A college make-up artistry lecturer has sparked an expletive-filled tweet from music star Lewis Capaldi.
The multi-awarding-winning singer was responding to lecturer Alana Pignatiello’s video, showing her transforming herself into the Scotland-born artist.
Pignatiello is a make-up artistry lecturer at Ayrshire College and, during the coronavirus lockdown, she’s been transforming herself into well-known faces.
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The idea came from one of her students. Students and lecturers at Ayrshire College had already been taking part in make-up challenges every day to keep them focused and busy during lockdown - and when one student suggested that they did NHS-inspired make-up, Pignatiello created her own look and tweeted it out.
Her picture attracted a lot of attention and it was suggested that she should create another to represent care workers, whose vital work in the coronavirus crisis is sometimes overlooked.
“After the care look, my kids and I chatted about who else we could thank this way. I did supermarket workers, as they are amazing working away during this, and then Joe Wicks, as he is helping the nation keep kids occupied for part of the day,” she told Tes.
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“People then started sending suggestions and requests and I’ve just been trying to do them, so that’s how the Queen, Boris, Nicola and Lewis came about. It’s been so much fun doing it and quite challenging. It keeps me busy on the days that are a bit monotonous. This isn’t the type of make-up I normally do. Before lockdown, I’d never done a transformation.”
It takes Pignatiello around three hours to create each look, but it’s worth it. Her students are loving it - and getting recognition from Capaldi himself left her lost for words.
“My daughter actually came running in to tell me. There were no words, just utter shock,” she said.
Other looks have included the war veteran who has so far raised more than £27 million for the NHS, Captain Tom Moore, prime minister Boris Johnson and the country’s PE teacher, Joe Wicks.
Pignatiello has a list of faces that have been requested - but isn’t giving away any surprises just yet, bar one.
“Fifty per cent of people love the transformation of Lewis and think it’s amazing and the other 50 per cent think it’s terrifying, creepy and looks like Susan Boyle, so I might think about doing Susan Boyle and see the difference,” she said.
