Skip to main content
Services & Events
MECCA-logo-black.svg
WishlistBag
Search

  • Book an appointment

archive-early-days-banner-oct-25.jpg
MECCA Archive
History of Beauty
21st Century Girl
Story of MECCA
About The Archive

The Artists Behind the World’s Most Iconic Makeup Brands
Words by Christie Sinclair, with thanks to our brands

As MECCA’s founder and co-CEO Jo Horgan always tells us, “A lipstick is a lipstick is a lipstick, until you breathe life, hopes and dreams into it” – and that’s exactly what these visionaries did!

But before they were the founders of your favourite beauty brands, they were artists. Meet the creatives who turned their craft into cult-status brands.

François Nars Redefined Beauty – Then Made the World Blush

You might think that François Nars changed beauty forever with one provocative name and an unparalleled shade. But long before ‘Orgasm’ made its way into the kits of millions, he was already one of the most influential makeup artists ever. Raised in the South of France by his mother and first muse, Claudette, Mr Nars grew up devouring French Vogue sketches until he began formal artistry training in Paris. Here, his talents were recognised by editor Polly Mellen, who whisked him to New York. There, his work with major publications, designers and legendary photographers like Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier and Helmut Newton would go on to shape modern beauty through an obsession with the way light hits skin.

Meanwhile, with models like Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell in his chair, he was always gathering data. Every face, every shade and every flash of the camera helped lay the foundation for his own collection, which he launched in 1994 exclusively at Barneys New York with 12 lipsticks.

Every creation since then – from ‘Orgasm’ Blush to Sheer Glow Foundation and Laguna Bronzing Powder – has encapsulated his lifelong obsession with makeup that looks like skin: the NARS signature.

archive-brand-on-the-tools-nars-1-oct-25.gif

François Nars Redefined Beauty – Then Made the World Blush

You might think that François Nars changed beauty forever with one provocative name and an unparalleled shade. But long before ‘Orgasm’ made its way into the kits of millions, he was already one of the most influential makeup artists ever. Raised in the South of France by his mother and first muse, Claudette, Mr Nars grew up devouring French Vogue sketches until he began formal artistry training in Paris. Here, his talents were recognised by editor Polly Mellen, who whisked him to New York. There, his work with major publications, designers and legendary photographers like Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier and Helmut Newton would go on to shape modern beauty through an obsession with the way light hits skin.

Meanwhile, with models like Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell in his chair, he was always gathering data. Every face, every shade and every flash of the camera helped lay the foundation for his own collection, which he launched in 1994 exclusively at Barneys New York with 12 lipsticks.

Every creation since then – from ‘Orgasm’ Blush to Sheer Glow Foundation and Laguna Bronzing Powder – has encapsulated his lifelong obsession with makeup that looks like skin: the NARS signature.

archive-brand-on-the-tools-nars-1-oct-25.gif
archive-brand-on-the-tools-nars-2-1-oct-25.jpg
archive-brand-on-the-tools-nars-2-2-oct-25.gif
archive-brand-on-the-tools-kevyn-aucoin-1-oct-25.gif

The Artist Who Broke Every Makeup Rule

In the ’90s, Kevyn Aucoin was the MUA behind so many famous faces, from supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss to Hollywood icons Julia Roberts, Cher and Courtney Love. His aesthetic was described as transformative, characterised by contouring without severe lines. Paired with bright under-eyes, luminous skin and a palette of smoky neutrals, his work always emphasised the natural angles of the face. As Love herself put it on page 156 of Making Faces, Aucoin’s bestselling book: “Kevyn is the first makeup ‘artist’ I have ever known; by artist, I mean purely involved with transformation that is genderless and boundless. He knows the art of transformation, whether it's anarchy or high glamour or mixing blackberries into Vaseline.”

