Let’s be real here for a second; even those who aren’t the tiniest bit beauty or make-up obsessed want to put their best foot forward. Whether that means getting that ‘I woke up like this’ skin or finally mastering the art of contouring or a smoky eye, it’s true. Think of it like this: being well put together beauty-wise is like sporting a great outfit – it’s a visual cue to the world. It says: I’m so in control of my shit that I religiously dedicate even the smallest amount of time to take care of myself. And who doesn’t want to be that woman?
That’s partly why our team have long been obsessed with British-born make-up artist, Katie Jane Hughes. She makes make-up look easy, or at least, a whole lot less daunting for us mere mortals. If you’re not following her on Snapchat yet, we suggest you change that pronto, because she’s made it her mission to show women just how simple it is to nail the basics, right through to the more trend-led styles through short tutorials.
Her make-up journey started with a red lip. Not hers, but her mother’s. Catching up in the apartment she shares with her husband in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, she tells me that those memories of her mum’s red lips, manicured nails and often clumpy black lashes are some of her fondest early beauty memories and where it all began for her.
Her career trajectory is one that’s littered with accomplishments. She’s gone from working as a nail technician in her home town of Southport to assisting the world’s best make-up artists and now serves as the Global Colour Ambassador for British beauty brand, butter LONDON. Oh, and did we mention she opened her own salon in her twenties? You know, casual. Through her role at butter, she’s led teams of artists at shows in both New York and London; the list of photographers she’s worked with runs the gamut from Boo George to Josh Olins and she’s painted the faces of everyone from Kerry Washington to Naomi Campbell. Even the day we meet, she’s preparing to do the make-up for Emmy Rossum for a Ralph Lauren party that evening.
What’s most refreshing though, is that Katie’s career isn’t one based solely around the glamour of the industry (granted there’s still a lot of that), but mostly on using make-up to make women look and feel their best. So, naturally, we were excited as we made our way to her apartment to quiz her, not on her clients’ looks but what she does to her skin and the secrets behind her make-up routine. Here, she spills all…
WORK
EARLY MEMORIES OF BEAUTY & ASSISTING: I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t into make-up. My mum is a singer and would always wear this glam red lip and black bold lash that was almost clumpy. It was very beautiful yet messy but perfect. I think that’s my earlies make-up memory. I moved to London to pursue make-up quite quickly and dove head first into assisting some incredible artists. Assisting is everything; it’s school really. I was bold in my approach and would email artists, call agents and just ask for work. It showed I was keen and I think that helped set me apart. For anyone wanting to assist now, I’d say it’s important to be flexible, eager and have the ability learn fast. Being flexible, eager and learning fast. You have to be flexible as fashion is so last minute at times. So long as you can handle that, you will be okay. Every team you work with is likely to be different so that’s where learning fast comes in. You need to be able to adapt to your surroundings without sacrificing who you are. It’s hard but isn’t impossible.
CHALLENGES IN THE BEGINNING: It wasn’t easy but persistence was and still is key. I started doing nails in fashion in London as there wasn’t that many of us at the time. I knew I wanted to break into make-up so I didn’t try too hard to get nail work but I would take any paid work that came in. The bonus was that I was doing nails on jobs alongside some of the greats like Alex Box and Sharon Dowsett and would get to see them work. The down side is people would get to know me for nails and then never think of me for make-up. I found it very hard and still do at times, but I finally feel like I’m being looked at as a makeup artist.
ON OWNING A SALON IN HER TWENTIES & LEARNING THROUGH YOUTUBE: I trained as a manicurist first in Southport England. I worked in a salon for about two years and then started taking my own clients on and opened the shop soon after. It’s easy in a small town as everything is word of mouth. I got bored though and needed more, more of a challenge. That’s when I really started to look at make-up for me as a real career. I don’t necessarily think that formal beauty training is necessary today. Social media and YouTube has made beauty more accessible than when I started but I think it’s great for some things but bad for others. As far as fashion make-up goes, YouTube is hard to learn from because a lot of what is on there is party make-up which is either over contoured or just generally overdone.
