Pursuing and achieving a career in any creative industry is no simple feat, as Marco Antonio, Chanel UK beauty ambassador can attest. From The Hills and Ugly Betty to The Devil Wears Prada’s “a million girls would kill for this job” quip, the uber-competitive environments of the fashion and beauty worlds are well documented.

But if getting your foot in the door is the battle, then achieving longevity is most certainly the war. In beauty, this is compounded by the industry’s breakneck turnover, as it cycles through trends – and tosses them aside – often faster than its fashion counterpart. Some creatives simply run out of steam, unable to keep up with the demand for new boundary-pushing looks in magazines, campaigns and your social media feeds as well as on the red carpet.

With more than 25 years of experience under his belt, the make-up artist Marco Antonio has a mantra for maintaining momentum that is deceptively simple: “The most important thing to me is transforming faces and empowering people with the art of make-up. That’s what keeps me going and makes me happy.”

Having moved from his birthplace of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to London 22 years ago, Marco has forged an impressive career, with his work being featured in i-D, a variety of Vogue editions and Hunger, where years of close collaboration with its publisher and editor-in-chief, famed photographer Rankin, alchemised into a new masthead role of fashion and beauty director last year. His brushes have graced the faces of Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Heartstopper’s Kit Connor and fashion’s most fabulous centenarian, Iris Apfel. “She was 98 when I did her make-up – she’s so amazing,” says Marco as he reflects on the experience of glamming up the legend for her 2018 memoir Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon. “The archive inside her New York flat was unbelievable – it was completely covered with clothes and accessories.”

Although Marco’s career has bloomed in London, beauty’s allure first beckoned when he was a child, watching his mother’s ritualistic application of lipstick in the mirror each morning. “She was never really a make-up person – she didn’t have that many products on her vanity – but just doing that every morning would transform her and I saw that she’d be happy for the rest of the day,” he says.

During Marco’s formative years in Brazil, the beauty industry, far from being the behemoth it is today, hardly seemed viable as somewhere to pursue a career. “Being a make-up artist wasn’t a thing back then, especially not a celebrity make-up artist,” he says. He describes being “pushed” into the beautyscape and honing his craft in the world of drag – “People who want to do make-up don’t usually start out doing drag make-up, [but] it’s a real transformation,” he says. “You’re literally turning a blank canvas into something completely different from what you started with.” Baking and contouring long before the Kardashians marketed it to the masses, the self-taught Marco has some sage advice for those wanting to follow in his footsteps: “Practise all the time. I learnt my craft by doing make-up on my family and friends.”

Continuing to refine his aesthetic throughout his career, Marco still allows elements of drag exuberance to permeate his work. Think high-octane glamour, kaleidoscopic bursts of colours, neon brights and controlled chaos via dramatic paint smears. “Colour has always been really important to me – I grew up around Carnival and it was always very colourful,” he says.

But given that he likes to turn the dial up to 11 on beauty looks that are more classic too, Marco isn’t an artist who underestimates the power of a punchy red lip or a sleek cat eye. “I’m not afraid to experiment with colours and textures, but I can also bring a quiet approach to beauty. I’m versatile.”

Marco’s broad brushstrokes are testament to his staying power in beauty, demonstrating a chameleonic spirit that drew the attention of the hallowed fashion house of Chanel a decade ago. “I’ve been working with the brand for 10 years and they’ve been really supportive of my career, so after working with them closely, they approached me to be one of their [UK beauty] ambassadors,” he says, now a year into his new role. “I like to pay attention to the details when it comes to my work and that’s one of the ways that I’m aligned with Chanel.”

For the pages of this magazine, he has collaborated with the photographers, and 10 regulars, Antoine and Charlie. “I do a lot of research but I work organically on set,” he says of his process. “I like to bounce ideas between the photographer and editor – it’s really dependent on the team and discussing the looks before we start. I start by playing with colours and see what’s working – if I’m not feeling a look then I’ll take it elsewhere.” The looks on these pages spotlight Chanel’s Les Beiges Winter Glow collection, while soft beauty prevails, seen through smatterings of frosty iridescence and delicate pink blush. “We focused on the blue [undertone] shades of the pink of Chanel’s Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette,” says Marco. “You have more colours to play with in a spring or summer collection, but this collection focuses more on skin texture, so we decided to bring more pink into the cheeks.”

As a stalwart of the scene, the make-up maestro has seen trends come and go as the beauty wheel turns. “It’s hard to predict,” he says of what lies ahead in 2024. “People are so tuned in and know what they’re putting on their faces nowadays compared to 10 years ago. I feel like people are going back to basics and sticking with the brands they know.”

Perhaps it’s his willingness to go where the winged liner takes him that ensures his career will endure for another 25 years – should he so choose. When it comes to continuing his collaboration with Chanel, it’s clear that he aligns with the house on ethos too. “For a brand like that, if you don’t move with the times, you’re going to be left behind. And Chanel has always been a little bit ahead of the times, while always keeping the integrity of the brand,” he concludes. “That is the way forward.”

Taken from 10 Magazine Issue 72 – DARE TO DREAM – out now!

@chanel.beauty / @marcoantoniolondon
chanel.com / marcomakeup.com

Top image: Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette in Cool, Les Beiges Rouge Coco Baume in Chilling Pink by CHANEL

CHANEL BEAUTY: IN THE PINK

Photographers ANTOINE AND CHARLIE
Creative Director SOPHIA NEOPHITOU
Make-up MARCO ANTONIO
Text DOMINIC CADOGAN
Model VENUS at Oui Management
Hair SHUHEI NISHIMURA at Wise and Talented using Oribe Hair Care
Digital operator LOUIS CLERC
Photographers’ assistants HUGO FAZI and ERIC ANCEL
Fashion assistant GEORGIA EDWARDS
Casting SIX WOLVES
Production SARAH HACHMANN at Tristan Godefroy
Make-up MARCO ANTONIO using CHANEL Les Beiges Winter Glow
collection and No.1 de CHANEL Revitalizing Mask