Makeup Artist: Val Garland

Who Is Val Garland?

Val Garland is a well known British makeup artist who has been described as "one of the most important make-up artists of our time" (Peter, 2018). Garland's makeup career started in the early 90s, she is mainly known for creating flawless skin. However, she is also recognised for her avant-garde makeup looks but claimed that it is only "10% of what she does" (Garland, 2018). A lot of her work featured 'raw' makeup where the models skin looks flawless, however, doesn't appear to be wearing any makeup as "most photographers don't want to see foundation" (The Glossary, 2018). 

Garland is currently the global makeup director for L'Oréal Paris, a contributing beauty editor for British Vogue and a judge on the BBC Show 'Glow Up'.

Garland dropped out of high school in the 80s and became a hairdresser, she moved to Australia with her then-partner and opened their own salon 'Garland & Garland'. During this time they did sessions and photoshoots for the salon and Garland was asked to fill in for makeup artists, which is how she found her passion for makeup. After divorcing her husband and moving back to England she decided to give up hairdressing and pursue her interest in becoming a makeup artist.

Avant-Garde Style

Garland's famous avant-garde style is what drew me to her work, I hadn't seen makeup like this before and it was so fascinating to me. Garland's influences came from John Galliano and Lee McQueen however, also came from people in the 80s doing their makeup for the club in ways to make them stand out. She describes her style as "attention to detail, it's all about great-looking skin with occasional outbursts of madness" (Peters, 2019). 

Her avant-garde makeup looks are what I strive to recreate they really inspire me with how unique and eye-catching they are. She inspires me by the way she can always make new work that still looks unique, it never gets repetitive and I think this is something that makes her stand out. Although the makeup looks are very creative they still look professional and refined whereas some looks can appear childlike and messy, Garland's makeup always demonstrates a high standard of makeup. 

Over Garland's career, her career highlights include working for Alexander McQueen, the 2012 London Olympics, becoming L'Oréal Paris global makeup director and publishing her book titled 'Validated: The Makeup of Val Garland'.

Validated: The Makeup of Val Garland

This book has been a massive inspiration to me not just for makeup looks but also for my own photography. It is filled with works from many amazing photographers, many of which I had never heard of before but from reading Garland's book it has introduced me to new photographers such as Nick Knight, Steven Klein, Sølve Sundsbø and Tim Walker. Although I plan on presenting my work for my final major project in a magazine this book is something that will definitely inspire my work, especially as it contains many images that have actually been published in magazines.

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