Meet Johny Saade, a celebrity makeup artist who’s worked on your favorite, most beloved movie and TV stars.
We sat down with Johny Saade, celebrity makeup artist to famous mugs like Olivia Wilde, Juliette Lewis and Emmanuelle Chriqui, to talk about what it takes to be a successful makeup artist, his inspirations, skincare tips, and must-have products.
When did you know you wanted to make makeup your career?
I actually never wanted to be a makeup artist, it was never really something on my radar. I have a degree in Computer Animation and Special Effects and I wanted to get into the movie industry. After graduating college, I moved out to California and I was having a hard time figuring out how to get into the movie industry so my mom suggested I go to makeup school, study special effects makeup and then try to meet people on movie sets.
What type of makeup did you go to school to learn?
I started off just studying special effects makeup but was instructed to study beauty as well since it’s a good basic to have. I fought it for a long time but finally gave in.
What did you do after school?
I started working on movies and there was no connection between makeup and computer animation on the special effects side, so I stopped doing movies and just started working on my portfolio doing beauty stuff. I ended up moving with an agency starting as an assistant and kind of built my career from there. And now that’s all I do — celebrity, red carpet and editorial. And that’s how it all came about. It just kind of happened.
When you’re planning new looks do you draw them out? Do you still use that as a medium?
Um, not really. I mean, I’m very visual so I like to research a lot. I usually do a mood board and then what I’ll take little bits from here and there. I love combining vintage old Hollywood iconic actresses with current stuff and creating my own looks. I’m more visual because I feel like it’s good to look at other people’s work and see what worked and what didn’t. Sometimes, I’ll go back and look at my work and be like, “Ooo, that didn’t turn out like I had envisioned it.” But I like seeing it on a person because I feel like it’s always going to be different than drawing on paper and then looking at a person’s face.
So what’s your favorite look to do on clients?
My signature look is a look that can go from day to night. I love a good bronze, smokey eye, with lots of lashes and a nude lip. I love focusing on the eyes more than lips.
Do you have any tips to make people’s eyes look bigger?
There are a lot of little tricks. You can use a skin-colored pencil inside the eyes to open them up. I like doing a shadow around the eye or the liner on top and the shadow on the bottom and then doing the lighter pencil inside. Adding a little shimmer on the inner corners of the eye will also open them up.
So you work with an agency now, when would you like to venture on your own?
Right now I’m in between New York, LA and DC, so I have a lot of my own clientele, as well as the clients my agency sends me. I feel like even if you do have an agency you still have hustle on your own. You can’t sit back and expect your agents to get you the work. It’s all about networking and meeting people. Being out there and making your voice heard, your art seen.
Do you still remember who your first paying client was and what that felt like?
It wasn’t a celebrity, it was actually through a friend of mine. She knew this modeling agency that was going to Las Vegas and I was living in LA at the time and they were scouting models and they wanted me to go with them to do head shots. I mean, it was interesting because I’m like, “Oh, this is kind of cool.” I never thought I’d be making money doing makeup and then it happened.
What was the first movie you worked on?
The first movie I did was with Emanuelle Chriqui from Entourage and few other celebrities kids. I had a panic attack and they’re not even famous. I just thought, “OMG, they’re related to celebrities” so I had a freak-out and it was a big deal for me and then I got over it and now I’ve worked with huge celebrities so it’s so normal to me. It’s kind of fun.
So do you have a favorite client?
I love the clients that fly me around the world with them because I get treated like a celebrity when I’m with them. I did a tour a long time ago with Leann Rimes and that was kind of fun. We got to stay in the best hotels. I also worked with an ’80s pop star and she took me all over Asia: Japan, Singapore, Philippines.
Who is the most famous person you’ve worked with?
I’ve worked with iconic musicians like Mick Jagger. It’s been a crazy career for me. Nothing I ever dreamed of. I did a press tour recently, last Christmas, with Juliette Lewis for August: Osage County, so I met Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. It’s been interesting. It’s very cool.
What inspires you?
For inspiration, I look at old Hollywood images of Audrey Hepburn and Liz Taylor and I get inspired by that. You look at that and you think, “That’s so amazing, that’s so beautiful, that was before Photoshop.” That was before any of that stuff and these images of them are so iconic. To me, it’s inspiring. I like taking inspiration from different people and different things and I guess that’s what kind of got me inspired to do what I do.
Do you have any other people that inspired you besides your mom?
The first couple of years when I got into an agency I assisted a makeup artist. His assistants would never be able to last with him because he was brutal and very hard on them. But, I lasted with him for 3 years not knowing this. One day my agent at the time was like, “I can’t believe you lasted this long” because, you know, nobody likes him. I mean he worked me hard, I was a slave driver for him, but it was inspiring to watch him. I learned so much from him.
So would you advice new makeup artists to shadow professionals?
Yes, definitely try and find somebody that’s working in the industry and really go in with them and assist them. Don’t just try to go in and network and make a business off of them. Truly watch them do their craft and try and learn from them.You can’t expect things to be handed to you. It’s a journey. I learned SO much from the person I assisted than I did in school. You learn the most when you’re out there practicing on different people, different skin tones and different projects.
So you think you can learn on your own or do you need school?
I wouldn’t recommend people going to school and paying thousands of dollars because I feel like I learned more from assisting people. But again they had a career and they were working in the industry.
Stay tuned for part 2 of Johny’s interview! To read more about him now, visit his site.
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