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“I don’t see the point of existing without turning what’s in my head into something real,” says SFX and make-up artist Catalina Sartor. If her body of visceral beauty work is anything to go by, Sartor’s head is full of high glam, at times nightmarish, creatures, sometimes without eyes, sometimes with a full beat, sometimes with reptilian boobs. She’s created high-shine orbs embedded into the skin of Michèle Lamy, an all-over wash of pink on FKA twigs and high-gloss glam for VTSS, as well as looks for artists like Arca, Caroline Polachek and Björk.

Born in a small town outside Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sartor’s first exposure to beauty came through the competitive rollerskating circuit. “By age four I was doing full glam for my competitions – silver glitter lids, mascara, pink gloss, slick hair and a tiara – repeating that same look obsessively from four to sixteen,” she recalls. Now, some decades on, beauty has become a way for Sartor to express emotions that are hard to assemble elsewhere. “I come up with looks that behave like characters rather than accessories, pulling from the things I’m drawn to, the emotions I struggle to put into words, and a sensitivity that can sometimes read as darkness.”

Those emotions play out in her ever-expanding body of work, both in make-up and SFX, from fleshy prosthetic beads buried under skin to golden scales laid across bare chests. Below we talk to the make-up artist about her current obsessions, working with FKA twigs and more.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and where you grew up?

Catalina Sartor: I grew up in a small town surrounded by nature where I felt very free and safe, with the independence to explore and play on my own, which made it feel natural to imagine building a life far from home.

What is it you do and why do you do it?

Catalina Sartor:  I bring ideas to life through makeup and SFX, and I make girls feel beautiful for a living – I don’t see the point of existing without turning what’s in my head into something real.

How did you get into it?

Catalina Sartor: It started as a need to express what I couldn’t say out loud – I was drawn to performing, dressing up, and inventing characters, and make-up became the place where everything finally made sense.

What does beauty mean to you?

Catalina Sartor: Beauty is well-curated harmony – the ability to sense what belongs, what doesn’t, and when to stop.

Describe your beauty aesthetic in three words.

Catalina Sartor: Uncanny. Hot. Intentional.

What’s been your career highlight so far?

Catalina Sartor: Working with FKA twigs – a convergence of every dream scenario I’ve imagined, with a team I deeply admire.

Who is your beauty icon or favorite look of all time?

Catalina Sartor: Val Garland’s early 2000s work for McQueen – especially when make-up stopped being decorative and started invading the clothes, the hair, the body, using unconventional materials to blur everything into one story; that’s the reference that validates how I want make-up to function in this industry.

What is your current obsession?

Catalina Sartor: My morning yogurt bowl and Greige MAC lip liner.

You encounter a hostile alien race and sound is their only mechanism for communication. What song would you play to them to inspire them to spare you and the rest of the human race?

Catalina Sartor: ‘All Is Full of Love’ by Björk.

What is the future of beauty?

Catalina Sartor: Beauty will shift from trends to authorship.

You’ve opted to be cryogenically frozen in hopes of continuing the human race. When you’re awoken it’ll be your responsibility to kick-start the breeding. What SFX would you wear on your first date?

Catalina Sartor: My amethyst third-eye prosthetic, from when I first started exploring SFX –  as a silent summary of who I am and what I stand for.