It’s a fair guess that Lucy Maria Mortlock loves makeup. One quick glance at her blog, “Lucy Loves”, testifies so … and, oh my, her bedroom is an altar to the worship of. Wall to wall.
Not because she is obsessed, mind – rather cosmetic companies from around the globe are sending Lucy makeup to review. We’re not talking about matronly brands known to some of a certain age but emerging labels catering to a newer, fresher, savvier market. OK. Younger.t’s a fair guess that Lucy Maria Mortlock loves makeup. One quick glance at her blog, “Lucy Loves”, testifies so … and, oh my, her bedroom is an altar to the worship of. Wall to wall.
So howsy, whatsy, whosy? How does a girl from Raglan jettison herself on to the world stage – without having left her bedroom, that is.
Lucy has always been different. The ailment long suffered by teenagers, ‘awkward otherness’, never bothered her. “I didn’t care,” she says, “I revelled in the role of outcast.”
After finishing school in Raglan, Lucy trained to be a hairdresser at Waikato School of Hairdressing. A time she reminisces as “the best in her life”. “Well it was new, exciting – the tutors were AMAZING, they obviously all loved what they were doing.”
It is evident that this was true for Lucy, too, as her face lights up. “I suppose it’s a whole different dynamic from secondary school, whereby you have chosen your craft. You want to be there, you are passionate about learning.”
While training, Lucy finished her apprenticeship at Essence Hair in Raglan under the guidance of Shannon Leuthart. “It was a good mix, Shannon stylish and understated, me, wacky … just a little bit tacky, and Gemma, totally out the gate. Anyhow it worked, we were a team.”
So which was your first love, makeup or hair? “Well Mum always cut my hair and she rocked it stylistically so everyone would ask where I got it cut.
“I’d never been inside a salon, so the first time I got my hair cut professionally, I was transported.”
“I just loved the experience, the glamour. The smell even.”
However, the Jennifer Anniston chop was not for our Lucy. Realising a natural gift, Lucy started cutting her own flaming red hair.
So how the segue into makeup then?
“Well my shoulder started giving me grief and it made cutting really, really painful. I love to create, but I don’t love to pain.”
Sooo, what to do, what to do. Lucy wanted to remain creative. Having always experimented with it, makeup seemed a natural progression. “Yeah makeup, art on a human canvas.”
We are talking hair and makeup, yet what has truly set Lucy apart is creativity of an altogether different kind. Embracing social media, photography and marketing, self-taught Lucy has created a blog and instagram account simply named Lucy Loves. As a one-woman makeup guru, Lucy has generated quite the hype – so much so that various international cosmetic companies are calling home.
Armed solely with her beloved Canon camera bought by her mum, some cheapish lighting and a little self-belief, she is making an impression in the notoriously competitive cosmetic world.
What makes her stand out? It has never been in Lucy’s nature to blend into the crowd so neither, she feels, should her followers. “Right?”
Who is your muse, though, Lucy? “Well … myself.
“I want to show others it’s OK to look different and be experimental … with a few trusty tips and some confidence, you can create a look that is true to you.”
Yet, surprisingly, it is not fame, glamour or fortune she seeks. Lucy’s dream is to teach, just like her admired tutors from Waikato School of Hairdressing.
Taihoa! Not quite yet, though. Lucy with her partner Mason Marshall plan to leave on their OE sometime soon. One wonders what the fates will conspire and in which far-away corner of the world she will land. London, Milan … Paris, perhaps?
“No, I will always live here. Raglan is home.”
True to the walking contradiction (her words) that she is, this girl with kaleidoscope eyes wants a conventional life. She plans to get married.
“Yeh and have kids, definitely kids … nappies and tantrums.”
Brenda Rae Kidd
Check out Lucy’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucymaria_x/
Check out Lucy’s blog: http://lucymaria-x.blogspot.co.nz/
