Like Meryl Streep to actors and MFDOOM to rappers, even beauty has its golden child, and right now that’s Sophia Sinot. Responsible for some of the most iconic looks of the past year (including FW22’s obsession with Doja Cat) Sophia Sinot belongs to the new cohort of creatives pushing boundaries with self-expression, beauty and even technology – and people are noticing. Popularity burns fast in this industry, but Sophia has sunk her freshly pressed claws into the future, whether that’s with hush-hush upcoming projects with big photographers or artificial intelligence.
Credits listed at the bottom
We caught up with Sophia whilst she was mile high to hear all about beauty, how she got her start and what the future holds…
Hey, where in the world are you talking to us from today?
Hey! I’m currently on a flight to Los Angeles, going on a much-needed holiday.
How did you get your start in the industry?
When I had my exams in high school, my parents asked me what I wanted to do. they both knew I didn’t want to go to school anymore but since they both always pushed me to create, draw, paint and build things it only made sense for me to do something creative. For some reason, I knew nothing about the fashion/music/beauty/film industry until I was 18 years old and I discovered you could make a living out of being a make-up artist. Since I made that decision my parents have always pushed me to become the best and work hard.
I moved to Amsterdam when I passed my exams and started my 16 lesson make-up course. I started working behind the bar, as a cleaner and I sold contracts for charity while I was contacting everyone I knew that did either styling, photography or modelling and that’s how I built my portfolio and network. In 2018, I officially registered myself as a company and even though I did everything for free in the beginning I slowly started to build a name and I could eventually live off my make-up jobs.
What’s a beauty trend you wish would die already?
I’ve never thought that about any trend! Not everything has to be beautiful to be inspiring.
Who were your main beauty influences when you were growing up?
The first moment I was completely mesmerized by make-up, was when I started watching Michelle Phan’s videos in 2007. I was about 9 years old. I still remember all her tutorials ’cause she was the only YouTuber I’ve ever watched and believe me, I watched her videos over and over and over again.
Credits listed at the bottom
What’s a beauty trend you think is going to be massive in 2023?
Fake piercings, thin or bleached brows and imperfect make-up.
You’ve worked with massive artists in the industry, who has been your favourite to work with and why?
That’s too hard to choose! I definitely want to name Zara Larsson, because she was the first ‘biggest’ artist that believed in me and gave me the chance to work with her. I think that opened a lot of doors for me, and besides that, she is just a beautiful, kind and very funny human being. Secondly Doja Cat, we’ve only done 3 looks so far but she’s such an amazing person and I think her style really fits me. I also want to mention Liza Koshy, she’s a big name in the industry but the most humble and sweetest person I’ve ever worked with. And last but not least, Rimon, we met each other on her first music video years ago when she asked me to do her make-up. We became sisters and even started living together in Amsterdam and continued our journey in London. We’ve always supported each other and seen each other grow throughout the years so ofc she’s on top of my list!
Thin brows or thick brows?
All brows! I’ve grown out my unibrow, shaved them off, bleached them and dyed them in different colours! I’m currently in my ‘growing out my unibrow’ era but who knows… I also thought about shaving them off again next week.
What does the future of beauty look like?
I have a very clear vision of ‘my’ future of beauty, I’ve actually been working on a project that will all make sense in due time but I can’t say too much about it yet.
We noticed you like AI, how does it influence your work?
I’ve always been inspired by the human mind and technology. I recently made a discord that people can join through the link in my bio on Instagram where they can make artwork made by artificial intelligence. My goal with this discord is to make a futuristic Pinterest for make-up artists, hairstylists and other creatives. I use the midjourney bot in my discord server which is a programme that I used before to make my own artwork!
Do you have any advice for aspiring makeup artists?
Don’t get too competitive! It’s a harsh industry and I really believe you have to fight your way up to the top but never lose your kindness.
What does the future hold for you? Any exciting projects in the works that you can share with us?
YES, I’ve been working on an NFT project since Sept/Oct 2021 that will (hopefully) come out in 2023 + I’ve been working on a book focused on beauty for the past couple of months together with an amazing photographer: Svenja Ava.
We know you’ll love Sophia’s looks as much as we do, so we had a rummage through her IG feed for some products she uses just for you…
Words by Giuliana Zamudio-Lopez
Header image: Courtesy of Sophia Sinot
Image 1: MUA:@sophiasinot Model:@lizakoshy Photography:@svenja.ava Image 2: MUA: @sophiasinot @Model:@uglyworldwide Photography:@mescondi Image 3: MUA: @sophiasinot Model: @dojacat Retouch: @svenja.ava @ava___studios image 4: MUA: @sophiasinot Model: @iblamejordan Photographer: @jack_bridgland_studio Image 5: MUA @sophiasinot Model: @1xblue Image 6: MUA @sophiasinot Model: @uglyworldwide Photographer:@jack_bridgland_studio
