I had the absolute pleasure of being able to send the incredible Ele Peints

1. Tell us a bit about yourself. What drew you to becoming a make up artist?

I’ve been studying art, more specifically painting, at University for three years now. But unfortunately the more I went on the more I felt like painting wasn’t the right creative outlet for me so I wanted to search for an alternative before graduating.

Meanwhile I always watched many youtube videos from makeup artists so one day I finally decided to buy some palettes and try to do something myself, and doing so I finally found the creative outlet I was looking for!

2. Did you study make up or are you self taught? What are your opinions on education in the creative sector and is it important for a make up artist to have studied make up?

I am self taught, but anyway I believe having a good education when it comes to makeup (especially if you work on other people) is very important, studying certainly puts you a few steps ahead when it comes to the theory and the chemistry of the products. But I also believe that (like in any creative sector) practice is the only thing that makes perfect, also because you can’t really study or be teach creativity, it’s something you have to find by yourself.

3. What is the most challenging or surprising aspects of being a make up artist? Are there any disadvantages, or things you don’t like about being a make up artist or the make up industry, and is there anything you’d like to change?

I’m still discovering the makeup industry and I’m sure that there’s a lot that I will never be able to see, but anyway one thing that bothers me is the lack of variety in the makeup styles that most brands like to push. Unconventional styles of makeup are often overlooked compared to more conventional, marketable and wearable ones. This thing also often happens with the people brands choose to sponsor their products: it’s very rare if not impossible to find someone who isn’t conventionally beautiful or who doesn’t have perfect skin, which is something that instead should be normal considering that the customers of these brands are all kinds of people.

4. Nowadays, the creative industry is an oversaturated market with both amazing and mediocre imagery. Does this concern you and how do you manage to stay motivated to create in such a crowded environment?

It kind of concerns me but I try not to think about it too much. Seeing how much people who support me love my work is what keeps me motivated. And even though there’s so much over-saturation and mediocre imagery I know that the people who really care for this type of art will know what’s worth, and those are the people I care about and who I want to engage with.

5. Do you think social media is helpful to make up artists? How has it affected your practice and is it something you enjoy?

It surely helps! The fact that it gives people the chance to show the world what they can do, be discovered by brands, and the fact that it can even become a full time job it’s fantastic! But of course it has its downsides too, especially because often social media success is mostly dictated by luck, and many talented people despite all their efforts can’t get the recognition they deserve. It has definitely affected my practice because I get to see and interact with so many different artists and get inspired by them, and I enjoy it because it also connects me with people who have my same interests.

6. Do you think that the concept of ‘influencer culture’ has has a positive or negative impact on the beauty industry and what are your opinions in regards to the way that the drama of the beauty community often takes away from the hard work that being a make up artist actually entails?

I think it’s a little bit of both. On one side big beauty influencers have certainly had a positive impact on the beauty industry, because they can bring to brands the concerns of the public which often wouldn’t be heard without a powerful voice on their side, and at the same time the public can hold them accountable when they make a mistake. The problems arise though when these influencers gain so much consent from their public that they can do what they want and act only for their own gain with very little consequences. Another problem of course it’s the drama that comes with it. It seems like on social media the negative attention is the best kind of attention, in fact many of the most famous people are also the most problematic ones, and it’s such a shame because so many talented and unproblematic artists get overlooked because people find the drama more interesting than the actual art.

7. Your make up looks are just incredible! Can you you talk a bit about your process of creating a look, from concept to completion? How long does it take you, and how do you know when an idea will look good in real life as opposed to on paper?

I don’t really have a specific process for creating a look, sometimes the inspiration just comes (out of the blue or maybe casually seeing something) and sometimes I seek for it because I really want to create. I get my inspiration from art in all its forms: painting, sculpture, fashion, animation, and sometimes from nature and pop culture. Often I already have an idea of how the image would look on my face (because of course I have to take into consideration my features), while sometimes I have to make a sketch first to be sure of where to put the elements. After doing it so many times I know what looks good in real life and what doesn’t, even though sometimes things can still go wrong; after all I’m not perfect and I still have much to learn.

The most complicated look I’ve ever done took me more than 10 hours, but it was worth it, like every single one of them.

