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- [00:00]
Val Garland
Foreign.
- [00:06]
Carole Walton
Hello, I'm Carole Woolton. Welcome to if Jules Could Talk. And today I'm thrilled to be here with the legendary makeup artist Val Garland. She's an artist in the true sense of the world, always incorporating unexpected materials and colour in her work. She originally trained as a hair colourist when. Which led her to makeup and creating Runway looks for Alexander McQueen, high profile celebrity shoots and fashion spreads for Vogue. In 2004, she received the Pantene Pro V Makeup Artist of the year award. In 2017, she was named as the first L' Oreal Paris global makeup director. And she's a judge on BBC TV's series Glow up, which is a competition to find Britain's next makeup star. And she's come here today to tell us about a jewellery collaboration with the costume jeweler Vicky Sarge. So we wanted to know how you got started originally in makeup.
- [01:11]
Val Garland
Well, I was already doing some makeup in Australia because in Australia you have to. You have to do hair and makeup. It's just the way it is. And it's very funny because I was about to get divorced. I'd been married for 14 years and I had this, like.
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Carole Walton
So you must have got married young?
- [01:32]
Val Garland
Oh, gosh, yes. Yeah, I think I was about 18. Yeah, yeah. He was drummer in a band. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
- [01:37]
Carole Walton
Very handsome at the time.
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Val Garland
Yeah. And. And we ran off to Australia. Anyway, so I decided that I was getting divorced. I was going to sell my salon in Sydney and. But at that time I was also doing freelance work as a hair and makeup artist, working on magazine shoots, music promos. I used to work with Kylie in Excess and there I used to work for this magazine which was called Follow Me and it was kind of like this really big. It was the fashion magazine of Australia. And the assistant to the stylist was a friend of mine and she was called Naomi Watts. And I threw this big party to say, like, I've sold the salon, I've divorced the husband, I'm going to England, I'll never do hair again. And I was talking to her at the party about it and she said, well, that's interesting, because I don't want to be a stylist, I'm going to go to la. I want to study to be an actress. Okay, go forward about 15 years. And my agent in London says to me, this job has come in and it's, you know, will you do this press junket with this actress? And she's like, do you know who she is? And I'm like, well, what's her name? And she said, it's Naomi Watts. And I was like, oh, my gosh, it's my old mucker. So off I go to the Covent Garden Hotel, me and Sam McKnight together, and. And Naomi opens the door and I say, g' day, mate. And she says, g' day, mate. And that was it. You know, she'd fulfilled her dream. She'd gone to LA and, you know, became this incredible artist, this incredible talent, and. Yeah.
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Carole Walton
And so did you.
- [03:32]
Val Garland
Well, we. But we both followed our dreams. And it was brilliant. It was brilliant.
- [03:36]
Carole Walton
I sort of think in your career, you've spent years choosing the right colours to make women's faces pop.
- [03:45]
Val Garland
Yes. And, well, color is everything. And, you know, if you're wearing the wrong color on your face, then you're just not going to bloom. And I think it's the same. You know, I associate that with jewelry as well. It's like, you know, silver looks good on some people, but not on others. You know, I'm very much a gold girl with a hint of silver because I like the warmth. I think I look. My skin looks better with warmth.
- [04:17]
Carole Walton
So you'd think jewellery and makeup, say a bright red lipstick or a ruby earring that has the same effect.
- [04:27]
Val Garland
Absolutely, because I think of makeup as an accessory and a dormant. So is jewellery. You know, makeup, a red lip can change, accentuate, elevate a look. And so can jewelry.
- [04:43]
Carole Walton
And I know you like jewelry because I did a shoot with you many years ago for British Vogue. Do you remember? We have. Ducky thought Ducky was the model and Nick Knight shot it, Sam did the hair, and I was just writing a book about crystals, and you bought out of your pocket a little packet rattling away with different crystals. Rose quartz, amethyst.
- [05:09]
Val Garland
Yes.
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Carole Walton
And you said you always carry them.
- [05:11]
Val Garland
I've got them with me today.
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Carole Walton
Have you?
- [05:13]
Val Garland
But they're probably different ones. But. No, I've got them with me today. Yeah, yeah. Anything that makes you feel good, you know, that sort of lifts your day, I think, is worth it. And, you know, those sort of, like, little crystals are like my guardian angels. It's like, okay, I've got protection, you know, it's going. Yeah, it's just one of those little things.
- [05:35]
Carole Walton
You choose different ones for different days.
- [05:38]
Val Garland
Yes, yes. And. But I've got with me today, I've got my sort of, like my favorites, which is. I think there's, like an angel stone, there's a moonstone, and we're sort of like in a strawberry moon at the Moment or today is the strawberry moon day. And I've also got the little Greek. To ward off the evil eye.
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Carole Walton
A Greek stone.
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Val Garland
It's a. Well, no, it's like. It's a Greek symbol and it's. Is it the eye of.
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Carole Walton
It's not eye of Horus is Egyptian.
- [06:10]
Val Garland
Yes, it is Egyptian. I have that on another necklace. I've got this necklace. I should wore it with me. I've got this necklace that is. It's a charm necklace, and I've been making it for years. And, you know, I've got all sorts of, like, symbols on there that I feel are part of me and make me feel good. Yeah.
