LINKS: SOFIE HANNA, MAKEUP ARTIST, IN LONDON.

Sofie Hanna is a makeup artist from Florida who now resides in West London with her little black cat, Sora. She works with the music industry, film and fashion, to communicate a story via people’s faces. We catch up with Sofie in London, to hear about how she got here and the new ventures she’s working on now.

How did you start, and what age were you when you started your career?

I guess I first started by trying to make fake blood when I was about 9. I watched a show on the sci-fi channel called ‘Face Off’, which was a prosthetics challenge show. It was the first time I realised that this was a possible career. I got so excited about this realization, that I just went straight to my fridge to find anything red. 

I didn’t know anything about making fake blood, I just put it all in a pot and let it boil. My little brain got distracted by the show, and later my mom was surprised to find a pot in the front yard — with what appeared to be tar at the bottom.

I started getting paid for doing makeup at 16. It was for little jobs here and there like proms and weddings. I was able to intern for a couple big productions in Seattle, not in my field, but it was a great experience and incredible to see the magic behind the scenes when you have a large budget. And lending Dr. Karev a lighter might always be a highlight of my life. 

I really started to aim towards film and fashion once I moved to London at 19. That’s when I properly started in my career I feel – whilst a lot of events lead up to it.

Pop singer Desta French, makeup by Sofie Hanna

You mentioned that you've started doing tattoos, how did you start, did you practise on yourself, what was that like? 

I started by buying all the equipment and just tattooing myself pretty much straight away haha. I did one tattoo on fake skin but I was excited to do the real deal. This was one of those things I always wanted to try – once I started I felt like kicking myself for not doing it sooner.

Tattooing myself was interesting... I felt it wasn’t as painful. I don’t know if its due to my focus or dissociation. But that made it almost more difficult. I’d make a line, be like ‘yeah look at me the next superstar tattooer’, then wipe away to find the faintest choppiest thing underneath. I took ages, but my little rat came out sick. A few days later I did a larger tattoo on my other leg which I was even happier about. It’s cool to visually see my progression on myself. Like a walking billboard.

For my tattoo style, I really love simple line work and bold blocking. You could call my style a bit ignorant too. There’s something I enjoy about deconstructing something to get its essence. Especially when referencing something, I want to express as much of the captured content as I can. Jake Gyllenhaal can turn into Michael Myers real quick with a line or two.

I guess that really translates into how I think when it comes to makeup. When I’m doing a makeup look, especially when creating a character, I visually remove the person from the location. If I showed them to a stranger on the street would they know it’s from a sci-fi? Could they tell if they’re from the 80’s? People would be surprised with how much can be told through makeup. Same with all elements of film.

What attracted you to choose the life of an artist, over the corporate path?

I honestly don’t think I ever considered it. My parents were really chill and just let me figure out what I wanted to do. I always admired people who were great at science and

math – if I was good at science I would have loved to do any form of surgery. But it was never in my calling, my brain is not active on that side and boredom gets the best of me. I enjoy being an artist cause everyday is different.

Even on a film set, you’re doing the same look for a week if not the whole shoot – but it’s those magic moments behind it is what make it so different. Seeing the different takes, bloopers, things that will get scrapped, the pacing of the day – it’s all its own new adventure. Meeting new people is its own adventure – if I meet someone and they tell me a story so good it felt like I was there then who’s to say for that one moment I wasn’t on a beach in Greece?

Pop singer Qendresa, makeup by Sofie Hanna

Sofie’s tattoo flash art

What is the most high pressure aspect of your work? How do you handle pressure? Do you meditate or have any other daily habits that help you perform at a high standard?

Timing is everything in makeup. One thing can make everything fall behind and time is money. When I start a job I take a mental note of what's the most important, so in case anything goes wrong you know what’s exactly needed for the best results. Communication is also key and not being afraid to speak up if you feel it might help the bigger picture. Even if people don’t take it on, they’ll appreciate that you’re wanting the best too.

I meditate everyday in the morning – I think everyone should do it anyways no matter what your profession. It helps clear mental junk and slows everything down. It’s also a great time to say affirmations and set intentions for the day. When I’ve spent 10/15 minutes with myself and bigging myself up – the rest of my day flows so much nicer.

What advice would you give to your younger self, when you were just starting out in your career?

‘Go for it. Nobody cares except for you. You care about it, you love it, so just doooooitttttt.’ And strap myself down Clockwork Orange style and show her all the motivational videos from the people that inspire me. Bit extreme, I know, but I procrastinated A LOT with fear of ‘Oh what if people don’t like it? Has it been done before? Has it been done TOO much before? What if people won’t support me on my journey?’ Which are yes and yes and yes and yes.

All those questions are still technically true in a sense. It’s just perspective. I just want to go back and change little Sofies’ mindset to ‘Don’t give up your way’ so that those questions would have been, “Oh I really like this! So what if its been done before? This is my way of doing it. I don’t know where I’m going but all that matters is that I feel good about it.”

When thinking about the word 'China', what is it that you think about?

I think about a moment when I was in China. I went on a school trip for 2 weeks, we spent time in Beijing and Shanghai - Shanghai was my favourite. We stayed in a big hotel with an absurd amount of floors. A couple friends and I went exploring the hotel, we wanted to see if there was anything on the top floor – usually places like this had a view we thought.

The doors opened and there was one dim light in the hallway. They were building a new floor — doors weren’t installed, some rooms had furniture as others were completely empty. Some of the rooms didn’t even have windows yet. It was spooky. Most of the group left except for me and another boy. I explored for a bit until I found him crouched down pointing his laser pen out the window. These are the ones banned in the UK for being able to blind pilots, but you can buy em off the street there. I joined him in the spectacle of seeing just how far this little green dot could go through the city. He conveniently brought his binoculars from our trip to the Great Wall. Miles and miles away we could see it on buildings, the street, billboards. It was kinda magical in that dark, half built, hotel room—watching the beautiful array of lights from the super city. Finding our little contribution of a green dot.

I guess to make this not just a random memory of mine – the feeling that memory brings me is what inspires me. It inspires me to know how important it is to contribute when you have any desire to. It doesn’t matter how big you shine, you still shine. Not everyone can see you, sure, but there are those who do and are so thankful you contributed. 

That green dot within a dreamscape of lights gave me a beautiful moment with someone I barely knew. People pass pieces of art in museums all the time without a second glance, but it was never meant for them. It was meant for those people who wanted to stop and stare.

Who do you link us to for the next interview and why?

Chloe Baines @chlobaines and Tymber Newton @tymberoffical. I had the pleasure of working with both of them as the head MUA for their fashion shows and love them to bits. Both young fashion designers with such an interesting POV. The type of people who trust your vision when you work with them, because they know that’ll give the best results. Extremely hardworking, both of them have some really cool things coming up and I think people should really keep an eye on them. I very much look forward to working with them again and seeing their guaranteed successes.