1. Style Speak - The salon & spa journal | may 2015 |6362|may 2015 | Style Speak - The salon & spa journal
Action!
Camera
Lights
ss|face2Face
Challenges?
This job doesn’t give me much time to spend with family. It’s
full on; little holidays are a necessity not just a treat.
What do you enjoy the most?
I love everything. The lights, the studio, the atmosphere, the
creativity, the experimenting and the
challenge of creating something new.
Celebrity clients?
Lots and lots of them. I’m very fortunate
and never take that for granted.
Being one of the most sought
after man for all the leading
ladies in B-town, how difficult/
easy is it to deal with stars?
The problem isn’t with stars, most
tension on the set comes from lack of communication.
Sometimes somebody has agreed to something on behalf
of somebody and did not let that person know. Differing
expectations for any shoots can cause tension. Great shoots
are those where everybody is on the same page; they are
fast, fun and are where the real magic happens. Sounds
odd, but the more planning that goes into a shoot, the more
creative spontaneity you see.
How would you define Indian sensibilities in
terms of hair and make-up from the rest of the
world? How different/ similar are we?
For me, Bollywood make-up is no different from Hollywood
make-up, sometimes it’s fantastic, sometimes too heavy,
sometimes is natural and sometimes it’s outstanding. Last
year I worked on Deepika’s looks for Happy New Year and
Katrina Kaif’s for Bang Bang. The production, the budget,
the directing the quality is no different to any blockbuster
movie from anywhere in the world. SS
H
is clientele includes the crème de la crème of the
glamour world, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Aishwarya
Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra et al, you name it
and he probably may have been the man behind
the gorgeous look. It’s not every day that you hear a story of
a psychiatric nurse turning into a successful make-up and
hair artist, StyleSpeak talks to Daniel Bauer and his magical
world of palettes and brushes.
From a psychiatric nurse to a professional
hair and make-up artist, tell us about the
diverse change in your career path?
I spent my teenage years fishing and exploring the woods
and was pretty much always outdoors, I wasn’t your
conventional creative kid. When I went into nursing it
was great, but I was always fascinated by make-up and
persuaded myself to do make-up course, the lessons I
learned at make-up school I’d then try on the psychiatric
patients. Noticing the instant change in their behaviours
while getting their hair and make-up done and while
wearing it opened my eyes to me being a creative person.
From Sydney, Asia and now Mumbai, how has
the journey been so far?
After working in Europe for around 8 years, I moved to
Sydney, I was doing jobs across Asia and one of them was
in India. What really got me excited about India was when I
arrived I could really sense the beauty and fashion industry
was transforming. In India, the work always needs to be
beautiful, no matter what. It’s a nice fit.
thebrideshow.com
Lakme India
Your views on the importance of education…
I’ve spent 18 years making mistakes, correcting them and
improving my technique. The thing that sets apart one
artist from another is attitude. I look at every job as an
opportunity to learn, to better understand photography,
lighting (an eye for the camera is vital in my job), to better
understand how make-up textures work for different skin
tones. 18 years in the industry and only a few weeks ago
I learned a totally new hair prepping technique. The day
you’re closed to learning from others or learning something
new is the day you need to stop what you’re doing.
Trivia
Favourite cuisine: Thai Food
Favourite holiday destination:
Anywhere I can go fishing
Favourite stress buster: Gym
followed by ice-cream
Most memorable moment: Seeing
Aishwarya descend onto the stage
at her TOIFA Vancouver comeback
performance - I was speechless
Personal style statement: Jeans
and a funky T-shirt says it all for me
Highest high: Every time I see
my work on TV or in a magazine.
Always makes me so proud
Lowest low: The Slam US Tour -
nobody slept for a week
Your favourite salon: Kromakay,
Juhu
Cities inspire me, people getting on with
their lives inspire me, and it’s the ordinary
things that stand out which usually
captures my imagination.
Daniel Bauer, Bollywood hair
and make-up artist talks about
his interesting journey and his
love for the art of make-up
I could have chosen
any area to be a creative
person, painting,
music…for me, my
creative outlet was and
still is make-up and hair.
Interviewer | Nagma Hasan