🎙️ BONUS | What It's Like as a Special Effects Make-Up Artist

David Lutteral (0:05)

Welcome to the podcast, the bonus podcast.

Phoebe (0:09)

Mmm.

Susie O'Neill (0:10)

I can't talk too much, I'm just going to...

Phoebe (0:12)

No, you're alright.

David Lutteral (0:13)

Because I'm getting makeup done.

Phoebe (0:14)

No, it's fine, it's fine.

David Lutteral (0:15)

From Phoebe, who's the famous...

Phoebe (0:17)

Makeup artist.

David Lutteral (0:18)

I love how we just call Phoebe this famous, megastar. She's just growing every time we discuss it.

I'm getting a beard put on at the moment, and it must be very alcohol based.

Phoebe (0:27)

Can you smell it?

David Lutteral (0:27)

I can really smell it. Anyway, I'm going to put my microphone down and enjoy this.

Phoebe (0:31)

Phoebe, question for you, is that...

Susie O'Neill (0:32)

I was going to say smell it, but that sounds bad.

David Lutteral (0:33)

Are there people's faces that can't take certain things like...

Phoebe (0:37)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I use a lot of prosthetics and ball caps and just anything with adhesives can be really irritating for people. It can be like an overstimulation, especially if you're going down the road of actually getting like a face cast, a head cast. It's...

If you're claustrophobic, it's not going to be for you.

David Lutteral (0:55)

Surely you get actors who are claustrophobic, you don't like it.

Phoebe (0:58)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely. I work with a lot of makeup artists who have worked on big Hollywood actors who they've told stories of certain actors that you wouldn't expect to not enjoy it and to just freak out. But yeah, some people just can't handle it.

David Lutteral (1:15)

It would feel weird. It would feel like everything was collapsing in on you a little bit.

Phoebe (1:18)

I would never want it. Personally, I would never want this kind of like adhesives or getting buried alive.

Susie O'Neill (1:25)

For hours and hours as well.

Phoebe (1:26)

Yeah, it's a long process.

Susie O'Neill (1:29)

Even the paint, because back in the day, I was painted gold for something on my face.

David Lutteral (1:32)

And I remember that was, you couldn't almost breathe.

Phoebe (1:35)

Yeah, it's a lot. I did a Halloween look last week and I was painting my guy for like seven hours.

It's a long.

Susie O'Neill (1:43)

It's a lot.

Phoebe (1:44)

It's a lot that goes into it.

David Lutteral (1:45)

Anything to do with the eyes as well, like contacts wig me out when I got, when I get those ever certain things.

Phoebe (1:50)

Yeah, contacts can be really tricky for people as well. Sure. And I'm not allowed to put them in. You have to be like a licensed lens technician to put them in for somebody. So if you can't put them in yourself, your makeup artist, unless they're licensed, they can't put them in either.

David Lutteral (2:06)

I've never put, no, maybe once I've done it, I think. I think I might have had an Australian flyer guy.

Phoebe (2:10)

Oh, yeah.

David Lutteral (2:11)

I once had to scare you in the garage downstairs here, Suse, and I had green contacts in and they mucked my eyes up all day because we just did it here and I just did it in the bathroom. I kept missing it.

Susie O'Neill (2:21)

Well, that's why you're supposed to be professionals.

David Lutteral (2:23)

Yeah, it was painful.

Phoebe (2:30)

If I try to put them in and I ruin your eyeball, then you could sue me. Yeah, of course. Yeah, so it's really important that I don't touch your eyeball.

David Lutteral (2:39)

Yeah, don't touch the eyeballs. No eyeball touching.

Phoebe (2:41)

We'll be here. No eyeball touching.

David Lutteral (2:43)

Okay. All right. Are you working on anything right now movie-wise or is it a bit slower?

Phoebe (2:46)

It's very quiet at the moment, actually. There's not a whole lot that people book me on for when they want to get dressed up for something. Halloween month is packed.

Susie O'Neill (2:54)

Of course, yeah, Halloween.

Phoebe (2:55)

Packed, yeah, with bizarre bookings. And it's Friday nights down at New Year's, so that takes up Friday, Saturday nights.

Susie O'Neill (3:02)

Have you worked at Friday night?

Phoebe (3:03)

I do every Friday night. Oh, that's so cool.

Susie O'Neill (3:07)

Oh, my God. Is it still on?

Phoebe (3:08)

Yeah.

Susie O'Neill (3:09)

Is it November?

Phoebe (3:10)

It goes on for the whole of October.

Susie O'Neill (3:11)

Yeah, I love that.

David Lutteral (3:12)

That's cool.

Susie O'Neill (3:13)

And it's so cool seeing all the actors and everything.

Phoebe (3:15)

It's so much fun. It's really, really like, and it's a great place for up and coming makeup artists as well.