May 26, 2019
Miranda Klippenstein dabs a thin paint brush into a pot of bright red nail polish, meticulously adding the final details to her model’s fingernails— a miniature painting of a person. The 19-year-old’s focus is as sharp as the nails she’s painting in front of her.
"I'm going to try and make her into one of the Russian dolls," she explains between brush strokes. "I'm doing a full face of makeup and body art."
She might be from Altona, Man. — a small town with a population around 4,200 — but Klippenstein is preparing to battle it out with some of the best makeup artists in the world.
Klippenstein, who studies esthetics in Winkler — about 30 kilometres away from her hometown — is trying to score a spot at an international makeup competition in Kazan, Russia.
But first, she has to go head-to-head with Skills Canada’s top ranking makeup artist at the organization's national competition, happening May 28-29 in Halifax.
The winner will go on to compete internationally at WorldSkills in Russia this August.
Her opponent hails from Montreal, a city known for its artistic talent.
She admits it’s a bit intimidating.
"I try not to let it get to me," she says.
In past competitions she tends to get the same reaction from her opponents.
"People sort of laugh — like, 'where?' But yeah, hopefully I prove them wrong — that a little girl from Winkler can do something really big."
In fact, Klippenstein has been honing her skills since she really was a little girl.
"The first person I ever painted nails for was my grandpa," she says, laughing.
"He had really big nails so it was really easy to practise."
Klippenstein has been honing those skills since she became a student in the esthetics program at Winkler's Northlands Parkway Collegiate.
Brenda Richer has been teaching her for years. She says Klippenstein is facing a big challenge at the Skills Canada Competition.
“I'm excited for her. I know she's going to do her best,” Richer says.
"Unfortunately on the east side [of Canada] they're much more experienced than the Prairie girls here," Richer says. "So we're going to try our best."
"I like to say, it’s a David and Goliath kind of thing."
In the past, only high schools in Winnipeg offered esthetics programs. But three years ago, the high school in Winkler — a growing city with a population now over 12,000 — launched its program, giving students a chance to develop skills in esthetics services like makeup, hair, facials and massage.
Esthetics students like Klippenstein start in high school, and can continue their studies even after graduating.
Richer’s goal is to get more estheticians from small-town Manitoba on the international stage.
But with a relatively new program, it's a work in progress.
"We’re kind of out of our realm of expertise when it comes to that. But there's tons of research [out there], and we just keep plugging along hoping for the best," Richer said.
Watch Klippenstein transform her model into a Russian doll
In a rural community, even getting the makeup supplies her students need to practise can be a challenge.
"I have tons of emails and phone calls and waiting and researching, trying to find out how to get the products here."
Today, Klippenstein has only white, blue and black body paint to work with on her model.
She makes do as best she can, swiping large swatches of blue over her model's shoulder.
She steps back, takes another look, and then goes back in with more blue, creating Russian-themed body art.
Despite the challenges, Klippenstein thinks she has an edge in the Canadian competition.
"People don't generally think that a girl from a small town will be as good as someone from the big city, so they probably will underestimate me. I think that that would be an advantage," she says.
"Nobody saw it coming."
