Val Garland is the Global Makeup Director of L’Oréal Paris, Contributing Beauty Editor of British Vogue, judge on the BBC’s Glow Up and author of Validated, the must-read for fashion lovers & industry professionals alike. With a career that spans decades and a portfolio that reads like a who's-who of fashion and celebrity icons, Val Garland is known for creating bold makeup looks. Her highly coveted makeup artistry has been featured on the prestigious pages of Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar, while her collaborations with renowned brands like L'Oréal Paris and MAC Cosmetics have made their mark on the global beauty industry. Through her esteemed expertise and trailblazing approach, Val Garland has not only transformed faces, but also broken barriers, redefined beauty standards, and created a more inclusive industry for all. Here, Val Garland shares her inspirational story and expert guidance on how to thrive in the UK beauty industry.
On Early Beginnings & Breaking into the Beauty Industry
I started off my career as a hairdresser in Bristol, but not because it was my passion—I just really wanted to leave school and start working. At the time, my sister was already a hairdresser, so I thought: Why not give it a go? While working as a hairdresser, one of my bosses noticed that I was naturally quite good at talking to people and teaching, so he started to take me along to industry events. He introduced me to a whole new world of hairdressing outside of the salon which gave me the opportunity to travel across the country to do hair shows. Shortly after, I met someone, got married and moved to Australia which is where I eventually opened my own salon. So, I found myself in Australia—which was very progressive at the time—and although I started my salon on my own, I quickly grew a loyal customer base. I had a lot of high-profile people from the fashion industry, lots of models and musicians come into my salon on a regular basis. I used to wear lots of makeup to the salon and people would always come up to say, “Why don’t you become a makeup artist?” In Australia, back then in the 80s, if you wanted to succeed in session styling work, you had to do both hair and makeup. So, I started experimenting with makeup and taking notes from other makeup artists on shoots. As I worked on the hair, I would watch how the makeup artist worked her magic to pick up tricks & techniques. I would then purchase all the products and practice doing makeup on myself at home until I perfected things like a smoky eye or a feline flick. As I was learning, I would practise makeup on friends & colleagues, and my career in beauty kicked off from there. I started working for magazines across Australia doing makeup and hair, but when I came back to London in 1994, I had to choose between hair & makeup—at the time, you couldn’t do both. I had to be a specialist in either hair or beauty. So, one day I would be on set working as the lead makeup artist, and then the lead hairdresser on the next shoot. Eventually, the hairdressing side fell away, and I became an artist solely focused on makeup.
From Hairdressing to Becoming a Self-Taught Makeup Artist
I have always been a maverick, always curious and always watching & learning from other people. In most of my hairdressing career, I was self-taught through seeing and doing. In the 80s & 90s, I was sort of a clubber, I wore lots of makeup, so I really did teach myself a lot of the skills that I have today. I didn’t do any formal makeup training. Back then, there was no Internet or YouTube tutorials, so I really learnt how to do makeup by watching others and practicing makeup on myself. Nowadays, a lot more makeup artists are self-taught, and they have the Internet as an education resource which can help you build a very successful career. When I first started out, there weren't so many makeup artists or hairdressers that were working backstage or on editorial & advertising shoots. There weren’t many makeup schools either compared to hairdressing schools—like Vidal Sassoon or Toni & Guy—who were really at the forefront. Plus, makeup schools were much more expensive, so becoming a self-taught makeup artist and learning on the job really worked well for me. The thing that I like most about makeup is that you can always wipe it off and try again, and that’s exactly what I did for a long time. Practice, practice and then practice some more! Doing makeup on others is different to doing it on yourself, so I would do makeup on as many people as I could, and that’s how I learned.
Networking & Breaking into the Beauty Industry
I have always loved fashion and beauty, so getting into the editorial side of the makeup industry was my main goal. In the 80s & 90s, there were so many fabulous publications on magazine shelves—Blitz, Honey, The Face, ID, Vogue—that I used to read religiously long before doing editorial work. I would buy Italian Vogue every month, cut out all the Peter Lindbergh pictures and decorate my walls with cutouts of supermodels like Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, and then I would look at these images and think to myself: This is what I want to do. I wanted to become that makeup artist who works with incredible people at shoots to create iconic looks for editorial spreads or backstage at catwalk shows. When it comes to networking and getting your foot in the door in the beauty industry, there is an element of being at the right place at the right time. Many of the people that I met at the beginning of my career played fundamental roles in my career later down the line. So, I would recommend networking as much as possible to find your people and do test shoots to try out new creative ideas together. I started booking jobs when I started testing out new things. My first editorial as a makeup artist was for the Evening Standard newspaper and the creative team—their hairdresser, fashion stylist and photographer—that I worked with on this job then started working on music videos. So, because we had worked together and tested together, they booked me to work on the music videos with them too. The fashion stylist on the team happened to then meet a young designer on a music video set who asked her if she’d like to work on his fashion show. She then asked me if I’d like to work on the show too. So, we go to the studio to meet the designer and we bring along the hairdresser as well, and it turns out that the designer was Alexander McQueen. That's it. That’s where the story begins. That’s where the journey begins. So, yes, the people that you start with in the beauty industry are usually the people that you grow with.