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Carole Walton
I also remember you told me that day, you said, it's very calming to have it. And you said that actually when you suddenly meet people for the first time, like some of these supermodels or actresses, and you said you have to really invade their personal space to go up and start fiddling with their face and putting things on it. And you said that you really have to get people's confidence.
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Val Garland
Yes.
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Carole Walton
And approach them in a very specific way, you know.
- [06:59]
Val Garland
Absolutely. And I mean, I do that. I start very simply by when I'm talking to someone or I'm about to do their makeup, my hand is resting on their shoulder, so that I feel like that is. We are now beginning the connection. I've already. I mean, I sound like an absolute idiot, but, you know, I've already sort of, like, sprayed the brushes and the area with some sort of, like, lavender calming, you know, and I've got my stones in my pocket. And. Yeah. You know, you have to gain someone's trust for them to allow you to go right in. I think it's very important. And it was funny. I was doing a big shoot the last week with Solver Sunsbow, and we had lots of talent on the shoot. And one of the talents we had before was sort of like a pop star and was really kind of like, into sort of, like, hip hop. And, like, the music was sort of, like, pumping in the makeup room. And I saw our next talent come in. I could see that she was already uneasy. And so I went into the makeup room and I'm like, change the music. We need classical. We need classical now. Everybody needs to leave the room. I want to be the only person in the room because, you know, I will have, like, two assistants. Hair will have two assistants. There'll be a manicurist as well. Too many people, you know, I need to gain this woman's trust. And then we can go on, which.
- [08:34]
Carole Walton
Is a hard thing to do because on a big shoot like that, and, you know, doing the British Vogue shoots, where you've got tons of people and assistants and you. You have to be fast. That day we had to do six pages.
- [08:47]
Val Garland
Yes.
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Carole Walton
You have to do it really fast. So to take time to do that is. You've got to be very skilled at it.
- [08:55]
Val Garland
Yeah, I think so. And you've got to, you know, you've got to know where you can take the time, you know, Again, on the same shoot, we had another talent who was quite particular about her rituals. And, like, I can do makeup very, very quickly, but I knew that I was going to have to spend the time in the makeup room for this person to de stress. They just got off a flight to de stress. They weren't going to be wearing an awful lot of clothes. And it was a huge, big shoot. So I thought, I'm going to have to take time with the makeup. And I could see producers and the photographer coming in going, like, so how are we going? And I'm like, we're not quite there yet, but we'll be ready for you. And we're going to get this shot really, really quickly, which we did.
- [09:40]
Carole Walton
I remember some stressful days in the studio. I remember one day, I can't remember what we were shooting, but again, six pages one day. And the photographer decided that we needed hair extensions on this particular model.
- [09:55]
Val Garland
Right.
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Carole Walton
And the hair extensions took until 3:00pm yes. And I knew the jewelry, they were going to clamor the security guards and say, at 4 o' clock, we've got to go.
- [10:05]
Val Garland
Yeah.
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Carole Walton
And it was like, oh, my God, let's dump their extensions.
- [10:10]
Val Garland
I know. I mean, there's just. So there's more to it. Everything's riding on getting that moment right.
- [10:16]
Carole Walton
And you never know what you're going to go back with. And actually, it's a leap of faith for the editor because you say, here's the idea, this is what we think we're going to do, but you never know.
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Val Garland
No, it's true.
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Carole Walton
The day kind of evolves.
- [10:28]
Val Garland
Yes.
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Carole Walton
And it is a leap of faith, really, in everyone collaborating.
- [10:33]
Val Garland
Absolutely. Yeah.
- [10:35]
Carole Walton
But you never, you. For all your success, Val, of being one of, if not the most recognized makeup artists in the industry, you didn't set out to do it, did you?
- [10:49]
Val Garland
Well, I started out. I started out as a hairdresser and. And was quite happy being a hairdresser, but I used to wear a lot of makeup. And, you know, people would often say to Me, oh, you should do makeup. And I thought working in the fashion business with all those divas, no, no, I don't want to do that. I don't put myself under that kind of pressure. But somehow or other it just happened. But I think I was very fortunate to work with some unsolved, still do work with incredible people. And I think you'll find that when you find your people, hopefully they're all really nice. You know, I mean, people I work with, like, you know, like Sam McKnight, Nick Knight, Solver Sunsbow, and a whole host of other people. They're great at their job, and we're all in it together because the end goal is getting the result, getting that shot.
- [11:56]
Carole Walton
But you said it happened. How did it happen? You were in Australia.
- [12:00]
Val Garland
I was in Australia.
- [12:01]
Carole Walton
And you were doing hair.
- [12:03]
Val Garland
I was doing hair in Australia. And it was funny. I was on my way back from a funeral. It was the 80s, and so, you know, there was. There was lots of funerals with the. With the boys. And a friend of mine who was a makeup artist, he said, oh, he'd give me a lift back to the city. And he said, you know what? I'm going to stop doing makeup. I want to be a photographer. And I was already interested in makeup. And I said, well, I'd like to have a go at makeup. And he said, well, you know, let's test together. I'll do the pictures and you can do the makeup. And that's kind of how it started. And then when I came to England, I didn't know which way I was going to go because I was already very established at hair. So one day I would be doing hair on a job with, say, you know, a lead makeup artist like, say, Lisa Butler. And then the next day I'd be doing makeup and Eugene Suleman would be doing the hair. But just gradually, the hair sort of fell away and the makeup took over, and I kind of grew up through the ranks with the likes of Eugene Suleman and Katie England, you know, and through. Through Katie, I met Leigh McQueen and Nick Knight. I was already working a little bit with Nick Knight, and so it just sort of, like, took off.
