Ido Raphael: Makeup wizard, here to dazzle!

Blurb 1: I am proud to say that I imagined this "full eyebrow makeup" trend a long time before it was officially created.

Ido Raphael is a Jewish Yemeni makeup artist who arrived in Dubai just a few months ago and has already been marked as the next makeup artist star in the Middle East. The beauty and makeup mogul has become the go-to expert for royal brides who set their wedding dates as per his availability so he can doll them up with the magic of his makeup artistry. Not just the royals, but the most luxe fashion houses from Cartier to Alexander McQueen and Charlotte Tilbury have witnessed the amazing wizardry of this makeup star who is dazzling in the Middle East and Asia. Here he talked to us about his cultural background, hobbies, his famous beauty techniques and future plans of a world tour.

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You are an international makeup artist. How and when did you decide to embark on the profession? Tell us about your background, hometown and your dreams since your young age days.

Both my parents were born in Yemen so my roots in the Middle East are strong and have greatly influenced who I am and what I am. I grew up in a traditional orthodox Jewish house. My father is a painter and my mother is a beautician. If you think about combining both of my parents' professions together, it’d be no wonder that I became a makeup artist.

As a child, I never thought about being a makeup artist and getting into the industry. However, right from an early age at school, I had notebooks where I used to dedicate the last page of each notebook to my drawings. I used to draw a lot of women's faces and face parts in secrecy. Later I started to paint with makeup colours for all the women I drew and did touch up with blush and lipstick. Painting was my favourite hobby and when I grew 12 years old, I started painting on canvas and also continued to paint portraits of women’s faces, making my first portrait of my mother's face. At the age of 17, I started to do my mother's makeup. It is important for me to note that the norms in the house where I grew up were different. It is not acceptable for a man to do makeup for a woman or to touch a woman at all. It was something that was not acceptable in any way. My dad really did not like the fact that I do makeup for women, and touch women's faces. He made sure to keep me at home and made sure that my room door was always open (According to Jewish tradition, men and women are not allowed to stay together in the same room with a closed-door.) It seems to me that my father expected me to be a "handyman" and that I would find my niche in some other profession that was considered more masculine. I believe that he was disappointed when that did not happen. My mother was the one who realized that I received my talent as a gift from God and was the one who pushed me to go and do what I love and want. When my mother realized that what I do makes women feel better about themselves, she gave me her blessing. When I reached the age of 20 I went to study the make-up profession officially and from there a door opened for me to the world of TV productions, fashion shows and for celebs' make-up for red carpet events, and of course for brides who hired my makeup services.

Your clientele base includes Icona Pop, Jason Derulo and many celebrities. Tell us a makeup project you enjoyed the most and why?

Most of my famous clients really want to keep their privacy and as someone who works closely with them I can understand that and I am committed to their confidentiality and discretion. They trust me to know how to keep a secret and that is also my professional behaviour.

I recently started working with singer Balqees Fathi who is considered an icon in the world of Arab singing and surprisingly was also born into a Yemeni family. The meeting with her was accidental because I got a phone call from the beauty department at Vogue Arabia magazine about a month after I arrived in Dubai and I was asked to come to do her makeup for the cover of the magazine.

Within two minutes from the moment, we met on the set and connected and an amazing connection was born between us. We started talking and then I found out that she also comes from Yemeni origin and immediately we started looking for common things even though she is Yemeni of Muslim origin and I am Yemeni of Jewish origin. We discovered that in our parents' house we prepare the exact same dishes and speak the same slang with the exact same words and concepts.

Balqees Fathi also told me that she adored the famous Yemenite Jewish singer Ofra Haza and this whole story proved to me how small the world is and in what microcosm we live and work.

The cover photos and the article were very successful and received great media coverage and since then I have managed to work with Balqees several times and I am sure we will do more things together in the future.

How did the fashion industry discover you? Any incident you would like to share with us?

In 2014 I travelled to New York with a desire to work and get involved in the local beauty and fashion industry. Surprisingly, a blogger I did not know approached me and asked to collaborate. It was only later that I discovered that it was Chiara Ferragni, who is a world-famous fashion blogger, all this alongside being a businesswoman, model and Italian fashion expert. Because of her status, she linked me to the biggest super brands in her local fashion field and thanks to her I got to work with ‘Dior’, ‘Lanvin’ and many others. I owe her my international breakthrough to this day.

You have represented one of the top modelling agencies ‘Next Models’. How was the experience there in terms of growth and opportunity?

