WITH MATA MARIÉLLE
INSIDE JOB:
From breaking into the beauty business to what really happens on a shoot, get to know makeup artist Mata Mariélle.
Mata Mariélle is in demand. An award-winning makeup artist and consultant, she’s crafted beauty looks for the likes of Burberry and Gucci. She’s painted the faces of Lauryn Hill (more on that later), Alicia Keyes, Billy Porter and Joy Crookes. And she’s worked with editorial heavyweights, including Vogue, THE FACE, Dazed, Notion, Bricks, L’Officiel and Crack, to name a few.
And this month, she joins FLANNELS and THE FACE at FLANNELS X for the latest instalment of Inside Job; a new series of URL and IRL events spotlighting rising industry voices at the intersection of fashion, culture, art and music. Designed to share knowledge and remove barriers to entry within the creative industries, the series provides a new generation of fashion creatives and entrepreneurs with the tangible advice they need to level up on their own creative journey.
Our third panel talk sees Mariélle join FLANNELS go-to hair stylist and Creative Council member Issac Poleon, nail artist Lauren Michelle Pires and beauty expert Marina Mansour in conversation with THE FACE’s digital director Brooke McCord. Exploring the grit behind the glam, the panel will go beyond the surface, talking long hours, hard work and how to make it. Taking place from 6.30PM to 9.30PM on Wednesday 25th October at FLANNELS X, Oxford Street, London, you can bag a free ticket at THE FACE.
Ahead of the event, Mata Mariélle sat down with us to talk breaking into the beauty business, the importance of always asking questions and what the reality of working in beauty looks like.
What’s your journey to success looked like?
I started through my best friend Joy Crookes, who is a musician. At the time, she hadn’t released any music yet, she was still pretty much up and coming. I had a magazine and I reached out to Joy in the hopes to interview her for this magazine. The interview never came about… but we did hang out every single day from the moment we met. And then it came time for making her first visual. She was putting together a team… Her aunt is Ruby Hammer, who’s a really famous makeup artist, she was going to do the video, but she ended up dropping out because she was booked for a massive campaign. Joy completely understood. So, she came to me as her best friend and was like: “Look I don’t know what to do about makeup, I’m quite stressed.” And I was like “Okay, my mum’s got some makeup at home.” My background is in fine art, I’ve been painting and drawing my whole life… I had lots of paintbrushes at home and the night before the shoot, me and Joy both had maybe £30 to our name, we went to Oxford Circus and we bought lots of cheap makeup, lip gloss and single eyeshadows and liners... And then we saw all the babes on the makeup counters, and we begged them for samples… This was for Joy’s first video, which had 14 women -mothers and daughters - so for my first ever makeup job I had 14 women to do, of all different ethnicities, old skin and young skin… I had no assistant but somehow, I was able to do everyone’s makeup…
Talk about jumping in at the deep end.
It was a very special day for me because I realised makeup is so much more than just making someone look pretty; it’s also being able to change how they feel on the inside… I can never forget how they received the makeup, and how they were with me, it made me feel really good, and it made me feel very empowered. The shoot day was amazing; we ended up wrapping - I think it was an hour before we were supposed to… The people that Joy found, the hair stylist and the wardrobe stylist, they really liked what I did on set; they loved the makeup that I did on all these women, so they kept recommending me for work. After one video shoot, for six months straight I had a makeup job every single week. That’s basically how I started; it started through collaboration, and then it just grew into something so big and wonderful… I’m still such a big believer in collaborating and working with people, especially people that you haven’t worked with before.
If someone wants to get into a career in beauty, what one thing should they know?
I would want them to know that they shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions. If they’re certain that they want to get into beauty, they should reach out to people that they see and admire in the beauty space. If you see someone who’s always doing shoots, hit them up, message them… Or if it’s wanting to work with a beauty brand, approaching them. Approaching them directly. You can even start by going to the makeup counters in stores.
If you could give one piece of advice to young creatives starting out in beauty, what would it be?
