Hair · Make-Up · Prosthetics for Production

From glam
to gore.glam.grace.guts.

I'm Amy Cowley — a hair, make-up and prosthetics artist specialising in medical simulation, casualty effects and forensic make-up. From regency editorial to mass-casualty trauma training, I build looks that hold up under cameras, clinicians and close inspection.

SpecialismMedical simulation & SFX TrainingLevel 5 — Hair, Make-Up & Prosthetics BasedUnited Kingdom

Amy Cowley portrait — Amy Cowley — est. glam to gore

Case studies

Glam first — scroll for the gore

Amy applying makeup for the Bridgerton photoshoot

Bridgerton cage wig inspired by Queen Charlotte

Editorial — period design

The Bridgerton Project

The brief: a regency-era photoshoot inspired by Francesca Bridgerton — minimalist historical make-up that reads as period on camera without looking costumey.

What I did: designed and applied the make-up for the shoot, and built a cage wig inspired by Queen Charlotte's Swan Lake wig — a constructed cage covered in fabric, sewn onto a wig base, dressed with synthetic hair, pin curls, a braid and decorative pins, with a painted scenic panel and tree set into the structure.

Why it matters: period work is about restraint and research. The make-up had to disappear into the era while the wig carried the drama — two opposite disciplines delivered on one shoot, alongside photographers and a full model team.

Materials: Cage construction, fabric, synthetic hair, UHU, pin curls
Audience: Styled photoshoot with models and photographers
Outcome: Published shoot; wig doubles as a standalone showpiece

Pirate look with rigid collodion scar across the eye

Knotted moustache hand-made from yak hair

Character — prosthetics & postiche

The Pirate Photoshoot

The brief: two contrasting pirate characters for a styled shoot — one minimal, one heavily weathered.

What I did: for the minimal look I used rigid collodion to pull a convincing scar across the eye. For the second character I sculpted and applied silicone prosthetics dressed with moss, and hand-knotted a full beard and moustache from yak hair.

Why it matters: the same brief solved two ways — a one-product texture technique versus a full prosthetic and postiche build. It shows judgement about how much make-up a story actually needs.

Materials: Rigid collodion, silicone, moss, hand-knotted yak hair
Audience: Character photoshoot
Outcome: Two finished characters; postiche pieces kept for kit

Savage Beauty concept look on the theme of feminism

Out of this world look — half human, half clock

Clay sculpt for the Tiddalik mythical creature prosthetic

Concept — avant-garde

Concept & Creature Work

Savage Beauty examined what women are expected to look like against the reality of falling apart under that pressure — built with hair matting, airbrush, temporary tattoos and rigid collodion.

Out of This World, inspired by Time from Alice Through the Looking Glass, split the body in two: a bald cap airbrushed into a clock face with foam numerals on one side, latex clocks and stencilled chest work on the other.

Tiddalik — a creature design based on the Aboriginal water-holding frog myth — was sculpted in clay, floated off, and delivered with airbrushing and silicone prosthetics. Concept pieces like these are where technique serves an argument, not just a look.

Materials: Hair matting, airbrush, collodion, bald caps, latex, silicone
Audience: Assessed concept briefs and exhibition
Outcome: Three distinct concept looks from sculpt to finish

Amy rigging a blood pump to a gelatine brain on a student film set

Brain built from gelatine, sponge and foam

Silicone gunshot wound for a student short film

Screen — student film SFX

Short Film Effects

The brief: practical effects for student short films, including a murder mystery — wounds and viscera that would read correctly on camera, take after take.

What I did: built a brain from gelatine, sponge and foam and rigged it with a blood pump for an on-camera gag, and fabricated a silicone gunshot wound. Worked on set alongside the crew to reset effects between takes.

Why it matters: film work adds continuity to the problem — an effect has to be repeatable, resettable and consistent from every angle, not just convincing once.

Materials: Gelatine, sponge, foam, silicone, blood rig
Audience: Student film crews; on-screen close-ups
Outcome: Effects used across multiple student productions

Amy rigging two blood pumps during a fire station trauma simulation

Open compound fracture prosthetic made from silicone

Medical simulation — live training

Fire Station Trauma Training

The brief: create realistic casualty effects for a fire service trauma training exercise simulating a mass haemorrhage — an open compound fracture and an amputation — so crews could practise triage and bleed control under pressure.

What I did: I sculpted and ran a silicone open compound fracture, built wax neck, head and knife wounds, and rigged two simultaneous blood pumps so wounds bled actively during the exercise, responding the way real trauma does.

Why it matters: simulation make-up only works if it survives handling. These pieces had to stay put through casualty moves, tourniquets and packing — realism here directly affects how well crews train.

Materials: Silicone, wax, latex, blood rigs, bruising gels
Audience: Fire service crews in live trauma training
Outcome: Full mass-haemorrhage scenario ran with active bleeding effects

The portfolio

What I do

a.Casualty simulation

Moulage for trauma training and mass-casualty exercises — compound fractures, haemorrhage rigs, bruising staged by age, wounds built to survive handling by real responders.

b.Prosthetics & fabrication

Sculpting, moulding and application — silicone, gelatine and latex appliances, bald caps, alginate life-casting, and props like gelatine organs rigged for blood.

c.Hair & period styling

Barbering, bridal and editorial styling, and researched period work — Victorian, Georgian and French court dressing, victory rolls, medieval braiding and 1960s bouffants.

d.Wigs & postiche

Hard-cap and cage wig construction from measurement to finish, wig dressing and prep, and hand-knotted facial hair in yak hair.

e.Make-up & body art

Beauty, drag, airbrushed body painting, stencil work, tattoo coverage and face painting — from prom looks to full-body concepts.

f.On-set practice

Hygiene-first kit discipline, continuity, resets between takes and calm work under live-event pressure — the unglamorous half of the job, done properly.

Meet Amy

Make-up is confidence, creativity and self-expression — and sometimes it's a compound fracture.

I'm a dedicated trainee make-up artist studying Level 5 Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for Production. My work runs the full range — beauty, editorial and period styling through to special effects — but my clear direction is medical simulation and forensic make-up: building casualty effects realistic enough to train fire crews and medical responders.

I hold myself to professional standards on every job: reliability, rigorous hygiene, and working as part of a team — whether that's a photoshoot crew, a student film set or a live training exercise.

TrainingLevel 5 Hair, Make-Up & Prosthetics for Production

SpecialismMedical simulation, casualty & forensic make-up

Live workFire service trauma training · Puxton Park Fright Night · student films · Little Shop of Horrors · styled photoshoots

Business-readyInsured self-employment set-up, professional memberships, pricing, invoicing & contracts in place

Let's make something.

Bookings, collaborations, simulation work and productions — get in touch.

Instagram — @bea_utyportfolio Email Amy

From glamto gore.glam.grace.guts.