Tutors

All tutors at The Makeup School have spent many years working as makeup artists and hairdressers gaining a high level of experience and continue to use their craft within the industry.

Gabrielle Jones
Dianne Ensor
Nicola Harvey
Ruthie Stoffels
Carla Middleton
Natasha Thompson
Vanessa Darwin
Tatum Dunster

Gabrielle Jones Director
Gabrielle Jones trained in London's prestigious film, TV and Fashion makeup school GREASEPAINT and has been working both in London and NZ ever since. She has had 22 years experience in this challenging industry. Her work in London included photoshoots, editorial, advertising and film work. She completed a two year contract with the Victoria and Albert Museum in Covent Garden as their inhouse theatrical makeup demonstrator. Gabrielle also had a successful facepainting company FACE IT employing experienced makeup artists and attracting such clients as Princess Catherine of Yugoslavia, Lord Litchfield and painted the faces of Princes Harry and William. On returning to New Zealand, Gabrielle worked on many productions such as Peter Jackson′s The Frighteners, Tommy Knockers, Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules for several years. She has designed the makeup and hair for the following genres: contemporary, period, adventure, science fiction and fantasy. Gabrielle has also worked with news presenters and sports celebrities on a variety of projects from TV commercials to magazine shoots.		Gabrielle was also the on-camera makeup stylist alongside Paul Serville and Susanne Paul on Touchdown's television series Style Challenge. Gabrielle was the makeup designer for many American television series such as Young Hercules, Jack of All Trades, Cleopatra 2525 and the film Riverworld. Locally she has been makeup designer for such drama series as Nga Puna and Mataku, which she was nominated for Contribution to Design at the NZTV awards in 2004. Before opening The Makeup School, Gabrielle worked for 5 series as Makeup/Hair Designer on the Walt Disney production Power Rangers. She was Makeup Designer for Walt Disney′s movie Skyrunners. More recently, Gabrielle designed the set up of the makeup department for the re-launch of Power Rangers – Samurai Series. She continues to work in the industry along with running and tutoring at The Makeup School.

Dianne Ensor Director
Dianne Ensor has been working as a makeup artist for 20 years. Her training was initially in Australia at both the Sydney School of Makeup Art and The Pivot Point Hairdressing School. Later she trained further in New Zealand. Dianne has worked on a variety of overseas productions, such as The Grudge in Japan, Jonathon Creek in the UK and promotional work at the NAPTE convention in the USA. In NZ her work history includes the New Zealand feature River Queen, Television dramas Being Eve, Lawless and Interrogation. Dianne has also worked on many American productions in key design positions such as Hercules, Young Hercules, Cleopatra 2525, Jack of All Trades, You Wish, Raising Whalen, Fearless and many more. She also assisted internationally-acclaimed makeup artist Joanne Gair with her successful body painting books.		Dianne′s skill base is wide ranging. Her work embraces fashion, contemporary, character, fantasy, period and SPFX makeup. She has a strong aptitude in wig work, hair styling and design and is an expert hair knotter. Before opening The Makeup School Di had completed 3 series as Makeup and Hair Designer for New Zealand's number one award winning television drama Outrageous Fortune. More recently, Dianne was asked to work in conjunction with the Auckland Museum making a 3D promo for the Outrageous Fortune exhibition. She continues to work in the industry along with running and tutoring at The Makeup School.