ON BUTTER LONDON: Today, I’m their Global Colour Ambassador, which involves leading my team in New York and London Fashion Week and working closely with beauty editors to make sure they know what’s new with the brand. I also work with the in-house production team on what’s coming next and the products we should create. It’s a huge compliment when a brand wants to work with you in this capacity as you’re essentially the face of the brand. It’s great to be recognized as a brand artist for sure. Every day is different, which I love. Some days I’ll be out with our PR team meeting editors talking them through new products and another day I’ll be on set shooting or getting a celeb ready. It’s the variety that keeps me entertained. The travel gets tough at times though. I’m not the best at flying and that comes part and parcel of the job so that’s the one part that I find most challenging.
ON CREATE LOOKS AT FASHION WEEK: All the designers that I’ve worked with are very different and want different things I always have to adapt and give them what they need, but from a brand perspective we need something too. It’s important for me to create looks that reflect our brand identity too. It’s a game of balance; it has to right for them and right for us too.
THE MISCONCEPTIONS OF BEING A MAKE-UP ARTIST: People think it’s easy. The reality is that you’re constantly having to push yourself to be better and come up with your own concepts and ideas. On some days it’s easy and comes like second nature but other days it’s more difficult. Even using social media requires a lot of though these days. I love Snapchat and I love educating people on the power of make-up. Maybe it’s something I will put more focus on in future. I’m still deciding. I just feel the whole social space is oversaturated at the moment so I need to think of a way to make my presence different. See, it’s not as simple and easy as you’d think…
BEAUTY
HER SKINCARE ROUTINE: I cleanse mostly before bed and let me skin breath overnight. I tend to use oils to cleanse. I love using Boscia Makeup Breakup Cleansing oil with a warm wash cloth. It removes makeup like no other and leaves the skin feeling balanced. If my skin needs it, I use the Laniege Water Sleeping Mask. It hydrates and plumps the skin overnight. I often just wake up, spritz with a mist and start my serum and face cream routine. I read this is what Salma Hayek does as she likes her natural oils that come overnight to benefit her makeup and skin the next day. If it’s hot overnight, I wake up and put a cold wash cloth over my face to refresh first. When I get out of the shower I use Colbert MD Illumino Body Oil on damp skin. It’s one of the best. Its light in texture which I like. I love Weleda Skin Food too. It’s an everything cream: it makes dry bits look glossy, deals with burns and cleans up little make-up mistakes too. I will never stop using it! Generally, I take a less is more approach to my skincare. I think the less we do the better our skin is. There is only one facial I have tired and loved and it was the Colbert MD Triad facial. It was press gift and was truly incredible.
ON HAIR: I’m really simple when it comes to my hair routine. I wash once a week and use the Curl Range from Bumble & Bumble. When I’ve washed it, I simply comb through with a wide tooth comb and leave it to air dry and then smooth it over of wave it. I colour my hair a lot so to give it a bit of TLC I apply a mask every few weeks. I use mostly Bumble & Bumble products because they always seem to agree with my hair. At the moment my hair isn’t at its healthiest. I went blonde last year and it was a big mistake. It didn’t do anything for my hair and it didn’t feel like me. Going red was a pit stop back to brown but I’m really enjoying it so will probably stay red for a while. For haircuts I turn to my friend Evanie Frausto. We met on set and he gives me the best blunt bob.
ON MAKE-UP: If my skin is acting up, being dry or temperamental I use Weleda Skin Food as my face cream with a full coverage foundation over. The oiliness of Weleda will sheer out the full cover foundation. For eyes I love a big spikey lash look so the new Double Decker Lashes mascara from butter LONDON is great for that. I always finish the look off with a little nude lip. Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage, the butter LONDON Plush Rush Lipstick in Free and my Illamasqua Brow Gel in Stare are just a few of the products that are always in heavy rotation in my make-up bag. I’m known for creating dewy skin on set so I love prepping skin with oily products and really massaging them in and going over with a buffing brush and some kind of fuller coverage complexion product. I’m a sucker for a strong eye look too. I love a black pencil that’s soft but sets quickly. Butter LONDON Wink in Union Jack Black is by far my favourite. It’s great for a smoky wing. That’s the look I go for in the evening. I’ll often do a smoky wing for drama. My eyes are starting to go a little hooded so the messier I make my eyes the better.
ON NAILS: I do them myself. I don’t like getting them done as I don’t always like how people shape them. I go for pedicures though. I like this place called Pau Hana near my house in Brooklyn. My pro kit used to consist of multiple brands of nail lacquers but our wide array of shades at butter LONDON means I only carry and use them on set and on myself. I love a good nude like Yummy Mummy and a good plum like Afters in the Patent Shine 10x Formula.