Gordon George Milward is a well-known makeup artist in the North East. He studied graphic design at university and always had a passion for art. Upon discovering makeup, he found a way to express his creativity and began to explore his new found interest. In 2013 Gord began working at Urban Decay, and through this, he was able to practice his makeup skills, as well as develop his customer service skills. Working on the brand's makeup counter allowed him to communicate and interact with customers, which helped grow his confidence as a makeup artist. Now Gord, with a big Instagram following of 23.5k and a YouTube channel, is acclaimed for his beautiful makeup skills which he has practised and perfected over time. He took the risk of leaving Urban Decay to become his own boss by working as a freelance makeup artist at his own personal makeup studio and he has never looked back.
On the 22nd October 2017, I attended Gord’s first ever makeup masterclass. The sold-out event was held at Hidden Heights Studio, with forty people excited to hear all the tips and tricks Gord would reveal, as well as an in-depth demonstration of a gorgeous makeup look on his model and fellow makeup artist Chloe Elizabeth.
Gord started the makeup look by revealing how he gets his signature brows, a step everyone was eager to learn about as he is known for creating brows that look very full, fluffy and natural on all of his clients. Gord then opted to create a bold purple eye look, he explained how he loved using colour and would always encourage his clients to experiment with different colours. He began by layering shades of purple, starting with a vibrant purple Sugarpill eyeshadow, blending each one out very well to get a seamless effect. A useful tip Gord shared with everyone was that good quality makeup tools are an essential part of creating a great makeup look; when creating the eye look Gord frequently used fluffy eyeshadow brushes, which allowed him to blend the shadows together creating the perfect gradient effect.
On the centre of the eyelid, Gord used various glitter products which really made the makeup look pop. Instead of doing precise winged eyeliner, Gord prefers to use a creamy pencil eyeliner, such as Perversion by Urban Decay, in order to create the smudged out wing effect seen on the majority of his Instagram photos and was an aspect I was happy he shared as I love the way it looks. Lashes are a favourite for me, as I find they complete a makeup look. Gord used Doll Beauty lashes in the style ‘Oliva’.
Gord explained that he always starts off with eye makeup as there is always fallout that gets onto the skin, therefore it is easier and more time efficient to do the face makeup after the eye look is complete. After priming and prepping the skin, he shared that his favourite foundation to use is by the makeup brand Illamasqua, and from the demo, I can see why the foundation left the skin looking flawless. He went onto doing a cream contour, concealer, bronzer, blush
(GALifornia by Benefit), which I’ll probably buy now as it looked beautiful) and of course, highlighter (OMG by Illamasqua). The final step in the makeup look was lips since Gord created a bright, bold glam eye look he decided to balance it out with a nude lip. This is another good tip he shared during the masterclass; it is useful to focus on one area of the makeup look (either eyes, face or lips) that you wish to make the focal point of the whole makeup look, and tone down the other aspects to create a good balance. Gord finishes the look by using a lip liner, a Winnie Beau London liquid lipstick, and a little bit of gloss in the centre of the lips.
Image Credit: Nimra Rafique
The finished outcome was gorgeous and lived up to the high expectations I had. Gord then went onto answering a few questions and expressed that ‘there are no rules when it comes to makeup’, we must simply decide what style works best for us as individuals and practice. He said that he still practices on his friends now, still trying to develop and improve his skills because, as you’ve probably heard many times before, practice makes perfect. The masterclass was very enjoyable and helped me learn much more about different makeup techniques and makeup products. Everyone who attended also received a goodie bag with vouchers and makeup products, including some that were used by Gord in the masterclass. As well as having such a talent for makeup, Gord was a really lovely person and delivered the masterclass in a very nice and cheerful manner. I would definitely recommend attending his next makeup masterclass.