Meet Dominic Skinner

GLOBAL SENIOR ARTIST

Joined MAC in 2004
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM

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Being labelled as ‘A must to follow’ by various online and printed publications, Dominic’s Instagram feed has been the go to destination for all this MAC and Backstage related. “I wanted to show people the incredibly wide variety of work you do as a MAC Global Senior Artist. From the backstages of New York or Paris to the front rows of London’s West End. Each day is different and each day brings new inspiration. With Instagram I found a way to let people in and join me on the ride.” Growing up, life as an artist was always his goal. “I always wanted to be an artist living in Paris in a cold and lofty apartment, victimised by the weather, that was always the plan. However, the poetic vision would never hold up against the cold hard reality.”

“ working for the brand has really allowed me to come out of myself and be happy and comfortable for who I am."
He went to art school and got into photography but he became obsessed “with the idea of makeup as an addition to the image rather than something separate.” And then MAC. happened. “I was really shy before I started working for MAC and remember I’d have to be pushed to go and talk to a customer. But I think working for the brand has really allowed me to come out of myself and be happy and comfortable for who I am. I’m happy to make a fool of myself.” As for his trademark curlicue moustache, it’s kept in place with sheer will and undiscouraged faith, plus a little hair product combed through with a disposable mascara wand.

How it all began

My very first recollection of makeup as an art form was watching Bladerunner. I must have been about 10 years old but I’ve got older brothers so I was always doing things I wasn’t really allowed to do for my age. But watching Daryl Hannah spray the black paint across her eyes was the first time I saw not just makeup but makeup as a creative form. After that I would get out my mum’s makeup bag and smother the face of anyone who would sit down long enough. In my later teenage years I grew up in Switzerland and there was little exposure to urban culture and what I saw coming out of London. Then one day at the local train station I remember seeing a cover the The Face magazine styled by Judy Blame. I was obsessed and afterwards, I would take the images and try replicate the look.

“ watching Daryl Hannah spray the black paint across her eyes was the first time I saw not just makeup but makeup as a creative form."

Makeup evolution

I found the leap from art to makeup very easy. It seemed very obvious: colour theory, application, tools - there was no issue.

The only issue was the confines of society about how makeup is perceived, how it’s seen and used as an identity as opposed to a form of creation.

Job Spec

Every day is different, every day brings new challenges and new inspiration. That’s what I love so much about working for MAC. Yesterday I was doing a drag look, the day before that I was doing body painting and tomorrow? Who knows, maybe a Red Carpet appointment. You have to be adaptable to any style. I still love working on shoots. And, of course there are fashion weeks which I really look forward to each season.

“ The artists we support or work with always want the new, but a lot of the time there is nothing new. It’s just how you package it and how you formulate it and that’s where I can really come into to my own."

Show time

For me, fashion weeks are when the culmination of the past six months of playing, deconstruction and manipulation comes to fruition. The artists we support or work with always want the new, but a lot of the time there is nothing new. It’s just how you package it and how you formulate it and that’s where I can really come into to my own. Creating a nuanced colour by mixing this and that together and creating something special and unique just for them and that show. My relationship is one step removed from the key artist role but I know I’ve contributed something that has made it all happen and it’s all about knowing someone’s creativity is being realised.

Social Skills

Being someone who was once the shy kid in the corner to being someone who now speaks to a global audience is still surprising to me. I would never have saw the role of a brand ambassador in my future, but now I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.

My MAC-itude

When I was a painter, you have to add texture to create depth and 3D imagery. And the overriding aesthetic for me would always be texture. For me there is nothing more dull than a matte face, there’s nothing of interest there. Whereas slip on a bit of gloss - on the eyes, the lips, wherever - and suddenly it’s really interesting. It’s alive. Something to catch the eye, make you stop, stare and think about. After all, isn’t that what Art is all about?