Judges Bios

Mimi Choi
Canada

Mimi is a Vancouver-based professional makeup artist renowned for her unique artistic style. Since graduating from Blanche Macdonald Centre in 2014, her pioneering illusionary work has garnered international attention and a large following on social media ( @mimles). Mimi was born in Macau – a former Portuguese colony on the southeast coast of China known for its distinct European and Chinese influences. She immigrated to Canada with her parents in the mid 90’s where she now practices and teaches her craft.

Like her birthplace, Mimi’s inspiration stems from various sources. This includes patterns and textures from her surroundings, photoshopped digital art, and surreal paintings from artists such as Salvador Dali and M.C. Escher. In addition, Mimi suffers from sleep paralysis – a condition in which her mind is conscious, but her body becomes temporarily unresponsive while waking. During these bouts, she experiences vivid and often frightening visions which have inspired many of her more morbid and distorted face looks. She avoids viewing the works of other makeup artists however, as she believes that doing so will stunt her creativity. Instead, Mimi prefers to use her past works as a benchmark of her progress and maturity as an artist.

Coupled with her background and previous career as an educator, Mimi now instructs at Blanche Macdonald and leads various masterclasses and workshops around the globe where she demonstrates her iconic looks. She also freelances as the artistic director for various campaigns and her CV includes collaborations with brands such as Make Up For Ever, MAC, Kryolan, Mehron, UNICEF, Warner Brothers and Samsung to name a few. Since making a name for herself in the makeup community, Mimi’s work has exploded into the pop culture scene as she has been featured on various international television shows, magazines, music videos, and most notably at the 2019 Met Gala where she created the event’s most talked about look on actor/model Ezra Miller.

Vanessa Davis
United Kingdom

Vanessa Davis, also known as the Skulltress™️, is known for her elaborate, theatrical, detailed and highly creative makeup designs and looks she creates on herself and others. She has accumulated a million followers on her Instagram platform (@the_wigs_and_makeup_manager) and her work has gone viral a multitude of times. Vanessa built her social media platform whilst she worked full time, managing the Wigs & Makeup Department at English National Opera, in London, UK. Her background is theatre and she worked for 11 years in this field designing wigs, hair and makeup on 45 operas, 4 musicals and 2 plays. Into her 3rd year of social media work, Vanessa transitioned to a full time designer and influencer on social media and has partnered and collaborated with brands such as Disney, Warner Music, 20 Century Fox, MAC, Makeup Forever, Selfridges, Urban Decay, Freixenet, Illamasqua, to name a few.

Danessa Myricks
USA

As a makeup artist, photographer, and entrepreneur Danessa Myricks has mastered the perfect beauty application and image and made a name for herself as one of the most creative in our makeup industry. With the creation of her eponymous line, Danessa Myricks Beauty and her work in the studio, Danessa continues to creatively combine art and product manipulation as she pushes the beauty industry forward in both her artistry and product innovation.

Inspired initially by the inner sphere of the beauty business, Danessa’s career hit the ground running at the corporate level, where she discovered her true passions aligned the trajectory towards artistry. With insight and business structure intact, she noted the highest opportunities were to alleviate the issues of cosmetic marketing for ethnic skin tones coloring the world. From fair to deep complexions, Danessa always aimed to touch all faces equally.

Danessa’s artistic expertise and drive enabled opportunities to work on the faces for numerous celebrity projects with entertainers from music to film and her approach to beauty ignited the desires to co-create with global beauty brands like Kiss , Benefit Cosmetics & Limelight By Alcone . Danessa also has had multiple consulting initiatives for both prestige , pro, and masstige beauty brands globally.

Always ahead of the digital curve with great success she produced her best techniques into over a dozen how-to videos where devotees of beauty around the world could access professional artistry first hand. As a published author Danessa manifested makeup instruction with two books focused on contour, highlight and color for makeup artists.

Currently Danessa spends her time training makeup artists and enthusiasts globally and creating her brand Danessa Myricks Beauty, a global beauty blend of professional insight and wearable cosmetics available to every makeup devotee on the planet.

Le Menestrel
France

Professional makeup artist from Paris who finished school last year.

He first started an engineer school but understood he was meant to do something artistic in his life. He lived 4 months in London to improve his English and discovered a place where he could express himself. He came back to Paris confident and with head full of creativity.

He learned how to work with a client and to express his creativity with technics at school while he was posting more and more looks on Instagram.

He discovered the drag community in Paris with his close friends which are now a Haus. This universe helped him not to create makeup that works only on pictures but also in real life with bad light and no professional photographer.

He won the French NYX Face Awards of 2019 which helped him work with great magazine as Tush and Gala France. Now he’s represented by B agency in Paris.

Loving doing artistic makeup on himself, he does drag club Kid and colourful looks for his pleasure. He always tries to innovate and find new shapes and ideas.

His goal is to find a balance between creativity and technics to be completely proud of his work

His only key is that perfection doesn’t exist, that’s means you can always do better and improve yourself

Lewis Amarante
Spain

Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 2, 1967. Since childhood, thanks to his mother he was attracted to the arts. At the end of high school, he joined the faculty of architecture, race left in the third year to study design and fine arts. He has worked as a designer and in various advertising agencies until the 33-year-old decides to turn his professional life and devote himself to professional makeup. He has worked for brands such as Loewe, Dior, Zara, Massimo Dutti, L’eteneur, Custo Barcelona y Rochas among others. He has been director of several gateways and fashion shows in Madrid and Barcelona and its collaboration with MTV has enabled him to collaborate with various international music stars.

Among the magazine with which he has worked are Edelweiss, Vogue UK, Vogue Spain, Vogue Italia, Vogue Germany, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire