"The goal is a finish so striking it looks almost AI-generated" Interview with Sophie Hartnett

"Hello nss g-club! I'm Sophie Hartnett, a makeup artist based in Brooklyn, New York. My work lives between fashion editorial and whimsical, nature-influenced makeup, with a love of special effects that push beauty into stranger, more unexpected territory". What more is there to say? The latest episode of Under the Beauty Radar is here, featuring a vibrant guest who glides from the whimsical to the monstrous in the blink of an eye, and who has worked with the biggest it-girls of the moment. Here is what she told us.

Interview with Sophie Hartnett for Under the Beauty Radar

What are three words that describe your aesthetic?

Timeless, playful, and daring. I come from a family that's been in fashion since the early '80s, and the first thing I really learned was clean, refined skin: true beauty makeup. Now, ten-plus years in, I've been pushing my creativity to balance that clean aesthetic with special effects techniques, elevating a beauty look into a full story. The goal is a finish so striking it looks almost AI-generated, the kind of work that makes the viewer ask how, why, and when can I try it myself?

When did you first realize that this was the path for you?

Coming from a family of creatives, I realized very early on that whenever I want to express myself, I do it through craft. Whether it was arts and crafts - papier-mâché, painting, collage  or music - singing, songwriting, performing - it always came back to making things with my hands. Eventually that became painting on people's faces. I knew my path was in art, and fashion and makeup became the way - not a new way, but my way - to express my view of the beauty industry and the world, and to create the makeup I want to see in it.

Where do you draw inspiration from? Do you look to current trends and social media, or do you find it elsewhere?

I draw a lot of inspiration from the makeup artists who paved the road for beauty, Kevyn Aucoin and Pat McGrath are two of my strongest inspirations. Beyond that, I find so much in nature, from naturally occurring textures to sacred geometry. Trends and social media move fast, but I prefer to look elsewhere, to the masters and to the natural world.

When did you realize that your aesthetic would lean non-traditional and, at times, even monstrous?

I knew from an early age that I wasn't one to follow trends, I've always been more inspired by the off, the unknown, the weird. And I love that in 2026, that's being celebrated more than ever; I'm so happy to be working in this era. I do believe every trend bases itself in something real. Would I call myself monstrous? Maybe not, but as a powerful double Leo, I'd say I'm daring. I'm willing and ready to push boundaries and create a real wow factor, always grounded in timeless, beautiful makeup.

What is beauty and what is ugliness to you in life and in your work?

Beauty, for me, is like a major chord. It makes you happy, makes you feel content and stable, it makes you feel warm inside. That's the bass for my makeup: clean, beautiful skin, an approachable eye, something timeless, something you've seen before. But then I like to incorporate what you'd call the ugliness: the weird, the unknown, the questionable, like a minor chord set against the major. They both live in the same world, they can exist in harmony, and that's what I aim to create.

How does your approach shift when working on a runway show, a photoshoot, or a more personal, artistic project? Do you notice any key differences in your process?

I love working runways. A lot of people I've worked with have said I'm fast, and that's something I hold very dear. I'm quick with my art, but very intentional. I especially love doing a runway when I'm keying, like I did for Pipenco's last spring/summer fashion week show. I created the look, pulled a team together, and put my vision forward in a quick, seamless way. A photoshoot feels completely different, because you're not just collaborating with the designer, there's the hairstylist, the photographer, and the magazine, and together we all collaborate and put something forward that we might never have gotten to without each other. For my personal projects, I've been working with one of my favorite hairstylists, Jenni Iva. It's just the two of us: creating from a concept, finding a model, shooting, editing, all the way through to publishing it ourselves. Lately that's been the most exciting thing for me, taking something from the very beginning of a concept all the way to the end, to posting it and sharing it with the world. Each of these spaces brings out a different side of me as an artist, they're all different in their own way.

What was it like working with Julia Fox for Luis De Javier?

Recently I've had the opportunity to work with icons and legends like Julia Fox, Slayyyter, Dominique Jackson, Daniela Lalita, Cailin Russo, Jazzelle aka Ugly Worldwide, Peaches, and so many more. Getting to work with people who have their own vision and their own persona has elevated me as an artist, because I'm not just creating for me and my vision. I get to create inside their world, inside their vision, and that has helped me so much in my career. It's made me adaptable, I can take my weird and wacky and beautiful and weave it together with their weird and wacky and beautiful.

What does the future hold for your artistic research?

The future is always unknown for me, and I try to find the beauty in that every day. I'm always finding a new image that inspires me, a new artist I'd love to work with, a new song that brings up an emotion and pushes me to create something I never would have. I hope to work with more amazing musicians and artists, and to collaborate with more creatives in my industry and out of my industry. I'm excited for the next year and new beginnings, and I hope you'll stay tuned!