Lip Art Leading Ladies - Karla Powell

March 16, 2017

This installation of our Lip Art Leading Ladies series features international, award-winning makeup artist and beauty blogger, Karla Powell. Her work can be seen across the globe. Some of her more prominent advertising and branding looks include Magnum’s 25th birthday celebration and Kuoni’s Maldives campaign, which was featured in Cosmopolitan. Karla was introduced to makeup at a young age. You could say it’s in her blood - her father was a face painter. Always fascinated by how a brush and face paint could immediately transform a person, Karla sought out a career in beauty and hasn’t stopped since. We were honored to work with her at the last IMATS London, where she taught a Mehron UK class on Texture Makeup demonstrating her cover look for Makeup Artist magazine. We caught up with Karla to learn more about what inspires her creativity.

Mehron: How many hours does it take to create such intricate lip art and take the photos?

Karla: On an average it takes me 20 minutes to an hour to create a look. Over the years perfecting lip art on a regular basis has given me the confidence to work quicker, which is always important on a shoot when I have to create 6-8 looks on a tight schedule. Post production to capture the lip art and edit the image can take up to 2 hours.

Mehron: How do you put so much detail into one lip?

Karla: When the viewer looks at my lip art, I want them spend time appreciating the small details up close. This is where my love for macro photography came to light. Macro photography allows you to observe the fine details I create in my lip art: precision lines, interesting objects, delicate tones and textures, shadows and highlights. I create lip art to express my emotions and feelings. It's an escape from the everyday world.

Mehron: Who or what inspires your lip art?

Karla: To inspire myself mentally, I love to visit the Tate Modern in London to be inspired by other artists work. Abstract art defies rules and conventions, and it's up to me as the artist to know all of those rules, and then break them!

Mehron: What makes Mehron products so popular with so many artists doing lip art?

Karla: Regardless of the level at which you work as a make-up artist, whether novice or professional, your products need to be the highest quality possible, making it that much easier for you to do your best. This is why I use Mehron! From the quality of each product delivering every time to the price point to a wide range of choices.

Mehron: What Mehron extreme/performance products are your lip art go-to's?

Karla: Every time I create a lip art design, my Paradise AQ Face Paints always come to light. Need a bright yellow lipstick, but hard to find the right consistency /texture on the high street? Look no further than AQ Face Paints! I use them for most of my lip art looks they make fantastic bright water based lipsticks.

Let's put it this way, every Mehron product I own in my make-up kit I am obsessed with. The products are simple to apply, easy to remove, gentle on sensitive skin, and made from some of the best nourishing ingredients like aloe, chamomile, avocado oil and cocoa butter.