Mylan Harris

Photo by Sonia Barcelona / Photos 4 The People

This month, I sat down with our make-up artist from “Breakfast Club” and “Scream” - Mylan Harris (pronounced like Italy’s fashion capital, Milan). Unless there’s a big look that’s needed - like in “Memoirs of a Geisha” that we discuss - most make-up artists’ work is invisible. But it’s that subtlety that is the mark of a great make-up crew. Mylan and I talk about her journey to film makeup, what filmmakers need to know about hiring make-up artists and more!

Aisha: How’d you get into makeup?

Mylan: I'm from Columbus, Ohio, and I started doing makeup there and I found that to be really what my passion was connecting with people through artistry and I really had to grow outside of Ohio and I knew that I couldn't do that staying there.

So I decided to move to California. I spent two years out there going to school, getting my license to do aesthetics and really pursuing my passion. I worked at MAC, the really prestigious makeup company. Then I got my aesthetics license and I started working with Dermatological to help people transform their skin. I learned a lot about how to really treat the skin and make the makeup look even more beautiful on a beautiful base. That's right about the time COVID started, so that kind of cut that short. My girlfriend, Amita, and her wonderful friends they're all in the film industry, so it just was natural for me to start progressing in and meeting everyone like yourself and Ruliko.

Aisha: What had your ideas about film makeup did you have prior to doing any work?

Mylan: My first thought was in order for you to do important film work, you have to be unionized. I thought that I wouldn't be able to work on any good productions unless I've had years of experience and a ton of connections.

But I found that not to be the case. I found that as long as you're passionate and you trust that you're gonna be in the right hands, you can be a part of amazing productions even on your first gig.

My first gig was the Breakfast Club and that was phenomenal. It was a really great experience and so I felt like if I would've known that, I wouldn't have been so deterred to start doing film makeup sooner.

Right now, I won't say that every experience after that has been just like the Breakfast Club. It has been some, some up, some, some kind of there. But you know, it's just the idea that what it could be.

Aisha: What is different about the film experience from your other makeup work?

Mylan: Oh, there's much more planning involved. There's much more expectation. It's collaborative, especially depending on what your role is like. I've been the key makeup artist of three projects now, and I've had a lot of creative direction and it has been a lot more control that I have over this type of work that I do.

It really allows you to be more proud of the skill that you have and what you bring to the table. Especially when you see people playing with the guts on the, on the table [on the set of Scream] and they're like, “Wow, you made this outta marshmallow?” And I'm like, “Yeah, I did that.” And it looks great on camera.

You’re just taking into consideration what your role is in collaboration with everyone else’s role there. I love that aspect of film work. It’s definitely very collaborative.

Aisha: What was the biggest or most important lesson that you've learned from working on film sets?

Mylan: Humble yourself. Humble yourself. You might think you're good. You might think you know everything in this world, but humble yourself regardless, cuz if not the universe gonna find a way to humble it for you. it doesn't bring a good energy when you're like the know-it-all. You can learn from anybody, from anything.

Aisha: What's are the top three things that you would tell film crews or producers to think about when hiring makeup artists to work on their set?

Mylan: First and foremost, ask them what is their experience with preparing the talent for the day of filming like preparing their skin, preparing them for what's going to be expected, especially if it's an in-depth look that they're doing.

Ask their professional skill level, because you can be talented in makeup and do makeup on yourself all day long, but when it comes to working with someone else, you know. You need to know if they’re experienced in more than just makeup. Do they have good customer service? That's a very big one too. Are they experienced in skincare, in any capacity? What, what do you do outside of the makeup to make it last all day?

Second, what type of products do you anticipate using for this project? That's one question that usually has to be asked anyway due to budget. But a lot of the times the artist may already have products that they have and you know, and the kit fee we charge is just to replenish the products that we're using.

Are there products specifically that you know that you're going to need, that you do not currently have that is going to help?

Third would be: can they handle pressure? Because there’s nothing like [Assistant Director] Cassie coming up to me every15 minutes saying, “Hey, you done?Are you done? You done yet?”

If you cannot handle pressure, I don't think this is for you at all.

Aisha: What can film sets do to create a good environment for makeup artists?

Mylan: That is a very big point, a big one for film sets. I really need them to understand the timeline it takes to do the top talent makeup. In scheduling, if you know that you need this person at a specific time to be on camera, don't schedule us all to come in at the same time. As long as y'all have even just one person there in the space to open the door, schedule us an hour, two hours early if you could get us two hours, and then by the time y'all get there, they're done.

