Alexander Kodak: “The most important thing is to be a professional in your field”

He told how he started his career as a makeup artist and working with famous brands, shared the secrets of collaborating with stars, commented on the work of Hollywood makeup artists and talked about his own makeup courses. We promise it will be interesting!

– Tell me, how did your passion for the beauty industry begin?

– It all started with the fact that I really loved to draw. Moreover, I regularly watched Fashion TV when visiting my grandmother, so I had a love for fashion and art since childhood. Once on this TV channel they showed the work process of makeup artists, and the thought flashed through my mind: “Shouldn’t I try painting on my face?” At that time I was about ten years old. I practiced my first makeup on my sister and realized that I could do it.

At the university, I mastered the specialty “energetics” and at the same time completed makeup artist courses. After receiving my diploma, I got a good job in the gas industry - for my city it was extremely prestigious. But every day I went to work disgusted. A year later, I decided that this couldn’t continue: I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life hating every working day.

I got a job for the weekend in a beauty salon, or rather, in a cheap hairdresser, and realized that I liked this job. And although my first earnings in the beauty industry were not enough for anything and no one understood me, I wrote a letter of resignation from the gas industry.

I started participating in all sorts of wedding makeup competitions, and after I won a prize in one of them, they began to actively invite me to weddings. Already at that time, in my hometown of Mariupol, Fridays and Saturdays were scheduled for a couple of months in advance.

– How did your career as a makeup artist develop further?

– In 2011, I decided to move to the capital. MAC Cosmetics opened in Kyiv and was recruiting for the brand’s team, so I immediately decided to submit my resume. I don't know what I expected. Most likely, my sparkling eyes and self-confidence played the main role. Because it was difficult to complete the test task using professional cosmetics, because before that I painted exclusively with budget products. I was hired as a cornerman at Globus, and that was the beginning of my more professional career.

Three years later, I was offered a one-year contract as a makeup trainer in Kazakhstan, where our brand was launched. And in 2016, I was offered to launch the Smashbox and Glamglow brands in Ukraine. This was an important stage in my career, because for the next two years I participated in all organizational and administrative processes related to the formation and development of the brand.

Brands were developing, but I realized that it was from creativity that I got the most pleasure, so I made a difficult decision for myself and switched to freelancing. A year later, the Avon brand invited me to the position of official makeup artist. Here I have creative functions: reviews of cosmetics, participation in a large-scale YouTube project for the Avon channel, writing an expert column in catalogs.

– Is it true that male makeup artists often face misunderstandings about their choice of profession? Have such situations happened in your life?

– Yes, this opinion is not wrong. Literally six months ago - I was already a famous makeup artist - they asked me what kind of profession I was and why I didn’t continue to work as an energy engineer. But it was funny and ridiculous, at this level this situation did not affect me at all.

Photo: Ekaterina Gurina

However, at first it is very difficult to cope with such situations. You don’t understand where to work, where to go, how to earn money. When I just paid off my first job and came to the salon, in my free time I handed out leaflets in order to somehow make ends meet. You had to see this: I’m standing on the street with these leaflets, and then my former colleague walks by and says: “Alexander, did you quit your job in order to do this?” She turned around defiantly and left. It was very disappointing at that moment! And there were quite a lot of such situations.

For guys who are just starting their journey in this profession, the main thing is to believe in themselves and understand that makeup is yours, it’s something that gives you pleasure, something you can’t live without.

– What skills or knowledge should a makeup artist have in order to start working with famous brands of cosmetics?

– The main thing is good technical skills. A makeup artist must be able to do any high-quality makeup within an hour, be it an image with arrows, smokey eyes, false eyelashes or bright lips. If a master does not invest this time, he cannot apply for such positions, because time is very valuable in this area.

The makeup artist must also be able to present the product. Each brand has the top 5 products that its customers go for. But there are products that can lose in comparison with competitors. Therefore, it is important to be able to highlight the advantages that distinguish them from analogues, but at the same time not lie to the client. There is no need to invent something that does not exist.

Photo: Ekaterina Gurina

– Would you like to launch your own brand? If so, what beauty product would you release first?

– I haven’t yet thought about a full-fledged cosmetics brand; for me, something else is more important than this. But I would like to create some separate products and find new formulas. For example, a foundation that would satisfy those needs that are currently impossible to satisfy. So that when applied it makes the skin perfect, but at the same time it is not visible even at close range - as modern girls want. (Smiles.)

And, perhaps, I would release the mascara. I would like it to be easy to remove, but not mark on the skin even in humid weather.

Photo: Ekaterina Gurina

– Which other makeup artists inspire you with their example and whose master classes would you like to attend?

– Of course, these are master classes by Alex Box and Roshar. I also really like the work of Christian Child, a young German makeup artist who often creates looks for magazine covers. I would also be happy to attend Timati Khanna’s master class: he has very bright and creative images with stones, rhinestones and other decor. Among my Ukrainian colleagues, I like the works of Mitya Gribko. Our makeup artists show tricks on par with world masters!

– There is an opinion that the work of Hollywood makeup artists is not as clean, not as technical and perfected as the work of, for example, Ukrainian masters. Is it true? What is the reason for this, in your opinion?

– Yes, we really often see careless images of Hollywood makeup artists. But I know that these people can do all types of work absolutely perfectly, with just one stroke of the brush they are able to draw perfect lines. But they don't bother about it. For them, makeup is often an idea, a story, a sketch. Makeup artists don’t even think about the fact that it needs to be brought to some kind of ideal. And this, by the way, is a common mistake of our makeup artists: they bring their work to perfection, but when everything is absolutely perfect, it becomes uninteresting.

– You worked with such show business stars as Nastya Kamenskikh, Ivan Dorn, Monatik, Anna and Angelina Zavalskiy. How difficult is it to work with celebrities? Are there any nuances?

– The most important thing is to be a professional in your field. Stars are people for whom appearance is part of their image. They must be sure that you know what you are doing. You must be able to listen and hear a person, because he already has his own established image that you need to repeat. Of course, you must provide the best service possible.

But in reality, working with celebrities is much easier than working with ordinary clients. They already know what they want and can explain their idea clearly. And if these are some kind of creative photo shoots, they are not afraid to experiment and are more relaxed about new non-standard images. In this regard, working with them is always a lot of fun. (Smiles.)

– Relatively recently, you launched your own makeup courses. What makes them special?

– I’ve been teaching for a very long time, if you remember working with brands. Therefore, my courses are a synthesis of the knowledge I have accumulated over the years. These are world standards and technologies that professional companies and brands have, these are all the best that I have selected and adapted. The courses include lessons not only on makeup. I invite a psychologist to give lectures, because the makeup artist does not always hear the client and cannot always do what the client wants. I also invite a photographer who tells how light affects makeup, what textures look like in the frame, what the final result will be in post-production, and so on.

– At what point do you think a makeup artist is ready to teach and pass on his knowledge?

– Everyone has their own concept on this issue. But very often I observe situations when a makeup artist immediately after completing the course begins teaching, without realizing the responsibility that he takes on.

I believe that a person who plans to start teaching should be sure that he knows the peculiarities of working with different skin types and with different types of appearance, that he has extensive work experience behind him, that he knows how to do makeup for magazine shooting, for photography. , for television, for video filming, easily does wedding and evening makeup... Only then can you try to open your own courses.

And, of course, the soul must be committed to this.