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Design by Sarah Olivieri Beauty Makeup Celebrity Makeup Artist Painted by Esther Tells Us All Her Beauty Secrets Celebrity Makeup Artist Painted by Esther Tells Us All Her Beauty Secrets The queen of blush tells Bazaar about how she achieves her signature doll-like look
Celebrity makeup artist Ngozi Edeme, best known in the beauty industry and to her nearly one million social media followers as Painted by Esther , refers to herself as a fine artist. That’s probably because she not only counts stars like Doechii, Naomi Campbell, Viola Davis, and Raye as clients, but also pioneered the doll-like transition blush technique you’ve likely seen all over TikTok.
Edeme first developed a love of makeup and an appreciation for its artistry while attending the UK’s University of Leicester to study sociology. “Rather than focusing on my studies, I would do makeup or think about makeup, and I was just like, 'Okay, well, there's something here,’” Edeme tells Harper’s Bazaar . “And I just kept practicing, and practicing, and practicing, and eventually landed my first celebrity client, which was actually Ari Lennox for a photo shoot. I did her makeup, and it snowballed from there.”
Along with millions of viral internet views, her signature talent and approach to gradient blush recently led to a partnership with M.A.C. Cosmetics to paint her friend the Love Island alum Olandria for the May 2026 cover of the newly relaunched MACzine . “It was just amazing, so full circle for us to share that moment together,” she says of the collaboration.
Here, we catch up with Edeme right before she heads out on a multi-city summer tour with Tyla, for a closer look at some of her makeup must-haves and application non-negotiables. From the one product she can’t go a day without using—which actually isn’t blush—to the budget-friendly foundation she rates a 10 out of 10 , read on for the artist’s short list of essential top picks.
I think it was the Dream Matte Mousse foundation; it was in this little tub, and that was the biggest thing at the time. That’s the only thing we had really: that, mascara, and a good lip liner—that was my makeup routine.
My biggest makeup inspiration is definitely Kevyn Aucoin, 120 percent; he changed my life. He's the first artist I remember looking at and thinking, “This is flawless; there are no flaws.” There was no white face, brown body—he mastered dark skin. A lot of his clients were brown-skinned and dark-skinned women, so, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Naomi Campbell. I remember he did this look back on Naomi one time, and it was like a cut crease with a matte eye, and it lived in my brain rent-free, literally. So every time I do Naomi, I try to channel that kind of look and that vibe, like it was just so perfect.
Also Sam Fine , of course, is another inspiration. Any lover of brown skin is a friend of mine, and Sam is the same, another fab artist who taught me about base. Also King Mali Magic , who’s another OG makeup artist and also taught me about base and how to actually run a new business. She used to have Instagram Lives where she would talk about how you should charge and what you shouldn’t settle for. She’s always been really open and willing to share her knowledge.
Blush! I love me some blush. People think I have to say it like I’m under some sort of blush oath or something. No, it is blus...