Makeup Artist: Topolino

Topolino is Italian for Mickey Mouse, and the name of one of the most extraordinary make up artists I’ve ever met. Hailing from Paris France, Topolino has been in the industry for over 27 years. He’s very petite, smokes like a chimney, and has the tiniest kit ever, basically the size of a handkerchief. His work spans from designing looks for shows like Frankie Morello in Milan, and ad campaigns for Thierry Mugler in Paris. What I find most fascinating about Topolino are the quirky characters that he creates like those above. These pictures were taken a few years ago at a master class in New York. The “chesire cat” smile is one of his standard designs. Using just a few basic products he works with such precision to create perfectly defined lines, and matte skin.

In his heavy french accent, he shared minimal information to the slew of questions that everyone in attendance bombarded him with. He favours primary colours, black white and sometimes silver. Doesn’t care what brand the tools and products he uses are, with the exception of Vaseline-it must be American. The consistency is better for glitter adhesion. To achieve the glitter princess Topolino rubbed Vaseline all over her face, neck and chest. Then poured large particle glitter into his hands and blew! As you can see the results are amazing. Topolino is a true artist.

For more information check out Topolino’s book Make Up Games