With more than 20 years in the beauty business, Daniel Martin is one of the most sought-after makeup artists in the industry—and for good reason. The talented artist, who’s renowned for his skincare-first approach to beauty, has perfected the art of creating an enviable, radiant glow that lets natural beauty shine through. It’s easy to understand why his makeup looks are so strongly coveted and admired amongst those of us in the beauty community and beyond.
Martin’s army of loyal celebrity clients, which includes the likes of Nicola Coughlan, Gemma Chan, Jessica Alba, and Michelle Yeoh are truly a testament to his makeup excellence. Not to mention, his enduring collaboration with longtime friend and client, Meghan Markle, has resulted in a multitude of effortlessly beautiful makeup looks (her glowing skin and “no-makeup makeup” from her 2018 royal wedding may come to mind) that are a constant source of beauty inspiration to many. And in recent years, he’s been able to make an even bigger impact on the beauty space as the Global Director of Artistry & Education for beloved Japanese-inspired beauty brand Tatcha. For those unaware, his appointment to the role back in 2020 made him the first Asian-American to take on the executive-level position at a beauty brand, which is a very big deal!
So you can imagine how excited I was to be able to witness his incredible artistry firsthand during his main stage session at the Makeup Show Chicago last month. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, I even got the chance to chat with him afterwards about all things beauty and his exceptional work with his celebrity clients. Ahead, Martin discusses how he creates a flawless base for his makeup looks, his advice for aspiring makeup artists, the direction he sees beauty heading in 2025, and so much more.
The Tease: You’re known industry-wide for your skin-first approach to beauty. Why is skin such an important point of focus for you?
Daniel Martin: I think skin became my thing because I suffered from really horrible acne in high school. And most of my adult life has always been about my own personal journey with skin and the fact that when I had bad skin, I tried to cover it up with makeup. It just never looked right and I was never comfortable with it. So I think having that skin approach for me, personally, was kind of what set the trajectory of my own point of view in makeup because I don’t ever want to see makeup on the face—I want to see the person. And it took 25 years to figure out how to do that, especially with the caliber of clients that I’m working with. But it enabled me to set myself up in a way that differentiates me from other artists in the sense that I’m empowering the client with their own beauty rather than using the makeup first.
What are your secrets to executing a flawless skin prep every single time?
Martin: So a lot of it is just exfoliation, balancing, and hydration. Those are what I would say are the three pillars that I tend to think about because I want to exfoliate any kind of roughness and dead skin, so whatever I put on top of it is more smooth. The balance is getting your skin texture to a point where the skin tone is even. If there’s redness to the skin and if there’s sallowness to the skin, I rather try to manipulate that with skincare than makeup because the makeup over time will break up. It’s almost like building a house. If I sent the foundation properly, then everything that I do on top of it is seamless.
What’s your favorite way to make skin look naturally radiant?
Martin: I tend to highlight first and then build around it because I feel like if you try to build light and dark on the base with makeup, it can look too heavy—especially depending on the highlighter that you’re using. It could be too glittery or it could be too shimmery, so I like to do highlighting with products that manipulate light. So a lot of creams that have a bit of mica in it or a moisturizer that has a bit more emulsion in it so it creates this milky texture on the skin. I’d rather do that with skincare and makeup rather than color. I can lay color on top of it afterwards, for the longevity of it, but I can’t let it be the sole product that I use because over time it just kind of breaks up.
Awards season is upon us yet again. Is there a specific makeup look that you are veering towards or are particularly excited about trying with your clients at any of the upcoming award shows?
Martin: I would love to see more color, and I hate that this word has been so bastardized, but demure in the sense that it’s almost like quiet luxury. I want to be able to see something on someone’s face and be like, ‘Oh my God, that looks so good!” But you don’t know why it looks good because it’s not like that’s the focus. I tend to look at color on the face as an accessory. It’s like they tell you that if you love jewelry to take that one piece of jewelry off before you’re out the door. I want this to be that jewel on your face that resonates, but also it makes everything else more balanced and tonal and it’s complimenting the outfit. Because the red carpet is always about the dress and everything’s built around it, but if you have that one piece of color—whether it’s a lip or an eye that kind of pops—that takes the elevation to a whole other level without it taking away the focus of the dress.
When it comes to creating a makeup look for the red carpet, do you consider it better to make a statement or stay classic?
Martin: Red carpet is one area of collaboration where you’re dealing with the hairdresser and the stylist. And the stylist always has a vision and you want to be able to collaborate and make that vision without compromising or canceling out anything else. So it’s kind of a process that you all have to come to a consensus with. But when you get there, and at the end of the day, it’s about the client feeling good about what it is you’re doing. And though you may have this idea, they may not be feeling it that day. So you have to pivot and you have to make the most of it, but that’s part of the collaboration of it all.
What factors do you take into consideration when you’re creating a makeup look for your clients?
Martin: You have to consider the weather that day. You have to consider how much time that they have in the car from when you start glam to where they’re going. And you have to really understand if they’re a person that is going to touch up their makeup or if they’re not. I have one client that doesn’t—she’s a one and one. You do it and she doesn’t want to think about it. And I have others who want to leave with an arsenal of miniature makeup that you did on them so they can touch up themselves. So it kind of depends on the client, but it’s again about that trust that you build with them.
How much does social media play into the makeup looks that you create for your clients? Do you ever take into consideration how it’s going to appear on social media?
