SECRET MUSE #8

Name: Lynsey Alexander

Profession: Editorial and runway makeup artist 

Location: 

Lynsey Alexander is a globally renowned makeup artist who, for over six years, held the coveted position of Creative Colour Director for Prada Beauty. During her tenure, she created distinctive runway makeup looks grounded in Prada's singular approach to colour — nostalgic oranges and browns sharpened by metallics and flashes of acid brights, all applied to immaculately prepared, considered skin. I spoke to Lynsey about her journey into makeup, her influences, how she approaches each season, translating runway beauty into real life, the cultural history of makeup, her love of the countryside, her signature red lip, and why she chose her Ferian equestrian jewellery pieces.

 

LB You are famed for your red lip. Red lipstick is often linked to the Suffragettes and to ideas of female independence at a time when visible makeup was frequently associated with women considered morally lacking. It never seems to go out of fashion — do you think that enduring appeal lies in its rebelliousness?

LA I do. There is a real strength in wearing a striking red mouth.

I once heard somebody say that women wear red lipstick for other women rather than for men, and I love that idea. There is something about putting on your armour and transforming yourself into a slightly more confident version of who you already are.

That, for me, is really the obsession behind the work I do, this idea that for a moment you can transform, play with identity and become another version of yourself.

It is a real privilege to work in an area that can have such an immediate effect on somebody’s emotional state, wellbeing and confidence. Makeup can be incredibly frivolous, but at the same time its emotional effect can be very real.

LB You're immersed in high fashion - how do you retain your own sense of style and how do you wear your swivel fob?

LA I love it most with a white T-shirt, jeans and loafers, juxtaposed with a red lip. That has become a kind of uniform for me: black, white, red and gold. There is something effortlessly chic about taking the simplest clothes and adding one thing with real character.

I also love the solid weight of the piece. It gives it a sense of quality and authority that, strangely, reminds me of a red lip - something quite small that can completely change the way you carry yourself.

EXPLORE EQUESTRIAN PIECES

LB You studied philosophy — how did that lead you into makeup, and does your academic background influence your approach?

LA I never realised the two would be connected, but really makeup and fashion are both about a point of view and a belief. There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong, it’s about what you believe at a particular moment and the story you’re trying to tell.

Much like philosophy, there can be endless arguments for and against an idea. I find myself asking far more questions in my work now, challenging my own ideas of what I consider good or bad, beautiful or ugly, and being less afraid when something doesn’t work out as originally intended.

If something is intentional and has a purpose, even if at first glance it appears wrong or uncomfortable, once you understand it, it can suddenly become far more beautiful and interesting. I think philosophy probably gave me a more open mind towards that.

LB A makeup artist makes many of the same judgements as a fine artist — laying down textures, creating a surface, and considering proportion and colour relationships. I’m thinking of your recent Coco shoot: the white brow and smudged textures reveal the model’s beauty more effectively than conventional makeup. What references and research inform how you build a look, or do you work primarily through instinct?

LA That shoot was particularly fun because I was given complete freedom to develop the creative. I became interested in the idea of makeup as movement. Coco Chanel had this inherent passion for dance and performance as an art form, so I wanted the colour to feel emotional and unrestricted rather than overly deliberate.

I loved the idea that the makeup could look like a fragment or remnant of a moment, smudged textures, metallics catching the light, images slightly out of focus so that you felt the suggestion of movement.

It was a true collaboration between the photographer,  products, which were the initial inspiration, and the brilliant faces I had to work on. I actually had a whole room covered with four polyboards of references, and I love having that research as a foundation. But for me, the magic of makeup always happens in the moment. Once the face is in front of you, the photographer has set the light and you see those first few test shots, that is when you understand what needs to be pushed and what needs to be pulled back. Quite often it isn’t what you originally intended and that’s usually where it gets interesting.

LB All eyes are on the Prada shows — that recognisable blend of nostalgia, classicism and intellectual chic, continually reframed through fresh proportions, daring colour combinations and print. The makeup is key to repositioning the attitude of the clothes. Can you walk us through the process of creating a beauty look for a show or campaign? Does Miuccia Prada and her design team brief you directly?

