MUA Esther Edeme wants Black women to wear more colourful blush

The Dazed Beauty Community is our ever-expanding encyclopaedia of creatives and emerging talent from across the world who are redefining the way we think about beauty. Discover them here.

Ngozi ‘Esther’ Edeme, known by the beauty and online world as ‘PaintedByEsther,’ has made her name bringing the most dreamlike colours to the faces of icons like Naomi Campbell, SZA and Kelly Rowland. In doing so, she’s encouraged a community of Black and brown beauties to embrace bold blush. “I love that my work encourages Black women to wear more colour. That’s always been a goal of mine, for us to realise pinks, corals and berry shades all suit us,” she says. “We thrive in colour. I’m incredibly proud that my work manages to encourage everyone to go big or go home and to not be so scared of applying that make-up.” 

To Edeme, this is the whole point. She believes the only way you can do make-up “wrong” is if you aren’t centring your own freedom of expression. “The process should be enjoyable and therapeutic,” she says. She should know – her love for bringing this creative confidence out of her muses has taken her across the world, and her ethereal looks can be spotted on the cover of Dazed, on Adut Akech at the Met Gala this year, and on the stage of the Super Bowl thanks to her work with SZA. 

Currently living in London but originally from Nigeria, the 28-year-old had a brief stint working as a nurse, until she accepted that it wasn’t a fulfilling career choice. She moved to South London, where her work ethic, talent and the power of “word of mouth” led her to the life she lives today. Below, we speak to Edeme about the satisfaction that comes with proving people wrong, the science behind carving out a face, and what the future of beauty looks like. 

Can you talk us through what you do and how you got into it?

Ngozi Edeme: I’m a make-up artist and sometimes a creative director. I do it because this is all I know and love. My close friends know this story, but my career actually started from vengeance, which is very Scorpio of me. I grew up in foster care with white parents, and I remember it was my first and only prom, so I wanted to look amazing. I was the only Black girl in my school for the duration of me being there, and one of very few in the whole town. 

Anyway, my foster mum refused to book me a make-up artist, leaving me stranded. So I said, ‘I’ll show you!’ I stayed up the night before, watched some Aaliyah Jay, Jackie Aina and Scott Barnes tutorials, and gathered all the make-up knowledge I could in that space of time. The next day, I did my make-up and everyone in my school, including the teachers, loved my glam. That was encouraging enough to continue practising. From there, I really fell in love with how make-up can aid confidence and boost morale because that is what it did for me that day.

What are you trying to communicate through your work and why? 

Ngozi Edeme: My whole goal is to encourage all people who love make-up to be playful and experimental. There’s no right or wrong with make-up because it’s just… make-up. It comes off at the end of the day. 

What’s your earliest beauty-related memory? 

Ngozi Edeme: I lived in Nigeria for the first nine years of my life. My mum would buy me dolls, and their accessories would oftentimes be make-up. Those dolls were my best friends anytime she took me to work with her, or I was home alone. My favourite pastime was glamming them in different looks. That, or going into Paks and buying the Sleek contour palette and the LA Pro Girl concealers. Those two products changed my life.

Who is your beauty icon? 

Ngozi Edeme: Naomi Campbell is the epitome of beauty. And my favourite Naomi beauty icon moment is by my forever favourite artist, pioneer and legend, Kevyn Aucoin. I could write a dissertation about my love and immense adoration for him and his contribution to how I bronze and carve out a face.

What does beauty mean to you? 

Ngozi Edeme: Beauty to me means sisterhood. My sisters – also known as my friends, models and clients – have all shaped how I see beauty. I’m constantly surrounded by beautiful women of all shapes and sizes, and that’s what inspires my drive to continue doing make-up. I want to glam every single beautiful woman in the world. It gives me butterflies just thinking about it.

What is your current obsession?

Ngozi Edeme: Blush. 

How did you come to develop your personal artistic style? 

Ngozi Edeme: My personal style comes from years of trial and error. It stems from constantly watching movies like Fast and Furious and seeing Suki’s (Devon Aoki) natural blush freckles and bronze placements and thinking, ‘Wow, how can I translate that to Black skin?’ The natural luminosity and bounce of her skin lives in my mind rent-free. 

Let’s talk about your signature blush look. What’s the secret to flawlessly matching the pigment to any skin tone, every time?

Ngozi Edeme: The secret is years of trial and error. Blush has always been my holy grail product from day one. I always loved how blush brought life and dimension back into the face. I look at the undertone of my muse and choose a colour I feel best complements that. For example, if I’m working with a golden undertone I opt for a warm peachy blush to complement that, because in my mind, golds and oranges mirror each other with how they absorb and bounce light off the face. 

What is the future of beauty? 

Ngozi Edeme: I think we’re currently living in the future of beauty. The beauty scene right now and for the past two years has been so inclusive. There’s no limit to what you can do with make-up. There are so many make-up styles right now, all existing in one beautiful beauty world, and it excites me to create because you genuinely cannot do any ‘wrong’ anymore!

Are you optimistic about the future? 

Ngozi Edeme: I’m very optimistic about the future. I want to do this forever, and I hope 50 years from now I’m still glamming beautiful faces in beautiful places.