That helps because then the actor can relax. If y'all are waiting on me, so that they could go on camera, they don't have any minute to just collect themselves, get themselves into character, review their script one last time. But if we all come in at the same time, and I still gotta set up and then I gotta do the base of the work, like, yeah, by the time everyone else is done, they're anxious.

Then I have to keep myself calm during this time because if I'm anxious, I make mistakes and then the talent feels like they've had a rush job and then by the time they make it to the camera, they're like, okay, what were my lines again?

That is probably my biggest grapple with most of the projects I've worked on was just give me more time so y'all can have all the time.

Aisha: What was your most difficult challenge doing film makeup?

Mylan: When the director isn't really sure what they want when they're trying to explain their vision. So there's a project I was working on with one of the UNLV students. And I know they're student teams, so I'm gonna be really upfront and say, I recognize that they're not professionals yet, but they're working on it.

And this is really important for students to understand: when you are hiring a makeup artist, if this is their first few projects, cool. Y'all could work together, figure out what y'all like. But when you hire somebody who's done this before; it's confusing if you don't even have a direction in what you're doing, what you want, you're like maybe we'll use some blood, maybe some bruises maybe make it look like you got beat up.

We need to know who got beat up? Why did they get beat up? How did they get beat up? Were they hit with anything? How long ago? Cause it's all gonna come into question. A bruise can be aged, A bruise could be fresh, a bruise could be old.

So it was a little confusing because they were just telling me, “We just want 'em to look a little grungy, a little beat up.”

Beat up with what? Like was he hit with a crow bar? He thought that the makeup artist was going to create the vision for him, but I’m reading your script and your script isn't really telling me what's going on here. It just says bruised faced. What am I gonna do with that?

Then on the other side where people are like, he has the two inch laceration on his jaw and like it was from a metal shard that just happened to be too jagged and like it's been over an hour, so there's dried blood down the side.

That sounds great cuz I know what I'm doing. It’s so great especially when it comes to injuries.

Aisha: How much of that involves you thinking like a medical examiner?

Mylan: 98% of it is research. That's one big thing. If you are in film makeup, you need to know how to use the good old Google. If you are not the research type, if you do not have yourself books on site, if you don't go and watch videos or past references…this is why I love watching movies. If I see something really cool, I might try to recreate it. I'll watch shows like CSI, Law and Order, Criminal Minds cuz they do make up like this specifically. They execute it so wel. If they can make it look like that, what can I do to make this look like that?

Experiment with your products. Experiment with what you already have. You don't need to go buy a bunch of charred powder or expensive special effects products. If you've got brown eyeshadow with some black eyeliner, girl, learn how to work with that.

Aisha: What is something a piece of art that's made by Asian creator that has had any influence on your work?

Mylan: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Like is that a question? I could say many amazing, phenomenal things about that movie. it’s so up my alley before I even knew it was up my alley. I love the artistry. It's more than just makeup to me; it’s the storytelling through the makeup, through the arts, through the dynamics. I've watched so many making-of videos for this movie. Just of the team, the way that they were able to portray their thoughts, it was phenomenal.

Another really important movie that I think has had a really big impact on me, especially when it comes to using storytelling through makeup would be my all time favorite Memoirs of a Geisha. I think that was one of my first introductions to historical Japanese Society. I've found the beauty in so many elements, the beginning part of the movie where they're young, youthful children and they've got the makeup on them to make them look really dirty, make them look really impoverished. And then her transformation from her being a maid to a maiko like it was beautiful because it's really soft, delicate makeup changes that they're doing. And that storytelling with Hatsumomo: her makeup always emphasized her character as more sultry and seductive. Then you get into the war scene where Sayuri does not have that beautiful makeup on, she doesn't have that beautiful hair, but she looks worn, you know? And even the makeup artist to make her look weathered was so well done.

I love to see how you could really emphasize the characters entire perspective based off of their makeup, based off of their look, the costume, the hair. It was such a beautiful storytelling.

Aisha: What have you got going on? Where can people find you?

Mylan: As I continue through this wonderful journey of whatever life takes to me I, I would like to start documenting and kind of showing a little bit more of like the everyday of not just a makeup artist, but a, a multi-talented artist in general. I will start documenting all of my journeys through my Mystic Mylan YouTube and Instagram.

And on my website I plan to be more centered on owning your confidence, putting yourself out there to try anything, and learning to stay humble.