LA A Prada show is unlike anything else I’ve experienced. Weeks of thought and hours of preparation happen before we even arrive at the hair and makeup test discussing, referencing, developing ideas and building a story around the collection.There is this brilliant contradiction of being incredibly prepared while also needing to arrive at the test completely open to throwing all of it away. You have to leave space for something unexpected, completely left field, to happen in the room.That level of pressure and creativity is both liberating and intimidating. You’re working within such an incredibly considered world, but the exciting part is finding the thing that shifts the attitude of the clothes and suddenly makes everything fall into place.

LB A runway model’s makeup look can be quite theatrical - how do you translate the seaonsl 'look' into palettes that feel relevant and wearable for a ‘civilian’s’ life?

LA That is always the challenge - finding the relationship between the art and the commerce. For me, you can’t really have one without the other.

However wild something might appear backstage, there is nearly always an element that can be brought back to the customer. It might be a technique, a particular colour relationship, a texture, or some breakthrough in product development that can be translated into a friendlier, easier and more instinctive way of wearing it.

The runway has to offer fantasy and escapism, that is part of its purpose but ultimately there also has to be a conversation with real life. Whether the business is selling a product or simply telling a story, the question is always: how does this idea travel beyond the runway?

LB Your work is global and glamorous, yet you’ve chosen to live in the countryside. Can you tell us about your love of horses and the land, and whether the colours and textures of rural life find their way into your work?

LA My world is really about extreme contrasts. I love the pace, noise and creativity of working in places like London and Paris, but I need that to be juxtaposed with the reality of a much quieter and more humbling personal life.

I think if I lived either version full-time, I’d become bored or slightly anxious. The contrast makes me appreciate both much more. I don’t take for granted the energy, ease and accessibility of the city, but equally I never underestimate the peace that comes from getting on a horse, having my dog beside me and being somewhere with no human interruption.

Being in nature gives me space. I think you need that emptiness sometimes for creativity to come back in.

LB You’ve worked alongside legends such as Lucia Pieroni, Val Garland, Guido Palau and Eugene Souleiman. Do you think that generation helped establish beauty as an artistic discipline in its own right, and an expression of more than beauty ideals?

LA Completely. They carved out the space for it and showed the next generation the value of hard graft, commitment and having a very distinct point of view.

They pushed hair and makeup beyond simply making somebody look beautiful and established it as an art form in its own right. In doing that, they really paved the way for the kind of career I’ve been able to have.

Something I also find incredibly inspiring is that all of those people are British. The UK has always produced an extraordinary level of creative artistry. There is something in the culture here that encourages eccentricity, individuality and not being too afraid of getting things wrong.

prada 24 guido lynsey alexander runway model

LB Early in your career you assisted Lucia Pieroni, known for her work with Clé de Peau. Renowned for her fresh, effortless, imperceptible beauty. How do you achieve that dewy, natural finish? I think people often underestimate how technical it is.

LA The biggest thing I learnt from Lucia is that there is a real art to ‘no makeup’.

Sometimes if I’m doing a show with a huge black eyeliner or a strong red mouth the team absolutely nails it because there is a very clear visual brief to follow. It’s often the much subtler work that is more challenging. That is where an artist’s individual skill — and their taste level really comes into play.

Everybody sees ‘natural’ differently. For me, the art is being able to enhance somebody without the product announcing itself on the face. You’re almost invisibly adjusting the architecture - changing the shading, introducing tiny contrasts in tone, bringing certain areas forward and allowing others to recede.

The magic is when somebody simply looks more beautiful, more alive or more themselves, and you can’t immediately see why.

LB For some people, makeup becomes part of their identity. Do you think we should periodically reassess our beauty habits, and if someone wanted to experiment with a new look, where would you suggest they begin?

LA I’m quite torn on this because I love both sides of it.

I love when somebody has a very particular look that they commit to for a period of their life and it becomes completely synonymous with their personality. There is something incredibly chic about that certainty.

But I also love the flippancy and escapism of hair and makeup, the fact that you can play, change your mind and try something simply to explore another part of your personality.

For me, the important thing is that it feels empowering. There has to be an emotional layer to it. Whether you wear the same black eyeliner every day for twenty years or decide to bleach your brows for a night, it should make you feel something.

