WEST TOWN — When the Chicago Makeup School opens in January, it will require students to take a class that few other makeup schools provide: a workshop on gender-affirming makeup.
The Chicago Makeup School, 333 N. Oakley Blvd. No. 208, will offer 12-week sessions, though students can also sign up for individual workshops. The school’s founders aim to teach students all the business and makeup skills necessary to become full-fledged makeup artists able to adorn “any face that sits in their seat,” said Director of Education Lauren Taylor. And in Taylor’s view, teaching gender-affirming makeup is key to ensuring students can support any client.
The workshop begins by teaching artists about gender identity and pronoun use. It then teaches skills that can be useful for trans clients, like contouring a face to look softer or making a sparse beard appear fuller, and gives students the chance to practice with trans models.
Too many established makeup artists aren’t comfortable with these skills, said owner Nini Jenkins. She said she wants that to change.
“No schools teach that. And that’s not acceptable,” Jenkins said.
Local makeup artist Bridget Canela brought the idea to the Chicago Makeup School this year. In a Facebook group for queer women and trans people, Canela saw a few trans women asking for advice on makeup and realized the makeup industry has a hole in its services.
“There are lots of ways that gender expression can look,” she said. “We need to be able to accommodate and really have those conversations with our clients before moving forward with the service.”
So Canela reached out to her Facebook group, asking if anyone would be interested in modeling. Eight trans models signed up, and she led a standalone workshop at the Chicago Makeup School in September. The school has been holding individual workshops since May in the leadup to its grand opening.
Nateo Carreño, who modeled at the September workshop, said the class helped them re-access their enjoyment of makeup. They said they particularly appreciated that Canela highlighted makeup techniques for feminine and masculine people.
“The more spaces that are created that show people how to feel confident in that embodiment that they’ve inherited or that they’ve chosen, the better off we are,” Carreño said.
The next workshop will be Feb. 7 — this time as part of the Chicago Makeup School’s first full session — and Carreño said they’d love to come back. Eventually, they’d like to see classes like this become more common at other schools.
That’s a philosophy Jenkins and Taylor share.
“My goal is to spread the word, so more institutions start offering [this class],” Jenkins said.
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