Makeup artist and BBC’s Glow-Up Star, Ellis Atlantis has recently released a brand-new range of beauty hygiene products set to take the industry by storm. The collection, Beauty Hygiene Plus consists of four antibacterial and antiviral products and hopes to provide a revolutionary, effective, simple and quick way of ensuring your makeup kit is in tip-top condition. Here, Ellis discusses this exciting new release and the importance of hygiene in cosmetics.
When it comes to makeup looks, what are the biggest mistakes people make?
I think for me, when it comes to makeup and makeup application, people often think that expensive makeup is better than good tools. Often people go for expensive makeup and have bad/cheap tools which for me should be the other way around – I prefer good clean tools. Keeping your brushes clean also helps with the application and extended the life of your brushes. Especially when doing a more complex look that uses lots of different shades and pigments, for a clean application you have to apply each with a clean brush. To avoid having a huge selection of brushes, a brush cleaner will make life much easier. My go-to is the Quick Dry Makeup Brush Cleaning Spray by Beauty Hygiene Plus, it cleans my brushes in minutes meaning I can use minimal brushes and get a flawless finish.
What are your top three tips for makeup application?
My Top three tips would be, clean skin, clean work surface and clean brushes, that way everything is fresh and ready to go. Clean brushes are a must-have for application, I hate, hate, hate applying makeup with brushes that aren’t sparkly clean, even during the application process I like to keep on top of my brushes and keep them clean, so that’s why using the Quick Dry Makeup Brush Sanitising Spray is perfect for when I’m working on clients. The Beauty Hygiene Plus Quick Dry Makeup Sanitising Mist is also a product I recommend, I haven’t seen this type of product before in the market, it sanitises your makeup without damaging the product, so you have the confidence that your makeup is as bacteria and virus free as possible – which is great for peace of mind when you’ve been using the same highlighter for months on end!
How important as a makeup artist is a hygiene routine?
With the current situation we are in, hygiene is so important. It puts me and my clients at ease as we both know I’m taking the necessary steps to keep them and myself safe. Imagine having a reputation for using dirty makeup and tools on your clients! For anyone starting out, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to ensure you’re being hygienic. Even if you are just doing your mates makeup for a party, you cannot be too careful. Beauty Hygiene Plus starts from £8 so it is really affordable, yet very effective. Having clean brushes and tools also applies the makeup so much easier, with no muddy colours and much sharper lines.
What attracted you to the beauty industry?
The beauty industry seems so accepting and so inviting, as a Queer person it’s important for me to feel accepted and embraced in my work environment and that’s really what brought me to the beauty industry. I fell in love with the craftsmanship of being a makeup artist too.
What skills and experience do you need to succeed as a makeup artist?
Creativity is 100% key; you can’t teach creativity and that’ll always set you apart from everyone else. Technique is another key factor, and this can be taught. The internet is great for this, you can now enhance your skills by watching tutorials on the likes of YouTube and Instagram, social media is a great platform for sharing tips and tricks. Practise, practise, practise. Through doing this, your confidence will grow, and you will start to pick up on what products and brands work best for you.
What beauty essentials are part of your everyday kit?
Skincare, a good face can’t happen without a good base. It’s really key to start with a clean, moisturised and hydrated face. Secondly, my essentials kit from Beauty Hygiene Plus is a lifesaver. It’s small enough to bring it out and about with you and it really does have everything you need to keep your makeup, brushes, and tools clean and ready to go. There is really no point in investing in a skincare regime if you are going to apply makeup with dirty brushes and tools, it will just transfer bacteria and germs onto the skin which may lead to breakouts and jeopardise a good base to apply makeup to.
What’s the best beauty advice you’ve ever been given?
“It’s just makeup, it washes off.” For anyone starting out, you don’t need to get frustrated when it doesn’t look like you had imagined, or if it doesn’t match your inspo picture. Wipe it off, start again and just keep trying or simply make it your own unique look.
What were your key highlights of Glow Up and what was your favourite challenge?
I really fell in love with the fashion week challenge, that episode really showed me how much I love that working environment. It was so much fun, and it really opened my eyes to what I want with regards to my career and the direction I want my work to go in.
