The Dazed Beauty Community is our ever-expanding encyclopaedia of creatives and emerging talent from across the world who are redefining the way we think about beauty. Discover them here.

You’ll find the work of make-up artist Evelyn Lewis in a liminal space, somewhere between fantasy and reality. ​“My art makes space to imagine and bring to life how I’d express myself in my wildest fantasies,” says the multidisciplinary artist, ​“and when I do make-up on others, it’s like inviting them into that world I’ve created in my head.” Known for their extravagant eyes and bold lips, Lewis’ work pulls references from art, fashion, film and history to create vintage-looking glam looks – think Tamara de Lempicka meets Betty Boop. No one could accuse them of having an iPhone face. 

Growing up in a small suburb right outside of Ohio, their journey with make-up ran parallel to their own self-discovery as a queer, non-binary artist. ​“Make-up has allowed me to appreciate features that I did not like when I was growing up, and I was able to do that by choosing to separate myself from what I saw was trending,” they tell Dazed. Beyond that, make-up has always been a form of play for Lewis, an outlet of self-expression and self-liberation that allowed them to create something entirely new every time they picked up a brush. 

Below, we speak to the artist about their journey with make-up, their perspective on self-expression and their adoration for beauty icon Pat McGrath.

I have always been a beauty lover, ever since I was a teenager in the early 2010s. I got into the make-up I do now during the Covid lockdowns because I had all this extra time on my hands, and I wanted to challenge myself to see how far I could take makeup as an art form.  

I spent a lot of time outside as a kid, which helped me form a sense of independence from an early age. That said, because it was such a small community, I felt like everyone knew me and my family before I even really knew myself. The same people I went to preschool with, I also graduated high school with. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school and going to college at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago that I grew into my identity as a queer, non-binary artist. I am an extroverted introvert, and art is who I am.  

That make-up is about you. Make-up has allowed me to appreciate features that I did not like when I was growing up, and I was able to do that by choosing to separate myself from what I saw was trending. I hope when people look at my make-up, they can see that I take great care to enhance my features instead of hiding or concealing them. I don’t need a snatched face or a small nose - in fact, when I run in the opposite direction of what is the beauty standard, I have the most fun and feel most like myself. I hope that comes through in my work.  

My earliest beauty memory is when I got my first make-up product ever from my mum when I was in seventh grade. She gave me a metallic copper liquid eyeliner and brown-black mascara by Almay, and when I asked why it wasn’t black (which is what everyone else had), she said that brown would suit my features and make my eyes pop.  

Receiving messages from people who have told me how much my videos and presence online have helped them find the confidence to love their unique features. I remember being younger and sending those same messages to make-up artists on YouTube who inspired me, and I find it so surreal that I can be that for someone out there. 

Beauty to me changes day by day. Some days, beauty is knowing I will be the most overdressed person in the room, and other days beauty is putting on moisturiser and living in my make-up-free skin. Beauty is the flexibility to choose what persona I want to embody and knowing there isn’t a wrong answer.  

Evelyn Lewis: Pat McGrath is and will always be a massive inspiration to me. Her breadth of work speaks for itself, and I’ve felt this way ever since indulging myself in the world of editorial beauty. The looks she creates are one of a kind, and her sense of experimentation and play is what I try to embody in my work as well. Another artist I’ve found myself drawn to recently is Eva Louis. She is a Paris make-up artist, and I love the way she documents her work on her Instagram. There is a simplicity that I am so inspired by.  

What is your current obsession?  

Evelyn Lewis: Throwing on a dark lip and a wash of grey-brown eyeshadow on the eye (and under eye) before I leave my home. No mascara, no blush, no face products. This is the most stripped-down a make-up look for me, and I enjoy feeling like a semi-lifeless vampire. It takes less than three minutes, and it gives exactly the edge that I want when I’m rushing out of the house.  

What is the future of beauty?  

Evelyn Lewis: The future of beauty is letting go of the fear of what is ​‘wearable’. Just wear it. I am constantly asked to do wearable versions of my make-up, but what is wearable is just a matter of perspective. I used to be bothered by looks I get from strangers on the street, but now I completely embrace it. I hope others can do the same.  

It is the sixth day and you are creating humans. They can look however you want them to. What do they look like?  

Evelyn Lewis: I already feel like the way humans were created is the perfect canvas. But I’d like them to be like a doll that you can change the make-up on. I know I would want to be at least six feet tall and completely genderless and sexless. So maybe that’s my answer. I’m not sure what a completely genderfluid human race would look like, but I love the idea of it.  

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?  

Evelyn Lewis: ”Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, L. 86” composed by Claude Debussy and played by the London Symphony Orchestra. If I could have the aliens listen to a performance of this piece in a theatre, I’d do that. If I can’t, I’d give them over-ear headphones and tell them to close their eyes. This piece is perfect from top to bottom. I experience such a range of emotions when I listen to it, and when I close my eyes I can picture the narrative that it is based upon. There is an otherworldly fantasy quality that I would hope an alien could empathise with.  

You have the ability to live in a video game. Which would it be and why?  

Evelyn Lewis: Minecraft – 100 per cent. This game has grown up with me, so I have a lot of love for it. Sandbox games appeal to me because there is so much you can create from nothing. There are rules but not really. I’m not a good fighter, but I don’t need to be if I don’t want to. I can create beautiful things in an infinite world, and I can travel dimensions knowing that if I die I will always come back. The game is never finished, and I strangely find comfort in that.