Makeup: The Sunday Times Bestseller and practical step-by-step guide to makeup and beauty from much-loved makeup artist Hannah Martin

Product Information

Sometimes, she says, she worries about appearing narcissistic. ‘I often wonder, do the school mums think I’m a poseur who loves my own reflection? But my motivation isn’t that at all. It’s lovely to work on models, but harder for people to mimic. How’s that going to help Sue, who’s in her 50s, with fine lines? By doing it on myself, I hope people watch me and go, “Ah, so that’s how you hold the brush.” Then they can copy me.

Makeup artist to the stars Hannah Martin has 15 years experience in the beauty industry. Working her magic on everything from editorial shoots to catwalks she has worked with some powerhouse names in the industry including L'Oreal Paris, Cle de Peau Beaute, and SpaceNK. It was here she first encountered the products of US make-up artist and celebrity favourite Bobbi Brown, a life-changing moment that led her to badger its area manager for a job (‘I called her every day for two weeks’). Her persistence paid off. An entry-level retail job turned into a 12-year career which saw Martin become one of Brown’s elite team of artists, travelling the world, working on fashion shows and developing products. Hannah Martin's commitment to artistic excellence, transformative makeovers, and empowering beauty enthusiasts has cemented her status as one of the most sought-after names in the world of makeup. If Hannah Martin wasn’t so warm, she’d be rather intimidating, possessed as she is of such a flawlessly made-up face. But while her face might be ‘show poodle’ her personality is ‘Labrador’, thanks to a boundless enthusiasm for her job that’s gloriously infectious. Martin, 31, may be a Royal family favourite, but it’s a subject she’s not allowed to talk about. When I ask – a few days before the Coronation – whether she’ll be tending to any royal faces during the event, she says she is contractually obliged not to say.While she loves working with the A-list, she gets just as much joy from giving make-up masterclasses to her fans. She says that in her experience, the most common mistake older women make is ‘either not doing anything because they are paralysed by this fear that they’re going to look worse, or they do too much in a bid to recreate the make-up they wore at a time in their life when they felt most confident’. The go-to glow up handbook, this book is the one-stop shop for everything you need or want to know about makeup, and how to look good while caring for your skin.

Other things that can be handy are mints (again, champagne and nerves can play havoc with your breath!), a hanky (tissues can disintegrate on the face and even worse, get in your eyes and cause them to stream but a little dab of a handkerchief prevents that), an atomiser with your favourite fragrance - it’s always nice to have a little fragrance spruce! 6. Avoid using a foundation with SPFIn her 15 years of working in the beauty industry, she has tended to the A-list faces of actors such as Helen Mirren, super-models like Miranda Kerr, and TV stars including Nadiya Hussein. A make-up artist at the top of her game, Martin’s dexterity with her own blusher is the best advertisement for why her clients should trust her with theirs. And they do: so famous is her clientele that half of them, she can’t even talk about.

We’ve asked eight leading make-up artists to share their favourite brushes to help narrow down your search, with expert advice on why each one is a cult-buy for them. For these professionals, brushes are an essential part of their kit, so we trust that you’re in good hands.What makes a successful online tutorial? Honesty.’ It wouldn’t be surprising if the Princess of Wales had turned to Martin’s skilled hand for her big entrance at Westminster Abbey earlier this month: Kate’s make-up that day was highly considered and technical, designed to ensure her face was clearly visible to millions watching. In February 2020, Hannah joined Channel 5's revamped '10 Years Younger in 10 Days' series as the resident makeup expert. Her life-changing makeovers captured hearts and accolades alike, culminating in the show winning Best Fashion and Makeup Show at the 2021 National Reality TV Awards. Martin is, however, happy to converse more broadly about the make-up required for public-facing events. ‘I don’t think there are stipulations for the young royals,’ she says, ‘but I do think that in the same way that fashion is a uniform, hair and make-up falls into a similar category.