Artist Spotlight Series: Emilie Louizides
Meet Emilie
Makeup artist Emilie Louizides is no stranger to art, in all forms. While she started off studying fashion at Savannah College of Art and Design, she quickly discovered that makeup was becoming the more exciting path for her.
“As I started to neglect my schoolwork, I realized that I was building a makeup portfolio,” she explains. “I was doing makeup for actors, dancers, photographers, basically anyone who was majoring in any given discipline that needed makeup for their projects.”
She decided to follow her growing portfolio across the pond to London College of Fashion, where she got her Bachelors of Art in Hair and Makeup for Fashion—the only option for a BA in makeup at the time. While getting her degree, she was thrust into the field from pretty much the moment she started, which ended up being one of the best aspects of the experience.
“The degree I did here in London, where I’m still based, encouraged us to get to work as soon as we could,” she says. “The amazing thing about my course and my degree was that my classmates were photographers, stylists, creative directors, etc. So we had a built-in network from the jump. I really did start shooting in my first year — the paid work started to roll in by my 3rd and final year there. So I’ve been “professionally” working for 6 years, but really it’s closer to 9 or 10 years total.”
It Always Starts with a Little Lipstick
Let’s go back to the beginning—I’m always curious how makeup artists get their start AKA their first memory with makeup. With Emilie, that first vivid memory involved sugar lipsticks.
“My mom used to make me a birthday cake for every birthday—we’d do it together most years—but there was this one birthday where my mom found all these little edible sugar lipsticks and she put them all over my cake. That sticks out in my mind,” she says.
Those sugar treats led to an interest in digging through her mom’s makeup bag (I can relate!) where she played with makeup that was most definitely not meant for preteen skin.
“Brands were really marketing to moms at that time. I’d be putting on this makeup as this 12-year old girl and it would make me look like a 30-year old. We didn’t have Milk or Glossier back then!” she exclaims.
From Mom’s Makeup To Music
Emilie focuses on a little bit of everything within the fashion and entertainment spaces, but mainly focuses on music artists. She explains, “I’ll be working with artists on anything from their press photo shoots, to their music videos, to red carpet events, to televised live performances. I also work in editorial and during Fashion Week. It’s a pretty mixed bag! My makeup style can skew anywhere from super natural to highly editorial.”
While people may not think of music as the first place for makeup looks, over the past few years, singers have really shown us how much they enjoy combining their music with makeup looks. From Lisa Eldgridge’s work with Dua Lipa to Lady Gaga’s work with MUA Sarah Tanno, who Emilie often assists. “I mean, look at what Doja Cat is doing now compared to what she was doing five years ago,” Emilie says. “She’s like a walking piece of art now. I love that musicians are tapping into their love of visual artistry and bringing it into their sound.”
“So many people see the beauty industry as superficial and lacking substance. I have worked really hard over the years to find the substance in my job. The way I’ve done that is through tapping into the intimacy between myself and a client when I’m working with them; that is really my favorite part at the core—values, passions, the meaningful aspects of it—that means a lot to me.”
Aside from creating visual art on a musician, Emilie loves the aspect of going from meeting a stranger to connecting with them on an artistic level.
“In what other job do you meet a complete stranger and start touching their face?” she asks. “Something about breaking that touch barrier, asking where they traveled from that day, letting that conversation start rolling…you go from small talk to serious talk very fast. It’s with clients that I get to skip [small talk] and get right into it.”
Emilie has also spent the last few years transitioning to a fully cruelty-free kit. “It’s been years now since I’ve bought or accepted gifting from a brand that tests its products on animals during any part of the process,” she says. “It was really liberating to start saying no to brands that I’m not aligned with, in the values space. The reason why I highlight being a cruelty-free artist is because it’s really incredible that I can achieve such creative, artistic, beautiful results and an animal never has to suffer for any of it.”
Rapid Q’s
Is there something that you do to gain inspiration outside of makeup, if you’re feeling stuck creatively?
EL: I’ve always been really really into art, I was a very artsy kid. I took as many arts classes as I could all through school. I’m also surrounded by artists. My partner is a music producer and he has a home studio, so we have artists that come in and out all the time. I’m already surrounded by inspiration whether I’m going to an exhibition or a concert or watching a really niche film that a friend recommended or looking at work from other makeup artists. Inspiration is always accessible and I fall into not feeling inspired when I’m not consuming art. I need to always find a way to just jump back into it.
Do you have a dream client?
EL: Right now, it’s going to be Charli XCX. I love her as a performer and I love how much she likes to embrace makeup. The people and brands I’m most drawn to are those that really value creativity as a whole. So many artists are really thinking about how they’re visually packaging themselves and how they can push boundaries with their visuals. Charli XCX does that and I think I could help her push even further.
Favorite tip or trick you’ve learned?
EL: Start with the eyes first. Whether you’re doing your own makeup, a bride, or a photo shoot, start with the eyes first. They're going to come out so much cleaner and sharper and then your base makeup is going to come out so much better. It will also help you lay off the foundation and keep you from caking on too much base makeup. Oh and always contour higher up than you think you should!
“Probably the biggest undertaking of my career so far; the most rewarding and just really special and beautiful. To not just witness that much diversity in a brand, but to understand that it’s only going to continue and have this really nice ripple effect.”
Product Chat
Let’s say your kit has suddenly disappeared and you need to replenish ASAP. What are your top products that you’re instantly replenishing?
Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint — that is usually the foundation you’re going to see on every single client.
Haus Labs PHD Hybrid Lip Oil — it’s so so hydrating and beautiful and doesn’t feel sticky. It gives such nice life to the lips.
There’s an indie brand called Claropsyche and they make the most incredible eyeshadow palettes in really unique colors. If you ever see me doing a colorful eye on anybody, I probably took the colors from one of their three palettes.
Glisten cosmetics make really cool wet to dry eyeliners - my hero product from them [Chroma Flik]comes in a tube, already wet, and they’re iridescent and they come in a whole shade range. So if you ever see an iridescent liner of any sort in any color, it was probably from Glisten cosmetics.
What are your favorite products for personal use?
EL: It’s probably my Blink Brow Bar Clear Brow Gloss. I’ve been using this for a long time and I always come back to it. I use it on myself and my clients. If I want a little more makeup, it’s the Kosas concealer. Oh, and the Makeup by Mario Soft Sculpt Shaping Stick. I’m a pretty natural makeup girlie myself, so I’ll just put some clear gloss on my brows, curl my lashes, a little concealer, and the bronzer stick and I’m good to go.
And the Haus Labs lip oil!
EL: That’s already in my bag—I’m putting my sunglasses on and putting that lip oil on as I’m walking out the door ⚡️
Where to find Emilie:
💄 IG
💄 Website
“I also think it’s cool that I can take my artistry and what I consider to be visual art on someone’s face and have that be the final product of this really intimate exchange that we had. ”
Emilie’s Favorite Look
How Emilie got the look:
Kryolan Professional Makeup Rubber Mask Grease Palette
Apply the pink, gold, and green face paints with a brush, sponge, or fingers, gradually building up the coverage and slightly blending one color into the next.
Finish off the look with an exaggerated black wing.
Additional Credits:
Artist @kaisha4u
Photographer @j___heavens
Stylist @aimeeblowers
Makeup Artist @emilielouizides
Hair Stylist @britinicampbell
How I attempted the look #shoppingmystash
Colourpop’s Lilac You a Lot, Mint to Be, Blowin’ Smoke, and Sandstone palettes mixed with Auric Glow Lust and Kosas Revealer Foundation.
Lauren Conrad Beauty Liquid Liner