‘I woke up like this,’ the modern day daily anthem is great, except it isn’t completely factual, so much work is put into the ‘slaying’ programme. The hair-on-point paired with bomb face beat is an art. One that takes time to master. Pro’s like celebrity hair and makeup artist (HMUA) Morag Steyn have come to do so efficiently effortless. With over a decade in the beauty, makeup and fashion industry coupled with a whole lot of travel experiences, Steyn has shaped an immaculate reputation which landed her an international accreditation.
If it wasn’t for Isabel Nell, her makeup lecturer at Isa Carstens Academy, we probably would have lost her to horse riding. ‘I was a competitive horse rider and actually placed 3rd in SA.’ But about 8 years ago, Top Billing booked her to work with Jeannie D and from there, the rest was history.
After relocating to India, late last year, she got to work with various Bollywood A-list celebrities such as Kamal Hassan, Atif Aslam, Ananya Birla and Neha Kakkar.
‘India was and still is an amazing journey, and I say this because it honestly changed my life, and I think only people who have been to India will understand this. I actually cannot explain it. It was the toughest and the most rewarding time of my life.’
‘The Bollywood actors are incredible and the most humble people of all. I have never seen fame like I saw there. Honestly, South Africa does not know the meaning of celebrity. People of India worship Bollywood, they live and die for it.’
A post shared by M O R A G S T E Y N (@moragsteyn) on Jan 13, 2018 at 7:18am PST
And earlier this year, she stamped her international authority by scooping a deal to work on Vikram Bhatt ‘s horror film, 1921. She was responsible for Zareen Khan’s looks for the film. ‘I worked with Zareen for the India location shooting part of the movie. She was so amazing.’ Adding that working with Bhatt was sensational, ‘he is a god in filmmaking, and his team is amazing.’
She’s previously worked (and continues to work) magic on local stars such as Roxy Burger, Jeannie D, Minnie Dlamini-Jones and many more others. She’s also teamed up with fashion designers , globally, the likes of Liz Ogumbo-Regis, Vikram Phadnis, Rohit Verma, and Pawan and Pranav.
She says hair and makeup play a huge part of fashion and naturally they feed off of each other.
A post shared by M O R A G S T E Y N (@moragsteyn) on Apr 8, 2018 at 2:57am PDT
‘It is crucial that the key makeup artist understands exactly what is going on inside the designers head, and portray that on to the face of a model who is the canvas the completion of the whole collection.’
She truly professes her love for her industry and admits it’s a love-hate relationship.
‘I hate the chaos and the craziness but at the same time I live for it, it’s the only thing that keeps my heart beating’