Martin: At the end of the day, you kind of have to let all of that go and just focus on your client and how comfortable they are in your work. When it starts to get to that point, you kind of have to step away from it. I try not to be on social media, just because you wind up going down this rabbit hole that you don’t realize and then you start creating these ideas and these judgements on yourself—and you’re the one that’s doing that. You can read one stupid comment and it could take you in a total spiral, but if you know that you’re a good artist and you know that you love working with these people, you just have to let it go. And that’s what I’ve learned about social media ,is that social media for me is a place where I can share my work and connect with people. But at the first sign that you start throwing shade, you’re done. And that’s the thing about having your own space and your own Instagram account or Tiktok. That’s yours for you. And if you choose to block and to do all these things, so be it. I know so many people who get so defeated when they see things and they hear comments or they read comments and you just have to tune it all out because it’s not good for your mental health.
For the last few years, you’ve been working with Tatcha as their first-ever Global Director of Artistry and Education. Education is how you actually got your start in the industry, teaching makeup classes for Aveda. How would you describe your teaching philosophy and how do you approach teaching at major industry events like the Makeup Show Chicago?
Martin: I think it’s so important for people to understand that we live in such a social media world now. It’s created this perception and this idea of how one moves up in this business or how one moves in this space. And I tell everyone that I meet who asks that you have to start from the ground up to truly not only understand the artistry, but also to understand how to relate to people. You’re understanding how makeup can be so transformative—not just covering up, but also enhancing somebody’s life.
I don’t ever want my clients to feel like I’m covering them up. I know a lot of people who completely take the face away and build it back, and then the person is left with no identity because you’ve created something that they don’t recognize. Some people love it and some people hate it. I’m lucky that my clients want me to enhance what they have versus take it away. So I think you have to truly understand every nook and cranny of this business because it shapes the artist that you want to become.
As far as things that aspiring makeup artists can do to set themselves up for success in their future careers in the industry, what do you recommend?
Martin: I think it’s so important to assist somebody because not only are you learning their style and technique, but you’re also learning and working with other assistants to create your own teams. And that’s the thing that people don’t realize is that there’s a whole generation of us assistants who are now doing it on our own and we’ve known each other for 15 or 20 years. That’s kind of how these things happen and your contemporaries happen.
Instagram is purely marketing. If that’s what pays your bills—amazing, but you take that element away and no one’s going to know who you are. They want to see the work. They want to see what you can do. I know clients who have hired Instagram artists and they get on set and they don’t know how to do makeup on somebody else, or they don’t understand lighting. And it’s so frustrating, because they may have a million followers, but when you get down to the bare bones of doing someone else’s makeup, they have no idea.
How do you feel about the way in which Instagram has shaped beauty? Is it for better or for worse?
Martin: Because there’s now so many other social media platforms popping up, you’re finding people digesting information in totally different ways. So I think for makeup artists, TikTok is great to learn makeup execution because you’re seeing these videos and you’re learning so much. It’s almost like YouTube. What we all learned on YouTube, you can now find it on TikTok. Instagram is your editorial. It’s where you post the work that you do and share the story behind it. That’s where people are going to see that you shot for Vogue and this is the team that you worked with. You’re not necessarily learning how to do makeup unless you look at reels that are more tutorial-like. So there’s so many venues that you can digest all this education and information. But you do have to tailor it to your own needs and how it’s going to benefit yourself and your business.
What advice would you give to other makeup artists who aspire to someday work with major brands as an ambassador or in a similar capacity to what you do with Tatcha?
Martin: I was very fortunate that early on I got a taste of makeup marketing, but I think now, because of social, a lot of those marketing dollars are being moved to social because they’ve seen that through TikTok and TikTok Shop that someone creating a post can really drive sales. However, you have to be authentic about it. As soon as someone picks up that you’re not authentic about what it is that you’re doing, and it doesn’t come across as real, I don’t want to say you’re cancelled, but that trust isn’t there. So if you’re looking to do social for brands, start doing stuff that you feel is authentic and then tag the brand. These brands see all of that. The micro influencers are moving the needle more so than the actual influencers now. And it’s not about the followers, it’s about the engagement. So you could have 10,000 followers, but if you have high engagement, the brands are going to look at you because they’re going to truly see that you are authentically connecting with your audience. And that’s the most important.
Who do you have the biggest beauty crush on right now and why?
Martin: Cynthia Erivo. Joanna Simkin who works with her—she really gets it with Cynthia. Her skin is flawless and her makeup is always on point. It’s been so incredible to see the whole Wicked trajectory. Cynthia is like a unicorn to me. This beautiful light that has this incredible voice, but also impeccable style. Cynthia is amazing.
Where do you see makeup heading for 2025, in terms of colors, techniques, and trends?
Martin: I don’t want to make this political, but after what just happened, we, as a society and as a culture, have come to a reckoning. And I feel like we’re going to really see individuality and creativity and art on the rise because when things like this happen, there’s a movement—a creative movement—that happens, whether it’s art, music, or culture. We’re going to see this happen and what’s going to make all of us rise and come back from this is individuality, purpose, and just creativity. So I feel like the freaks are going to get freakier. It’s on because so much is at stake. But we’re truly going to understand and love all of that because we’ve been duped. I feel like we’re going to have to rebuild and reconnect now. And It’s going to our individuality and having that in our faces culturally that is going to hopefully wake us all up. So I want to see a lot of color. I want to see a lot of experimentation, optimism, and creativity. I feel like because politics and government are going to reflect in a certain way, we’re going to need all of those things to cancel them out.
