At 23, Megan Aylesbury has a list of accolades to her name. The MAC cosmetics make-up artist has been in the industry for six years and won the UK-wide Elle magazine makeup competition at just 18.

The title led her to work for L’Oreal as an ambassador and as a make-up artist at the Olivier Awards and the London Collections Menswear at London Fashion Week.

Megan, who works for MAC in Williams & Griffin department store, in High Street, Colchester, says: “They were amazing experiences and I have been lucky to have been taken on by a makeup company at such a young age.

“I joined them when I was 17, but companies usually want people to have some beauty experience or evidence of creativity.”

Megan, of Colchester, says she has always been creative and practised with make-up for hours when growing up.

She says: “I got a taste for following a career in make-up when I was studying art and design at Colchester Institute.

“I did a two-month temporary work placement here at Williams & Griffin and I knew it was what I wanted to do.”

The temporary job saw Megan handling minor make-up appointments, but gave her a flavour of the work and allowed her to start developing her portfolio.

After she won the Elle competition she travelled the UK with L’Oreal, carrying out make-up bookings at stores.

She says: “When I joined MAC they sent me on a week’s basic training course, in London.

“Every three months they send me on more courses to keep up-to-date with techniques and trends. I am also on the events team for MAC, which means I get put forward for shows such as Fashion Week and the British Independent Film Awards, which I did last November.

“I love the fact what I do can give people confidence, really transform them and make them feel better about themselves.

“I knew I wanted to stay in the creative industry and am lucky to have taken part in the events. I did a fashion photography course too and love doing makeup for photoshoots.”

Megan hopes one day to get involved in body painting and exploring her skills further.

She says: “People who are interested in becoming a makeup artist need to have a flair for creativity and be open minded.

“Everyone who works for MAC is amazing at drawing and good at visualisation.

“Be confident of your skills because at the end of the day it’s all about practice and patience.”