Taking my kit
to London
A few times a year I pack up and head south. Here is what those trips look like — and what working in London has taught me.
By Lucy Pinder · Mad Pixie Makeup · Strensall, York
Why London, a few times a year
I am based in Strensall, just north of York, and that is where most of my work happens — bridal parties at beautiful North Yorkshire venues, makeup lessons in the studio, events across Harrogate and Leeds. But a few times a year I pack my professional kit into cases, get on the train, and spend a few days working in London.
It started because of a long-standing relationship with a photographer I have worked with for years — she shoots mostly in East London studios and occasionally asks me to join campaigns when the brief calls for a particular kind of look. From there, word spreads the way it always does in this industry. One client leads to another. A brand shoot leads to a test shoot. A test shoot leads to a booking.
What the work looks like in London
The London bookings tend to fall into a few categories. Brand and product photography is the most common — beauty brands, skincare campaigns, fashion lookbooks that need a makeup artist who understands how product sits on skin under studio lighting. The briefs are usually tight, the days are long, and the standard expected is high. I love that.
I also do bridal work in London occasionally. Sometimes a client finds me through the website and happens to be getting married at a venue in the city, or is based there temporarily. The preparation and approach is exactly the same as a York wedding — a thorough consultation, a trial, then the day itself — just with a longer journey for me at the start.
And then there are the more spontaneous bookings. A last-minute editorial request from a magazine contact. A commercial that needed someone with particular skills at short notice. Those jobs are always interesting and usually the ones you remember most.
What London has taught me as a makeup artist
Working in London, even just a few times a year, keeps your eye sharp in a way that is hard to replicate anywhere else. The pace is different. The clients and photographers come from everywhere. The briefs push you into territory you might not naturally go.
I have learned things in a single London studio day that I then bring back to York and use in bridal trials, makeup lessons, and everyday client work. The way a particular foundation catches light in a high-ceiling East London warehouse. How to build a look that reads beautifully on camera but still feels wearable in person. The tiny adjustments that make the difference between a good photograph and a great one.
These are the kinds of details that do not make it into tutorials. They come from doing the work, in real environments, with real stakes.
Travelling with a professional kit
One of the questions I get asked most when people find out I travel for work is: how do you manage your kit? The honest answer is that it takes years to work out a system that actually works.
I travel with a carefully edited version of my full kit — the products I know are reliable under pressure, that photograph consistently, that work across a wide range of skin tones and types. I leave behind the experiments and the backups of backups. You learn to trust your choices.
Hygiene standards travel with me too. Everything is cleaned and restocked after every job, regardless of where it is. That never changes.
If you are based in London and looking for a makeup artist
If you have found this page because you are looking for a makeup artist for a shoot, event, or wedding in London — I would love to hear from you. I travel to London several times a year and am always open to building in additional bookings around my existing trips, which can sometimes make the arrangement more straightforward than you might expect.
Get in touch through the enquiry form and tell me about your project. I will come back to you within 24 hours with an honest answer about whether I can make it work.