Once in awhile, I have the supreme opportunity of interviewing one of the most vital members of the crew in all of film and television–the makeup/hair stylist. After all, if the actors don’t look good on camera, i.e., their hair is in disarray and/or their features appear lackluster, why on earth would I have any desire to watch? I know from experience that it can be extremely distracting to view subpar hair and/or makeup featured on screen for an extended period of time, and I am grateful that Hallmark (yet again) invariably hires only the cream of the crop. And indeed one of topmost is the vivacious and talented Katrina Glubrecht. I contacted her recently for an interview, and after I explained my purpose and outlook (I know, the makeup and hair people rarely get asked for interviews), she promptly and proficiently responded to my questions about her work in this capacity, especially in regards to Hallmark productions (and a couple other Vancouver, BC projects as well).

With Jessica Lowndes
BTS Yes I Do

RH: How/why did you get started in the entertainment industry? What kind of training have you had?

KG: When I was in grade seven, I decided that I wanted to do hair and makeup because I looked up to my older cousin who worked for Mac Cosmetics, and I decided I wanted to be like her. While I was in high school, I started doing hair on my friends and myself. I would do a cut and color for twenty dollars. I also worked assisting at a salon while I finished my senior year of High School.

At seventeen, after graduating High School, I went to Delmar College of Hair and Design in Calgary, Alberta. I was the youngest person in the entire school. I got my Diploma in Hairstyling and continued my education throughout my ten-year career in the salon.

When I was twenty-six, I decided to leave hairstyling behind and move to Vancouver to attend Blanche Macdonald for the Global Makeup Program.

I planned to finish school, move back to Calgary to “work full-time in film” doing special effect and prosthetic makeup. I had no idea how small film is in Alberta when compared to Vancouver.

While attending Blanche, I volunteered to work Vancouver Fashion week with hair and makeup. They told me that they had 130 makeup artists, but only 30 hairstylists and asked me just to do hair, as I was so experienced and they were in desperate need of help.

I was so disappointed not to do makeup, as working professionally in makeup was why I moved to Vancouver and what I was pursuing. That said, I am actually very grateful because working that fashion show re-inspired my love for hairstyling, something for which I had lost my passion after years of highlights and half-an-inch-off haircuts that were so common in the salon.

I started doing as many photo shoots as I could, so I could get experience and exposure with my hairstyling and makeup artistry.

A few days after graduating Blanche Macdonald, I had a friend tell me I should apply for an assistant hairstyling position on the Hallmark movie, A Joyous Christmas. I was scared to apply because I had no set experience, but she urged me to apply anyway because I had extensive hairstyling experience.

I am very glad that I followed her advice and applied for the position. Hairstylist Katelyn Abbott, who was looking to find someone for the position, liked my resume and sent it along to Martin Armand, the head of the department, and he hired me.

Katelyn, who goes by KK, has been the most amazing and supportive person. She took me under her wing and showed me the ropes on set. I instantly fell in love with the world of film. I worked with her for two days on A Joyous Christmas. KK told me to stay in touch and ask her any questions about film.

Then I keyed Hair and Makeup for an independent short film called, Prodigy Unit One.

Vancouver is such an expensive city, I was half-packed, feeling defeated, and was about to move back to Calgary when KK reached out to me. She asked if I would like to be Head of Department for a Hallmark movie as Hair or Makeup. I was blown away and said definitely hair, as I had so much more experience with it, and was so new to makeup.

I have been working full-time in film ever since. Everyone says that they have a person in film that introduced them to the world of film and gave them the opportunities that they needed to succeed, and KK is that person for me. I would not be where I am today without her, and I have her to thank for my being able to stay here and have the career that I dreamed of. Not only did she get me my first hairstyling film job, but she also got me my first Lifetime makeup job. I still assist her whenever I can, and she comes on to my shows when she has time off from her own.

Your first job with Hallmark was on the Christmas film A Joyous Christmas. What was it like working on that set? Any special memories?