- [13:26]
Carole Walton
And for Lee McQueen, you did some incredible iconic looks.
- [13:30]
Val Garland
Yeah, yeah, it was fantastic, you know, because what I love or what I loved about Lee was like, you know, he was a boundary breaker. And, you know, he, you know. Yeah, he wanted to take you to the nth degree. I mean, there. There have been times when I was working with him when, you know, the makeup was set, the Hair was set, styling, everything, you know, because we developed it like a month before. And then the show. Show call time would be like, 7 o' clock in the morning. And at 1 o' clock in the morning of the actual show day, I'd get a phone call, you need to come to the studio now, because we want to look at the makeup. So that means I've got to do the makeup again at one o' clock in the morning. We want to look at it under the lights to see if we like it. And there was one particular time, this was a Givenchy show in Paris. And Lee was like, no, I don't like it. I don't like it. You need to change it. So. Which is fine. But I then had to, on the morning of the show, sort of show, my sort of like 30 makeup artists that, no, we're not doing the blue kind of like, Blade Runner eye. We're going somewhere else. And this is what it is, you know, so. But I quite like that, taking it to the Wire, you know, because I.
- [14:42]
Carole Walton
Suppose for him, it was all about telling a story. Absolutely. So it's not just a normal makeup situation. You are creating a sort of artistic artwork.
- [14:53]
Val Garland
Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah. It's all about the story that he's telling. And you find that with every great artist, designer, photographer, you know, take someone like, say, Tim Walker, you know, it's a story from start to finish, and I love that. And it's like, you know, when I work with Kate, Kate Moss, you know, she'll be sort of like, so who am I? Who am I today? You know, how am I supposed to be? What are my emotions? You know? You know, is it a liner? You know, is it just a lip? And I like that. I love creating characters.
- [15:28]
Carole Walton
And in creating characters, you've often used crystals, haven't you? You've put things on people's faces.
- [15:35]
Val Garland
Yes.
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Carole Walton
And so then the jewelry comes into it.
- [15:38]
Val Garland
Yes, absolutely. I mean, I. You know, I think, you know, we have to thank programs like Euphoria for that, you know, but long before that, I can remember the very first fash rocks that ever happened at the Albert Hall. At the Albert hall, and everybody and anybody was there. I think I had, like, 160 models, 78 makeup artists, and we were all in these little tiny rooms, sort of like, you know, caverns in the basement, and Eugene Suleiman's doing the hair, and it's hell. It's hell because, you know, you've got to be in this room and that room and that room and that room and make sure everybody's, you know, doing what they're supposed to be doing. And halfway through, Lee McQueen walks in with Bjork, and he's like, all right, Val. I'm like, oh, hi, Lee. And he's like, yeah, I've got Bjork here. You know, I want you to cover her face in crystals, like a skull crystal. I've got Swarovski crystals here. And I'm thinking it's an hour before the show. And he's like, yeah, cover in the crystals. And I was like, okay. Okay. And so we did it, you know. And that particular look that Bjork wore.
- [16:53]
Carole Walton
How did you keep them on?
- [16:54]
Val Garland
Eyelash glue.
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Carole Walton
Eyelash glue.
- [16:56]
Val Garland
Just eyelash glue.
- [16:57]
Carole Walton
And there's a tip for people at home.
- [17:00]
Val Garland
Yes. And many years later, I had to recreate that mask that I did on Bjork because it was going to be exhibited at the Momo Museum in York. Yeah.
- [17:13]
Carole Walton
Wow. What's the. The biggest project that you've done, do you think? Would it be something like Fashion Rocks?
- [17:20]
Val Garland
That was. That was a pretty big one.
- [17:22]
Carole Walton
Also, the egos, because they were. They were matching up designers with musicians. So you have Brown Ferry and Tom Ford or.
- [17:31]
Val Garland
Yes.
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Carole Walton
And so I think the ego situation there must have been.
- [17:35]
Val Garland
Yes. I mean, I think that was the first time I saw Beyonce live, you know. Yes. It was just absolutely. It was a military operation. You know, I had 18 teams, because there was, like, 18 sections. I had 18 teams, and there were, like, six makeup artists in each team. And I sort of said, right, okay, you're head of this team. This is your look. You have to make sure that the other five artists do that for that section. And that's how we did it. But it was great. I loved it. I loved it. But then, you know, later on, I mean, that set me in good stead for, you know, working at the Cannes Film Festival and also working with l' Oreal Paris, where they do this massive show in September, October, with lots of lead actresses and models. And, you know, it's the same thing again. It's a lot of different people coming together, and you've got publicists, and I need to look like this, and they want you to look like that. And.
- [18:41]
Carole Walton
Yeah, so you have to take your crystals on those days.
