ArtiFace

Troye Antonio, who goes by Mannequinskin on Instagram Troye Antonio grew up as a creative child, always drawing and painting. Despite the affinity, he decided after high school he didn't want to go to school for art. When he was 21, his mother purchased makeup artist Danessa Myricks' videos. She encouraged him to watch them, which Antonio was initially reluctant to do. "I didn't want to be a stereotype, a gay boy who was into makeup," he said. Still, he eventually began watching them and something clicked. "That was the moment. I felt in my whole body that this was what I was meant to do. I can't explain it," he said.  (He later enrolled in a makeup academy to hone his craft.) He also began to watch videos of his favorite Youtube makeup artist, Spencer Lopez, and downloaded her work to his screensaver and on his phone. Something about drawing on canvases didn't capture Antonio the way working on a person did. He felt ...

  Tammi Marks-McDonald Q: You've been in the industry for 20 years. How have you seen it change the most? Do you think it's for better or worse? McDonald: “There have been so many changes. I think the internet has had one of the biggest influences in so many areas of our industry. 20 years ago there weren't makeup schools around to learn from. We had to study what we saw being produced and learn from each other and doing. While that is still the same today in many ways, the internet allows more education to reach more people worldwide. So influences are now broader than they ever were before. It also allows misinformation to spread as well and we see trends developing based off of stage makeup, makeup comedy videos, etc.and I think we need to be aware that what we hear isn't always correct. The internet also has allowed us as artists to share our work more easily with the birth of online magazines. Even the fashion industry is changing, e...

Iris Moreau got her start walking the runways of New York City and Paris as a high-fashion model. Eventually, she transitioned out and began looking for a new way to channel her creativity. Becoming a makeup artist seemed a natural extension of the industry she'd worked in. The contacts she'd made during her modeling career helped her break in as a makeup artist, but she still needed to prove her abilities. Moreau had some insights into the changes in the industry and where aspiring makeup artists should put their focus now. Her work has been featured in Marie Claire and Glamour, among other beauty and fashion magazines, and she's worked with celebrities including Eva Longoria, January Jones, and Paris Hilton. Q: Many aspiring MUA's believe once they get a high-profile client, a magazine editorial or a big-name agent, they will have "arrived." Is this a misconception? You talked about how it's a very cyclical career. What should those aspiring artist...

        International editorial makeup artist Jennifer Ellis, who lives in Australia Q: You talked of a pivotal moment when you left a stable paycheck to pursue makeup artistry full-time. Many warned you this wasn't the logical thing to do. How did you tune out the voices of others and what made you just go for it? Ellis: “I had started to feel very stifled in my career, and felt like all the extra hours I worked could have been spending working on my own business. I’ve never been one to stick to the the typical 9-5 hours, so to me it made sense that I should channel all that effort into a business of my own. I’d studied makeup for many years prior, and it had always lingered in the back of my mind. It was also during a time when our company was going through a restructure and a lot of people are being laid off. Seeing colleagues leaving after dedicating decades of their life to the company really made me realize that even a so-called steady job is not a ...

Patrick Xiong's images are beautiful, but it's a boring term. He lives and works in New York City, a place rife with beauty/editorial photographers. Whether it was calculated or just a reflection of his professional style, he's gone the anti-perfection route: His images don't appear photoshopped or retouched to fit a makeup campaign's demands. In many ways, he's the antithesis of a beauty photographer. His images capture something else – an echoing pain in a model's eyes, the moment of joy that can't be manufactured on cue. Most of his images also capture reality: If the model looks a little worn, he keeps that in the image and somehow that imperfection holds us more deeply. He's a very private person: His profile on his professional website simply states he's an editorial photographer in New York City. He declines to give personal information about himself and a headshot. Xiong, however, graciously agreed to answer the following question, s...

Yvonne MacInnis, left, at work. She is the Global Educating Artist for Marc Jacobs Beauty Scrolling through Yvonne MacInnis' Instagram feed is a visual smorgasbord: The makeup styles are so varied, with MacInnis often using her own face to showcase makeup like it were a painting, unafraid to shock, inspire, or potentially even disturb someone's sense of polite society. That's MacInnis' style - complex, varied, artistic, even at times political. She uses makeup as the platform for it all. Q: You work on various mediums of visual art and not just makeup. Do you consider yourself focused on one area or do you not put yourself into a particular category? MacInnis: "I think there is something to be said for being a 'Jane of all trades.'  I've always pushed myself to flex all my creative muscles - especially the ones that don't feel so comfortable - because that usually means you're learning something. While I feel it's important t...

Makeup artist Nigel Stanislaus' Instagram is a health mix of polished artistry and self-effacing humor. How many high-profile artists would post an image of themselves staring quizzically at a subject and joking that they made the eyebrows uneven. Or when someone posts that he's handsome, Stanislaus responds, "Are we looking at the same picture?"Stanislaus isn't above making jokes, including ones where he's his own punchline. That aside, the Maybelline ambassador still takes his work very seriously, a healthy combination that makes him accessible and engaging with his audience on Instagram, during workshops, and at events. He has several New York and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week events under his belt as well as doing ad campaigns for Maybelline.  Q: When did you know you wanted to be a makeup artist? How early did the passion start? Stanislaus: “I didn't know. As far as I remembered, I wanted to be a fashion designer, but that...