Frances Hounsom: Makeup and Hair designer, Art, Balance, Mental Health and Resilience

Art, film, photography and people always fascinated Frances from a young age. She always knew she would go into one of the creative fields in the future. Her love of painting faces, getting lost in movies and the magical land of Hollywood would not always, be a dream. One day she would make it her reality. Coming from a quiet town, knowing no-one in the film industry, Frances would spend her days watching movies with her grandfather, going to the local cinema with friends and sneakily staying up late to watch Westerns. She was desperate to be a part of that world. No-one at her school had any knowledge of the industry and not knowing any person or family member who worked in that field she knew she had to work from the bottom up.

Her love of art and ability to draw saw her gain a place at Central St Martins to study art and design, after graduating from this course specializing in portrait work, she went onto The London College of Fashion. With a lot of support from family and teachers, working for MAC cosmetics at the weekend and studying hairdressing as a junior in night school to help pay for her degree she gained a first in specialist makeup and hair for TV and film. “My mum and I would trail around all the open days for art schools in London, in the days before internet on mobile phones and social media. We asked for advice and guidance, this nobody from a tiny town with a small portfolio of drawings, looking for a chance and someone to believe in me”

After working for free, assisting, making tea, observing some incredible artists, working all the hours available, emailing all the addresses she could track down. “I would say per every 100 emails I sent to production companies, I received maybe 1 reply, at times it felt like I was bashing my head against a brick wall but I kept on keeping on” It was only thanks to Frances’ resilience, stubbornness and dedication that she is now an award winning Makeup and hair designer working across a plethora of productions in the industry.

“Nothing will ever come to you, if you want something bad enough you have to go get it”

We talked about that family feeling on set and sense of community which hails so strong in our industry, stemming from long projects, with a tight crew and team. Looking back on her work The Letter for the King, a massive career high and life changing experience for Frances. Memories of incredible exotic locations in New Zealand and Prague and shooting with many different crews all over the world, having the opportunity to design, elaborate, medieval hairpieces with braiding, twisting & wig making was a dream come true. The producers and commissioners of the show trusted Frances with her art and creativity “It was such a dream to be given the opportunity to create such styles and designs”

She tells how a big part of a makeup and hair artists job is setting the cast up for their day, Frances always likes to keep a positive, happy environment, on the makeup truck so cast leave happy, buzzing, in character and ready for their day , this is so important to a productive and successful shooting experience.

We talk about some of the faults in the industry. Including how some of the old school time and respect has gone, “People are sadly a lot more disposable now and being an incredibly loyal person I struggle with this, the makeup side of the industry is slowly beginning to unionise but it is a slow process and we all need to stick together to keep those support circles going and keep rates at a level they should be at.”

I ask her how she looks after herself, with regards to mental health. “The post shoot comedown is a hard feeling to navigate, you go from eating lunch with a table of 20 to eating lunch alone, within 24 hours. I do struggle with the feeling of loss after wrap. I am very much a people person. We learn something new everyday in our industry and I love socialising with people from different departments learning how their shoot experience has been and what they have learnt along the way” . Frances being Frances has set up a whatsapp group for others who may be in this situation and feel lonely and also experience a sense off loss when wrapping a shoot. Her group now has over 150 members and growing. A safe place to share feelings and help each other get through tough experiences and feelings of loneliness.

Yoga and meditation are very important to Frances, “its so easy to become all consumed with our job and industry, away from long periods of time, replying to emails out of hours, answering calls at weekends, its so important to have some personal time without phones and social media.” Time with family and friends is also essential to Frances, to help regroup and calm before the next adventure. “friends and family are so important to me, we do live in this fantasy world creating magical stories of incredible adventures, developing these beautiful characters and lands of mystery, its important to have that grounding in between jobs to realise its not all a fantasy land.”

“I start and end the day with a 5-10 minute yoga stretch”

Challenges of your job? “Time restraints and being away from home for long periods can be tricky but learning how to juggle work and personal life is of extreme importance, once you have that down, the world is your oyster”. “A lot of trust is required in our jobs and building peoples confidence in you as an artist, we do become confidents and therapists as well as artists its so important to create a water tight bond with your cast and crew.” Frances always likes her makeup trailer to be a neutral safe space.

What advice would you give to artists wanting to progress in the industry?

“It’s so important to get in with a nice team and a nice group of artists, support from others is so important, also being in with a great designer when you start off is so valuable, you learn so much. Personally, as a designer, I feel when you get to a certain level, you do need the support of a strong rock behind you, known as an agent. I was lucky enough to meet with my agent one day and within 10 minutes, I knew she was the one. Lucy’s hard work @Loop talent and her immense networking power, take me to the right doors, for me to then take over and kick them down, her drive and determination couples with mine. With Lucy’s support and passion for our industry, and my sheer drive and determination we make the perfect team. Finding a good agent is so important. It’s vital to hunt around and meet with a selection of people until you find the person that is right for you.”

Frances Hounsom is rep’d by https://looptalent.co.uk

You can follow her work on @fran_makeup_designer