Students learning the art of extravagant makeup transformed women into dazzling brides and men into divas in Burnaby recently.

Burnaby Community and Continuing Education, a branch of the local school district, runs an adult course in makeup artistry, where students practise airbrushing and specialized makeup.

The Feb. 2 class was about Indian bridal makeup and ceremony. Instructor Yasmine Khan said it's important for makeup artists to know how to cater to the Indian bridal industry.

"We have a lot of Indo-Canadian (people) in Vancouver, and it's definitely important for a makeup artist to know this," Khan said. "An Indian bride will book their makeup artist a year in advance, it's that important to them."

For the Feb. 5 class, students brought a male model to transform into a drag queen. Khan said drag queen makeup requires very advanced skills.

"The reason why is because you have to understand the fundamentals, and you have to understand the bone structure of the face in order to manipulate it in bringing it out, and creating contour and highlights," Khan said. "And also being able to project makeup from a distance, and having to project some kind of an emotion form a distance, and that's all done through contour, highlight and placement."

The students learned techniques like brow blocking, beard covering, contouring and stage makeup.

The next course starts on March 5 and runs on evenings and Saturdays at the Brentwood Education Centre, at 4247 Lougheed Hwy. To learn more or to sign up, call 604-664-8888.