Behind Every Famous Face
Makeup trends change fast, yet a small group of artists keeps steering the industry’s direction behind the scenes. Their brushes move between runways, red carpets, magazine pages, and pop culture moments that stick longer than any trend cycle. Some built empires, others shaped faces quietly, but all rewrote expectations. Curious how influence actually forms in beauty? Keep scrolling and see whose hands are doing the real work.
1. Pat McGrath
Calling Pat McGrath influential feels understated. Vogue named her the powerful makeup artist worldwide. Without formal training, she learned by testing everything. That curiosity later built Pat McGrath Labs into a billion-dollar brand and earned her a Dame title.
2. Charlotte Tilbury
Growing up in Ibiza shaped Charlotte Tilbury’s bold, glamorous view of makeup early on. Later, British Vogue appointed her as a contributing beauty editor. She then launched her own brand, and even an MBE, Member of the Order of the British Empire, formally recognized her impact on beauty.
3. Mario Dedivanovic
Facial contouring shifted from a niche technique to a habit through Mario Dedivanovic’s collaboration with Kim Kardashian. Because repetition teaches perception, his methods also rewired how faces are read on camera. This thinking shaped Makeup by Mario, a brand built on structure.
4. Lisa Eldridge
Lisa Eldridge entered beauty history in 2010 by launching the first professional makeup artist YouTube channel. Lancôme later appointed her Global Creative Director. Recognition also followed with an MBE in 2024, alongside a decision to donate roughly £200,000 in ad revenue.
5. Hung Vanngo
Born in Vietnam and raised in Canada, Hung Vanngo is now New York-based, creating refined red carpet looks for Hollywood’s elite. His work spans fashion and celebrity worlds. Earlier in life, he even considered hairdressing, a surprising detour before makeup took over.
6. Val Garland
Excess never scares Val Garland, and McQueen and Vivienne Westwood runways rewarded her instinct for danger. Now guiding makeup at L’Oréal Paris, she still pulls from early Sydney hair colorist days, where rules felt optional, and experimentation carried emotional weight.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York on Wikimedia
7. Peter Philips
Peter Philips currently directs the visual identity of Dior Makeup. Previously, he led Chanel Cosmetics on a global scale. Formal training at the Royal Academy of Antwerp shaped his foundation, while Paris Fashion Week backstage work introduced him to professional makeup practice.
8. Tom Pecheux
Precision builds confidence, and Tom Pecheux learned discipline first as a pastry chef, then applied it to faces. Leadership roles at Shiseido and Estée Lauder followed. Currently, Yves Saint Laurent Beauty depends on its control to guide editorial direction worldwide.
9. Sam Fine
Everyone starts somewhere, and Sam Fine started behind department store counters. Talent met opportunity fast through Tyra Banks, Iman, and Halle Berry, followed by Fine Beauty in 1998, preceding his history-making role with Revlon and CoverGirl.
Chanel Lauren Clemmons on Wikimedia
10. Mary Greenwell
Backstage memories from the 1990s still orbit Mary Greenwell’s work. Princess Diana trusted her during a defining public era. Later came editorial collaborations with Patrick Demarchelier. And a MBE in 2025 quietly acknowledged a career shaped by timing and trust.
John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA on Wikimedia
11. Kabuki
Kabuki treats faces like moving stages. Fashion, film, and fantasy blur together through his work on Sex and the City and collaborations with Madonna and Lady Gaga. Before that visibility, New York clubs formed his drag persona, where exaggeration became visual language.
Carlos M. Vazquez II on Wikimedia
12. Daniel Martin
Wedding pressure does strange things to makeup artists. However, Daniel Martin handled it calmly in 2018 while working on Meghan Markle’s reminder-free look. Based in New York now, his approach favors skin and balance, inspired years earlier by Desperately Seeking Susan.
13. Gucci Westman
Skin first. Everything else waits. Gucci Westman built that philosophy through leadership roles at Lancôme and Revlon. Westman Atelier followed, focused on restraint, and then film sets like Being John Malkovich trained her eye to respect faces instead of overpowering them.
Pear285 (talk) (Uploads) on Wikimedia
14. Sandy Linter
New York nightlife shaped Sandy Linter long before beauty manuals did. Studio 54 icons and Gia Carangi trusted her during the 1970s. Decades later, she writes beauty books for women over fifty, drawing from lived experience rather than trends.
15. Kristofer Buckle
Opera houses taught control early as Kristofer Buckle began at the Metropolitan Opera, then moved into fashion and celebrity work. Mariah Carey and Jessica Chastain followed. However, it was Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar that cemented visibility, guided by his belief that beauty should never limit possibility.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America on Wikimedia
16. Pati Dubroff
Pati Dubroff began experimenting with makeup in childhood, using a Barbie styling head. Professional training was followed at the Yves Saint Laurent counter in Bergdorf Goodman. Later, Margot Robbie and Gwyneth Paltrow became clients, alongside regular Vogue and Vanity Fair features.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America on Wikimedia
17. Vincent Oquendo
Bold makeup commands attention before words do, and Vincent Oquendo understands that effect on red carpets for Ariana DeBose and Jenna Ortega. Mentorship from Pat McGrath further shaped his confidence early, while brand partnerships like LUMIFY reinforce his visibility-focused approach.
18. Sir John Barnett
Backstage at Tom Ford’s 2010 womenswear debut, Sir John Barnett met Beyoncé. The relationship shaped his career path. Years later, he channels that experience into leadership roles at L’Oréal Paris USA and as Chief Creative Officer of CTZN Cosmetics.
19. James Kaliardos
Long before fashion campaigns, James Kaliardos practiced makeup at home, guided by curiosity. That instinct matured into Visionaire, a magazine he co-founded. Later, Louis Vuitton and MAC trusted his eye, followed by celebrity clients across fashion and film.
20. Jo Baker
Runway mornings in London and Paris trained Jo Baker to work fast and precisely. That pace carried into celebrity work with Natalie Portman and Salma Hayek. Everything shifted after Usher tapped her for tour makeup, prompting a permanent move to Los Angeles.
