Pat McGrath

We all need to put a bit of slap on now and again; whether to hide blemishes or to achieve a glam look for a night out. Wearing make up can go from accentuating your best features to utterly transforming you completely. Applying lipstick, powder and paint is a work of art and a profession that make up artists are highly revered for. I remember seeing a book by the iconic Kevyn Aucoin in the early 1990s and being totally floored by his work. The Art of Make Up, featured top notch celebrities in make up and costumes that made them look like other famous bods. You might remember Kevyn from an episode in Sex and the City where he did Carrie's make up for the fashion show that she was in. While Cindy Crawford was the first supermodel and I think it is safe to say that Kevyn was the first super make up artist. Nowadays we have big guns such as Bobbi Brown, Francois Nars, Laura Mercier, Jemima Kidd, Charlotte Tilbury, Ruby Hammer and Charlie Green who dominate the international cosmetics scene but none of them have made as much of a mark as Pat McGrath.

Ms McGrath has been wielding her mascara wand since the mid 1990s and is simply the best in the business. A feature in the Observer Woman dubbed her the world's most-wanted make up artist and others tout her as the most influential beauty artist in the world. A firm presence backstage at all the premier fashion weeks, the Northampton born McGrath is not afraid to experiment with colours and textures. So do not be surprised when you see her using lipstick on the eyes and cheeks and mixing face creams. She got her break after a stint with i-D magazine by over turning the nation's obsession with grunge and going for full on glam with lots of colour thrown in. A tour with the hotter than hot Soul II Soul soon hailed and after that virtually every other music job going. She eventually moved back into fashion and picked up clients such as Jill Sanders, Hussein Chalayan, John Galliano and became renowned for "latex petals stuck to faces, vinyl lips, bodies drenched in powder paint, and stylized Kabuki physiognomies." Pat divides her time between London and New York (where else?) and like other celeb make-up artists, she plans to launch her own cosmetics brand (what else?) which should hit the high street in 18 months time.  Check out the video above and see how great she is.