This year’s Mardi Gras makeup trend

Queer make-up artist Jess Aitchison is no stranger to bold requests for Mardi Gras. For the second year in a row, she is booked out with back-to-back appointments for parade day on Saturday, fitting 15 clients in her chair at her home studio in Sydney’s inner-west.

While bright colours are a must during Mardi Gras, this year she has seen more requests for multicoloured styles.

“There are lots of summery colours that are coming into trend, so think of a melting popsicle – hot oranges and yellows with greens infused into them,” she said. Paired with a hot pink lip, it’s a bright, high-fashion look, she said.

She’s also seen an increase in requests for a “cut crease”, where a fake eye socket crease is created to make the eyes look bigger, along with requests for shapes like stars and hearts. Glitter is non-negotiable – Aitchison has over 30 different colours, shades and shapes available.

She’s a master at making sure make-up lasts all day, surviving Sydney’s heat and humidity. It’s down to a combination of products and techniques, she said.

“I like to layer with lots of cream products, and then I’ll put quite a lot of setting powder on. You actually want to do a stabbing motion [with the makeup brush], pushing it into your pores, so it lasts a lot longer,” she said.

“Then, I’ll go on to my setting spray which brings the make-up back to life, so it doesn’t look so cakey.”

One tip for long-lasting lips, she said, is to add the same coloured eyeshadow over the top of matte liquid lipstick.