For London-based makeup artist Ana Takahashi, beauty is her portal to create never-before-seen characters. “I love the process of discovery that can only come out of experimentation”, she describes of her bold approach. Channelling a high-octane vision of femininity, Takahashi––who is of Japanese, Spanish and Brazilian descent––creates memorable personas that destabilise the boundaries of beauty itself. With a practice grounded in both her training in theatrical makeup, and her adolescence surrounded by our new digital reality, Takahashi’s diverse influences have a single thread at their heart: that of a kind of beauty always pushed to its most visually exciting, emotionally-resonant limits. Possessing highly original techniques and esoteric references, Takahashi’s image making through makeup holds a mirror up to the energies of the current moment.

Takahashi’s reputation for risk-taking has led to her ongoing collaborations with genre-defying musicians like Caroline Polachek, and photographers such as Harley Weir, Elizaveta Porodina and Rafael Pavarotti. Her clients have included Miu Miu, Balenciaga, Acne Studios, Marc Jacobs, Moncler, Isabel Marant, Blumarine, Adidas, M.A.C. Cosmetics, Stella McCartney, Kiko Kostadinov, Chopova Lowena, Byredo and KNWLS, and her work has appeared in titles such as The Face, Vogue, Document Journal, Beauty Papers, Pop Magazine, Purple and Dazed, amongst others.