{"id":654243,"date":"2026-03-14T04:16:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T04:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/654243\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T04:16:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T04:16:22","slug":"yasmin-istanbouli-helped-define-charli-xcxs-brat-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/654243\/","title":{"rendered":"Yasmin Istanbouli Helped Define Charli XCX\u2019s Brat Era"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n Photo: Courtesy of Yasmin Istanbouli\n <\/p>\n

When Yasmin Istanbouli collaborated with Charli XCX on the makeup for her Brat press photos, she didn\u2019t know the two were about to alter beauty standards as we knew them.<\/p>\n

In the thick of brat summer and in the years that followed, there has been a shift in beauty. Thanks to Charli\u2019s album, the era of the clean girl became pass\u00e9 and a new, messier, sweatier, hotter age was upon us. The singer\u2019s look had people in a choke hold: the smudged black eyeliner, visible under-eye bags, flushed cheeks. Istanbouli, a Korean Palestinian makeup artist based in Los Angeles, was behind the look.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharli and I are very collaborative when it comes to makeup, and from the start, she was like, \u2018I love gray. I don\u2019t want concealer under my eyes. I want my bags to show.\u2019 From those tips, I knew where to take it,\u201d Istanbouli says.<\/p>\n

Istanbouli has used her Instagram<\/a> to give the girls what they want: tutorial after tutorial, either re-creating iconic looks she did on Charli or creating entirely new ones with a similar vibe. And though the artist feels she\u2019s still learning and growing in her career, it\u2019s clear she has made her mark on makeup and, along the way, become a muse herself. Below, Istanbouli shares what inspires her and how she keeps herself grounded while creating a cultural moment.<\/p>\n

\n

What inspired you to become a makeup artist?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In middle school, my dad got me my first camera and I was just like, I\u2019m going to be a photographer. I bought all of Vivian Maier\u2019s books, and I was really into Daniel Arnold. And even though I grew up in Saudi Arabia, I went to Scripps College in Claremont, California, and majored in media studies. But around my junior year, I was like, I don\u2019t know if I can do this. At that time, I was watching a lot of Drag Race, and my favorite part was watching them talk shit and do their makeup. I found it so satisfying. So I just started ordering makeup and smoking weed and doing drag in my pajamas. My mom and my friends were like, \u201cYou\u2019re pretty good at this.\u201d I started doing my friends\u2019 makeup, and I\u2019d go to class with pink eye shadow or yellow eye shadow. When I graduated, I told my mom I wanted to take a course in L.A. from Rihanna\u2019s makeup artist, Priscilla Ono. My mom, literally the next day, surprised me and said, \u201cI got you a seat in this class.\u201d That\u2019s what started it all. I did that three-day course, and I was like, Holy shit, this is amazing. At the time, I was a marketing intern at a denim company and doing makeup on the weekends. I started DM-ing models and photographers to collaborate, and the first people I did makeup on were Gabby Richardson and Salem Mitchell.<\/p>\n

When did you start working with Charli?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I met her pre-Brat. There\u2019s this hairstylist in L.A., Fitch Lunar, who told me, \u201cCharli is always looking for makeup artists in L.A., and I feel like she would really fuck with you.\u201d And that was it. I did her glam when she was a special guest for Caroline Polachek. I remember that day I was incredibly nervous, and I did her makeup in this tiny, tiny room backstage. We barely interacted, really. But after that job, they hired me right away again. And then they hired me for the photos they were doing for Brat, and they wanted to change the whole vibe and the look. So I was there when that was happening.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n From left: <\/strong>Photo: Courtesy of Yasmin IstanbouliPhoto: Courtesy of Yasmin Istanbouli\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: <\/strong>Photo: Courtesy of Yasmin IstanbouliPhoto: Courtesy of Yasmin Istanbouli\n <\/p>\n

Your work with Charli has kind of revolutionized the makeup game. There was a shift from glam to a bit more grunge thanks, in part, to you. What has it been like to watch people emulate these looks you\u2019ve helped conceptualize and to become a muse yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This all feels like a full-circle moment because I remember being the person who was looking at other people\u2019s tutorials and learning and doing looks on myself. And now I open Instagram and, like, people are tagging me on their stories, re-creating my looks. I still feel like I\u2019m this 23-year-old playing with makeup. I feel pretty humbled. Getting this attention feels great and everything, but I don\u2019t want it to get to my head in any way. I\u2019m still young, and I\u2019m not at the point in my career where I feel like I\u2019ve made it just yet. I\u2019m just trying to connect with the girls.<\/p>\n

You mentioned that <\/strong>Drag Race<\/strong> was a massive inspiration for you early in your career. Do you have a source, a person, or a muse who inspires you today?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I draw most inspiration from my fellow makeup artists, to be honest: Nina Park is a legend, obviously; Kennedy, who I\u2019ve followed for a long time. And much respect to the drag queens, but currently I feel like I\u2019ve just been enjoying playing with makeup on myself and my clients. Every time I work with a client, I\u2019m learning something from them, like the way they like to do a certain thing, and sometimes I\u2019m like, I didn\u2019t know you could do that. That\u2019s why, even when I do these tutorials, I try to make it clear that everyone can do it the way they want to and tweak whatever they want.<\/p>\n