Aucoin's influence extended well beyond the runway and red carpet; Making Faces was the ‘Beauty Bible’ for a generation, translating his backstage artistry secrets into step-by-step techniques. Next, the launch of his eponymous beauty brand gave everyone access to the very products and tools he relied on, from sculpting powders to statement lipsticks and blushes in textures we’d never seen before. For the first time, artistry was something anyone could master.

archive-brand-on-the-tools-kevyn-aucoin-1-oct-25.gif

The Artist Who Broke Every Makeup Rule

In the ’90s, Kevyn Aucoin was the MUA behind so many famous faces, from supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss to Hollywood icons Julia Roberts, Cher and Courtney Love. His aesthetic was described as transformative, characterised by contouring without severe lines. Paired with bright under-eyes, luminous skin and a palette of smoky neutrals, his work always emphasised the natural angles of the face. As Love herself put it on page 156 of Making Faces, Aucoin’s bestselling book: “Kevyn is the first makeup ‘artist’ I have ever known; by artist, I mean purely involved with transformation that is genderless and boundless. He knows the art of transformation, whether it's anarchy or high glamour or mixing blackberries into Vaseline.”

Aucoin's influence extended well beyond the runway and red carpet; Making Faces was the ‘Beauty Bible’ for a generation, translating his backstage artistry secrets into step-by-step techniques. Next, the launch of his eponymous beauty brand gave everyone access to the very products and tools he relied on, from sculpting powders to statement lipsticks and blushes in textures we’d never seen before. For the first time, artistry was something anyone could master.

archive-brand-on-the-tools-kevyn-aucoin-2-1-oct-25.gif
archive-brand-on-the-tools-kevyn-aucoin-2-2-oct-25.jpg

The Donni Davy Effect

There’s one person we can thank for making rhinestone-studded lids and glitter tears part of the beauty zeitgeist: Donni Davy. Her experimental, Emmy-winning artistry on HBO’s Euphoria started an entire movement, now known simply as ‘Euphoria makeup’, characterised by bold, bejewelled eyes paired with skin that looked lived-in – or rather, partied in. In partnership with studio A24, she took the looks we obsessed over on screen and put them straight into our makeup bags with her brand, Half Magic.

But Davy’s success didn’t come out of nowhere. A fine arts graduate-turned-makeup artist, she cut her teeth in film and TV, honing a style that was raw, expressive and deeply character-driven. On the set of Euphoria, Davy often designed looks in the moment to match a scene’s mood or character’s emotions: “The looks came to life through experimentation and play,” she explains.

It was this improvisational style that made her work feel so new and authentic – and made the world fall in love with her artistic vision.

archive-brand-on-the-tools-half-magic-1-oct-25.jpg

The Donni Davy Effect

There’s one person we can thank for making rhinestone-studded lids and glitter tears part of the beauty zeitgeist: Donni Davy. Her experimental, Emmy-winning artistry on HBO’s Euphoria started an entire movement, now known simply as ‘Euphoria makeup’, characterised by bold, bejewelled eyes paired with skin that looked lived-in – or rather, partied in. In partnership with studio A24, she took the looks we obsessed over on screen and put them straight into our makeup bags with her brand, Half Magic.

But Davy’s success didn’t come out of nowhere. A fine arts graduate-turned-makeup artist, she cut her teeth in film and TV, honing a style that was raw, expressive and deeply character-driven. On the set of Euphoria, Davy often designed looks in the moment to match a scene’s mood or character’s emotions: “The looks came to life through experimentation and play,” she explains.

It was this improvisational style that made her work feel so new and authentic – and made the world fall in love with her artistic vision.

archive-brand-on-the-tools-half-magic-1-oct-25.jpg
archive-brand-on-the-tools-half-magic-2-1-oct-25.gif
archive-brand-on-the-tools-half-magic-2-2-oct-25.jpg

Discover More Beauty History

The History of Beauty

A timeline of the moments that defined beauty culture from the 1900s to now.

Read more

The Art of Seeing Beauty

Katy Hessel reframes beauty through untold stories in art.

On Making History

A message from Vogue's first Indigenous Australian cover model, Elaine George.

Skip to content below carousel

The History of Beauty

A timeline of the moments that defined beauty culture from the 1900s to now.

The Art of Seeing Beauty

Katy Hessel reframes beauty through untold stories in art.

On Making History

A message from Vogue's first Indigenous Australian cover model, Elaine George.

Skip to content above carousel