The Caroline Hirons Skincare Masterclass at Delamar Academy
Never before has there been so much excitement around an event we have hosted here at Delamar Academy. Caroline Hirons aka “The Oprah of Skincare” came in last night to give a Masterclass like no other.
We felt strongly that this was an essential topic for our students to learn about, as skincare is the basis of all great makeup. Skincare is also an essential tool for removing makeup, a process that film makeup artists have to become really good at – using hot flannels and oils to dissolve character makeup, facial hair adhesive and prosthetic glue.
As a strong woman at the top of the beauty industry, Lady H is an inspiring example to our students of what training combined with hard work in your area of passion, can achieve. Starting off with a journey through her career in the industry, Caroline told us how she was a young woman with two children, working on beauty counters, as her own mother and grandmother had done before her. She became obsessive about skincare; her first entry into the world of skincare brands was with Aveda, known more for its hair products. After developing a reputation for being the most knowledgeable person on the shop floor, Caroline’s responsibilities grew and grew, and it was not long before she was poached by Sylvie Chantecaille. Top facialists in Paris then trained Caroline, before she launched a skincare line and treatments in New York. Consulting and blogging became two separate channels of work for the skincare maven, who took her exams and qualified as an advanced aesthetician. These qualifications gave her the credibility to match her knowledge.
Caroline’s blog cheat sheets have become the go-to resource for brands to train their staff and this original content is constantly being referenced by the wider beauty industry. Responsible for the term “acid toners”, Caroline can also take ownership for the rising market value of balm cleansers and sales of flannels. Her enthused recommendation of a product has been life changing for the people who own brands such as Pixie and Emma Hardie. Lady H has undeniably influenced our language around skincare, whether you know her or not. With over 100 million hits to her website and a huge following of fans, not many “influencers” can attest to such a command of their industry. This influence has been developed over time with almost 30 years experience, which makes her popularity on Instagram and YouTube seem all the more worthy; these platforms that tend to be dominated by young and inexperienced content creators.
The demonstration on beautiful student Miranda Marsh got underway with a lesson in cleansing. “Where’s that really unattractive model for me to demo on?” Caroline’s humour did not let up, as we were educated and entertained in equal measure over the evening.
We were told not to massage a face full of makeup with cleanser, as this is simply smearing makeup around the face and of no benefit to the skin. The advice was to quickly get makeup off with a greasy balm or oil and a flannel. Following this crucial step, Caroline took the cream-half of her Pixi cleanser, and showed how she works it into the skin with a good amount of grip and just the right amount of slip. Upward massage movements were demonstrated with attention paid to glands within the facial anatomy. Caroline then followed with an acid toner pad by First Aid Beauty, and a hydrating spritz to add moisture back into the skin. The facial massage technique was demonstrated in-depth with Weleda Skin Food, and a lip balm liberally applied over the lip line. Miranda looked utterly glowing. We were all a little jealous to not have had our faces pummelled by Caroline too.
Students were scribbling down notes and taking in each word Lady H had to say on social media, trolling, product favourites and the industry as a whole. Retinols, Acids and skin types were discussed at length as every skincare question you can imagine being thrown at Caroline, and she answered them all with a depth of expertise akin to Alan Sugar talking about business.
The most important advice for students was to follow their passion and work really hard, as Caroline’s sweatshirt emblazoned with the slogan “WORK HARDER”, reinforced.
A big thank you to Caroline for coming into the Academy and sharing her wisdom with us. Morale has been high in the Academy today with students gushing about their enjoyment of the evening. We loved every second and look forward to the next Masterclass with Lady H.