Makeup on Paper Colors This Artist's Celebrity Portraits

What would it look like if the materials and medium of makeup—normally used on a 3D canvas, the human body—were applied to a simple white sheet of paper? Artist Sofia Metaxas carves out the famed faces and stares of Prince, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, and public-facing contemporaries like Selena Gomez, using only makeup. Metaxas' shading is diligent and thus convincing; she treats her artwork to multiple cosmetic layers over and over, until a final, luminous result is revealed. These portraits are accutely detailed and can easily fit in in an old-school Italian restaurant or bistro with “Hollywood” in the name.

Metaxas' videos showcase how, in order to create impeccable artwork, the tools for creating do not need to be particularly exclusive nor difficult to obtain. The French-speaking artist is a skilled traditional portrait ”painter” who has stayed persistent in her unwavering preference in music and movie stars, according to her website’s archives.

Watch as Metaxas lays the foundation and then builds more coverage with each makeup portrait in her takes on Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, and Selena Gomez.

To see more from Sofia Metaxas, visit her official website, here. Watch more of her makeup-portraiture videos, here.