CRAIG HAMILTON

BLEND, BUT DON’T BLEND IN

“Beauty is about style. It knows no gender,” proclaims the first line of make-up for men by fashion powerhouse Chanel. Said style can be seen everywhere these days with YouTuber gurus Patrick Starr or Manny MUA giving the latest bunch of handpicked Victoria Secret models a run for their money.

...However, the word ‘make-up’ carries feminine undertones and for decades the industry has been dominated by products targeted solely to the female population. But now, finally, genderless beauty is on the rise and rightfully so. After what seemed like forever, the beauty industry opened its black smoky eyes and realised the exclusion of men is unjust.

Many have wondered what was the driving force behind the shift in discourse. Was it high profile influencers like Jeffree Star? The first male face of Covergirl, James Charles? The global rise of K-pop known for its pretty boys glammed in full faces? Or is it linked to the broader shakeup of the gender binary?

Regardless, change has happened and still is happening. But what about those males who winged their eyeliner without the endorsement of Morphe? We spoke to BBC’s Glow Up finalist Craig Hamilton, a make-up artist who has been powdering his face before it became trendy to do so.

“Make-up can be a journey to a lot of things, my personal experience was very freeing. Make-up sparked a light in me, I only wanted to succeed within this industry and I definitely have a true passion for it. I can boost anyone’s confidence with a stroke of a brush and for me, that is so rewarding,” the runner up explained.

Craig’s interest began in his third year whilst studying Art and Design at Southern Regional College (SRC) in Newry. After dabbling with special effects make-up, he realised his love lies with beauty and artistry. It was this love that inspired him to make the move from the small town of Craigavon to the busy city of London to study make-up, hair and prosthetics at London’s College of Fashion.

Despite being in his fifth year of living in London, the 24-year-old remains grateful for his homeland and its differences from the metropolitan city.

“I absolutely love where I’m from, growing up I was very lucky to be surrounded by people who had a similar mentality to life as I did, very much what you see is what you get type of people. My family always lifted me up and supported me throughout everything, I’m very lucky to be able to say that I have such a supportive and accepting family.” “It wasn’t until I moved to London when I felt that I could walk up the street and not be judged for wearing a tinted moisturiser and a little bronzer. London is one of the most accepting cities I have ever been to, from living here I have realised there is no limit to what I can wear. Everyone is so expressive and I love that about it”

“Of course, growing up in Northern Ireland, it was not common for guys to wear make-up and really, I didn’t see many men work in it either. There was no one to relate to or resemble. I didn’t think I could achieve this as a career. A few people thought it was mad at first, ‘Craig, a makeup artist, he can’t do that!’ but I knew I had to prove them wrong.”

I think it’s fair to say, Craig has done exactly that. His talent, creativity and determination paid off and landed him a spot on Glow Up as Northern Ireland’s first-ever contestant. The BBC’s latest

series is hosted by Maya Jama and sees 10 aspiring artists live, work, and compete against one another for the chance to win a much sought-after contract to work with some of the world’s biggest names in the industry.

“I’ve always been a fan of the show and I actually applied for season 2 but was unsuccessful, so when I had the chance to apply again for season 3, I gave it another shot. The pandemic had just hit, so work was slow and I was off, so getting cast was such a blessing and really what I needed.

Each week contestants create thrilling campaigns, under the peeled eyes of veterans Val Garland and Dominic Skinner. Val has over 25 years worth of experience under her belt and now acts as the global make-up director for L’Oréal Paris. Whereas Dominic Skinner is the global senior artist for the long-established make-up brand MAC. Recalling the cherished experience, Craig said: “Week one was challenging for me, as you could tell and I found myself in the face-off chair which is not ideal. I was shaking, but I knew I was not going to give up. I knew I had to bring it the following week, which lead me to win the challenge the following week.

The prize was, the look I designed, would appear in POSE season three. It felt so good to win something after telling myself to push through. This was unreal and mind-blowing and from then, I eased my Whilst making a name for himself on television is an unforgettable time in his life, Craig fondly remembered his career highlight so far.

“During my time at London collage of fashion, I alongside one other student was given the opportunity to travel to Taiwan and Hong Kong to teach the students at the Hungkuang University. This was one of the most magical experiences in my makeup career and I’ll never forget it.

Craig shared his top three make-up secrets with us:

1. It has to start with the skin!

Skincare preparation is very essential to everyone, having to correct products for your skin type will ensure a flawless base, giving the skin the most beautiful finish.

This also helps keep longevity with make-up throughout the day. 2. Next would be picking and applying products, again make sure you have products that are going to work with you and not against you. For example, I have super dry and dehydrated skin, so

I avoid anything that’s mattifying or designed for oily skin as this wouldn’t work on my skin type.

Instead, I go for a hydrating, glow base product and apply it with my hands to get the most naturally fresh perfected skin. 3. Finally, layering. So many people think adding more and more full coverage products will give you a flawless finish but this could

potentially crack and make the make-up look heavy, caky or muddy. Instead, I tend to layer lightweight or medium coverage products onto one another, this will still give the desired coverage and look flawless in real life or on

camera.

If you are like me and want to gawk in amazement at Craig’s creations one more time, you can do so on BBC iPlayer.

INTERVIEW BY: PAUL MCAULEY