Sydney Taeko

About the Artist

Canadian-born, New South Wales-based makeup artist.

I come from a background in acrylic painting and graphite drawing, and I've translated those skills into my work on faces.

Growing up, I was beauty-obsessed — my earliest memory of loving makeup was getting in trouble for wearing lipstick to school at age six. As I grew, so did the size of technology and YouTube tutorials, and I spent hours watching and learning.

A key part of my journey was rarely seeing anyone with a face like mine — hooded eyes, fuller lips, Asian features — represented in the early-to-mid 2000s. That pushed me to learn makeup for different features early on: understanding that an upturned wing wouldn't suit my eye shape as well as one that pulls outward, and that I didn't need to make my lips look smaller to feel beautiful. I believe that's what gave me an eye for detail and for curating a look suited to whoever sits in my chair.

Today my work still mirrors a longing to return to childhood — playful colours, textures, glitz and glam all surface throughout it. I see faces as a canvas and love bringing whatever idea pops into my head to life, but I equally enjoy classic glam and the feeling of someone's face lighting up when they see themselves.