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Val Garland
Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Weave a magic wand. But it all works in the end, so that's good.
- [18:49]
Carole Walton
And so with Lee coming in to say, this is what I want, I imagine in most situations, you are coming up with the ideas.
- [18:57]
Val Garland
Well, I think for Someone. Well, with any designer, it's collaborative, you know, it can't just be. This is the makeup idea. The makeup has to go with the hair, has to go with the, you know, the styling, whatever the vision is, whoever the woman is or the character for that moment.
- [19:18]
Carole Walton
And now you have your own. You're part of the judging team on glow up. Yes. BBC.
- [19:25]
Val Garland
BBC. BBC3 on iPlayer.
- [19:27]
Carole Walton
Yeah, yeah. And on that, you have this sort of. You've got this sort of little phrase that's become nationwide.
- [19:37]
Val Garland
I know.
- [19:38]
Carole Walton
Ding dong.
- [19:39]
Val Garland
I know. I never thought that that would happen. All that, that. That particular phrase that harks back to me working backstage at a show. And I always want to get the best out of my makeup artists. So I was never that sort of makeup artist that would go like, no. Can you do that again? Like, no, I don't like it. If I didn't like it, I'd be like, it's nice, but you need to bring the magic. So to help my team bring the magic, you know, if I saw one of my artists doing a great makeup, I'd be like, ding dong. Dolly chops. That's amazing. Now everybody else's has got to be better than Jane's. And so that's where it started. So people that know me in the business know that I've always said that. So, you know, we're doing the show.
- [20:29]
Carole Walton
So you're trying to find Britain's next big makeup artist star.
- [20:33]
Val Garland
Yes. And although it's a TV program, to me, I just sort. Because I have no TV training, no sort of like, you know, media training or anything like that. So I'm approaching it, like, I'm backstage at the shows and I'm talking to fashion beauty experts and things like that. And, you know, when the artists, the mua, sort of, like, bring up their makeup, I behaved exactly the way I do backstage. I'd be like, do ding dong. That's amazing. And then all of a sudden, it's become this catchphrase which, you know, it's a little bit cringey, but, you know, it's just so stuck. It just starts.
- [21:15]
Carole Walton
Do people come up to you in the street and say, ding dong?
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Val Garland
Yes, they do. And I was on a. I was on a bus with Charlotte Tilbury, and we were sort of going down the mall for, you know, the. What was it? What was it?
- [21:28]
Carole Walton
Was it the Jubilee?
- [21:29]
Val Garland
It was the Jubilee. The Queen's Jubilee. And I'm going down and we're sort of like, look, it's open to topped. We're Looking out and I sort, I see this little 8 year old girl and she's crying and she's like, daddy, Daddy, it's the Ding Dong lady. And I was like, oh my gosh, Ding Dong lady. Because that's what's so nice. Well, another funny thing happened the other day, but I was going to say what's so great about Glow up is that, you know, so many people get invested in it from like, you know, eight year old children to sort of like my boyfriend's best friend who is kind of like in his 60s and my is a detective. And he sort of said, I can't go past a poster now without going like, are those eyebrows symmetrical? You know, it's very funny and the. But the other day I was in Westfields and I went into this shop, I was shooting something with the lovely Nadine Baggott. And I went into this clothes shop afterwards and this young lady came up to me and said, I recognize you. And I was like, do you? And she was like, yeah. She said, you know, you kind of look like the lady who does the fashion on Lady Gaga. And I said, really? She's like, yeah. And I sort of said, oh. I said, yeah, that's me. And she's like, don't be so silly. I only said you look like her. I thought that was hilarious.
- [22:57]
Carole Walton
Okay, that's so funny.
- [23:00]
Val Garland
I started working with Nick Knight with Lady Gaga, and at the time I started working with her, she used to wear like kind of like four sets of eyelashes. She had these sort of like very strong sort of like eyebrows. And we started working together and I was doing her makeup and one day, her fashion director at the time, Nicola Formichetti, he met me in Milan because we were doing the shows, me and Sam, and, and we were doing something for Lady Gaga. And he said, look, we need to create something new. How can we change the way Gaga looks? And I said, well, you know, I think I'd like to bleach her eyebrows. I'd like to lose all the fake eyelashes, you know, get her really sort of like raw and punk and very sort of like pure but music based. So. Oh. I said, why don't we give her prosthetics? And everybody was going like, what do you mean prosthetics, aesthetics. I said, well, let's accentuate her cheeks. Like pull them out so that she looks a bit more alien. Like that was that Nicola took a photograph with his phone and what I did was I made two little paper airplanes and stuck them to Lady Gaga's face and said, look. It would look something like that. It was very raw. He took a picture and went away. Three months later, we are on the shoot for the Born this Way album cover, and in walks a prosthetics technician and says, Ms. Garland, here are the prosthetics that you have designed for Lady Gaga. And I was like, I never thought that was going to happen, you know? So then I started working with her, and one of my favorite looks, which I did with Gaga, was for a music video. It's called Alejandro, and I did it with Stephen Klein. And it was that moment where, for me, it felt like music and fashion and beauty really came together. It felt like a really iconic moment because her makeup was very pure. It was all about the skin. Yes. She had very pale blonde eyebrows and a matte red lip, and it just felt like this is the moment. Yeah. So I was very proud of that.
