A New Way To Think About Makeup with Holistic Makeup Artist Sjaniël Turrell

As “the makeup artist for those who don’t wear makeup”, Sjaniël Turrell is well known in the health and wellness space for her ability to create stunning natural looks while exclusively using natural and organic skincare and makeup. She is not only responsible for the beautiful cover shoots of Ella Mills (aka Deliciously Ella) and Jasmine Hemsley but educates and inspires us constantly through her work as a regular beauty writer.
We are beyond grateful to sit down with her today and ask her what makeup means to her, how to navigate the confusion around natural makeup, why having a mirror in the kitchen can be a game changer and how our aesthetic self always goes hand in hand with our internal health and wellbeing. Of course we asked her about her personal wellness routines and favourite products too.
Let’s dive right into this honest, comprehensive and deeply inspiring conversation about health, makeup and age acceptance.

Being a makeup artist with 25 years of experience, having worked as a professional model for 14 years, you have a long history with makeup and the beauty industry. What does makeup mean to you now?

I think that most women who modelled for many years, are actually very happy when they don’t have to wear makeup because they’ve spent so many years having their faces consistently painted with no say in how it looks. To me, makeup now, is a way to look fresh, healthy and rested - an extension of not only how you’d like others to see you, but of how you see yourself and want to feel on the inside.

How does being a nutritional therapist and conscious consultant influence the work you do?

Simply, our aesthetic selves are not in any way separate from our internal health and wellbeing - you cannot fake looking good (read healthy) entirely without also being conscious of your internal health and how you treat your body, the products that you use on yourself or in your environment. Everything we use every day impacts how we feel and subsequently if we exude wellness and glow.

When do you feel most beautiful?

When I feel comfortable in my own skin & have internal energy - wearing a pair of jeans and maybe a soft vintage sweatshirt or jumper that looks effortlessly put together, finished off with the right pair of shoes (usually sneakers), minimal makeup and a naturally dried good hair day.

How can we foster a relationship with makeup that is based in joy and appreciation for ourselves rather than lack and insecurity?

Makeup for the everyday women (that is, those who are not being used to sell something or portraying an image they have no personal say in), should not be about transformation but about enhancement of what’s already there and working to improve things like our health to have say, healthier skin or a healthier body, rather than hiding or changing what is different about us - embracing our individuality. I always believe that less is more and when you look at someone you want to notice them, not their makeup!

Being on a journey to health and wellness there usually comes a day when we throw out all our conventional beauty products. On the lookout for natural alternatives one can get easily overwhelmed with all the labels and certifications. What’s your advice for someone who is ready to fill their makeup bag with better choices. How do we start?

It IS overwhelming and difficult not to get caught up in a myriad of marketing pitfalls. The first step is to establish your own ‘point of compromise’ - that is, deciding what is important to you. Is it that all the products you use must be natural and contain no ‘suspect’ or ‘synthetic’ ingredients? Is it that all your products must be decidedly vegan and/or cruelty free? Is sustainable packaging highest on your list? Or is it to have, as much as possible, the best of both worlds - efficacy and good ingredients? Once you decide that, you can start aligning your purchases based on your personal belief system and seek out products that align with that. That might mean learning more about ingredients and where they come from or how products are manufactured, but that is a good place to start. Certifications also help to align with your ethos - but it’s important to understand the difference between them i.e. ‘vegan’ vs ‘organic’ - those are not the same things. However, no single conscious makeup brand will offer you everything.

What’s your approach on skincare?

I believe simplicity is key and being gentle to your skin should be your focus - too many people with skin issues treat their skin with harsh products and expect it to improve. You have to nourish your skin and literally give it the most basic routine - a good non-stripping cleanser, a hydrating/balancing serum + a good nourishing face oil or moisturiser - that is all you really need. If you wear a lot of makeup, then something to remove that is important, but a few drops of oil can remove any makeup if need be. Hydration is key and a well hydrated skin, using something like a good hyaluronic acid based serum, is key to good makeup application.

What are your personal wellness routines?

They are constantly changing depending on how my wellbeing shifts and changes - I am far from perfect at giving my body and mind the space it needs to be it’s best, but these are the things I believe are universally important for all of us.

Time to rest your mind - away from screens - a walk outside, reading a book, praying or deep breathing.

Eating as much whole food as possible and when I do have ‘treats’, I avoid anything mainstream and look for ‘better than’ alternatives.

I love functional supplements* and even though they are far from cure-alls, I do find they can benefit me when used at the right times.

Cleansing and nourishing my skin every night and not going to bed with makeup on.

Get sunlight on your face and body without any SPF! (don’t burn, but get some sun - especially in winter months).

*(Editor’s note: Sjaniël’s favourite brands for supplements include: Wild Nutrition , Terranova and Seeking Health. Her go to brand for homeopathic remedies is Physica Energetics - her key products include the Ultimate Rescue Drops and the Throat Spray.)

As a mum it can be challenging to find the time to do our makeup in peace. What are your go-tos for a quick and easy natural look?

I have 2 boys, one is 5 and one is 15 - I am often standing in the kitchen doing my makeup in-between doing breakfast so I can get out the door (though I will often leave home sans makeup if I am just having a WFH day). Firstly, have a mirror in your kitchen! Haha. Then I would say, you really only need 3 to 5 minutes to do a fresh makeup face and also only about 4 - 5 products.