NICOLA HARVEY Senior Makeup Tutor
With a passion and artistic flare for makeup, Nicola completed her makeup qualification in 2000 and has been working in the industry ever since. Over the years Nicola has worked for cosmetic houses such as L’oreal, Lancome and Napoleon. She went on to work for M.A.C Cosmetics. Nicola was often on set, backstage and behind the scenes, working closely with N.Z fashion designers and sponsored celebrities, including international Kanye West tour with U2. She headed M.A.C.’s makeup team for NZ music awards along with personal makeup design for Bic and Boh Runga, Atlas and Elemenop. She has had a number of published editorials over the years in Fashion Quarterly, Pulp, Remix & Metro. Her work has been seen on the catwalks for NZ and Sydney fashion weeks, working with NZ designers Juliet Hogan and Trelise Cooper.		Nicola has also been involved with photoshoots & music videos for Anabelle Fay, Atlas, Anika Moa. Nicola has worked with another senior M.A.C artist for a season of the TV3 comedy, The Jaquie Brown Diaries. She is very happy to now be part of The Makeup School team working as Senior Makeup Tutor. Nicola has a passion for teaching and developing students artistry and industry skills. More recently, Nicola has been designing "looks" as key makeup artist for The Westpac Red Collection at New Zealand Fashion Week and the charity event Fashion For Quake.
RuthIE Stoffels Tutor
Ruthie has been working as a makeup artist for the past 15 years in both NZ and the UK. During her time in the UK she has worked for the BBC in both London and Edinburgh. This work included political news, current affair shows and 3 Montana Sunday Theatres. She also has worked with well known people such as Paul McCartney and Tony Blair. Ruthie has worked for The Royal Shakespeare Company, The New York Ballet company, Australian Opera Company, Miami City Ballet, NZ Opera and many international theatre companies at the Edinburgh Arts Festival over a period of 5 years.		She has worked on the very successful NZ feature Scarfies as the Makeup Designer. She has also worked on other NZ films such as River Queen and Bridge To Terabithia. She has worked on many dramas filmed in NZ, music videos and television commercials. Ruthie has a background in teaching originally training in primary education. She has also taught at various Makeup schools over the years and continues to work as a freelancer here in Auckland.
Carla Middleton Tutor
Carla’s success as a hairdresser for over 15 years has taken her from working in some of the countries award winning salons to salon management roles.  At 25 Carla took a detour on her career path to work on film & TV sets including the popular dramas series Outrageous Fortune.   Carla has been a hair tutor for many years starting at Winters Hairdressing Academy.  She later returned to undertake a new and exciting role assisting the Education Manager with assessing and writing all teaching material.		Carla then went on to a new position as the Marketing manager where she designed and updated all promotional material, advertising and website. After the website was voted best design and user friendly site within the Industry, Carla started travelling extensively to Australia, Thailand, Korea and many other countries researching & developing different marketing strategies.   Carla now owns and operates her own business along with tutoring here at The Makeup School by passing her wealth of hairdressing skills and knowledge to students
Natasha Thompson Tutor
Natasha has been in the industry since 2004, focusing on the fashion industry. She has worked for cosmetic brands such as Napoleon and more recently M.A.C Cosmetics where she became Retail Manager for one of M.A.C’s stores. Natasha has worked at New Zealand Fashion Week for the past four years, working on such shows as Huffer, Zambesi, Cybele, Trelise Cooper, Nyne, Chelsea Thorpe, and Hailwood to name a few. She has done “look books” for NZ designers and has published editorial shoots for magazines such as NO and Remix.		In 2009, Natasha was one of three M.A.C artists in New Zealand who won an opportunity to go to Toronto Canada, to study under senior M.A.C artists from New York. Natasha has a passion for sharing her industry skills with students as a tutor at The Makeup School. Natasha continues to work as a freelance artist across all fields within the makeup and fashion industries.
Vanessa Darwin Tutor
Vanessa has been working as a Makeup Artist for the past 11 years. After discovering the M.A.C brand in 2000, Vanessa embarked on a successful career as a Makeup Artist and Retail Manager for over 7 years. During this time Vanessa won numerous accolades including M.A.C Retail Artist of The Year in 2003, M.A.C Retail Manager of The Year in 2005 and in 2006. These awards saw her travel to New York and Sydney where she worked alongside some of the worlds top Makeup Artists, gaining extensive knowledge and skills in the industry. Vanessa has been involved in New Zealand Fashion Week as a Key Makeup Artist and saw her leading teams for Hailwood, Nom*D and Zambesi.		Vanessa has designed the advertising campaigns for Ruby and Madame Hawke for 3 consecutive seasons. She has published work in NO and Pulp magazines and has worked closely with Modelling Agencies to develop the makeup skills of up and coming models. Vanessa was part of the exclusive M.A.C makeup team chosen to work with Missy Elliot and her backup dancers for her New Zealand tour. She has worked extensively with New Zealand talent and celebrities for several years at the New Zealand Music Awards. She is very pleased to be able to share her knowledge, experience and skills as a tutor at The Makeup School.
Tatum Dunster Tutor
Tatum started her Makeup Career at About Face working as a counter Makeup Artist. For the Past 4 years Tatum has worked at M.A.C Cosmetics both at St Lukes and more recently working at the M.A.C Pro Chancery store as the Assistant Manager. During this time Tatum won a Retail Artist Competition. This award saw her travel to Beiing China where she trained alongside some of the world’s top Makeup Artists, gaining extensive experience and skills in the industry. Tatum has been involved in New Zealand Fashion Week working on shows such as Trelise Cooper, Jimmy D, Amuse with Pamela Anderson, Twenty Seven Names and Zambesi.		Tatum has designed an advertising campaign for Moochi and has produced several look books for Moochi, Stolen Girlfriends and, Trelise Cooper. She has published work in NO, Pulp, BLACK, CLEO, and VIVA. Tatum worked on the New Zealand Music Awards doing makeup for the ‘Shes a Mod’ Music Video filmed live on the evening. She has worked with New Zealand talent and celebrities such as Bic Runga, Brooke Fraser and music group the ‘Open Souls’. Tatum continues to work as a M.A.C Freelancer and in the industry specialising in Bridal, Beauty and Fashion Makeup. She is very excited to be able to share her knowledge and skills as a tutor at The Makeup School.