Meet Verity Fiction, the MUA behind Shadowhunter's Incredible Makeup!

It's no secret that the Freeform TV Show 'Shadowhunters' has some killer makeup, but what goes into those amazing looks? What are the tips and tricks from set? Verity Fiction, one of the members of the Shadowhunters Makeup Team was kind enough to sit down with us and share what makes her a Nova!

What got you started in cosmetology? Was it something you always wanted to do?

"I was about 7 years old when I told my parents I was going to “work in the movies”. At that point I wanted to be an actress as that is really the only way a child can work in film, so I pursued that. It wasn’t till I was 17 that I decided to make the move from in front of the camera to behind it. I was on my last acting gig, a music video, when I decided to ask every single crew member what they did and why they liked it. Makeup seemed like the coolest job. But I forgot about it for a while and went to college to study. But I kept having these thoughts of working in film. Then one night I had a dream that I was a very successful makeup artist and living my dreams working on films overseas. So the next day I contacted all the local makeup schools and a week later I was enrolled and studying. I haven’t looked back since."

What was your first job and how did it compare to what you're doing now?

"I think my first makeup job was a student film. It would have been 2002. I had to do a bunch of clown makeups. Essentially it’s very similar to what I do now, except the crew was a lot smaller, a lot less organized and the pay was, well, there was no pay. "

"That was one of the great things about Shadowhunters, there were so many great challenges. We had every kind of makeup you could think of on that show. It was never boring. I learned so much in those 3 years. Figuring out how to keep the runes on when we shot during summer on season 1, with sweaty boys in leather jackets was an interesting challenge."

Do you have a favorite makeup look/sfx appliance that you've done?

"I did a post apocalyptic si-fi film called Frame 137 about a decade ago that had some really cool character/cyborg looks that I’m very proud of to this day. I created a giant half a face burn scar appliance for one of the characters that turned out great. I also just finished a film in Australia last year, it’s a horror comedy about cannibals set in the Outback. I designed all the hair and makeup looks, it’s all what you call “character makeups” and we had some pretty out there over the top looks."

Do you have any fun facts or makeup application processes that fans might be surprised by?

" 'No makeup' makeups are actually one of the hardest makeup looks to create and often take just as long as “glam makeup looks”. These are tricky because modern cameras see everything, and I mean everything. The makeup can not read as makeup on camera. This requires the lightest hand and then you blend and blend and then blend some more."

What inspires your work?

"I love creating characters, telling a story through the makeup. I’m really inspired by images, I’ll spend a lot of time searching through magazines, books, comic books and watching films when I’m designing makeups. I collect a lot of photography books too. I like looking at photos of real everyday people."

What would you say to others looking to work as MUA's or SFX MUA's?

"You need to really want it, be willing to be really poor for a while and prepared to work your butt off. It’s insanely competitive and every day, schools all over the world are churning out more and more “makeup artists”. Your entering an already over saturated industry. Practice everyday, learn about health and hygiene, push yourself. We don’t need anymore mediocre “fake up artists” on insta. Perfect your craft. If it’s what you want to do, you’ll get there."

Where can readers go to keep up with your work?

"I’m the worst at self promotion. I have all the social media accounts but I don’t tend to post my makeup work. You can check my IMDB page to see what I’ve done, that updates pretty regularly. "

Thank you to Verity Fiction for taking the time to interview with us, You're a Nova!