BTS A Joyous Christmas

My first professional film job was A Joyous Christmas. It was so much fun to work on that movie. I think the first day I had around fifty background actors to process. They threw me right into a very busy day. In my opinion, that is the best way to do it. If you love working on those crazy days, you know that you will always love working in film.

One of my favorite parts was seeing how winter is created when it is actually VERY warm outside. They brought in truckloads of snow for the set. Children just passing by were so excited to see the snow; even a few dogs enjoyed rolling in it to cool down, as they went on a walk with their owners.

The memory that stands out most to me is fixing the stand-in’s hair and how funny everyone thought it was. Stand-ins are the ones who stand where the actors will be when setting up the scene and cameras before the actors are needed on set. I was so excited to be working and eager to do a good job. Everything is so beautiful and perfect in Hallmark movies, and the stand-in had crazy bangs flipping out. So I went up to fix her bangs. Everyone burst out laughing. She said she felt special because no one ever gives her attention. It was pretty funny.

Please tell us your specific responsibilities as a member of the crew.

BTS Love Under the Rainbow
with David Haydn-Jones & Dakota Guppy

My responsibilities as the Head of Hair Department are designing looks for the cast, maintaining haircuts for continuity throughout the shoot, styling hair for the actors every day, and maintaining their hair looks and changes throughout the day. I also keep the continuity of the looks and changes between story days and scenes. I am constantly running in to make sure the hair is in the same position that it should be for the scene, fixing it up if it drops, making corrections if the weather has affected the hair, and changing the look as needed for the current scene. At the end of the day, I take things out of the actors’ hair and do hair treatments for cast members who want it.

The best part is how well you get to know the cast. You spend so much time together in the morning and throughout the day that you end up creating real friendships. 

Hallmark viewers have seen your work in Love On the Slopes and Love At First Dance. Any special moments working on either of those?

BTS Love Under the Slopes

Love On the Slopes was actually the first Hallmark film in which I was Head of Department. It was such a pleasure to work with Katrina Bowden; she is so lovely and talented.

I do remember a funny a story from that set. When I went to the production meeting, I had black and blue hair at the time. I met the producer and director and introduced myself, and their faces dropped. Because our star was also named Katrina, they thought that I was her. Between the hair color, and my three facial piercings, they were horrified! (Not quite the “Hallmark leading lady look” 🙂 They asked me, “Uhh, what department are you…?” When I replied, “Head of Hair,” they gave a massive sigh of relief. It was hilarious.

As a hair stylist, what has been one of your greatest challenges on set? What has been one of your greatest triumphs or successes?

As a hair stylist, the biggest challenge on set is definitely nature and the elements: wind, rain, snow, heat. They all are a hair nightmare—haha! There is only so much hairspray you can use; nothing will save hair from getting wet or the wind blowing. Many times, I have had to blow-dry and re-curl hair, just to have it get soaking wet all over again in a few minutes.

I think my greatest success is being able to have a full-time career in film. It is my dream come true, and I am so grateful to be able to go to work, loving my job. I hope to move into doing more makeup in film, but I am very happy to do hair and makeup, and I would never have had the opportunities that I have if I did not do hair. There are so many makeup artists trying to break into film; I am grateful to be able to do both.

With Elizabeth McLeod (Makeup HOD), Taylor Barron (Makeup and Hair Assistant), Jen Lilley, Christie Laing & Marcus Rosner Yes I Do BTS

Please tell us about any of your upcoming works.

It was such a pleasure to work with Jen Lilley, Marcus Rosner, and Jessica Lowndes on Yes I Do. Jen is so funny, and the dynamic between her and Jessica in the film is great.

I actually got to work with Marcus again on Poinsettias for Christmas, starring Joy Lenz and Lauren London, and that will be released on Lifetime later this year. It was so much fun to work with him. We had many laughs in the trailer, and he told me he really likes my haircuts, which is pretty cool.

I work on a lot of romantic comedies, but I am actually a big horror movie fan. I love blood, gore, and zombies!

I made my makeup Instagram Katrinazombie while I was in makeup school thinking, “people will know I want to do special effects.” Now, I wish I had used my actual name as my Instagram account name, but I have been credited and published with Katrinazombie, so I just leave it.

