Before she created beautiful makeup looks for Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Alba, Amanda Seyfried, and more, Monika Blunder grew up nurturing a love for art and film. Blunder was born and raised in Kufstein, Austria. Her brother was a camera assistant on film sets in Munich, Germany. She would often visit him while on set. Through this experience, she became instantly drawn to the art of makeup, which she witnessed being practiced by makeup artists on set. This is when she decided that she wanted to start a career in makeup.
Blunder said, “Almost right away, I was very drawn to the makeup department. I loved the transformation that took place. I thought I would become a special effects makeup artist and work on film sets.”
After graduating from high school, Blunder searched for a makeup school. She soon realized that there were no schools in Austria for makeup. Blunder found a school in Germany and wrote to the Austrian government asking for a scholarship to attend the school. The Austrian government decided to cover half of her schooling.
Blunder took courses and studied the art of makeup in Frankfurt, Germany. After completing her coursework, Blunder began assisting makeup artists on fashion photoshoots in Munich. While in Germany, Blunder met Norbert Cheminel, a famous German makeup artist. She was later hired as his assistant.
Shortly after, Blunder’s brother moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood. Blunder soon followed and began aiding makeup artists, such as Kevyn Aucoin and Paul Starr.
Not long after Blunder moved to Los Angeles, she worked with Rebecca Romijin on a photoshoot in 1996. They became quick friends and would often work together on projects. Blunder said, “he would fight for me when editors or photographers would request more well-known makeup artists.”
Blunder began working with a long list of celebrity clients, which includes Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Alba, Chelsea Handler, Amanda Seyfried, Megan Fox, Britney Spears, Gisele Bundchen, and more. She has also worked with some of the top photographers, such as Patrick Demarchelier, Sante D’Orazio, Mark Abrahams, Wayne Maser, and Norman Jean Roy. in the beauty industry.
Here is Blunder working with Jennifer Lawrence for a red carpet event.
Blunder’s work has been featured within the pages of Vogue, InStyle, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ UK, and Marie Claire. Blunder has created makeup looks for fashion photoshoots, red carpet events, magazines, and more. She has worked as a makeup artist in films such as “The Ten” and “Movie 43.”
Blunder worked with Jennifer Lawrence for this cover of Harper’s Bazaar for November 2013.
Blunder now creates how-to videos on her YouTube channel, which has 200,000 subscribers and counting. Through her YouTube channel, Blunder aims to instruct others on how to enhance their natural beauty or create a full glam look fit for a red carpet.
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