All Things Beautiful: Painted By Esther

This is All Things Beautiful.

A New Wave Series exploring beauty and its various manifestations. For the duration of the series, Angel Oseghale will sit down with artists from various spheres of the beauty industry to explore their journey in the industry, and what beauty means to them.

This week, New Wave speaks to celebrity Make-Up Artist Esther Edeme, commonly known as Painted By Esther. You may or may not have heard Esther’s name before, but I can guarantee that you have seen her work. Esther’s clientele is star-studded and she is the genius behind looks for Chloe Bailey, Naomi Campbell, Kelly Rowland, Saweetie and many others. Esther describes her work as artistry, and just like any other artist, she leaves her signature on every face she works with.

Photography by Esther Edeme

Where did your journey into makeup artistry begin?

My initial artistic expression was fine art.  I've studied it all my life and at university, I studied for a Fine Arts degree. I was a nurse part-time, and I was studying part-time. Anytime that I would even have the time to go to my lectures, I would see a beautiful face and I would always just think to myself “I want to work on that face, I feel like I could make her even prettier!” Or I would see makeup that I didn’t feel was up to scratch, and mentally I would start rearranging it. Eventually, I started to pluck up the courage to ask, and they were all kind and willing. We would arrange a glam day, and they would come to my dorm, and I would do their makeup. Whenever I would post the looks, I started to go viral.

That’s when I started to think that I could do this for real. Then, I had a friend, Goldie, who was friends with Tiffany Calver. Tiffany was going on tour with Drake, and she had seen my work and liked it. She messaged Goldie to ask if I would do her makeup for the tour, and I was like yes! I ended up going on tour with her and Drake for two weeks, and it all just snowballed from there.

That was six years ago. I find it awe-inspiring the brand you have been able to build for yourself since then. I enjoy thinking of makeup as art because I believe so many of the skills are directly transferable. As someone who has studied art and is artistic in a more conventional manner, how would you say your creative nature has amplified your work?

Being an artist has helped me greatly. I’m a portraiture artist, so I have always focused on faces anyway. I’ve never enjoyed creating anything sort of landscape or even depicting the body. I have always been the most interested in faces. This means that I can tell exactly how the light is going to hit various features of your face and how your particular facial structure will interact with the light and the space around you. I know how to place things, I wouldn’t say it perfectly, but I believe I know exactly what I’m doing. And that is because this is something I have studied all my life and have always excelled at. It’s almost second nature for me.

My artistic mediums have always been pen, graphite, pencil, and sometimes paint and it is so interesting to me that oil paint is very similar to makeup. Regardless of the medium, I have always found it hard to create on a flat surface. I have always preferred multi-dimensional surfaces and things with more structure. That is what clicks in my brain.

Photography by Esther Edeme

I find it interesting that you use the word “multidimensional” because that is the exact word that comes to mind when I consume your work. Your faces are always very angular with beautiful silhouettes, prominent cheekbones, and very defined features. You create beautiful depth, especially with blush, almost as if you have sculpted the face yourself. How did you develop this signature for your looks?

It’s interesting because I don’t do my makeup the same way I do everyone else’s, and I think that is a testament to how different everyone’s face is. It’s been difficult to find something that I think translates to every different type of face, whilst still being my signature. My worst nightmare is copy and paste makeup. It’s something I actively avoid. Even in recent times, I find myself experimenting with different styles, just to remind myself that this is what makeup should be. It should be tailored to each face, and I believe that is something that artists understand - the idea that every brush stroke, colour placement, and every piece is unique. So, it has taken me quite a while to hone my signature because of this. 

Blush was something, however, that has always been key for me. I used to get dragged on Twitter for championing blush. The girls hated when I would tell them they needed a bit of colour on their face to add some dimension and blush is such a versatile tool. Sometimes if I don’t even want to wear makeup, I’ll just use an orange blush.

