Verve recently joined hands with the University of The Arts, London - the umbrella that houses UK's most famous fashion schools - Camberwell College of Arts, Central St. Martins College of Art & Design, Chelsea College of Art & Design, London College of Communication and London College of Fashion. Students and faculty from the latter put together a beauty and make-up workshop for make-up artists and special invitees of Verve at The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower. Elizabeth McLafferty, senior lecturer with the School of Fashion Promotion and Cecilia Öberg, 2nd year foundation degree student in Specialist Make-up, demonstrated a host of techniques and make-up wizardry on a trio of models specially provided to Verve by the Elite Model Management, Mumbai. Colin Kerrigan, Academic Director for the International Centre, University of Arts, London, played witty compére to the hilt. Elizabeth created the first look on the model wearing a '20s flapper style dress tweaked to modern sensibilities. "I am creating an illusion on the face, a mannequin-like, sculpted, couture visage," she explained. Cecilia opted for a more doll-like look on her kaftan-cum-jacket dress styled clothes horse, making use of prosthetic eyebrows to cover the existing ones and draw out exaggerated Betty Boop arches. While the Indian make-up fraternity took furious notes and interacted on the nuances of bridal make-up (waterproof selections that won't run while shedding tears or during the fire round - this had Colin conjuring a scene of the bride and groom tied tightly together, racing around high flames for an entire day!), us novices learnt how primer is more a moisturising base rather than foundation, and how we must start make-up application from up to down, to avoid those zillion facial hairs sticking out like porcupine's needles. What had everyone in awe though were personal experiences that explained the course's visionary structure. Cecilia recalled how her first project involved visiting a London museum to copy an artist's painting and then filling it with colours to understand different brushstrokes. She also recollected days experimenting with exaggerated theatrical make-up during her learning days to appreciate the texture and feel of bases and brushes. Elizabeth clarified that drawing is no prerequisite to applying for a make-up degree; interpreting colour is more important. Students could be selected on the basis of cut-and-paste visuals of cathedral stained glass windows or even a rapid succession of photographic stills taken on a basic mobile phone. As Colin summarized, "We believe in the marriage of art and design and in the journey as a whole, not just its end."