Beauty Became My Language

I didn’t begin my career in makeup knowing that storytelling would become the heart of it.

I became a Certified Professional Makeup Artist through MC College (Edmonton, Alberta) in December, 2024, drawn initially to the artistry itself — the ability to enhance and create through makeup. From bridal applications to editorial work, every experience taught me something different about the relationship between makeup and the person wearing it. In October 2025, my work was featured on the cover of MALVIE Magazine, an international fashion, beauty and art publication.

But somewhere along the way, my relationship with makeup began to change.

I became less interested in makeup simply for the sake of creating something beautiful, and increasingly fascinated by what it could say beyond the surface. 

I started thinking about makeup as a language.

Colour could carry emotion. Texture could suggest something unspoken. A deliberately placed imperfection could communicate more than something technically flawless. A face could become part of a much larger story about identity, expectation, vulnerability, freedom or change.

And once I began approaching my work this way, the possibilities felt limitless.

What surprised me most was how much that discovery changed the way I looked at my own life.

Creating stories exploring deeper topics required me to think about my own feelings and experience differently. Exploring vulnerability, restraint, identity and becoming through other people made me more willing to examine those things within myself. Challenges became something I could look at from another angle — not necessarily something to make beautiful, but something capable of offering perspective, meaning and eventually, connection.

That perspective now sits at the center of my work.

I love beginning with something that may not be visual at all — a feeling, a question, a personal experience, a piece of history, a contradiction — and asking: 1) what is the core meaning, and 2) what would this look like if we could see it?

From there, I build.

Makeup becomes one part of a larger visual language, considered alongside colour, wardrobe, environment, movement, symbolism and imagery. Every decision has the opportunity to contribute to what the final image is trying to communicate.

Sometimes that means creating an entire conceptual world from an abstract idea. Sometimes it means collaborating with a brand or individual to translate their story into imagery. And sometimes it simply means helping someone feel incredible for one of the most important days of their life.

I don’t believe I need to fit neatly into one box to do any of those things.

I still love bridal and beauty artistry, and I continue to offer makeup services for weddings, events and individual clients. There is something incredibly meaningful about being trusted with someone’s face and being invited into moments that matter most to them. Whether the intention is natural enhancement or complete creative transformation, my approach begins in the same place:

Who is this person, what are we trying to express, and how can beauty help us tell that story?

The answer is different every time.

That’s exactly what keeps me creating.

-Yvonne Middleton