- [25:27]
Carole Walton
Video and to create something for her in particular, who changes her look and style all the time.
- [25:33]
Val Garland
Yes. I mean, yes. It sort of what it did was it changed makeup artists and, to a certain degree, fashion sort of people into, like, there's more to makeup than just makeup. You know, like, prosthetics hadn't really been used in, like, fashion before or beauty. And then after that, you know, you were sort of, like, seeing, like, prosthetics coming through on, like, say, a Burberry catwalk. You know, what we were doing was like saying, makeup is bigger, it's wider, it's huger. You know, it can help. It can change the way you look. You know, it can create a character. Like when you see, like, programs like Euphoria, which is, like, old now, but, you know, and that's what's great about Glow Up. Glow up has opened the world's eyes to. It's more than just a bit of lippy, you know, it's more than makeup can. Makeup. You can take it seriously now. It is a profession. You know, you can go into film, you can go into special effects. There are so many different areas and genres of makeup that can be your career, and it's very exciting.
- [26:56]
Carole Walton
Yeah. So it must be quite intimidating when you do people like that. Is it. Do you get intimidated ever?
- [27:02]
Val Garland
Only if they're not nice, you know.
- [27:05]
Carole Walton
Well, you must make your fair share of that.
- [27:08]
Val Garland
Well, the most important, if somebody's being a little bit kind of like, holding back, that's my job to find them. I've got to find the connection so that they feel good, so that they. I was saying this the other day. To FK Twigs, I was like, you know, like for me, especially when I do someone for the first time, they're always a little bit nervous because they haven't worked with me before. You know, maybe they think I'm going to do something outlandish or whatever. You know, I have to get that person to give me their face. And that's what's so great about Kate Moss is, you know, when I'm working with her on like an editorial, she will come in and because it's an editorial and we're creating something, we did something a while back and she just sat there and she gave me her face. She was still. Because she knew that if she's still, I can create, Sam can create and it's going to look much better.
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Carole Walton
Well, she's pretty practiced at it, isn't she? And also as a model, it kind of is your job. Yeah, I suppose it is an actress's role as well, too.
- [28:24]
Val Garland
Yes, yes, yes. But as a model, you probably are more inclined to go with the flow. Whereas when you're a personality, you want.
- [28:38]
Carole Walton
To look your best, you want to.
- [28:39]
Val Garland
Look like yourself and. No, I don't look good in that. I need to know. I'm. It was funny. I was working with. Many years ago, I was working with Keira Knightley and we were doing something for W magazine with Stephen Klein. So she sat in my chair and, you know, Stephen Klein can be quite outrageous, very sort of progressive. And she said, val, you can do whatever you like to me, but you are not bleaching my eyebrows. And I was like, okay, I get it, I get it. Yeah.
- [29:10]
Carole Walton
So you set to work.
- [29:11]
Val Garland
I set to work. It was fine.
- [29:13]
Carole Walton
Yeah. And so from enhancing women and using color to do that, you've now started a new collaboration with Vicky Sarge.
- [29:23]
Val Garland
Yes.
- [29:24]
Carole Walton
Who is a legendary costume designer who used to do all the shows in New York, didn't she? And London, if anybody needed costume jewelry, they went to Vicky. And now she's in Kensington Church street in London, still going. And asked you to design a new collection.
- [29:43]
Val Garland
Yes, yes. Well, the thing for me is that I first came across Vicki through working with Leigh McQueen. And so, you know, the jewelry was always spectacular. And I thought, well, that's very interesting because when you think about the sort of 80s 90s. Yeah, 80s and 90s high end jewelry was pretty boring. You know, you had to look to vintage pieces, but, you know, everything was quite mainstream. And what I loved about Vicki was she was going out on an eg and she also had humour in her Work. I then started noticing Vicki's jewellery more when I worked with Lucinda Chambers, who has an incredible eye for jewellery.
- [30:39]
Carole Walton
This is Lucinda Chambers of British Vogue, who I worked with for many years.
- [30:43]
Val Garland
I mean, her jewelry, her eyes for jewellery, her mind for jewellery is formidable. The thing about sort of like Lucinda, Vivienne Westwood, myself, we're all sort of quite similar in that we were a bit. We're like magpies. And that's what I like about Vicki Sarge as well. We're like magpies. It's like you go into the wardrobe and whatever sticks, that's what you're going to wear today. But I remember going in for a fitting at Vivienne Westwoods, and I had bought these Greek slippers, like granny slippers in Greece. And I had them and I would wear them from time to time. And I quite like a leg warmer, and I quite like a little arm warmer that goes over, you know, your thumb. And I walked into this fitting and I was like, vivian is wearing my slippers. She's also wearing this arm leg warmer thing. And I was like, yes, I'm okay, you know, and. But yeah, and Lucinda and I would often, you know, we liked the same designers or we might buy the same things. So that's. Again, I was ignited by Vicky Sarge's jewelry. And then when it came to doing the show, glow up. I love jewelry. You know, back in the 80s, when I was a hairdresser, you know, I would wear like a jumble sale. It would be kind of like loads of vintage keys that I just sort of like.
