Lori Depp

My three favorite things are music, movies, and make-up! When I was about eight years old, I started to cut the hair off my dolls and draw make-up on them with pens. This really pissed my mother off because we were fairly poor, and the dolls were a luxury. By the time I was eleven, I was drawing eyes on pieces of paper with eyeliner and eye shadow, the lips I drew were drawn with lipstick, and the cheeks were rouge. I was thirteen when I walked into a small make-up boutique on Collins Avenue, in Miami Beach. The sales lady did my make up… THAT’S when I learned the difference between enhancing your features as opposed to exaggerating them. At fourteen, my biggest influences were musicians, groupies, models, drag queens, and actors and actresses. I have David Bowie and his remarkable chameleon-ship to thank for pointing me in a direction that allowed me to explore a less traditional future. Most of the kids I knew in school were going to become Doctors or Lawyers. At sixteen I had rainbow streaks in my hair, shaved off eyebrows, and a lot of unconventional articles of clothing that I wasn’t afraid to wear…in public. I was considered a freak among my peers, but the ability to be creative was more important to me than fitting in. In the late 70’s, when I was nineteen, I moved to New York City. There, I was surrounded by some really talented, (and not so talented) inspiring people; people that pushed the envelope and aspired to do EVERYTHING out of the ordinary. I lived at The Chelsea Hotel during the “infamous Sid and Nancy days.” It was a mecca of diversity and artistry. It was, to say the least, epically educational. Prior to becoming a professional make-up artist, my real passion was the music business. In the 1980’s, when I was just about twenty one, I moved to Los Angeles where I had a lot of friends in the music industry. They were able to open doors to the possibilities of realizing my dream and to take what I’d learned to the next level. My ultimate goal in life was to become a record producer, but as fate would have it a target shooting mishap left me partially deaf in my left ear and it was painfully clear that any chance of fulfilling that dream was over. I was lucky enough to have something that I loved to fall back on, once the music business endeavor didn’t work out. For me, doing make-up was equal (in a creative sense) to making records. It was something artistic, something I was good at, and less difficult because women were much more welcomed in this industry. My career as a professional make-up artist began with the help of my very good (and greatly talented) friends, Adam Ant and Christina Applegate. Thanks to them, I was able to move quickly from amateur to professional. Christina (Applegate) gave me my very first professional make-up kit, as well as giving me my first jobs within the Television community. Adam (Ant) gave me the opportunity to work on my very first film and my first play. He also introduced me to the up and coming photographers, who then put their subjects in my hands. Without these wonderful, talented people, I would not have had the long list of clients or jobs that I’ve been fortunate enough to have. From films, TV, Videos, and Print work, to Fashion shows, Red Carpet events, and Awards shows, I’ve had so many amazing experiences as a make-up artist, and I continue to learn something new every time I work… ever changing, ever challenging. I am happy to say that I still love it! You can check out some of my work on IMDB or my facebook page.