This famous makeup agency chose me to be represented by them and it gave me a great opportunity to make connections and get to know clients and key people in the industry. They created the meetings for me with the right people at the right time and actually connected me to key people in the industry at a much faster pace compared to how it would have happened to me if I had tried to do it alone. I am so grateful to them for that.

You have worked with ‘Opus Beauty’ makeup agency. What great makeup techniques you used while working with them?

Indeed, ‘Opus Beauty’ is the most respected agency in Los Angeles today and even then, they were considered leaders in this field. I had a very unique point of view towards eyebrow makeup and I always dared to go to extremes and produce something that looked different from the accepted and fashionable conventions.

A long time before eyebrow makeup became an issue, I already created a lot of interest, curiosity and conversation in this matter of why eyebrows should look as fully painted as I used to draw them on models during my makeup work. On the other hand, my professional behaviour created curiosity among my colleagues and admiration for my ability to dare and break the standard and rules. I was considered a pioneer in this matter and made an entire makeup artist industry around the world, dare and create the same eyebrow trend that became the norm today (but then it was actually considered rare and not acceptable at all). I am proud to say that I imagined this "full eyebrow makeup" trend a long time before it was officially created.

What do you regard as your best makeup techniques and where did you draw your inspirations from?

I think the makeup technique that is most identified with me is the way I create and enlarge the eyelid area in order to create more impressive eye makeup and this is because I "steal" some area from the eyebrow area, erasing the lower eyebrow line with makeup and actually applying makeup on this place, using eyeshadow on the eyelid which looks bigger.

I take my inspiration from models who are like an icon for me, types of divas with eternal beauty that time has not touched. I really like the shape of the face and the structure of the eyes of each one of them: Cara Delevingne, Gigi Hadid, Linda Evangelista, Tyra Banks and of course, Kim Kardashian. Each one of them is timeless. Therefore, they will always be relevant.

What qualities do you look in a face when you start to apply makeup on it?

When I start doing makeup for someone, I am very attracted to dark hair and dark eyes. In general, it is oriental faces that attracted me to the dark colours that are reflected in the appearance of the hair and the appearance of full eyebrows. In all of these, there is something mysterious and enchanting and full of magic. Something very reminiscent of the appearance of ancient Cleopatra with a contemporary adaptation to modern reality.

You have worked with many fashion and beauty photographers of iconic stars. Are there any new formulas and techniques you learnt and shared with them?

I always have the tendency to do makeup with makeup products whose purpose and original use was created for a different purpose or for another area over the face. I also like to use one major product and do makeup using it for several areas or parts. I usually take lipstick and use it to do the makeup for a whole face: I put it on the lips as usual but also produce a blush and even an eyeshadow with it. Many of my clients saw these techniques and got really excited. They always asked me to leave them the lipstick I used so they could use it later in their private makeup bag. So this is why I gave a lot of lipsticks as a gift to my customers….

You have been published in leading fashion magazines and have gained so much fame worldwide. How has your makeup language evolved over years?

My professional development as a makeup artist came from the insight of what is the real need of my clients. If once my makeup was based on fashion parameters and measured in terms of how fashionable it is, today, I look at my clients and I try to understand what’s their point of view about makeup and what is their makeup agenda?

When I arrived in Dubai I noticed that the women in the Middle East were a bit tired of the heavy eyes and face makeup which was also known as "Lebanese makeup" style, and they want to use makeup in a different way and in such a way that their skin looks less covered but lighter, and that the makeup emphasizes their facial features.

They do not want the makeup to cause them a change in their appearance and they wish that they will be able to get to know themselves in the mirror at the end of my work and feel that they are looking at the improved version of themselves. I must say that these insights have evolved over time and over the years. They are of top value to me at the professional level and I use them to apply in the field to all my clients.

What made so many royal brides call you and book your makeup services?

Royal brides who book my services usually contact me because they are looking for my makeup style and have not found any makeup artist who does what I do: make her look like she is almost not wearing makeup, just make her look like a much more beautiful version of herself. I am not afraid of hard work and I travel all over the world with my royal brides and their families. My clients know that I am ready to fly to the ends of the world and back to give them a good service, and do their makeup and their families make up for the engagement ceremony, the henna ceremony, the wedding ceremony and the chafla party held after the wedding. More than that, on several occasions' brides, set their wedding date according to the dates I am available.

What are you planning for 2021?

This year, if the whole COVID-19 will get over, I plan to start my world tour which was already ready and at the last minute postponed because of the Coronavirus. I wish to come and perform in many countries in Latin America, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, India, London, Paris and Romania. Wherever I could go and be invited, I would happily go to teach my makeup methods for everyone: makeup lovers and pro artists.