- [32:19]
Carole Walton
Were you a bit punk?
- [32:20]
Val Garland
Oh, yes, yes. And new romantic. And I'd sort of like put all these keys over my Westwood outfit. Or, you know, there'd be kind of like six watches going up my arm. So when it came to doing the show, my stylist at that time, Karl Pluker, he. I said, look, I love jewellery. You know, I love jewellery. I like a big chunky necklace. I don't like looking at my hands, so I quite like a big ring so that it takes away. I've got arthritis and my hands are quite swollen, so anything big and chunky works on me.
- [32:54]
Carole Walton
Can you do people's faces wearing big wings?
- [32:57]
Val Garland
No, no.
- [32:58]
Carole Walton
You take them off when you.
- [32:59]
Val Garland
No. And for me, it's not hygienic, you know, it has to be hygienic. And you don't want somebody coming at you with loads of armor and, you know, the metal touching your face if you're doing lovely massage. No. So in the Beginning. Karl got me fabulous jewelry, very high end, expensive jewelry. And. But it was tiny and you couldn't sort of see it on the show. And I was like, that doesn't work. And so he took me into Vicky Sarge's and I was like, oh, I really like that because, you know, there's a bit of a baby's arm there, and when there's a feather. Oh, look. And there's like a little colored ball. And I thought, well, that appeals to the magpie in me and the sort of, like, eccentric kitchen sink. So Vicky Sarge became the jewellery designer that I knew I was going to wear on the show all the way through.
- [33:54]
Carole Walton
And you have.
- [33:55]
Val Garland
And I have.
- [33:55]
Carole Walton
And so then she went one stage further and said, how about you design something?
- [34:00]
Val Garland
Yes, yes.
- [34:01]
Carole Walton
And you have. And it launches this week.
- [34:03]
Val Garland
It launches. It launches, yes, this week. Tomorrow night. Yeah.
- [34:06]
Carole Walton
Which is so exciting.
- [34:07]
Val Garland
Yeah. No, I'm.
- [34:08]
Carole Walton
And are you really pleased?
- [34:10]
Val Garland
I'm really pleased because it's. It's. What's the word? It's like. It's bling.
- [34:20]
Carole Walton
And what was the inspiration?
- [34:21]
Val Garland
Well, the inspiration we wanted to take elements of myself, of my. Of what I like, my past, what's important to me. You know, there are.
- [34:33]
Carole Walton
So this necklace, for instance.
- [34:36]
Val Garland
This necklace.
- [34:38]
Carole Walton
Is that you?
- [34:39]
Val Garland
Well, I'd say that's one of the.
- [34:41]
Carole Walton
Big lips, big red lips.
- [34:42]
Val Garland
That's. And that's, if you know me, you know the story behind the big red lips. It's like, this is what I call one of my dolls, because when I first started out in makeup in Sydney, Australia, my salon, my hairdressing salon was right next door to the biggest drag queen establishment in Sydney, which was called the Albury Hotel. And so I would go and look at how all the drag queen and trans people were sort of like, doing their makeup and sometimes they do my makeup. And it was always very big. And so, yeah, so this is like, you know, celebrating the dolls.
- [35:25]
Carole Walton
You've also got some little scissors here.
- [35:27]
Val Garland
Is that the hairdresser? That's the hairdresser. We've got the magnifying glass. And that first started with. That first started with Nick Knight because he would. He used to work with 108 Polaroid film, which is. You see absolutely everything on the skin. So you cannot. You don't. You want to see skin, you don't want to see texture, you don't want to see, like a powdery finish. And with Polaroid 10, 8 Polaroid, you get one chance. It's like, you know, click. That's the shot. If that doesn't work, you've got to take another one. And they're very expensive. So I decided that to make my work more precise, and this is before sort of like digital and retouching, I would get a magnifying glass so that I could make that liner so precise, you know, and that mascara so smooth without a bobble, that lip line, the edge so sharp. So that's how the magnifying glass mask came into play. There's also like, you know, the paintbrush which is there. So that's sweet. And then I think we've got a spider. I love spiders.
- [36:44]
Carole Walton
You've got a spider, you've got a. I love Valium.
- [36:46]
Val Garland
We've got. Now this goes back to Australia and it. It's all about. Often when I was on a shoot, especially if it's like a big shoot and there's lots of models, I just get it done, you know, I. People say that I'm calm and in Australia, they sort of nickname nicknamed me Valium because I was always calm and got the job done. So that's that. What else have we got here?
- [37:14]
Carole Walton
Validated.
- [37:15]
Val Garland
That's validated. Well, it's validated, yes. I brought a book out and it's called Validated and it's. Yeah, it. For me, this all goes back to working backstage at the shows and in the early days, teams, makeup artists, hairdressers backstage, you know, they'd cover up all their work or all their things so that nobody could see what you're using. You know, this is my secret, this is my magic. And this was the beginning of, like, Twitter, Facebook, the beginning of Instagram, that sort of thing. And I thought, you know what? There's enough work for all of us. If I find a product that I think is really good, I'm going to validate it. And I never thought Val a date. I just thought, I'll validate it. Like, you know, this is a great product. And what started happening was beauty editors would go like. Like, we need to look at that product. Val Garland's validated it, you know, and so that just became a thing. And so then when I came to doing, like, a book of my work, I thought, well, what am I going to call it? I'm going to call it Validated and that's it.
