Pavel Bauer previously used to decorate cakes, after the revolution he became a make-up artist

Today you were doing makeup for beautiful young women for a visual shoot for STYL and KABO, how did it go?

As far as the makeup is concerned, they both have beautiful skin, they were lovely to work with. Plus, they had very nice hair. It was a nice job. For us, it's always a problem at the beginning, before we start working, to agree on the concept, the colours, the material of the clothes, the style... but as for the actual make-up work, it's already a pleasure to work with such "material".

How long have you been a makeup artist and how did you get into it?

It's been 30 years. I'd done theatre as a kid, then I was a model, and then I started helping with hair and makeup at shows. So, after the revolution I decided to change my profession from a pastry chef to a make-up artist.

From a pastry chef? So from one nice job to another...

Actually, I went from one decorating job to another. Both jobs smell nice, it's a creative work, so I haven't really gone anywhere else, I'm just holding different tools in my hand. I'm working with beautiful people, I'm glad for that.

You're also a makeup artist on StarDance, how is that different?

It's vastly different there, it's very time intensive, it's basically like a 30 minute makeup session, we don't have more time to do it. And when you consider how beautifully made up the ladies are, plus they should look just as beautiful after that sports performance. And again, it's not just the make-up, it's the lights, the cameras. Everything has to be taken care of, we work on that with the camera operators. And when the ladies put on those beautiful dresses, have their hair done, then it's all together beautiful.

Is it a challenge for you when an older lady sits in your chair?

It's often a challenge, but I like challenges. People often tell me it's easy to paint the young girls, but I love "doing" the older ladies. Women who maybe have droopy eyelids and then look at themselves and don't understand. For a long time, I worked on a project to change the appearance of women, there of course it wasn't just about make-up but about a total change, the results were incredible. It was a great experience for the ladies who participated. And for me, a particularly good school. But I love it, it's quite easy to make up pretty models, there you can put on anything, use different colours, many times it's unwearable, but here it's about something completely different. The women like themselves and are happier. They don't have that feeling of being taken care of. And yet often it is enough to just a little, to make a texture, to shade and that's it.

You are a makeup artist, but you also teach in schools, organize workshops, do you enjoy it?

Yes, teaching in schools is particularly nice and interesting, to bring the children, the students, closer to what is waiting for them, to show them how it all happens in practice. But not only that, I let them take a peek under the lid of this profession, after all, I work in film, television, I do shows, photo shoots, just all sorts of things. So, I try to give them a glimpse of what's in store for them if they stay and decide to stay in the beauty and makeup industry.

What would you recommend to women?

The basics are to always look healthy. Once the skin looks nourished and healthy, it needs little. Lifestyle is important, getting plenty of sleep and then makeup doesn't have to be so much. But let's not forget that decorative cosmetics and makeup are there for us, not us for them. It's important to keep your common sense here too.