Sir John

Sir John Barnett is a makeup artist whose palette has created some of Beyonce’s most famous looks. As well as being makeup artist to, and close personal friend of, one of music’s biggest stars, Sir John is also an ambassador for L’Oreal Paris, one of the world’s most famous makeup brands. He got his training working for the likes of Pat McGrath and Charlotte Tilbury and has a client list that includes the likes of Naomi Campbell, Kim Kardashian-West, Karlie Kloss, Ashley Graham, and Joan Smalls — to name a few.

Sir John hails from upstate New York. His interest in art began at a young age — he began taking art lessons aged six. A talented artist, his introduction to makeup was quite accidental. When he was 18, a model friend asked him to help out with a photo shoot. The results were so impressive that the session’s photographer began using Sir John as his regular makeup artist. Sir John proceeded to get a job on the MAC counter in legendary New York department store Bloomingdale’s, practising his skills on customers. When he was sacked for being late, he moved into visual merchandising and his career as a budding makeup artist seemed to be over.

However, yet another chance event would draw him back to his destiny. He was introduced to legendary British makeup artist Pat McGrath by a mutual friend. McGrath invited Sir John to work with him at Milan Fashion Week where he ended up doing Naomi Campbell’s makeup. Within a year, he was working as an assistant for Charlotte Tilbury. In 2011, he worked with Beyonce for the first time, and a year later, he became her exclusive makeup artist, sealing his reputation as one of the world’s biggest makeup artists.