Andrew Gallimore is one beauty guru who fully embodies the “artist” part of his job title (makeup artist)—indeed he also has a background in fine art. He is always interested to see what else you can decorate a face with, rather than just lipstick, powder, and pencils. He refers to his aesthetic as a “version of a twisted fairytale,” citing his desire to create a strong narrative in the photographs of his beauty looks.
Born in Stoke on Trent, as a kid, Andrew was always drawing, painting, and just generally making things, something which was encouraged by his parents.
It was while studying fine art at Manchester Met, that Andrew first developed an interest in makeup. Working in mixed media, he was often experimenting with fashion, photography, painting, and one day made the natural progression of painting on people ’s faces, using clownish black and white face paint he’d bought from a joke shop and his old art brushes that he used to paint his canvases with. Encouraged by his lecturers to think out of the confines of traditional beauty, Andrew began sourcing obscure makeup materials at the local charity shop.
He then began contacting his favorite makeup artists to get answers for a questionnaire he’d put together for his dissertation, among which was legendary makeup artist Sharon Dowsett. The two stayed in touch and when Andrew moved to London, he ended up assisting her on a shoot for Dazed.
After four years assisting Sharon and learning the beauty basics, Andrew began carving out a career for himself.
Since then, Andrew has worked with some of the most revered names in fashion, from David Bailey to Sølve Sundsbø. He’s worked on campaigns for Versace, on shows for Christopher Shannon and on countless covers and editorials for Pop, Dazed, i-D, Paper, Ponystep and of course Hunger, where he has been Beauty Editor-at-Large for the last few years.
In 2010 he was named as Dior’s first ever UK Makeup Ambassador, while in 2015 he came on board as UK Makeup Ambassador for Nars, where he’s been ever since. That same year he brought out a book with Rankin, a celebration of their long-standing collaborative relationship.
He is represented by Of Substance Creative Management Consultancy.