8. Make up is quite a transient art form. and, no matter how amazing the look, it will have to be removed at some point. Does this sense of temporality effect the ideas you create and do you ever think about this when creating a look? Also, how important is documenting the process of your make up? Is it important to show your failures as well as the successes?

The sense of temporality doesn’t affect my ideas at all, also because in the end taking a photo kind of seals the look and even if it’s technically gone it can still live on. It’s kind of like performance art: only who’s present in the moment can actually see it but it can still be documented and admired years after. The only problem of course is that it’s not something you can put aside and continue another day like a painting.

I always document it for myself taking many mid-process photos, and I think that shortly I’ll also start making videos.

I have no problem in admitting I have failed at something, which I think is good because it reminds others that despite what they might think seeing all my accomplished works, I’m not infallible and they don’t have to be either. Anyway I’m reluctant to show it if I have documented it, but that’s also because I know I will attempt it again and I don’t want to spoil it.

9. You have quite a lot of references of art in your work. Do you have an artistic background and do you think that studying/practising something other make up is useful for other make up artists?

As I said before, I’m an art student (I study both history and practice). It certainly helped when it came to the use of face paints and in making more intricate and precise designs. Anyway I don’t think that an artistic background will ever prepare you 100% for makeup, since the face and body are a very particular canvas: they have texture, hair and they’re not flat like paper.

10. Would you say your looks have a certain style? If so, how would you describe it?

Additionally, Do you think its important for an MUA to have a certain style or are the best MUA’s chameleonic and diverse? How do you make sure that your audience can tell that a look is ‘yours’?

I try to experiment with many different styles and techniques because I like to change a lot (that’s something I do with a lot of things, like clothing); I like to surprise others and myself. But I think that something that’s very characteristic of my work are the thin and precise lines and the super curated details; the precision and care are something I never want to be missing in a look.

Anyway I don’t think there’s a best approach. I just think the artist should do whatever makes them happy and whatever feels it’s best for them; if that’s one particular thing then they can develop a specific style, but if they want to experiment there’s nothing wrong. But in my opinion whether the artists wants it or not they will always leave a mark that makes their looks recognizable.

11. Do you consider make up to be an art form and what are your opinions on those that say that make up (and the wider beauty community) has a negative impact on society?

I think that any form of creative expression can be art, and makeup fits that description.

Regarding the negative perception around makeup, I think that most people who see it under a bad light don’t realize that often, as I already said, it is a form of creative expression and not something done with the intention of changing other’s perception of oneself.

And if there are people who use it to try to conform to society’s beauty standards makeup itself doesn’t have any fault. Makeup is just an object. The people who are responsible are those who push these beauty standards down our throats and tell us we have to look a certain way, and makeup is one of the ways to achieve that. Unfortunately some makeup companies (like many other kind of companies, like clothing or lingerie) are responsible for that too, but times are slowly changing, and we can help changing them faster by supporting the right companies.

12. There’s is always an ongoing debate about the way that beauty is portrayed in the media, especially on social media sites, through the use of photoshop and, nowadays, apps like FaceTune.

What are your thoughts on beauty photography and the idea of retouching make up looks? Does this create an unrealistic portrayal of beauty for those that consume such imagery, or do you think that the fantastical and unreal element of retouching is part of the allure, as the beauty industry is selling an ideal rather than a reality?

First of all, I myself retouch my photos if needed, but I have limits: I don’t edit my features or the texture of my skin and I don’t add makeup, nor drastically change what’s already there, not the product result (I disclosed this in my profile highlights too); I might fix for example a slight discoloration or some imperfections that are only visible in close ups and I can’t see with my naked eye. But if the difference between before and after is too visible I won’t post the photo: I don’t want to appear perfect or make people think I can create something I wouldn’t be able to.

I don’t have a problem with small edits, and I don’t mind bigger ones as long as they’re disclosed. After all some people make the overedited look part of their aesthetic: in fact I don’t see anything wrong in creating something more “ideal” when it comes to your own art and self expression.

But when your goal is selling something to an audience or giving them something to aspire to, I think it’s important to stay real.

13.With the popularity of make up soaring , can anyone be a make up artist? How can those who do not know anything about make up distinguish the good artists from the bad ones?

I believe that anyone can be anything they want as long as they work hard and put their heart into it.

“Bad” and “good” are very subjective concepts, for me a good makeup artist is anyone that feels passionate about it, and I believe that when someone really cares about what they do it always shows. Also being creative and original are really important.