I would say try and get onto social media. If you want to be the talent, if you want to be the star of the show, that’s absolutely fine, but how I would do it is make a whole page just dedicated to the makeup. Just post all of your looks, use hashtags, tag brands. If there’s public figures that you really like, offer them a makeup session… There were a few people that I DM’d once I set my MATA LABS page up. I had all my makeup work there, I made sure it was just makeup – I didn’t really want to have much of myself on there, at first, just because I really wanted the work to come through first before myself… I wanted people to see that I could work, that I could use my hands. So, I would reach out to people I liked… and I have gotten clients that way. I think people are so afraid of asking. And one of the keys to life, something I’m learning, especially at 25; if you don’t ask, you don’t get. And that’s so true; if you don’t ask, no one knows what it is that you’re wanting… everyone is so afraid to ask questions, but honestly, whatever it is, big or small, just ask. The worst answer is “no.” [Laughs].
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far in your career?
One of the biggest lessons [is]: you can hold on to things, but don’t hold onto them too tight. Especially when you’re a freelancer. You have one client, you’re doing them one day, and then the next day you see that they’ve gone with another makeup team. You need to try your best to not take that personally, and just know that whatever it is that you do in this creative space adds value.
With numerous covers, fashion weeks and campaigns with the likes of Burberry and Gucci under your belt, what’s been your proudest career moment to date?
I have so many pinch-me moments… I have to say Lauryn Hill. I have to! The first time I met her it was so amazing. I met her daughter a year beforehand and she had sent Lauryn a photo of me like: “Oh my gosh, I just bumped into your twin!” And then I met her a year later, and she was like, “Hey, little sis!”… And then her management told me: “You can only be in her room for an hour – hour and half maximum - because she has to be somewhere.” I was in her room for about four hours at the Four Seasons. And we were just talking, we were laughing, she even sent the nail tech out, we were having such a good time [laughing]… I loved it, I loved it so much… It just felt like I was in the presence of greatness. But also, someone who has been through life; she has been through it, you know? She is just so inspirational. She told me to just keep going, and to keep hustling, keep working.
Can you talk us through your creative process.
If it’s a very creative project - concept-type-thing – what I’ll do is ask the client if I can see their creative board, but then I’ll make at least two or three moodboards with references. I always collect images; on my phone, in real life, in the physical… So, I always have the reference for the things that I need… People think art is literally just drawing, drawing, drawing – but it wasn’t that. I did so much writing, so much research, I had to go to so many different exhibitions just to find all this information, and I think doing it so early on, and having it in my head that I have to research, I have to reference, it’s helped me today. Now, someone can ask me for a reference, and it will take me about two minutes to just get it up for them. Because I know immediately what the vision should be, what the look should be, I would just know it right away – and I know where to find it as well. It’s almost like I have a library in the back of my head.
What does a typical shoot day look like?
Shoot days aren’t an hour, two hours; you can be in the studio for like ten hours. Ten hours. I’ll get picked up in the morning, usually pretty early like 6am, 7am, 8am… I’ll have a herbal tea to get settled and then I get to set up. Usually, I’ll have an assistant with me; they’ll come get me from outside and carry my bag, which is so helpful because if I have to carry my suitcases in the morning, I’ll probably start crying. Because it’s just so heavy! Once we’ve set up all the makeup, we’ll stick around all our imagery, and all our references. And then we start prepping models’ skin. Then it’s doing the look, and then they’re getting into their clothing, do the first look, second look, and then during that there has to be makeup touch ups; so, running between set and the glam room. And then there’s look changes as well… And then it will be removal. So, when I do removal, I offer the models or the talent a facial cleanser. So, we do a proper take-off, or if they’re just in a rush, we just remove everything with cotton pads and then do a softer skincare routine.
In the world of beauty, hands down, Mother Pat McGrath. She’s a big inspiration of mine. I’ve met her a few times as well; she’s lovely. But in terms of looks, and beauty, and creativity, and everything that they’ve done over the years; Grace Jones and Janet Jackson always stand out to me. Everything that they’ve done in art, fashion, beauty, it’s so permanently in my brain. I would never be able to get rid of their impact… and I could never doubt how much they inspire me in my work as well, with their bold looks especially. I like bold colours on darker skin because of what I’ve seen from them. They were the first women of colour, they were the first Black women that I had seen in bold, vibrant colours… That’s why it’s definitely something I like to push through today; Black women, women of colour, wearing colour and being vibrant, and being the truest version of themselves.