LB Makeup carries a great deal of cultural weight. From kohl-rimmed eyes in ancient Egypt and blackened teeth in Edo-period Japan, to Elizabethan women using lead-based cosmetics and belladonna to dilate their pupils, beauty practices have often reflected wider social values and pressures. Makeup can be read as a form of oppression, a tool of empowerment, or a means of self-reinvention. How do you navigate those competing interpretations?

LA I tend to lean towards the interpretations that evoke confidence and self-expression. Makeup is fundamentally about having a point of view, and for me that point of view has to give something back to the person wearing it.

Of course beauty has always been tangled up with ideas of status, conformity, rebellion and social expectation, and I think it would be naive to pretend otherwise. But what interests me is the agency within it. Choosing how you want to present yourself and being able to change that choice from one day to the next.

The products themselves have also changed enormously. I grew up hearing that wearing makeup was ‘bad for your skin’, whereas now the boundaries between makeup and skincare have become increasingly blurred. Modern complexion formulas can contain ingredients associated with skincare and protection, so even the old argument between hiding the skin and looking after it has become much more nuanced.

LB You’ve collaborated with photographers including Willy Vanderperre, Alasdair McLellan, Drew Vickers and Mark Kean (who shot Ferian's first campaign)for publications including Self Service, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Perfect and Homme Plus. A successful image belies the number of creative voices involved in its making — makeup, hair, set design, styling, lighting and art direction. There are often strong creative visions in the room, and sometimes competing ones. What do you think makes for a great team and a brilliant image?

LA One of the most empowering things about working with a team you know and trust is the confidence it gives you. You know somebody has your back when you try a new idea, but equally, if you’ve pushed something too far, somebody whose opinion you respect can help guide you back.That is probably my favourite part of what I do. I think working collaboratively brings out my best work. It is good to be challenged, good to be supported, and very often it is somewhere between those two things that the unexpected happens.I feel incredibly lucky to work alongside such brilliant people. Having different opinions and feeling brave enough to bring them to the table is what keeps the job exciting.That confidence also comes with time and experience. It is one of the great values of assisting somebody brilliant before going out on your own. For years I watched incredible creatives navigate complicated briefs, difficult situations and strong personalities, somehow bringing everybody with them and making people feel confident in the process.There is a real art to working in a team at that level, knowing when to push an idea, when to adapt, and never being too proud to ask a colleague what they think.

LB We are now in an age of AI and image manipulation. Has this affected your work, and do you have a view on AI as a creative tool?

LA I’m very torn on it. The freedom and scope of AI are unparalleled, and creatively there is something incredibly seductive about that. But at the same time, so much of it is still ungoverned, and I find that worrying.

I have brilliant, talented writer friends who have watched decades of skill and experience suddenly become vulnerable because of AI, and that is heartbreaking. I’m concerned about what that means for the next generation of creatives and how they are supposed to learn, earn and develop their own voices.

So much of my best work has come from mistakes, accidents and things behaving in ways I hadn’t anticipated. That imperfection is often where the humanity is. My concern is that if everything becomes endlessly perfected, corrected and optimised, we risk removing exactly the thing that made it interesting in the first place.

LB Colour is clearly central to your work. You share an interesting connection with Muse No. 6, Lucy Mayes, the natural pigment maker. Are you ever tempted to take up painting yourself?

LA I used to love painting at school, and for years I’ve been meaning to return to it.

At the moment I have a young son, lots of animals and a career involving a lot of travel, so the timing isn’t quite there yet. But colour is absolutely pivotal to my work, so it makes complete sense that at some point I would want to get back to brush and paper rather than brush and face.

LB You obviously love horses — what drew you to your Ferian equestrian pieces, and how do you wear them?

LA Honestly, I haven’t taken my pieces off since I got them.  They have  this wonderful quality of feeling vintage and modern at the same time.

For me, it blends my two worlds perfectly. It captures the beauty and strength of the horse almost as an art form, but the design itself feels modern enough to wear every day.

LB And that is exactly how I hoped they would be worn! 

THANK YOU FOR BEING FERIAN MUSE #8

Follow Lynsey @ INSTAGRAM

Lynsey is represented by JOLLY COLLECTIVE

Images by kind courtesy of Lynsey Alexander



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