THE ACADEMY

“DFMA was created to provide a unique opportunity for students – a professional make up school inside and outside of London that would be accessible and affordable for everyone.“

DFMA provides students with industry-leading training and real-world skills needed to succeed in today’s fast-paced, competitive makeup industry.

Each DFMA course delivers the highest standard of professional makeup artist tuition for those pursuing a career in makeup artistry. We offer both full-time and part-time makeup courses, all taught by practising makeup artists who are actively working in the industry today. Our intensive training structure means makeup is taught all day, every day, alongside hair styling and nail training, allowing students to gain skills faster and more effectively than traditional year-long courses. This condensed, immersive approach gives students a head start and fast-track entry into the growing professional makeup industry.

DFMA is a leading UK makeup academy, recognised for its creativity, innovation and exceptional training standards. Our supportive and nurturing learning environment builds confidence, technical excellence and pride in your work, while opening doors to exciting new career opportunities within the beauty, fashion and entertainment industries.

Students are taught by top guest makeup artists working directly in fashion weeks, TV, film, music videos and theatre. Training takes place in both small group settings and one-to-one sessions, with restricted class sizes to ensure maximum individual attention. Exceptional students who demonstrate talent, enthusiasm and dedication may be offered exclusive opportunities to assist on professional photo shoots, fashion shows, theatre productions, music videos, TV and film projects. This hands-on experience is invaluable for building real industry credibility.

At the end of most courses, students take part in a professional photo shoot, graduating with a DFMA Certificate of Achievement and high-quality portfolio images to help launch their career. All professional courses include our unlimited aftercare programme, offering ongoing access to job opportunities, industry experience and expert career advice.

For those already working as makeup artists, DFMA offers tailor-made advanced courses to refresh skills, update industry knowledge and refine techniques. Joining DFMA also means becoming part of the DFMA professional network, unlocking valuable industry contacts, exclusive closed-door events, and insider access to the latest seasonal trends and new product launches from globally recognised luxury beauty brands. Students benefit from exclusive discounts to build their professional makeup kit — one of the many advantages of being part of the DFMA PRO team

About Us

As founder of DFMA, Davinia Fermi’s plan for the make up academy has remained unchanged. DFMA was created with the sole aim of providing professional make up schools that would be accessible and affordable for everyone – allowing students to gain the experience and current skills required to succeed in this exciting industry.

In 2010, Davinia saw her dream realised when she opened her first make up school in Brighton – DFMA. Her and her team’s vision for the academy has increased due to the success of their students and unprecedented demand for DFMA courses – this has led them to develop and create DFMA schools in other regional locations, and also to launch there very own cosmetics label! The DFMA backstage Pro line of specialist make up has been carefully crafted and tailored to the needs of an industry level make up artist.

Davinia’s background is not just in the classroom – she and her team are freelancers who know what it is like to succeed in this competitive industry. This relevant up-to-date experience is one of the unique selling points of the DFMA make up schools and provides up-to-date knowledge and contacts that can help students find exclusive opportunities in the field.

As a highly-experienced make up and hair artist, Davinia’s work has appeared on TV (including Strictly Come Dancing) and in music videos and countless glossy magazines internationally, including Tatler, Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Sports International and Numero.

She has also worked with photographers David Bailey on daily portraits and advertising jobs on many Actors, actresses and musicians, Photographer Lord Snowdon for Vogue Magazine, Rankin for Louis Vuitton advertising feature, and for clients including Virgin Atlantic, Rolex, Debenhams, Hackett and Louis Vuitton. Her celebrity “faces” have included Sharleen Spiteri, Vanessa Mae, Emma Bunton and Daniel Craig and she has also helped create make up looks for a long list of catwalk shows in London, Paris and Milan where she got to work on some inspirational models Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen and many other leading Models.

It is the passion that Davinia and her team share for their art and the industry which is the driving factor behind DFMA and they look forward to you joining in their success.

BAFTA AND AWARD WINNING TUTORS

Gemma Wheatcroft

Celebrity make up artist

Hairstylist and groomer

Works in the fashion world, TV, Music and Celebrities

Strictly come dancing, Xfactor and Love island to name a few

Fronted leading beauty campaigns and advertising luxury brands

Fashion week, London and Paris

AJ

Celebrity hair and make up artist

Fashion, Film, Music and TV

Streetdance movie

Walking on sunshine movie

Kanye west

Sugababes

NTA awards

Lancôme Commercial

MTV Ex on the Beach

Love Island

Clean Bandit music video

C Cosmetics

Julia Edwards

Publications

Talent

Elton John | Zoe Bleu | Molly Soda | Leah McFall | Baga Chipz

Shows

London Fashion Week AW16
London Fashion Week SS16
London Fashion Week SS15
Brighton Fashion Week SS14
Front Row Fashion AW13

Jane Aspinal

Jane is fully trained in TV and film and special effects with 20years experience under her belt, working with the BBC dramas, Eastenders, ITV, and Channel Four

Lindsay Bown

Celebrity artist works for the BBC Strictly come Dancing, the Voice UK, BBC Comic Relief, This morning, MTV, The Baftas, The Britt’s, Mobo Awards, Big Brother, Britain’s fashion awards, working with many celebrities, actors and actresses, presenters, and a varity of bands

Magazines

Red

Company

Elle

Sunday telegraph magazine

New woman

Vogue

Hello

Harpers and Queen

Heat

Empire

The Times

Personalities

Will.i.am

Fern Britten

Amanda Holden

Vernon Kay

Graham Norton

Davina McCall

Sir Paul McCartney

Dermot O’Leary

Sharon Osborne

Simon Pegg

Dizzee Rascal

nd Product Specialist for MAC Cosmetics

Rebecca Bryson

Works alongside Pat McGrath on Fashion week

Works along side Charlotte Tilbury on Fashion week

Dracula Movie

Nominated for Wedding Journal makeup artist of the year

Nominated Beauty awards make up artist of the year

Cosmetics

Isabella Larter

Special effects expert

Isabella Larter is known for her work on The Night of the Vampire (2015), Dear May(2014) and Within the Fray (2017).

Anna Baxter

Mick Jagger ‘Gotta get a Grip’ music video

Midsummer Ball hosted by Simon Cowell

Brand ambassador for MAC Body pa

Olivia Davey

Celebrity make up artist working with many celebrities, actors and actresses, presenters, and a variety of bands

The Jump

Ant an Dec Saturday nights takeaway

Lets Dance

Strictly come Dancing

L’Oreal

Celebrity Big Brother

Magazines

OK Mag, made in Chelsea shoot

Product Specialist for MAC Cosmetics

OPEN DAYS

DFMA holds open days, providing prospective students with an opportunity to meet teachers,
have a look around to get a feel for the environment we work in, watch a demo and discuss career options and which course would best suit them.