Master of Makeup
By winning the TV reality show Blush: Search for the Next Great Makeup Artist, Nolan Robert Makaawaawa wins $100,000, is named official artist for Max Factor in the company’s centennial year, and best of all reconnects with his Honolulu family and his Hawaiian roots
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Winning the reality show Blush helps bring Nolan Robert Makaawaawa back to his Island family and roots
Ever since winning Lifetime’s reality TV show Blush: The Search for the Next Great Makeup Artist last December, Hawaii-born Nolan Robert Makaawaawa has been living a dream come true.
He was one of nine artists selected from more than 10,000 applicants for the show, and in the end took home the title of The Next Great Makeup Artist along with a contract as a professional artist with Max Factor, a cash prize of $100,000 and the opportunity to be the makeup artist for an InStyle magazine photo shoot. The photo shoot, which happened in May and features actress Jessica Stroup of 90210, will be featured in the magazine’s August issue.
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For Makaawaawa, this opportunity of a lifetime could not have come at a better time. Last year he quit his job as a makeup artist for MAC after working at its Orange County store for almost 10 years. While with MAC, he worked at Fashion Week, various MTV events and touched up the faces of many Hollywood celebrities, including Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Liv Tyler and Demi Moore.
But, with no job in mind, he felt his time with MAC was up and decided to seek other opportunities. Six months later he showed up for an audition for Blush and very quickly went from the man behind the scenes to the star in front of the camera. Luckily for Makaawaawa, the transition was natural, as he also loves to perform, act and dance.
Born and raised on Oahu, Makaawaawa attended Ala Wai Elementary, Pearl City Intermediate and McKinley High School before moving to California during his sophomore year with mom Cheryl and sister Charisse.
It was there that he dropped his name to Nolan Robert, as it was much easier to pronounce, especially on the Mainland.
It also was there that he discovered his passion for makeup and became quite good at it.
“I’m a Libra, so I’m always jumping into everything,” says Makaawaawa, 33. “I was doing theatre shows, performing and dancing, and I fell into makeup because I had to learn to do my makeup myself, and it just went from there.”
Makaawaawa also worked at Disneyland, where he played the part of a zebra in the Lion King parade, met his partner of 14 years Gary Roush, and he currently teaches cardio classes at the 24 Hour Fitness in Orange County.
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But as time passed, he also started to lose touch with his family in Hawaii. He didn’t visit them for 11 years - that is, until two trips home this year, including one to celebrate his father Frank Makaawaawa’s 61st birthday.
“I got so caught up with the whole L.A. scene,” admits Makaawaawa, who is Hawaiian, Filipino, Spanish, Indian, German and Irish. “But when I came back, I was so proud. When I saw my family, and my sisters dancing hula, it reminded me that Hawaii is a special place. And then there’s my dad’s birthday party, where there was all this singing and food and family and friends.
“I think I never appreciated everything I grew up with. But I think being from Hawaii is what kept me grounded with the show.”
Now, Makaawaawa, who continues to reside in Orange County, plans to visit the Islands every three months. He says he would love to move back to Hawaii, but opportunities for his career of choice are much greater in L.A. than here.
He also credits his dad, a singer with A Touch of Gold, for the creative blood in him, although he says he’s not a singer himself.
“I’m so proud to be from Hawaii and proud to be Hawaiian,” he says. “Living on the Mainland, I wanted to be Hollywood and all that stuff, but now I want to come back home.
“My sister was always the traditional Hawaiian girl, and I didn’t fall into that category. I went by Nolan Robert, never by Makaawaawa. But when I have friends come with me to Hawaii and when they meet my family, their jaws just drop. My family and my roots are amazing.”
For now, Makaawaawa is taking the opportunities as they come and, of course, there’s his job with Max Factor, which celebrates 100 years of beauty this year.
He also is hoping to introduce his own cosmetics line by the end of this year.
“I want it to be geared toward the everyday woman, but also to makeup artists,” he says. “I want to definitely concentrate on color, and I want it to be reasonable and simple to use. Also, I want to come out with a men’s makeup line.”
Makaawaawa adds that he’ll be looking at texture and consistency, as well as high-definition eyeshadows, lip color and foundation.
“Everything is being filmed in high-definition nowadays, and I think we’re all searching for that perfect foundation still.”
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