By Mahima Kaur
**EXCLUSIVE**
THIS STUNNING WELSH woman has proved that one can indeed live many lives at the same time with her jaw-dropping transformation skills, some of which include Bellatrix Lestrange and The Mad Hatter.
Characters this artist has created include the very famous Avatar, Shrek, Bellatrix Lestrange, Vecna, The Grinch and Mad-Hatter among others.
Make-up artist Alisha Barron–Smith (29) from Bridgend, South Wales can take anywhere between two to ten hours for one makeup creation. One of her looks took her 72 hours as she had to make a prosthetic for it.
She created her first SFX make-up look at the young age of 16 and has never looked back since.
Alisha traces back her love for make-up to the time when she used to apply make-up for dancers at her school for various shows and competitions.
She started educating herself on various make-up techniques and ways of application to understand how to use make-up best to transform into various characters.
As a passionate lover of art since a very young age, it took her no time to combine her artistic skills with her love for make-up to produce jaw-dropping looks.
She confesses that most of her looks cost her little for once a product is invested in, it can be used multiple times to create hundreds of looks.
Some of the things that Alisha uses to do her makeup are her Mehron Paradise AQ Palette, a Morphe palette for shading, liquid latex, Mehron stage blood and various other props depending on the character she is creating.
“Makeup has one hundred percent changed my life,” said Alisha.
“It gives me so much confidence.
“I start most of my video’s completely bare faced – which is something I wouldn’t have done ten years ago.
“Now I just don’t care and I think that’s what makes it relatable.”
She lives with her husband and two dogs. She set up her own dance school at 16 which she still owns. She is also a choreographer.
“My followers are here to see my finished work and have accepted me as I am,” she said.
“I get really lovely comments across my social media platforms.
“Most of them are encouraging and kind.
“I have very supportive followers.
“In real life I get stopped by a lot of people, telling me how much they love my work.
“I get the odd unkind comment now and then but I just laugh it off.
“The best compliment I receive all the time is being told I should work in Hollywood.
“That makes me giggle.”
A fluent Welsh speaker, Alisha grew up in a small seaside town in South Wales and got married in June this year.
As someone who started doing professional make-up at a very young age, Alisha has some advice for people who want to get into this but are apprehensive,
“I would advise anyone wanting to becoming a SFX artist to stay creative,
“They should find inspiration in everything.
“I often get a mental block. In those times I look for inspiration elsewhere.
“Always be innovative and true to yourself.
“Practice, practice, practice.
“Believe in yourself and don’t let anyone tell you that your passion can’t be your job.”
ENDS