- [38:39]
Carole Walton
So this is your. Your life. What is. What's the rubber duck?
- [38:43]
Val Garland
No idea at all. I think that's Vicky. That's. That's the boys. That's the boys.
- [38:48]
Carole Walton
And what's that? That.
- [38:49]
Val Garland
What is that?
- [38:50]
Carole Walton
Is that a little musical note or. There is something musical here, isn't there?
- [38:59]
Val Garland
There is something musical.
- [39:00]
Carole Walton
Rock and rolly.
- [39:02]
Val Garland
I don't know what that is.
- [39:05]
Carole Walton
New romantic.
- [39:07]
Val Garland
Yes. And little dolls. I love toys. I love dolls. I love the dolls. Makeup, an eye pencil, the Catholic vowel. You know, I love a cross. Yeah, it's like magpie bling.
- [39:26]
Carole Walton
Magpie bling. And then you've got lots of, lots of big rings, big brooches.
- [39:31]
Val Garland
Yes. Again, I mean, yes.
- [39:36]
Carole Walton
And this, if anyone's seen the Cartier exhibition, there's a maharaja Patiala huge diamond bib necklace that's a bit like that.
- [39:45]
Val Garland
And I just love that. I think if you're wearing an all black dress or even like a sort of like a black suit and you've got that on, that's saying, yes, I've arrived.
- [39:55]
Carole Walton
It's maharaja bling.
- [39:56]
Val Garland
Yeah, I love that. I love that. That's just, That's a simple thing. That's like validated. Just a little simple. Oh, no, you know what that is, is, that's the exclamation mark.
- [40:10]
Carole Walton
Oh, I see at the end they validated.
- [40:12]
Val Garland
Yeah, yeah.
- [40:13]
Carole Walton
Okay.
- [40:13]
Val Garland
Yeah.
- [40:14]
Carole Walton
And then crystal explanation.
- [40:15]
Val Garland
This is the cross and. But this is the cross as a whistle. Because I always used to wear a whistle backstage. So we.
- [40:24]
Carole Walton
And why did you wear a whistle backstage?
- [40:27]
Val Garland
To draw attention.
- [40:29]
Carole Walton
So instead of ding dong, it was, listen up, folks.
- [40:33]
Val Garland
Possibly. Yeah, or she. Or like I'd walk in in the morning and I'd always, I'd whistle and say. And people were like, oh, gosh, she's here. We better, we better show up.
- [40:43]
Carole Walton
You know, and so this does actually whistle.
- [40:46]
Val Garland
Yes, that's yours.
- [40:49]
Carole Walton
Oh, hold on a minute.
- [40:53]
Val Garland
There you go.
- [40:53]
Carole Walton
That's it.
- [40:54]
Val Garland
Call the Uber. Yes.
- [40:58]
Carole Walton
Jewelry with a function.
- [41:00]
Val Garland
Yes, jewelry. Jewelry with a function. But, you know, I mean, I just, I just like lots of.
- [41:08]
Carole Walton
This is your magpie thing you're talking about.
- [41:10]
Val Garland
Yes. You know, I mean, I, you know, it's. I was around people like Judy blame and, you know, I loved the way he sort of like put lots of different elements together and just made things individual. And that's what I like. And that's what I like about, you know, Vicki's or my art, my collaboration with, you know, Vicki and the boys. It's just it, it feels individual and that sings to me.
- [41:41]
Carole Walton
And I think what's interesting about your interests, the makeup, the jewelry, it's the way people can have their own identity now.
- [41:51]
Val Garland
Yes, yes.
- [41:52]
Carole Walton
And it really is a form of self expression, both. Because everything we Wear is the same.
- [41:57]
Val Garland
Yes. So, you know, I mean, in like, this particular season, I was like, right, I want to wear a lot of brooches. You know, we haven't really been wearing brooches since the 50s, so let's get some brooches going, you know, and, you know, there were times, like, during the show where I might be wearing, like four or five different brooches on a very plain suit. And I just love jewelry.
- [42:18]
Carole Walton
And you get inspired by it. I mean, there are definitive trends in makeup, aren't there?
- [42:22]
Val Garland
Yes.
- [42:23]
Carole Walton
And how often do they change? Are they seasonal all the time?
- [42:26]
Val Garland
Yeah.
- [42:26]
Carole Walton
Or all the time.
- [42:27]
Val Garland
They used to be seasonal, but I think now, you know, it's. It's whatever's happening on TikTok, you know, sadly, but true. And not vogue anymore.
- [42:40]
Carole Walton
It's TikTok.
- [42:41]
Val Garland
You know, there is no. To be honest, there's not really. There's no such. I don't think trends exist anymore. There are kind of, like, moments where things have gone viral, you know, like, back in the day, the trend would be like, okay, so we're all wearing ballet slippers, and we're going to be wearing ballet slippers, you know, for the next two seasons. It's not like that anymore. It's much more instant with social media. It's bish, bash bosh, you know, liners in, liners out, mascaras in, mascara's out, you know. But also, it's a great time to be in fashion and beauty because you can be who you are. It's very individual. It's very inclusive and individualistic. So. So, you know, if you want to wear maximalism, great. If you want to be Jill Sander minimalist, that's okay, too, you know.