14. What is your favourite look you’ve created so far? Why?

I really can’t decide, most of them hold a very special place in my heart. Maybe if I had to choose I’d say the one with the tiny hands inspired by tarot designs because it’s the one that started my obsession for fine and precise lines.

15. In your opinion, what make a good piece of art? What was the last image/piece of media that captivated you and what was it about it that left an impression on you?

I think for a good piece of art the same criteria I already quoted for makeup are valid: creativity and originality; techniques and aesthetics are really subjective and I’m not in a place to tell who’s good and who’s bad from that point of view.

The last image that really captivated me was the right panel (representing hell) from the triptych of the garden of earthly delights by Hieronymus Bosch; I love his artworks in general because of their weirdness and the incredible amount of details, I could stare at them forever.

16. How often do you consider the viewer when creating images? Do you create work for yourself or for others? Would you still create if you didn’t have an audience?

I try to always create my looks for myself, because that’s what I wanted to do when i started. I think doing what other people want me to do would mean losing myself. But anyway I know that by now my audience knows me and appreciates my work, and whenever I tried something a little different they’ve been really supportive. There are certainly things they like more but I never give up on an idea because I think it wouldn’t be successful.

I would create anyway without an audience but probably not nearly as much because unfortunately I tend to feel really easily unmotivated and I’m really self-deprecating, but their love and support is what keeps me going.

17. Copyright, especially in the technological age, is a huge problem. What actions do you take to ensure that your work is not being used without your permission, and have you had any experiences with plagiarism? Is this an issue that you think about and what are your thoughts about intellectual property rights for artists?

Additionally, Do you think that originality exists within the make up community and how do you make sure that you are not copying, or being copied by, others?

I still haven’t taken any precaution to avoid my artworks being stolen. I was thinking about starting to put a watermark in my photos but unfortunately people could still edit that out. I don’t think that when it comes to digital copies there’s much that can be done to be 100% theft proof. Same comes for ideas: when you’re a small independent artist you can’t protect your ideas and if people steal them and don’t want to admit it there’s not much you can do about it. All you can do is hope that other artists’ principles are as strong as yours. But anyway not disclosing credits is a very important problem in the beauty community so if your voice isn’t heard, other people that believe in your cause may help you hold the person who stole from you accountable.

Originality definitely still exists, but in some occasions coincidences can happen, like for example around Halloween when many people take inspiration from the same movies. In these cases I believe that (unless the look is suspiciously similar) having the same idea doesn’t necessarily mean that someone stole it.

18. How often do you search for inspiration and do you ever feel pressure to create work as your career has progressed? Who are some of your favourite artists to follow?

I search for inspiration whenever I can (also because that way I can write down some extra ideas and use them when I feel uninspired) but most of the times I don’t find it that way and it comes when I least expect it.

The pressure to create, as much as a try to ignore it, it’s always there. Unfortunately on social media we got used to quantity over quality, so people expect to see something new very often, and I notice that when I don’t create for a while people tend to lose interest and unfollow me. I try not to let this get to my head though because I don’t want to create just for the sake of pushing content out.

Some of my favourites are (on Instagram): Bweano, Watoniki, By.sulli, Segnaro96, Laur_Elyse, Catalinahotin, Devanndiorio, Vandervonodd, Designdain and many others

19. Have you ever considered the future of the beauty community and how you could take your make up to the next level? Is Instagram really a good platform for creatives and would you ever consider taking your images off screen and exhibiting work in a gallery or producing a book? How would you like to see the make up community develop over the next few years?

I tend not to consider the beauty community as a whole, I just follow the people I like.

Regarding my makeup I don’t know, I like to see little by little instead of making big plans, because a lot can happen and plans can change.

I think instagram is one of the best places for visual contents but, as I said, unfortunately the visibility somebody gets is mostly based on luck. That’s why I would also like to bring my content out and build an audience elsewhere, but for now it’s still an idea, exposing myself to a “tangible” public really scares me.

Maybe in the future I would like the makeup community to finally ditch the toxic people and give the talented and underrated artists the recognition they deserve.

20.What are you currently working on at the moment, and where can people find more about you and your work?

For now I’m only posting on my instagram, but I hope to be able to start a youtube channel too so that people can see my full process and maybe get to know me in the meantime!