I love the collaboration in an editorial and working with other artists to create a visual story. There’s more creative freedom and an opportunity to try something you wouldn’t get the chance to try otherwise.”