Before working on a client, do you ever make a mood board?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I did a lot of collaging in college, but honestly I am just starting to get into mood boarding. I\u2019m just starting to tap into Pinterest. But because I was a photography major, I feel like I kind of\u00a0 already have that eye, and I never like to overcomplicate things when it comes to my vision. I\u2019m a very straightforward, simple person. My approach with makeup is extremely simple. I\u2019m not about all the layers; it just has to feel good, and it has to look good.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n From left: <\/strong>Photo: Courtesy of Yasmin IstanbouliPhoto: Courtesy of Yasmin Istanbouli\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: <\/strong>Photo: Courtesy of Yasmin IstanbouliPhoto: Courtesy of Yasmin Istanbouli\n <\/p>\n

What were you collaging back in school?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had a lot of photo books. I have some iconic i-D covers my sister bought me, a huge NARS book, and some makeup books. I used to scan my favorite pictures and then use a combo of pictures I took and pictures from these books.<\/p>\n

You travel all over the world and spend a lot of time in L.A., New York, Saudi Arabia. Is there a place you go to get inspired or creatively rejuvenated?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am a beach girl. I grew up in Jeddah, which is a coastal city. I\u2019ve been going to the beach with my parents since I was a baby. And when I\u2019m in L.A., I\u2019m going to the beach. I used to go on a lot of drives, getting in my car and driving around, and I feel like that makes me the happiest. I love a good sunset.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n From left: <\/strong>Photo: Courtesy of Yasmin IstanbouliPhoto: Courtesy of Yasmin Istanbouli\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: <\/strong>Photo: Courtesy of Yasmin IstanbouliPhoto: Courtesy of Yasmin Istanbouli\n <\/p>\n

Another place I\u2019ve become obsessed with since dating my boyfriend is New York because he\u2019s from there. I used to visit the city when I was in college and we\u2019d go out, but since we started dating, he\u2019ll take me to all of his OG spots on the Upper West Side he would go to as a kid. And then he took me upstate for the first time, and oh my God. I\u2019m working my ass off right now just so I can escape to upstate New York and hide for the rest of my life and grow radishes and cabbage.<\/p>\n

Have you ever been in a creative rut? What did you do to get out of it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I feel like makeup in L.A. is very competitive. When it comes to red carpets and award seasons, I\u2019ve had times when I wasn\u2019t getting booked and it messed with me. But now, whenever I\u2019m in a rut like that or just not feeling good enough, I just put my camera up, do my makeup, film myself and just try to make myself feel better, and post it to Instagram. Whenever I post on Instagram, as dark as it sounds, getting that support from people really helps. I can still feel like I\u2019m doing something creatively and achieving something by filming a tutorial.<\/p>\n

Do you have a specific makeup artist you like to follow on social media?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aoife<\/a>: I am obsessed with her. Katie Jane Hughes<\/a>: She talks to you like a normal person, and she doesn\u2019t overcomplicate things. I actually got to meet her for the first time in London when Charli came out for Dua Lipa\u2019s show and Katie was doing Dua\u2019s makeup. I was full fangirling.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to walk that line of understanding how much of yourself to put online and how much to keep private. I feel like everybody wants to be a little mysterious.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I feel like I tried the mysterious bit and it just doesn\u2019t work for me. I think I am the least mysterious person ever. At the end of the day, people just want to connect with each other, and I\u2019m nobody without the people who connect with me online. People just want to be silly online. Some of the most engagement I ever got was when I literally posted a picture of shawarma.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n From left: <\/strong>Photo: Courtesy of Yasmin IstanbouliPhoto: Courtesy of Yasmin Istanbouli\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: <\/strong>Photo: Courtesy of Yasmin IstanbouliPhoto: Courtesy of Yasmin Istanbouli\n <\/p>\n

When people see your work, how do you want them to feel? Do you ever think about what you want your legacy to be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want people to see my work as something approachable. I don\u2019t want it to be anything that\u2019s too complex. I think I\u2019m a very approachable person, and I want my work to also be like that. I love teaching my friends how to do makeup, and when people comment asking for a tutorial on my posts, I love that because it makes me feel like people see my work as something they want to put on their face. That\u2019s the biggest compliment to me.<\/p>\n

In the industry, people can get so jaded the longer we\u2019re in it, and I find myself getting sucked into that. There are times when I feel like I\u2019m not cool enough or too loud or too silly or too talkative or whatever. But my people still love me for it and hire me for it. That\u2019s what I want my legacy to be \u2014 not changing the way I am. When my dad dropped me off for college, it was my first time living anywhere else other than Saudi, and he told me, \u201cDon\u2019t forget who you are and where you came from.\u201d I just want to stay true to myself.<\/p>\n

Stay in touch.<\/p>\n

The latest in style, self, culture, and power in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms<\/a> and Privacy Notice<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us.<\/p>\n