The Sunday Mail
You would think working with the deceased would be pretty terrifying, but one make-up artist in the United States (US) says it is more of an honour than a fright.
Fawn Monique Dellavalle, an aesthetician based in Pennsylvania and California, has worked on the red carpet, but her skills have found themselves of much use to those who will be receiving their final makeover.
The job generally involves preparing dead bodies for burial by doing things such as applying makeup, doing manicures, fixing hair and reconstructing disfigured faces.
Fawn owns two make-up and skin therapy studios and has worked in many different areas of the make-up industry including retail, the red carpet and the runway.
Although she is not a trained mortician, she was personally called into a funeral home because of her expertise in makeup.
Formally known as “desairology” (or cosmetology for the deceased), it is an important service offered by funeral homes.
Training and experience in cosmetology as well as using cosmetic products designed for mortuary use is definitely a bonus if you want to be one.
But what do mortuary make-up artists generally deal with?
Fawn said: “I usually take care of the skin balance, make-up and nails. A hair stylist will come in for the hair. I do these services randomly throughout my career and there is really no way to time it.
“I typically get called in on difficult/challenging applications, or if a family has specifically requested me.”
Believe it or not, there are actually specific products you need to use on dead bodies, you cannot just stick on some blush and bronzer and be done with it.
Fawn said: “I have a kit that is just for the final beauty/appearance ritual.
‘‘It consists of skin care to prep the skin to accept the make-up, nail polish, and a full make-up kit, with specific brushes just for these applications.
“I have many levels of concealer coverage and correction colours. It all depends on the cause of the death on how the skin will appear so you must be prepared for anything.
“If the person wore make-up, I ask to see their make-up bag to find their most used colours and replicate their makeup from there.
‘‘To make them look as close to their normal appearance, I try my best to make sure they look like they are just resting peacefully.”
Of course, a career like a mortuary make-up artist is never going to be a walk in the park, even Fawn who has had many years of experience still remembers her first application on a body — which was a particularly difficult one.
“My first application ever was extremely hard, there was a lot of skin/head trauma/bruising to balance, the viewing was to be a closed casket.
“I was preparing the deceased for the family to personally view them one last time. I try to keep the family in my mind on the hard ones. It is really for them to have that closure of seeing their loved one before the burial ceremony.”
Usually, application of the make-up takes around one to two hours depending on the needs, and the body will be dressed and placed in the viewing area.
In terms of a standard “day at the office”, Fawn said: “I will check the lighting in the area the body will be on display, and drape the body to make sure I don’t disturb the clothing.
“I play some peaceful music and start to paint the body that is shown to appear as if they are just peacefully asleep.”
Granted, this job is not for everyone, but maybe it is not as creepy as you might think.
There is definitely a stigma that it is a frightening job, but Fawn says “it is such an honour”.
“In my daily career I get hired for all the most important times in people’s lives to make them feel and look beautiful, why should the final viewing be any different other than it won’t be for them as much, but more for the ones that are celebrating their life?
“I don’t think it’s creepy, I feel it is a closing ritual of the being’s time here on earth and it is something that should be honoured in every way.”
Dangerous quarantine escape
A man in the Australian city of Perth escaped mandatory quarantine in a hotel by scaling down a rope made of tied-together bedsheets from a fourth-floor
window.
After arriving in the West Coast city on an interstate flight from Brisbane, the man had his application for entry refused under the state’s tough border entry rules intended to stop the virus entering from elsewhere in the country.
The man was told to leave the state within 48 hours and taken to a hotel for temporary quarantine, but just before 1am on Tuesday “he climbed out a window of the fourth floor room using a rope made of bed sheets and fled the area”, Western Australia police said.
They also posted photos of the makeshift rope hanging from a window on the brick building’s top floor down to the street.
Police arrested the man across town about eight hours later and charged him with failing to comply with a direction and providing “false/misleading information”.
They did not disclose the man’s identity except to say that he was aged 39 and tested negative to the virus, nor did they give a reason for his alleged actions.
Australia has recorded far fewer coronavirus cases and deaths than many other developed countries partly because it closed national and internal borders and imposed mandatory hotel quarantine for anyone arriving from abroad or — during outbreaks — another state.
The policy has, however, brought with it a series of escapes, including a woman accused this month of
climbing down two balconies and kicking in a door to evade quarantine in north-east regional hub of Cairns. — Wires.