Creative Inspirations & What Makes a Ding-Dong Makeup Moment
I find creative inspiration in everything, whether it’s life, film, or art. I recently went to see this great movie called Poor Things which was so inspiring and made me want to try makeup with special effects. I get inspired by everything and anything. I've got a suitcase that I call my sticky black suitcase and it's got everything in there from bits of tape to rhinestones, fabric, plastics, and toys. Sometimes you’ll make mistakes, but I encourage you to try new things rather than following a 12-step makeup programme. Instead of deciding, “I am going to do this and then that, followed by this step,” let’s turn it on its head. Do the last thing first. What about if we, you know, we miss a step? How do we create something else? Thinking outside the box is what really inspires me because I have a low threshold for boredom. I like to try and test new things. I like to mix it up. So, I would highly recommend that other makeup artists do the same.
On the BBC’s Glow Up—which is a TV contest for makeup artists that I judge—I say, “Ding Dong” whenever I come across makeup or an idea that moves me. A Ding-Dong makeup moment is something that inspires me. It’s an incredible emotion that goes all the way back to when I was working backstage at fashion shows and I would have a team of up to 25 makeup artists all interpreting my vision, but I didn’t want them to just copy what I did—I wanted them to bring a bit of magic to the makeup. So, whenever I would walk around and see makeup that gave me that magic, I would blow a whistle and say, “Ding Dong”. It would always motivate the other makeup artists to be more creative. Essentially, it's about inspiring people, being inspired and that's what Ding Dong is all about.
How to Grow Your Beauty Business & Brand
To build a successful beauty business and brand you must be versatile. Don't be a one-trick pony! You need to learn how to build a strong relationship with your clients and a positive brand reputation, because in the beauty industry, word of mouth recommendations go a long way. One thing I started doing as I was building my brand was, if I liked a product or service, I would always validate it. But I would only validate something that I truly believed in. When you earn the respect of your customers, your community, your peers, they will buy into your recommendations because they believe in your expertise. You must find a way to make people believe in you and trust you enough to want to be a part of what you’re a part of. You’ve got to build trust amongst your community and that’s how you grow your brand. You must step out of your comfort zone, try something new, stretch yourself. One thing I also truly believe is that knowledge is power. The more you open your eyes, educate yourself and explore what is around you, the more risks you’ll be willing to take when it comes to offering a bigger and better service or product.
Showing Up Online & Building Your Digital Presence
Having a strong digital presence is so important if you want to succeed and thrive in the beauty industry because everyone is online. Your network is online. Your community is online. So, without a digital presence, you become invisible. You need to be seen, you need to be heard and you need to stay in the know of what’s happening in the beauty industry in real time. Showing up and having a digital presence will only open that many more opportunities for you whether you are an aspiring makeup artist or someone who is more established. You may even get to work with other brands and businesses because of being online—after all, brand sponsorships will only increase your brand. Taking advantage of software or technology to grow your brand is also essential for taking your brand to the next level. Having a reliable beauty software system in this industry is like having a team of experts helping you to grow. Suddenly you will notice that your business will be faster, quicker, more efficient. The more help you can get as you journey through the beauty industry, the better. Beauty software like Vagaro will give you more time to concentrate on the bigger picture, which is you and your brand.
Val Garland’s Top Tips for Aspiring Makeup Artists
Look Out for Makeup Assistant Roles
The easiest way to get the best experience as a young person who wants to get into the beauty business is through assisting work and testing. Try to find some assisting work with three or four leading makeup artists in the industry so you can get on their team and use this as an opportunity to learn & network. If you get a chance to go backstage at shows, spend time closely observing how each makeup artist works to pick up on techniques and best practices.
Follow Trends but Make Them Your Own
Social media is such an essential educational tool, especially for creatives, like makeup artists, as it gives you easy access to tutorials so you can learn from home. Make a list of current trends or makeup techniques that you’d like to try, follow the steps online and keep going until you get it right. I would also recommend following makeup artists who inspire you and study their techniques, because the more knowledge you have, the more tools you’ll have to do your job. Try as many makeup techniques as possible, get creative and always find a way to make them your own.
Be Authentically YOU!
I think you've got to be authentically you. You're sharing your knowledge with others. You've got to create a community. Find your people. At Val Garland HQ our motto is: Teamwork is the dream work. You've got to be open. You've got to share what you've got. You've got to be yourself. You've got to do you. You've got to be authentic. Invest in your skills, be flexible, versatile & adaptable, because like I always say, the more you know, the more you grow.
Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone
I love my job; I love being outside of my comfort zone and constantly challenging myself by working on the next big thing. I am very fortunate to do what I love every day. If you are ever feeling demotivated, especially early on in your career, go out and learn a new skill. If you feel like you're in a rut and you don't know how to get out of it, think about ways you can diversify your beauty business. Instead of focusing on what’s not going right, try to focus on which good things you can add to your life or business to make a change now. At the end of the day, you’re only as good as what you are doing now, so be the best you can be today—tomorrow will take care of itself.
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