Tamsin Barbosa

Vice Principal

A well-respected makeup and hair artist specialising in film, Tamsin has over 30 years experience working on some of the biggest British and Hollywood releases in recent years.

Tamsin has built up an excellent reputation as a precise and highly skilled makeup and hair artist in the film industry, working with numerous celebrated actors including Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, Dame Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Eva Green, Sir Michael Caine and Daniel Craig.

She has worked on many high profile film productions including Mary Poppins Returns, Star Wars-The Last Jedi, Pirates of the Caribbean, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and both Nanny McPhee films. During her career Tamsin has worked with Oscar-winning directors and makeup designers. She was also part of BAFTA-nominated designer Peter Swords King’s team for the 2015 film Into the Woods.

Tamsin began her career in the wig departments of London’s West End. She then spent several years in TV, working on a range of programmes including Eastenders and The Impression Show.

Alongside her active industry work on new films, she is also on the BAFTA awards panel and her vast experience is now helping to train students at The Iver Makeup Academy on industry-leading standards of makeup application and hair styling.

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ALUMNUS SUCCESS

Credits to Tasmin Barbosa’s name

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q&A: Tasmin Barbosa

What inspired you to set up The Iver Makeup Academy?

We all became very aware that there was a skills gap in our industry. There are a large number of Media Makeup training courses but many of these are not filling this skills gap. They are not teaching the students the relevant skills to a high enough standard and many do not teach students to work with textured hair or diverse skin tones. Makeup and Hair is a craft skill and needs to be taught in a practical way. On our 30 week course you will get 900 hours of practical hands on training. This is a 5 day a week, 6 hours per day. On a typical media Makeup degree course, costing in the region of £27,000 plus living expenses, the weekly hours barely top 12 hours per week.

Who have your tutors worked with?

Our tutors have worked with an enormous amount of high profile actors, celebrities, directors, brands and production companies such as Disney and Marvel. The list is simply huge! But it covers a really extensive mix of actors and actresses, as well as sports, music and fashion personalities, and even royalty. So our tutors have a very diverse background, which is a massive benefit to our students.

What makes The Iver Makeup Academy different to other makeup schools?

We know what is required of a trainee makeup artist in each field, so our graduates leave here with this knowledge and more. There are a lot of techniques that can’t be taught in a short course. It is not possible to fast track into this career. We are also very focused on the soft skills required in this very competitive industry. Our courses are designed to build on all the skills needed to succeed and are very highly respected by the people looking to hire.

How do you choose your students?

In terms of existing skills, we don’t expect anyone applying for our beginners’ courses to have any prior experience, but we do require applicants to show a level of artistic ability. During an interview, applicants will be asked to supply a small portfolio of work. This doesn’t need to be makeup work necessarily. We just want to see that you have artistic ability. We can teach you the rest.

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We employ leading specialists in TV, film, theatre

See all tutors

Mona Turnbull

Face/Body Painting Makeup Artist

Multi-award winning face/body painting makeup artist.

Alison Law

Financial Director

Alison has been an Independent Media Production Professional for over 40 years. Alison also runs McKinney Macartney Management, which has been one of the leading technicians’ agencies for over twenty years.

Ernesto Lyonhart – Pucci

Well-being Officer

From his early days, Ernesto displayed a remarkable ability to uplift spirits and offer comfort to those in need. His role involves spreading joy and providing emotional support to students and staff alike.

Jess Heath

Prosthetics and SFX Artist

Jess Heath is a prosthetic artist who has worked in Film and TV since 2007, starting out during her degree in Model Design and Special Effects. Jess began self taught, working mainly as a sfx artist on low budget horror films.