New student organization Makeup Atelier, created by two first-years in the business of creative enterprises major, is the most recent addition to Emerson’s artistic institute. 

President Elze Remeikyte is using her professional makeup artist diploma to teach other students. The art of makeup has been a passion of hers since she was 12, and her favorite part of the process is the primary step of applying the base. 

“My whole life I’ve been interested in makeup,” Remeikyte said. “The foundation, the concealer, the contouring, and just sort of the whole layout. You can think of it as a canvas for painting. I just like to prepare that very well so my results can be better.”

Other than Emerson alum and makeup entrepreneur Bobbi Brown, Remeikyte said the inspirations behind Makeup Atelier stems from a notice of student interest and the lack of a preexisting makeup organization. After asking others around campus about their interest and makeup abilities, Remeikyte saw the perfect opportunity. 

Vice President Julia Magdziak brought her marketing skills to the table, contributing the organization’s logo. Both students are eagerly utilizing their BCE major to their advantage.  

“We’re kind of treating this student club as a small business, so it’s preparation for our future,” Magdziak said. “It’s very exciting.” 

So far, the organization has had two informational sessions, and their weekly lessons begin this Friday, Feb. 4. Magdziak described the progressing structure of the introductory program, which is open to everyone with as much or as little experience they have. 

“We [are having] 10 classes, starting from the basics like foundation, then going into more eyes and details,” Magdziak said.

Mask guidelines prove to be a challenge to the new organization, inhibiting the ability to apply a full face of makeup. Magdziak said that due to COVID restrictions, a compromise to split lessons between in-person and over Zoom was made, depending on the type of skills being taught. 

“We’re figuring out the best solutions and ways to still make this club happen, but also help everyone use their faces,” Remeikyte said. “We want everyone to get a full experience of what this club is. For example, when I talked about the base of makeup, we’re going to be in Zoom because that’s when you need to take your mask off. Then when you’re doing something above your nose, like your eyebrows or eyes, that’s when we meet in person.”

In order to prioritize safety, Makeup Atelier hopes to dedicate its first semester to growing in numbers and becoming officially affiliated with Emerson. 

“We hope to expand and just get bigger,” Remeikyte said. ”Right now, we are an independent organization. We do need a lot of funding and all that to prepare for the most professional experience for the people who come into the makeup club.”

The organization plans to use this time to get their bearings and explore different areas that may be of interest to students. 

“This semester, we’ll just experiment and see what people want, what people would like, what people would want to find out from us about makeup,” Remeikyte said. “That’s our biggest goal, to just use this semester as our starting point to make all the plans for next semester and to start these lessons so people would see who we are.”

Both Remeikyte and Magdziak are looking forward to collaborating with each other and their peers with limitless creativity. The space will not only strengthen people’s makeup skills, but also make them feel self-assured.

“Our goal is to teach students about the basics of makeup because we see makeup as a very powerful tool for self-expression and also to boost your confidence,” Magdziak said. “For makeup, we want to help people be the best version of themselves.”