Behind the seams: Mzansi Magic's ‘Champions’

With work ranging from Mr Bones 3 to the romcom Soweto Love Story, Nothando Migeri has become one of the most sought-after makeup artists in the country. Outside her mentorship program programme and Beauty Business Connect, Migeri plays a vital role in upskilling other makeup artists (MUA) in the country. We speak to her about her work on Champions and some much-needed beauty and grooming tips.

What is your approach to creating beauty for characters in productions you tackle?

Every time that I have a show to do makeup for, the first thing I get is a character bible that explains who they are and where they are from. After that, I get a script so I can use their backstory to see where they are in that journey.

For example, we’ve got Lucinda on Champions who used to be a beauty queen. I had to look to other beauty queens who are always on point when it comes to nails, beauty and general grooming. She does a lot of work from home so I went for a very soft glamour, but when she’s going out the house for a press release or supporting her husband, we kick it up a notch.

It’s easy to assume a facebeat would be appropriate for characters like Lucinda and her sister Sne, but how did you approach makeup for their mostly professional looks?

For Sne, she’s a powerhouse working in a male-dominated space. Football is still predominantly male, which we can see in leadership positions. Her look is designed to be soft and feminine because she’s a strong woman who can be commanding in terms of the role she’s given. It’s a look that says ‘I’m a woman, I am gorgeous, however, I am a strong and powerful person’.

You will see that her eye makeup is generally delicate, with a focus on being clean. It has a lip or contour and highlight that pops out. We complement that with hair. Many women tend to leave their femininity and softness behind because they in a male-dominated space, but the one superpower for women is finding ways to be feminine in a male-dominated space.

I look at characters like Ferrari, where men are trying to achieve his immaculate beard. What was your approach to mantaining beards on the show?

Another responsibility I have as a makeup HOD is that when a cast member comes to us the responsibility lies with me to take care of their skin or hair to make sure it’s at its best when it comes to us. But when it isn’t, we have to take it through the relevant interventions to make sure it’s at that level.

With Ferrari, he was going to a medical aesthetician to take care of his skin, so we also had to make sure we shampooed his skin to keep the beard healthy. On game days, we paint his beard in different colours. Anything that you add onto the beard sometimes tampers with the quality of the hair or beard strands. So we only shampooed, used an oil treatment and conditioned it for our male cast members.

How about the harsh lights the cast must endure?

The lights are hectic on their skin, so we always make sure to add hydration every single time. The first thing we do is skin prep them — even the skin under beards. It’s quite an in-depth grooming process they go through every morning when they get into the makeup studio.

How can men who are active, whether it’s gym or are professional athletes, maintain beards?

When working out, the beard traps a lot of sweat. Over time sweat and bacteria can create irritation on the skin. Sometimes you don’t necessarily see it because it’s gone on for a long time, and you start to realise your skin is itching. It didn’t start at that point; it’s been a process. After every gym session, go into the beard with a beard shampoo or hair cleanser that can lather into it all the way to the roots. It helps with your skin being healthy and your pores can open and produce hair consistently. When your skin and pores are healthy, hair also comes through in a healthy manner.

In your previous productions, you’ve worked hard towards creating strong hair looks — something a lot of local productions get flack for. What has been your approach?

It’s budgets. You get what you pay for. And this is a conversation I have with executive producers on what they want and what they can get with what they have given me. Good hair does come at a premium price. On Soweto Love Story and Champions, I had a good budget for hair. I have a wide network of hair suppliers because they don’t shave the same quality or [have same] price point. I can get a message at 2am with suggestions on the type of hair needed for the shoot at 6am. The suppliers I have will cut for the particular actor’s picture that I send them. Especially for Soweto Love Story, I had the sweetest budget.

Speaking of Soweto Love Story, your work on Dina (Mamodibe Ramodibe) with her signature cat’s eyes and full matte lip, how did you achieve that look, which we see on your other productions as well?

It’s all about product knowledge. You need to have an understanding of how each product works, its life cycle in the packaging, as well as once it’s on a person. I love Mac. I think it’s one of those brands that are very intentional about having a relationship with pro-makeup artists rather than influencers. They have a wide range of products worth multiple formulations. It’s important to know that when you go for a matte finish, your lips should be hydrated even though it’s matte. The ingredients in the product will inform you whether the lips on the actor aren’t going to crack or become uncomfortable for them.

Any advice for other MUA's?

I’m close to two decades in makeup for film. When it comes to working in this industry, you need to have an understanding of the story. If you have a limited understanding of the story it’s going to mess you up when it comes to continuity of the story. Makeup schools don’t teach that. As a makeup artist, it’s important to find the knowledge. You could even shadow a continuity writer or producer.

If you fail to maintain continuity, the story will not make sense. Nobody leaves work wearing blue lipstick and arrives wearing red on the same story day. We never shoot things chronologically so you need to have a strong grasp of what continuity is.