- [43:45]
Carole Walton
So what is the color of the moment?
- [43:48]
Val Garland
Well, the colour of the moment, according to Pantene, is coffee Mocha, I think it's called, which is sort of like a pinky, beigey, sort of fawn, but am I gonna hold to that? No, you know, wear what you want. I mean, I arrived today in a bright pink jacket.
- [44:14]
Carole Walton
Yeah. There is a lot of brown around, isn't there?
- [44:16]
Val Garland
Yeah. Which. But, you know, but things go in cycles and like in the sort of, like. Yeah, 1980, it was all brown and cream, molten brown, you know, and everything was, you know, mocha. What will be next? Maybe we'll be power dressing.
- [44:38]
Carole Walton
Do you think so?
- [44:40]
Val Garland
Well, I certainly think there'll be a lot of bright colors. You know, when you think of.
- [44:45]
Carole Walton
We've got to cheer ourselves up as well.
- [44:46]
Val Garland
We've got I mean, with the way the world is, we do have to cheer ourselves up.
- [44:50]
Carole Walton
The same way they used to measure the economy by the length of women's skirts.
- [44:53]
Val Garland
Yes.
- [44:54]
Carole Walton
The amount of makeup and color we need is going to be in direct coloration to the miserableness that we read every day.
- [45:02]
Val Garland
But also now, I think the latest, if you want to call it a trend, I'll say moment is for a realism in makeup that sort of like influencer, sort of like loads and loads of loads, like a big eyebrow, all of that sort of thing that feels like it's going away. It's more about skin work, working with makeup so that you are the best version of you, I think. I mean, you just look at, you know, Hailey Bieber, you know, like her sort of like whole aesthetic, which was like the best version of me. And I think that's really, that's what's really trending now.
- [45:47]
Carole Walton
Know also it's in all the Netflix shows, isn't it? All these sort of women in Montecito looking just fabulous, sun kissed, glorious.
- [45:55]
Val Garland
Yeah, yeah.
- [45:56]
Carole Walton
But not hugely made up.
- [45:58]
Val Garland
No, no. So it's real, but it's, it's, it's hyper realness. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The very best of you. Yeah.
- [46:07]
Carole Walton
And how seasonal will the jewelry be? Will you do one a year for them or see how it goes?
- [46:15]
Val Garland
Well, I've only been asked by the boys to do this collection. Let's see where we go from there.
- [46:24]
Carole Walton
Well, I think everyone's going to be wearing it. It's fantastic and great timing because as Christmas season approaches, people are going to want to wear that.
- [46:33]
Val Garland
Aren't they fantastic? I hope so.
- [46:36]
Carole Walton
And the other interesting thing I was thinking about your job is that actually as AI approaches makeup, being a makeup artist is one thing that robots are not going to be able to do.
- [46:49]
Val Garland
I don't know about that. I don't know about that. I think. Well, I mean, if a robot can, you know, make a car, if a robot can do an operation, it can be quite agile. Yes. Why can't a robot. Why can't a robot do a face?
- [47:11]
Carole Walton
Well, that's another career out the window.
- [47:13]
Val Garland
Exactly, exactly. Exactly. Yeah.
- [47:15]
Carole Walton
I was thinking, what a great career for people for the future.
- [47:20]
Val Garland
No, no. But who knows? I hope that doesn't happen, but who knows?
- [47:25]
Carole Walton
And one hot tip for us that we should to improve our daily makeup. Would you have one tip for us?
- [47:33]
Val Garland
Well, now that it's this time of the year, spf.
- [47:37]
Carole Walton
Okay.
- [47:38]
Val Garland
And always wear your spf. Always. Always. Even on a dull, wet, rainy day, but for me, my best tip is smile. And I learned that from Helen Mirren. I said to Helen, I said, why do you always, you shine on the red carpet? What is it? And she's like, darling, I always smile.
- [48:03]
Carole Walton
Very good, Val. Thank you so much for sharing more than your jewellery, your makeup, your tips, your life. And so from now on, that's it. I will announce the podcast is over with my Vulgarland whistle. And thank you for coming.
- [48:24]
Val Garland
Thank you for having me. And that's a definite ding dong.
- [48:34]
Carole Walton
Thank you for listening. For this and other episodes of if Jules Could Talk, please go to our website, carolwalton.com do share it anywhere you can. And we love to have a rating and a comment. So thank you. We're actually taking a little summer break now. That was our finale, but you can get hold of us on the website or on Instagram. Arolwalton, do suggest any episodes that you'd like to hear. And if you'd like to partner or collaborate with us, and we'll be back soon, we'll keep you posted. We've got a ton of fantastic, fantastic episodes to share with you. In the meantime, we have nearly a hundred on the back catalog, so catch up with those, send us any questions, and we really look forward to seeing you again soon. And thank you for listening. Bye Bye. If Jules Could Talk with Carole Walton is produced by Natasha Cowan. Music and editing by Tim Thornton. Graphics by Scott Bentley Illustration by Jordi labander.