MUD Grad Profile: Kristin Cipponeri

Kristin Cipponeri

“With make-up, I like to exert a bit of truth and a touch of fantasy.”

Kristin Cipponeri understands the importance of a good foundation. Her passion for creating expressive make-up looks on flawless skin began early, as she flipped through the pages of Vogue. After receiving training as a cosmetologist, Kristin completed the Multimedia Make-Up Artistry Program at Make-Up Designory (MUD) in January 2009. Her areas of study included the fundamentals of beauty make-up, hairstyling, special effects for character make-up, and a portfolio development class. Kristin describes her experience at MUD as extremely worthwhile in preparing her for a professional career, saying: “I can hardly explain the amount of knowledge that was poured onto me during my time at MUD. Not only did I learn beyond amazing make-up tricks, I learned all about the business side, [including] valuable lessons about set etiquette – which I believe is almost just as important!”

Today, Kristin works on assignments that bridge a wide range of media, starting with test shoots with photographers and models immediately after graduation. Her work includes editorial photo shoots, models’ head shots, commercial print shoots, television commercials, music videos, film, and a television pilot for a comedy show – which she cites as one of her favorite projects so far. Her professional approach centers around creating or preserving the integrity of beautiful skin – which she considers a must for any look, from flawlessly natural to a character make-up. Kristin says, “Skin care is extremely important! I use products to give the skin luster and to keep the skin looking its best at all times, [in order to] really enhance a model’s beautiful features.”

She draws inspiration from a wide variety of sources in her everyday life, including music, nature, films, food, runway, and even shoes, adding, “Honestly, everything under the sun can inspire looks, themes and moods to my make-up… usually everything I do has something to do with make-up or fashion some way or another. I can’t escape, but then why would [I] want to?!” She admires the work of professional artists like Itsuki, Mathias Van Hooff, Alexsandra Byrne, Mariel Barrera, Pat McGrath, Marco Berardini and MUD graduate Amy Chance.

Her advice to aspiring make-up artists and upcoming MUD graduates is to build and use a professional network: “Test shoot as much as possible starting out, and network any way you can. Keep your goals and keep working. Love what you do and your passion will get you far.”