“Make-up Room”: A new film about the people who do make-up for porn stars in Japan

Make Room (Make-Up Room) is a new drama film about a fascinating topic: the people who do the make-up for porn stars.

It’s written and directed by Kei Morikawa, and stars Aki Morita as the titular make-up artist, as well as three actual porn stars: Riri Kuribayashi, Beni Ito, Nanami Kawakami.

Originally a play by Morikawa, it promises to show the behind-the-scenes of the adult video industry. It gets a limited release in Japan in May.

It reminds us of an interview we once read with a man claiming to have worked for a while as a hair and make-up artist for porn stars in Japan, such as Azusa Nagasawa.

He said they actually focus mostly on the photos shot to promote a film, rather than the main shoot of the film itself. So the make-up artists prepare the stars for stills and rarely get to see the film being shot. He said he wasn’t close to the directors.

He was paid a daily wage of ¥15,000, plus an extra fee if he was specifically requested by someone.

However, he would leave for work at 8 a.m. and finish at 10 p.m., when he would go drinking with the other staff.

So though he got to work with hot girls all day, it’s not quite the paradise we might imagine!

However, thinking about this job reminds us of that make-up room sex scene from the Erika Sawajiri movie Helter Skelter.