{"id":40490,"date":"2025-01-01T01:38:24","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T01:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=40490"},"modified":"2025-03-04T12:57:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T12:57:40","slug":"makeup-faces-in-human-interaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/makeup-faces-in-human-interaction\/","title":{"rendered":"Tessa: \u2018I\u2019ve always been interested in faces and how much they mean in human interaction\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Olga, how and where do you live?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> We live in Hertfordshire, in a small village near London. I’m an entrepreneur; I run several businesses related to psychology, property, and other various ventures. But I’m probably best known as a blogger, writer, and organiser of the \u201cKind talk about difficult things\u201d community. It’s a large women-only group on the internet, considered one of the most supportive, tolerant, and psychologically mature communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Tessa\u2026 How did she come across makeup?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u041e\u043b\u044c\u0433\u0430: <\/strong>\u041d\u0430\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0435, \u0432\u0430\u0436\u043d\u043e \u0432 \u043d\u0430\u0447\u0430\u043b\u0435 \u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0442\u044c, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0422\u0435\u0441\u0441\u0430 \u0430\u0443\u0442\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043a\u0430. \u041f\u0440\u0430\u0432\u0434\u0430, \u0432 \u0440\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c \u044d\u0442\u043e \u043d\u0435 \u0441\u043e\u0432\u0441\u0435\u043c \u0443\u0434\u0430\u0447\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0432\u043e\u0434 (\u043c\u044b \u0441 \u043d\u0435\u0439 \u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0438\u043c \u043f\u043e-\u0430\u043d\u0433\u043b\u0438\u0439\u0441\u043a\u0438). \u0421\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0438 \u0430\u0443\u0442\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0432, \u043d\u0435\u0439\u0440\u043e\u043e\u0442\u043b\u0438\u0447\u043d\u044b\u0445 \u043b\u044e\u0434\u0435\u0439 \u0441\u0447\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f \u043d\u0435\u043f\u0440\u0430\u0432\u0438\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u043c \u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0442\u044c, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0443 \u043d\u0435\u0433\u043e\/\u043d\u0435\u0451 \u0430\u0443\u0442\u0438\u0437\u043c, \u043d\u0430\u0434\u043e \u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0442\u044c: \u043e\u043d \u0438\u043b\u0438 \u043e\u043d\u0430 autistic, \u044d\u0442\u043e \u0447\u0430\u0441\u0442\u044c \u0435\u0433\u043e \u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0435\u0451 \u043b\u0438\u0447\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438. \u0422\u0430\u043a \u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0438\u043d\u0430\u0447\u0435, \u0443 \u0422\u0435\u0441\u0441\u044b \u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c \u0441\u0432\u043e\u0438 \u043e\u0441\u043e\u0431\u044b\u0435 \u0438\u043d\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0441\u044b. \u0422\u043e \u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c \u043e\u043d\u0430 \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0438\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438 \u0447\u0435\u043c-\u0442\u043e \u0443\u0432\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f \u043e\u0447\u0435\u043d\u044c-\u043e\u0447\u0435\u043d\u044c \u0433\u043b\u0443\u0431\u043e\u043a\u043e, \u0434\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0433\u0430\u0435\u0442 \u0432 \u043e\u043f\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0435\u043b\u0451\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0439 \u0441\u0444\u0435\u0440\u0435 \u0432\u044b\u0441\u043e\u043a\u0438\u0445 \u043d\u0430\u0432\u044b\u043a\u043e\u0432 \u0438 \u0437\u043d\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0439, \u044d\u0442\u043e \u043f\u043e\u043b\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044e \u0437\u0430\u0445\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044b\u0432\u0430\u0435\u0442 \u0435\u0451, \u043c\u043e\u0436\u0435\u0442 \u0434\u043b\u0438\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f \u0433\u043e\u0434\u0430\u043c\u0438. \u0418 \u043c\u0435\u0439\u043a\u0430\u043f \u043d\u0435\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u043b\u0435\u0442 \u043d\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0434 \u0441\u0442\u0430\u043b \u043e\u0434\u043d\u0438\u043c \u0438\u0437 \u043f\u043e\u0434\u043e\u0431\u043d\u044b\u0445 \u0443\u0432\u043b\u0435\u0447\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0439.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> It’s probably important to say at the start that Tessa is autistic. Although in Russian, this term doesn\u2019t translate quite accurately (we speak English with her). Among autistic and neurodiverse people, it\u2019s considered inappropriate to say someone has autistism\u2014you should say someone is autistic because it\u2019s a part of their personality. Anyway, Tessa has her own special interests. That is, she periodically gets very deeply interested in something, reaching a high level of skill and knowledge in a certain area. It completely absorbs her and can last for years. Makeup became one of those \u2018special interests\u2019 a few years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be honest, I don\u2019t know exactly what triggered it. She\u2019s into drawing\u2014both digital and traditional\u2014and other art forms like video games and game design. She\u2019s currently in college studying game design. But she is also interested in makeup artistry. For instance, there\u2019s an area she loves called \u2018sculpting,\u2019 which involves using 3D-printed additions to the face to completely transform appearances. There\u2019s a very famous millennial blogger, Hungry, who creates absolutely stunning work in this area. Plus, Tessa has a great interest in drag makeup, which is when a man transforms into a woman, or vice versa. She says she\u2019s fascinated by how a face can be completely changed\u2014how features can be entirely transformed. It\u2019s not about becoming more beautiful; she\u2019s fascinated by creating something different. All of this led Tessa to begin self-training in visual makeup.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Photo from Tessa’s personal archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

