Dame Joan Collins to headline Made Up Leeds beauty festival

The legend that is Joan Collins is coming to Leeds to share her beauty tips. Stephanie Smith reports.
Dame Joan Collins headlines the Made Up Leeds beauty festival, in conversation with her make-up artist, Alyn Waterman, at Victoria Leeds during the two-day event, which takes place over the weekend of  October 26 and 27.Dame Joan Collins headlines the Made Up Leeds beauty festival, in conversation with her make-up artist, Alyn Waterman, at Victoria Leeds during the two-day event, which takes place over the weekend of  October 26 and 27.
Dame Joan Collins headlines the Made Up Leeds beauty festival, in conversation with her make-up artist, Alyn Waterman, at Victoria Leeds during the two-day event, which takes place over the weekend of October 26 and 27.

Dame Joan Collins will headline a prestigious make-up and beauty festival in Leeds later this month.

The legendary actress, author and beauty icon will be in conversation with her make-up artist Alyn Waterman at Victoria Leeds during the two-day event, which takes place over the weekend of October 26 and 27.

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Dame Joan, a Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominated actress whose novels and memoirs have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, will be at the Victoria Quarter from 3pm-4.30pm on Saturday, October 26.

Joan in Leeds in 1979.Joan in Leeds in 1979.
Joan in Leeds in 1979.

Her love of make-up started when watching her glamorous mother and aunts. She went on to work with Allan “Whitey” Snyder (Marilyn Monroe’s make-up artist) who introduced her to Hollywood make-up. As well as her own beauty products, she is currently one of the faces of the latest Charlotte Tilbury campaign.

Dame Joan has been a frequent visitor to the city in the course of her stellar, eclectic and long-standing career. In 1979, aged, 46, she rode into Leeds in a white Rolls Royce to talk about her latest (and 50th) film, The Bitch. An article celebrating the appearance in the Yorkshire Evening Post read: “Actress, philosopher and undisputed queen of the unclad, is in Leeds to talk about her latest film.

“She sips the champagne and extracts a long cigarette from a leather case with almost indecent elegance.”

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“You’ve got to look after yourself,“ quipped Joan at the time. Her Joan Collins’s Beauty Book, a practical guide with pictures of her exercising and applying make up, was due to be published the following year.

Joan Collins pictured at the Yorkshire Post Literary Luncheon at the Queens Hotel, Leeds in 2002.Joan Collins pictured at the Yorkshire Post Literary Luncheon at the Queens Hotel, Leeds in 2002.
Joan Collins pictured at the Yorkshire Post Literary Luncheon at the Queens Hotel, Leeds in 2002.

Born on May 23, 1933, Dame Joan grew up during the Second World War and made her stage debut at the age of nine. At 22, she went to Hollywood and starred in a number of films, including The Girl In The Red Velvet Swing (1955), and provided cameos in Star Trek and other series. In 2015, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to charity.

The Joan Collins Timeless Beauty range is sold via her own website and at Marks & Spencer.

Also appearing at Made Up Leeds will be the inspirational Katie Piper, who will also appear on Saturday, October 26.

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Influencer Reuben de Maid will tell all about his work and success and do a meet and greet at Trinity Leeds on the Sunday.

The Beauty Space on Briggate will return with Harvey Nichols and John Lewis and Partners both hosting beauty pop-ups throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, also in The Beauty Space, Premier Model Management will host a live model casting from 2pm.

Made Up Leeds is an inclusive event going beyond beauty, covering make-up in all its forms for all people. The inaugural festival from LeedsBID last year included demos, makeovers, speakers and 100+ offers from the city’s biggest cosmetic brands. Made Up Leeds won the CIPR Excellence Award for Best Integrated Campaign 2019 and was shortlisted for The Holmes Report SABRE’s EMEA and PR Moments Awards 2019.

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Championing possibilities for self-expression, beauty lovers will be able to immerse themselves in a host of activities taking place in stores across the city all over the weekend. For event tickets, exclusive discounts and offers from a range of retailers, sign up for a Beauty Passport at madeupleeds.co.uk.

More speakers and events will be announced over the next two weeks. See @madeupleeds