5 shades
Meet Robin Black
Passionate about art of every kind, makeup artist and photographer Robin Black, our new Sisley Artist in Residence, sees every face as a blank canvas conducive to the expression of her overflowing creativity. We meet this lover of color who never holds back with her brush.
For over 20 years, Robin Black has been working as a makeup artist with a host of celebrities, publications, and fashion designers. However, despite a keen interest in fine arts, she initially embarked on a completely different career, far from the spotlight:
"After University, where I majored in Biochemistry and minored in Fine Arts, I worked for almost six years in the high-tech industry. In the beginning, it was very challenging and exciting to be working with new technologies, but I eventually got bored. I probably should have gone to art school since that was always where my real passion was."
Bored and weary, she ended up quitting her job in Silicon Valley and setting off to travel around the world looking for lost inspiration.
The Art of Makeup
On returning from her travels a few months later, a friend suggested that she try her hand at being a makeup artist, given her love for fashion, photography and painting. Robin remembers: "In the 2000s, it wasn't a very common career choice, and I had no idea you could make a living doing people's makeup, but I liked the idea!"
Thanks to an acquaintance, she met the French make-up artist Laura Mercier who, after a successful test, offered her the opportunity to become National Make-up Artist for her eponymous cosmetics brand. Although she had never been interested in make-up and barely wore it, Robin started practicing in department stores, where she made up some twenty people a day.
“I imagined that the products were tubes of paint and I used techniques that I had learned in visual arts lessons to choose and position the colors, shadow and light.”
From behind the scenes to the spotlight
Following her initial experience, she was the key makeup artist at high-profile fashion shows for designers like Diane Von Furstenberg, Mugler, and Gucci. It was through these opportunities that influential magazines like Allure and Elle USA caught sight of her, highlighting her unique career path and innovative approach to beauty.
“I quickly understood that makeup allowed me to combine my passions for painting, fashion, photography, and chemistry.”
Alongside her work with designers and celebrities (Selena Gomez, Cindy Crawford, Eva Mendez, Jessica Chastain, etc.), Robin Black enjoys creating conceptual, colorful looks on multiple faces, which she immortalized with a Polaroid then, a few years later, a digital camera.
From 2012 to 2018, she shared her photos on Beauty is Boring, a blog extremely popular with makeup and photography enthusiasts, before deciding to display her work exclusively on the Instagram account of the same name, which today counts almost 150,000 followers.
Robin Black x Sisley, a lasting partnership
“Being invited to become Artist in Residence by Sisley makes me feel like things are coming full circle, like a nod to how I started out.”
Robin Black's sincere affection for Sisley came about very naturally, when the makeup artist was looking for the most high-performance makeup products for her professional kit as well as for her personal use:
“I discovered Sisley over ten years ago, when I was looking for the perfect neutral red and I found it! It is Phyto-Lip Twist no. 18 by the name of “Tango”, and its color and texture are perfect,” recalls Robin, who — after this first firm favorite — began to test other products from the brand, particularly the foundations and face care routines, and has never stopped since.
“Sisley makeup combines performance, expert formulas, and intense pigmentation, while being easy and beautiful to wear on a daily basis.”
Rule-free beauty
The makeup artist stands out with a spontaneous approach to beauty, where the golden rule is that there are none: “Applying makeup does not come down to carrying out a dozen steps in a precise order, and there is no right or wrong way to do it. It's a fun moment that should allow you to express yourself and bring you pleasure. You’re 80 years old and want to wear purple eyeliner? Go for it!”
“Having fun with make-up is risk-free because it all disappears at the sweep of a wipe.”
Discover Robin's advice and tips to play with the so-called rules of beauty:
Robin Black's inspirations
A seasoned globetrotter, Robin Black finds much of her inspiration from travel. “The first time that I went to Mumbai changed the way I see colors forever. Reds, pinks and yellows combined but never clashed, with an extreme elegance,” the makeup artist recalls. A beauty lover, she is also inspired by art of every kind, appreciating classic works just as much as street art, photography, fashion, cinema, architecture, and design.
“I think that when you live life to the fullest and take it all, the good and the bad alike, and you rise to the challenge of opening your eyes and your mind, inspiration comes constantly and naturally.”