I love Madara City CC as my everyday tinted moisturiser - you apply it so quickly with your fingers and it’s sheer, so there are no nasty lines to work in. Then I believe that groomed eyebrows are highly underrated and I use the Kjaer Weis Brow Gel to quickly brush up and fill my brows, then I use Kosas The Big Clean Mascara. If I feel like I’m in need of concealer, my go to is a touch of Absolution Le Multi Correcteur and lastly, a lip and cheek multi product - my favourite is Hiro The Afterhour (the perfect natural tone) or something as simple as FRUU colour balms that you can dab on your cheeks and lips = DONE!

You recently shared on Instagram „It’s hard to age as a women“. I think it’s so important that we speak to that. No matter how much we want to „age gracefully“ - it’s still hard. What have you learned on this journey so far that you could share with us?

Wow - what to say on this? It’s such a subjective and complex topic. I think I have always considered myself a somewhat deeper thinker - I really try to see things beyond surface level in life, but on this topic of ageing, I really had to admit to myself that I am not ready to take the ‘wise’ route and be that enviable person that celebrates ageing as a right of passage or evidence of experience. I’ve been fortunate to have good skin most of my life and I don’t care that much about wrinkles or stretch marks - they don’t currently bother me, even though I have them. But it’s the change in your face shape, the sagging of skin and the fact that from the outside people can look at you and immediately identify you as a ‘middle aged’ person - I find that extremely hard - especially because I don’t feel that my personal maturity in this matter reflects my physical maturity. When I was younger I was adamant that I would never do anything to my face cosmetically (and I haven’t yet), but I don’t know if this is true anymore. I am very tempted by some of the now newer and less invasive procedures around. And my personal ‘point of compromise’ will be more steered by how it affects my health than what the actual intervention is - for example, I don’t think I would try Botox because I don’t know what that will do to my organs long-term or how hard my body needs to work to counteract the effects on a cellular level, so my own thinking around these things are driven by different criteria than the next person.

I’m still attached to the version of myself that has been manipulated in pictures and even though I don’t think the current trend of extreme filters are mentally helpful for anyone, sometimes I cannot bare the thought of sharing a raw image with at least a little help by even just changing the lighting - I think for many of us, that is the face lift we wish we could have but aren’t ready to commit to and sending out an image of how you would like to be perceived. Age acceptance is difficult indeed - I do hope that, like many women in their 50s tell me, you get to a place where you’re actually quite content and happy. Let’s hope.

Which topic in the health and wellness world do you find particularly interesting at the moment?

It is highly controversial because the mainstream is so far from thinking this way - but I am extremely fascinated by the research on sunlight, blue light, EMFs etc. The sun has been around for EONS - it didn’t suddenly become bad for our health, something we are doing to ourselves is making it bad for us and I really believe in sun exposure as a healer (even though I personally dislike being in the sun - but that is another clue to where your health is at). The sunscreen obsession is mostly misguided and we need the sun a lot more than we realise. Conversely, blue light from all our myriad of devices are causing so much havoc with our bodies and we simply don’t realise how much a part of wellness this is. We are first and foremost made up of atoms - protons and electrons - so electricity is what drives our physiology before anything else.

Now that we have the opportunity, we have to ask: What are your top 5 products for an everyday natural look?

I’m going to say again that no single brand has everything you want and there are so many amazing products and brands out there - I get so sad every time a product gets discontinued by an independent brand that I love and use - we need to support these small brands as much as possible and show them what we love.

I gave my first basic 5 makeup items above already, they are really my go-to products for a 5-minute face, but let’s add 5 more that people can use universally to add to their glow and know it’s good for them - hydrated and healthy skin is paramount for makeup to look good so let’s start with those.

TWELVE BEAUTY Ideal Moisture Serum - to hydrate surface skin and smooth out rough dry patches.
RMS ‘re’ evolve Radiance Locking Primer - I’ve never been much into primers, but this is a game changer for skin prep.
HIRO COSMETICS Multi-Sticks in Mazzo, Havanna or Paradiso - these are the perfect multi taskers that work as eye shadows, bronzers and highlighters.
BURT’S BEES Tinted Lip Balms - I love these balms - they are perfect for moisturising your lips everyday whilst also giving a subtle tone of colour that gives a ‘finished’ overall look.
ESSE Foundation - this is my favourite everyday foundation that gives more coverage than a tinted moisturiser but does not feel like anything heavy on your skin, the texture it amazing.

What do you love most about the work you do?

I love talking one-on-one with women - usually in their own homes - and helping them find solutions that are doable and easy for their everyday living. To dispel myths that makeup needs to be done a ‘certain way’ and helping women realise that they totally can do it perfectly well themselves. I love that most of the time we talk about so much more than makeup, it automatically is about deeper health, nutrition and overall wellbeing.

What are you currently reading?

I am always reading about 4 books at once and never finishing any quickly.

I love a vintage novel and currently reading some F. Scott Fitzgerald novels - which I actually find quite taxing to follow sometimes as the language is so intellectual and old school but I do love it.

I’m also reading The Body Heals by William B. Ferrill M.D. - an old book on functional healing - I find it easier to understand than Fitzgerald - haha.

The Bible because I actually do want to understand what that’s all about.

Working with Sjaniël

Visit Sjaniël’s website to connect and work with her. You can reach out for a 1:1 makeup consultation through this form.

Also make sure to follow her work on Instagram and visit her website to see Sjanël’s portfolio and the stunning looks she created for her clients, including Ella Mills aka Deliciously Ella, Jasmine Hemsley, Goldie London and more.

A note from Isabelle: Sjanël is such an amazing person and incredibly talented artist. If you are lucky to enjoy a 1:1 consultation with her, it might transform your relationship with makeup forever.