BTS Counterfeiting in Suburbia Sarah Butler & the Glam Squad

I am excited about Counterfeiting in Suburbia starring Sarah Butler and Matthew MacCaull which will be released on Netflix July 1st; it was the first thriller worked on, and it is always fun to mix up what I am doing.

Are you content to remain in the makeup/hair stylist end of things in film/TV, or would you like to try your hand at some other position within the business?

I am very happy to remain in the Hair and Makeup department. I definitely want to move into more makeup and less hair.

Counterfeiting in Suburbia BTS with Matthew MacCaull & Elizabeth McLeod

I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to be Head of Department for Hair, but I take every opportunity I can between films to pursue makeup.

I have worked on a few films as an Assistant Makeup Artist, including applying and painting prosthetic elf ears on Pup Stars Christmas.

But, if I was to change departments, SPFX intrigues me. I would love to work with rigging or explosions, but as I don’t want to go to school to get an Engineering Degree in Pyrotechnics, I think I will stick to Hair and Makeup.

If someone is interested in pursuing a career as a makeup/hair stylist, what is your advice to them?

If someone is interested in working in film with Hair and Makeup, they need to go to school first. Being self-taught does not work when it comes to doing someone else’s hair or makeup for TV and Film.

Then take their WHMIS and MPIO (Motion Picture Industry Orientation) courses and get as much experience as they can. Practice and hone their skills, work hard, and work on whatever you can: student films, independent films. They need to work their way up; you have to pay your dues and earn your stripes.

Always be positive, arrive early, and come prepared. Working in film involves long and hard hours, but it is so much fun. We are all a bunch of nerds, and to see the final product when the movie is released is incredibly rewarding.

When you have some downtime, what do you like to do for fun/relaxation?

When I have downtime, I like to stay in, have a Scotch, play video games, read comic books, binge a TV series, or go hiking and explore the outdoors.

I am very extreme–one or the other. I have a lot of my friends and family, including my boyfriend back in Calgary, so I go back and visit as much as I can.

With Elizabeth McLeod (Makeup) & Jen Lilley Yes I Do

I absolutely adore receiving a unique perspective from someone with such varied talents and expertise as Katrina, and I am grateful that Hallmark, Lifetime, and more have snatched her up and begun to utilize her God-given talents. Katrina’s eagerness to be forthright and authentic while inserting a bit of humor along the way is something I genuinely admire about her in addition to her indisputable creative skills. While Katrina is still very much at the inception of her career in film and television, I would venture to assert that she is well on her way to categorical success, perhaps beyond her wildest dreams, and as long as she remains as grounded and as personable as she is today, I have no doubt we will continue to witness her prowess on an extensive variety of film projects and TV shows both now and in the future.

This Saturday, June 30th, I hope that everyone in the U.S. tunes to the Hallmark Channel to watch the 2018 June Weddings movie finale entitled Yes I Do. While the film features an assortment of Hallmark favorites, I invite all viewers to take a moment and consider the hairstyles in the film and marvel at the skill of Katrina and the entire team who labor intensively behind-the-scenes to bring perfectly-coiffed hairdos and elegantly-applied faces that seamlessly enhance the story these sweet films are relating. Additionally, while we await Counterfeiting In Suburbia as well as a couple other productions in which Katrina’s talents have been featured (I am anxiously awaiting an air date and official network announcement for Love Under the Rainbow), I hope that all my readers will visit Katrina’s links below and consider following her on Instagram. While it is correct that more often than not, the crew of any film or TV show is unacknowledged by the viewers to some degree, it is my sincere wish that we Hallmark viewers make a statement about our devotion to all network talent by actually recognizing and valuing these conscientious crew members. Katrina is one who is rapidly flourishing in an industry that is sometimes challenging to enter with distinction, but there is no doubt in my mind that the talents, disposition, work ethic, and humility of this young woman will proceed to assist her in the pursuance of every dream and hope within her heart and mind.

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