It also helps that I love colour. I see breathe, eat, and think in colour. That is what life is to me - it’s all about colour. So, my signature became an amalgamation of my personality and my inspirations. I am deeply inspired by old-school video vixens. I love how their makeup sat - I love the colour and how girly it was. I’m so inspired by it, and I would say the Brigitte Bardot kind of vibe is my realm. Also, drag queens! Various drag queens heavily influence a lot of my signature.

In the time you have been in the industry, you have glammed some huge names. Have you ever faced imposter syndrome? If so, how have you overcome it?

Impossible. I don’t know if it’s because I’m Nigerian or because I’m a Scorpio, but I have always gone in with the attitude that I’m going to show you what I can do, and you are going to love it. I’ve never doubted myself. I might go in and think what if they don’t like this particular style, but that’s why communication is key! If my client doesn’t want any blush, or they don’t want a fuller glam, they need to tell me. And I’ve been blessed with clients that are usually willing to do that. The only person who, maybe, doesn’t communicate is Naomi. If she is booking you, she needs to know that you know exactly what you are doing because she doesn’t just book anybody. So, for her to book me, provides me with an extra layer of confidence because it means that she believes in what I can do.

Confidence is like a muscle, and it typically needs to be built over time. What advice do you have for people just starting in makeup - whether that’s on their face or others?

Just do it! Movement is key. Get up and do it. It doesn’t make sense to me to just think about something and not put it into practice. So, begin by constantly practising every day. Get your next-door neighbour, your mum, your dad, your uncle - anyone that is willing! That applies especially if you want to be a makeup artist, and not just a makeup enthusiast (the two are not mutually exclusive). But even if you’re just an enthusiast and you’re only working on your face, practice is still key. The more you do it, the more you will build confidence, and you will grow.

Photography by Esther Edeme

What are your top tips for a flawless base?

I think working in layers is key and building is so important. I think I’m deeply inspired by Scott Barnes. He showed me how to map out a face. He had a masterclass in London a few years ago that I attended, and I think it changed my life a bit. He then blessed us again with a YouTube tutorial on Tati Westbrook and my key takeaway, and something I champion is the importance of layers. When you add, make sure to press everything into the skin. After adding anything, make sure to remove [blend] and then add some more on top. Just keep going until you have built the face. A good setting spray can also save you at times! I have formulated my own that I’ve been using since university, so I don’t have that many recommendations, but I would say the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless would be the closest to mine that I could vouch for.

I would also always recommend good quality products. It is not the end of the world if you can only afford drugstore products, but over time, it pays to invest in good quality key products. The Lancômes and the Diors, know exactly what they are doing, and I think that it comes with their territory. I need products that I know are going to perform every time and these brands always perform how I expect. You can afford to skimp on eye products and lip products, but higher-end base products make a difference. I would always recommend cream products as well. Only use a powder to set your creams and then your setting spray to melt it all together.

Also please don’t be scared of the product. Word to Uche Natori “Put that sh*t on!”. If you don’t like it, remove it!

What does beauty mean to you?

Beauty to me means life. It is everything I love, live, breathe, think about. Besides the Lord! It goes God, Beauty, and Me in that order. I enjoy finding different forms of it. I’m so inspired by faces; I’m always thinking about how far we can push a face. How creative can we be?

Beauty has changed my life. It has given me a reason to get up in the morning. Even in the Bible, I relate a lot to Queen Esther, who used her beauty to elevate herself and spread the Word of the Lord, and I think, coming from a fellow Esther, that sums it up perfectly. I find so much synergy with that.

What’s Next for Painted By Esther?

I have a lot of projects coming up. I filmed a show with Kelly Rowland that will be out on Netflix next year. I also recently worked on an episode of Top Model, which has always been one of my dreams and I’m so happy that I finally got to do that. Lastly, I would say look out for a Burberry campaign that I shot with Naomi Campbell recently that I’m super excited about.

You can find Esther on Instagram @paintedbyesther or X @paintedbyesthr

Angel Oseghale