From day 1, the course is full on! After running through some general information and checking out kits, we got started with a demonstration of theatre make-up and then replicating it on our classmates. Working on each other is a great way to break the ice with other students: as the days go by you can feel the difference in how you approach a make-up and also how much more confident and decisive everyone else becomes when they work on you.

Throughout the course, we also have models in, and at first it's a bit nerve-wracking, but it's a great opportunity to get to grips with different face shapes, age range, skin and hair, textures and types .. we also learn about etiquette with actors and making our models feel comfortable. By the end of week 2 everything we do is put to the test and critiqued on an HD camera. This is so helpful! My previous experience was almost all still photography - and now I understand more about the unique challenges presented by TV and film.

In the second week, we focussed on hair, from an introduction to blow drying to applying wigs and facial hair. I've had very little experience with hair - it seems to be one of those skills you have to work on .. I think I'm going to have to practice and I'm sure my family and friends won't mind a bit!

The facial hair class is hilarious! In the end all us women look like we're in a circus freak show. Funny as it was, the skills involved were very important .. Liz (Tagg) explained that we will often be asked to fit stock wigs and hair pieces that are not fitted to the actors, and we'll have no choice but to make them work. So if we can put a beard on a woman I guess we are doing ok! After handling wigs and hair pieces for the first time, and seeing how delicate and complex they are, I am really looking forward to knotting (making moustaches) too ..

So far the hardest part of the course has been the injury work. I think for me it's hard because make up and hair has always been about creating symmetry, so it's a case of going against what I would normally aim to achieve while still being very precise and creating something spontaneous-looking!

It soon became apparent when I started this course that even after decades in the industry the enthusiasm doesn't seem to wear off! It's been greating meeting all the tutors and hearing their stories, how hard they've worked and how much fun they've had. I've heard one tutor, Renata Gilbert, quoting Confucious, "choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life". I'm beginning to know what he meant ..

The TV, Film and Theatre students really stormed it in their final week .. the director David Tucker gave some great feedback on their filming, particularly commenting on the standard of their hair and make-up work. Their evening 'treat' afterwards was a wonderful masterclass at Illamasqua using their latest products - cream, powder, pencils and liquid eyeliner. Student Alice modelled the look and wore it out that evening:

Also in their final week, BAFTA winner (and nominee again, this year) Catherine Scoble came to talk to the students about her career and how she broke into the industry. We were so lucky to get her! She gave the students lots of advice, emphasising how hard she worked to break into the industry after finishing her course at Greasepaint .. she's an amazing person.

Meanwhile we've had some great news of recent students - both Catherine Burton and Charlie Mileham have got trainee positions, one on a TV series, the other on a big new feature film. And on the agency, we've been working with Toni & Guy on a hair show - great experience for our Fashion students.

And talking of fashions .. are we mad as a hatter, or has Alice in Wonderland suddenly got popular? We always notice big trends in student films - one year it's zombies, the next dead bodies. But now it's theatre. We're placing students on two different productions of Alice in Wonderland running at the same time - one in West London and one in Blackheath .. curiouser and curiouser ..

Student Charli George was assigned actor Trevor Cooper for a scene from Bramwell. "It was great having the chance to work with such a professional actor about his experiences of make-up artists .. I was really happy with the make-up I did, it looked fine to the eye, but then when I saw him on the monitor under lights, I realised how the make-up changes and saw I hadn't powdered well enough. It was a bit nerve-wracking when the director called 'checks' and you go in and you know everyone's waiting for you before they can do the next take .."

We've just found out that two of the four nominees for this year's TV BAFTAs trained with us .. former winner Catherine Scoble's been nominated for This is England '88 and Emma Scott for Birdsong. Good luck to both of them!

We had a visit from another former student Queen Breban the other day. She was a fashion student here four years ago, and has just launched her range 'New Eve' which includes brushes, lashes, eyeshadows and eyeliners. We loved some of the colours and she left us some rather nice samples to try ..

Meanwhile here, TV & Film students are into their final couple of weeks - they're busy preparing for their filming next week with TV director David Tucker and a group of professional actors.

Once that's over, something more leisurely's in store .. a visit to the pro make-up shop PAM in Shepherd's Bush. The owners (make-up designers Kate Benton and Jan Sewell) are both working on filming projects, so we're delighted that make-up designer Viv Riley's (of Waking the Dead) has agreed to accompany them on their visit, and - while they're there - talk to them about her idea of a 'perfect make-up & hair trainee'.

Finally .. make-up for 3D. We had a crew filming a model here this morning and talking about how the demands of 3D are going to change make-up - how shading for example often doesn't work in 3D. Fascinating stuff, and an important new consideration for the make-up artists of the future!

Some TV & Film students are doing work experience on the film of Les Miserables, filming at Pinewood at the moment. What a great opportunity - and a test of who can hack those 4.30am starts!

Top Model UK was a huge success last month - with the students learning lots from the show's make-up designers (their tutor Christine Vidler and award-winning designer Chrissie Baker). Alternative Fashion Week coming up soon at Spitalfields, where the students get to do more of their own designing - they'll also get some great photos if past years are anything to go by.

Meanwhile we're opening our doors to potential students during our final week on 26 April .. it'll be a sort of mini-Open Day and a great career taster .. so book your place to come and see us in action!

We've been busy preparing, packing boxloads of make-up, mood boards, t-shirts, hair stuff into cars, checking deliveries from MAC etc and decamping to the HIlton for a weekend of frantic activity. We should soon have some pictures of the artists working on their models backstage (the make-up artists even get a chance to parade on the catwalk on the final day). Good luck to everyone involved, especially the contestants!

PERFORM describes itself as 'the show for anyone working, teaching or looking for a future in acting, singing, performing arts, stage management and technical theatre'. Jane is an airbrushing tutor at Greasepaint, and does a wide range of TV, film and commercial work. She was make-up designer for BBC series including My Family and The Music Room, and worked as a prosthetic make-up artist on Brad Pitt's recent project, WWZ. See you there!

Defaf's delighted - and so are we. Congratulations!

The International Make-up Artist Trade Show at Alexandra Palance in North London was well worth battling the weekend weather for! Prosthetic designers Neill Gorton and Nick Dudman both appeared on Saturday, with Nick recreating work for Harry Potter on the actor Warwick Davies. Another highlight was Lois Burwell, War Horse designer. Meanwhile our former student Alicia Davies recreated her award-winning bodypainting design for PAM and another former student Amanda Turner took the stage to talk about her successful career in theatre. Our tutor Shaunna Harrison was demonstrating the application of bald caps and another tutor Jane Maier did a presentation about airbrushing techniques (sorry for the poor photo quality - awaiting another - this one doesn't quite show just how beautiful the application was!) ....

A few days on, and back at the studio the snow's disappeared from the courtyard .. the Fashion students are busy creating looks for their final photographs, and Max Campbell is entertaining our TV & Film course with tales of his work on the BBC's Holby City and the feature film Wolfman. You can just see the 'edible' arm he created in the bottom left of the frame ... yum!