Glen Campbell with his daughter Ashley playing in his farewell tour.

Very few clients really get the nuance of what I do as a makeup artist. Fewer yet are so clearly present in the moment as the interaction between subject and artist unfolds in preparation for presenting people in their best light.  With Glen Campbell and company, my heart and mind was touched by their courage and use of humor to enjoy life as they know it. The concert performed by Glen and his children left me clapping, stomping and crying.

Having done makeup on many celebrities in a range of fields with various personalities, I was overjoyed to find that all the members of the Campbell family were light when needed and strong when appropriate. Mr. Campbell joyfully mimicked my silly faces, as I set out with my work to prep his face with open eyes open wide and stretching long in the mouth to encourage the same in my clients so I can reach in the nooks and crannies. Think of making monkey faces here. The revelation that someone “gets it” came over me to stop me cold in my tracks. A simple act speaking volumes. My previous knowledge of Alzheimers was limited to 16 years ago, in passing, from a Master’s class description. Intrigued to learn more and the outlook forever optimistically changed, I commend the family and the association for raising awareness and showing that love can conquer all adversity.

Campbell’s family is on his goodbye tour through July.

makeup by susan heydt

For the second time, Making Up America has encountered the twilight zone. First with the werewolf, Alex Meraz and now with Bella’s friend Christian Serratos. Diehard Twilight fans know who these actors are and characteristically put them in order of importance. Not the leads, but “stillllllll”. Right now we’d like to insert the film frame of Bella, Edward and Jacob that was given out with an autograph at the showing of Eclipse, but you’ll just have to understand that it is not possible. You can view the link below to see Christian’s interview at the DC Premiere.

http://www.dc50tv.com/entertainment/twilight/wdcw-eclipse-premiere2,0,2462181.story.

From what The Washington Post reported yesterday, Summit entertainment will not allow anyone to use photographs, promote anything as official merchandise or even use the wooded pines of Fork in an opening scene of a documentary.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/02/AR2010070202449.html

Intellectual property law is a slippery slope. We just want to join in the discussion of why the Twilight series has teens and moms wrapped around its finger. Having viewed Eclipse for the opening 35 minutes, MUA‘s got a glimpse of the struggle between the two teams of Edward and Jacob. Has the spark been lit? Possibly since this blog is being written.

Relatedly, fans might like to know more about the actors outside of the movie  Twilight.  Some may be interested to learn how adept the 19 year-old Christian is at her own styling.  Many stars are not always capable of creating their image on their own. Agents, photographers, stylists, makeup artists, hair and many assistants go into creating the fabulous looks of Hollywood. Yet, Christian seems to have a nature interest and ability to find fun fashion, sometimes on a shoestring, for young adults. In addition, she can pull herself together with ease. Maybe she has a chance to expand her talents beyond acting.

Photo by Dan Winters for TIME/Grooming by Susan Heydt

As makeup artists, stylists and photography crew, we rarely get more than a half hour of time to do makeup, style and photograph the powerful people of Washington, DC. This time around, at the Federal Reserve, things were definitely different. Something special was happening. The photoshoot was scheduled to go on for hours and into the next day at several locations, within the Federal Reserve Building and the Treasury Building. Could we be working with the Person of the Year? Speculation from columnist, George Will, was that Ben Bernanke would be the most influential to the economy of 2009. TIME magazine notes that people are chosen, for good or bad, because they influence the most important event of the year.

At the second day of the photoshoot, outside the Treasury Building, prior to any knowledge of the previous night’s alleged gate crashers at the White House, I arrived on the streets of Pennsylvania Ave. for security clearance at 8:15 a.m. Waiting outside in the misting rain, I enjoyed getting to know the photographer, Dan Winters and his crew. We admired the National Christmas Tree, yet to be lit. Our bags were sniffed by an adorable dog, with his own trainer and vehicle containing his crate and comfortable matting to rest on. Because my name was put on the list too close to the time of the shoot, the others entered the building, while I waited for almost 3 hours in total from the time of arrival. I thought I’d miss the job. The Federal Reserve Chairman was due to arrive in no time and I was stuck in a side entrance with no were to sit. At last, I was called to gain access with an escort, who lead me to the bank vault, where the photo shoot would take place. A fantastic shot was captured that had the possibility of being the cover. However, a fine artistic rendition of Ben Bernanke was chosen.

Chairman Bernanke was a man of few words. Rightly so, he keeps it simple. No small talk was exchanged. His mind must be crammed with facts and figures that makes it impossible to observe regular everyday comings and goings. Still, it was exciting to be doing grooming for the Person of the Year.

To view the photo gallery go to the following link…

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1946375_1947251,00.html

Natasha Richardson

Photo by Getty Images

Natasha was a kind and gentle person to work with. She must be a heavenly angel.

Senator Ted Kennedy

 Photo by Mark Seliger for Vanity Fair

The Kennedy Dynasty dwindling but lives on through their history. Wonder how his dogs are fairing without their master. Like the pharaohs, maybe the dogs will be buried near their guiding light.

William Safire

Can’t find the photo from the April 2007 Vanity Fair shoot, where Safire showed with only 2 others from the Nixon Administration for “All The President’s Men” photoshoot spanning decades. He must be writing some witty tales enjoyed by fellow politico.

Rest your souls.

When it’s raining in the D.C. area, drivers come to a crawl. It’s important for you to know that the Nation’s Capitol has the nation’s second worst commute. What should take 30 minutes to drive, can take  literally up to 2 hours. My fellow commuters know that we don’t even want to talk about Friday afternoons. Forget getting to the beach. No excuses though. My mind was set on one challenge and that was to get to the director in time to do his makeup. Unfortunately, rational thinking escaped me at that moment. The smarter thing to do would have been to contact my Agent, and have them send out another makeup artist to do the job. My colleagues kept consoling me, after the mishap, that it is my strong work ethic that clouded my thoughts. I guess that’s like when an interviewer asks you about your weaknesses.

“You see, Mr. Gray, I was so devoted to getting your grooming done, I failed to realize that I couldn’t get your grooming done.”  Doubt he’d want to hear that when I finally arrived after the second TV interview. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it in time. What had ended up being my director day of disaster came after many texts, calls and ways of trying to weave through traffic without breaking any laws.  Finally I succumbed to the fact that I had failed. The morning rush was all in the name of makeup. As the crew left the building, I dropped my bags and sat in defeat. I glanced up at them to see that F. Gary Gray had turned hard to look back at me. What was he trying to convey? The exchange was deliberate. The message was unclear. All I could believe was that I tried. Oh, how I tried. For the past 3 hours of my morning, every action was driven to get to that man in time. Sometimes it’s what you don’t do that matters more than what you do. If I could turn back the clock, I would have called to get a replacement.

I love what I do. There are so many fascinating people to meet, interesting stories to hear, plus beautiful and historic places to see. I never tire of my work. I sat in traffic for 3 hours once. Could have driven all the way to the beach to hear the waves crashing on shore, in that period of time. If you follow your passion, the rest works itself out. I just hope all is forgiven for my drive to complete a task that couldn’t be done.