These visual masks… Does Tessa use them in everyday life?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> She mostly works at home. Tessa has a TikTok, and her streams get thousands of views\u2014it\u2019s a popular trend. She has her own network of well-known people in this space; some famous makeup artists comment on her work. Tessa comes home, spends hours creating a look, then streams or posts pictures. But she\u2019ll also go for walks with me in her creations. I\u2019ve long been used to having someone beside me who looks like they\u2019re from another world! One time, during an open day at school where students could dress casually, she turned up with a black graphic design drawn on her white-painted face. Another time, she walked around central London in sad clown makeup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you share Tessa\u2019s interest? I saw on your blog that you\u2019ve modelled for her at least once.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> Yes, I\u2019m generally interested in makeup. I try to share almost any interest my children have because until they\u2019re fully independent, a parent is one of their most important audiences. It\u2019s a way for me to connect with my child. I may not always like drag or understand everything Tessa creates, but I try with all my heart to understand what fascinates her. I always listen carefully. For autistic people, this kind of attention to their interests is a vital way of connecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We, as neurotypical people (the opposite of autistic), can connect through hugs, going out, gossiping, eating or drinking together. But autistic people often connect by spending hours talking about their special interests. It\u2019s both fun for them and a way to build relationships. So, whatever Tessa is into, it\u2019s always important to me because she\u2019s my child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are Tessa\u2019s future plans for professional development?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> One of her big dreams is to participate in Glow Up, the BBC show. It\u2019s a competition for aspiring makeup artists, like herself, where contestants face various makeup challenges and are gradually eliminated until someone wins. It\u2019s like a cookery show but for makeup artists. Tessa is dying to be on it. At one point we even met one of the presenters by chance, and she took selfies with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tessa is also studying game design, including 3D design. She has this idea to apply her makeup skills to create 3D models of makeup in virtual spaces and games. Not just designing and photographing makeup, but creating virtual avatars. She realises this is an area that will always be in demand as we move more and more into virtual reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But from your blog it seems that Tessa chose makeup courses over game design…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> She did. She enrolled in a basic \u2018Media Makeup\u2019 course, tailored to TV, photo shoots, and the like. And the course was aimed at beginners\u2014people learning how to hold a brush, choose colours, and apply false eyelashes. Most of the students wanted to learn wedding or basic beauty makeup. Tessa\u2019s skills were already far beyond that, so after about two weeks, she got bored. Luckily, there was a game design course at a neighbouring college. Tessa got excited, switched and has been loving it ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Photo from Tessa’s personal archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Do you think Tessa will pursue makeup in an academic format in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> Quite possibly. She hasn\u2019t given up on makeup and says she\u2019d love to attend shorter courses during the holidays to learn specific skills, like ethnic makeup or prosthetics. She sees her knowledge of 3D modelling and game design as an additional foundation for her creativity and wants to combine them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You mentioned two types of makeup\u2014prosthetics and ethnic makeup. Could you elaborate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> Prosthetics involves creating silicone additions to transform someone\u2019s facial features, say into a zombie, a witch, or any other character. It may involve adding blood, wounds, enlarged noses, and similar special effects. Ethnic or historical makeup teaches how to create looks like geishas or other distinct styles. Tessa is fascinated by these areas. She\u2019s also interested in drag makeup courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are these types of makeup primarily needed in cinema?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> Yes, they\u2019re often used in cinema, but they require strong basic skills. A makeup artist must know how to work with all skin types and shades, enlarge or reduce features, and understand colour theory. These are foundational skills. Professionals can then choose to specialise in editorial makeup, special effects and prosthetics for cinema (like wounds, scars, or frostbite), or bold theatrical makeup designed to be visible from a distance without smudging under stage lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You mentioned that apart from make-up Tessa is also interested in art\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> Maybe not like a child who goes to art school: Tessa doesn’t go to museums to look at paintings, but she is interested in other areas, not only in make-up. Besides game design, Tessa has always loved creating characters in animation. Not in anime, as many people like, but specifically in 2D animation. She hardly ever watches films but is very interested in animation. And she creates her own! The kind of fan art where people are into something and go on to draw in that style. For example, Tessa is a fan of the way the last two animated Spider-Man films were done. She has an affinity for their style. Tessa and I once went to an exhibition that explained how everything had been created: backgrounds, weapons, characters, the story itself. It was interesting to learn about the works in terms of how they were done.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Photo from Tessa’s personal archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Does Tessa have any role models in the makeup world? You’ve already mentioned one blogger.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga:<\/strong> Yes, this blogger, Hungry. Also Juno Birch\u2014he always wears his 1950s alien-blue housewife in pink drag make-up. And he’s awesome in his own way, of course. Mei Pang is amazing\u2014I really like her. There’s a couple of girls who won that very Glow Up show. Tessa is friends with them and follows their activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tessa, what attracts you in makeup so much?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tessa:<\/strong> I\u2019ve always been interested in faces and how much they mean in human interaction. Humans are programmed to constantly read faces and their expressions, so artwork involving faces is immediately more engaging. I\u2019m interested in exploring how our brains respond to the slightest changes in appearance through makeup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your dreams?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tessa:<\/strong> All my dreams are related to art, whether in fashion, animation, illustration, or makeup. I want to connect with other people through art and create something that truly impresses them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tessa is an aspiring makeup artist who creates bright, unusual, and wonderfully weird images. While doing makeup, Tessa is also studying game design and wants to learn how to combine both these fields, transferring makeup into the virtual space. Her mum, Olga Nechaeva, supports her daughter in all her endeavours. We talked to Olga and Tessa about this special kind of art, their dreams, and what they have already achieved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":40157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[],"type_post":[184],"column":[],"class_list":["post-40490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40490"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=40490"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=40490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}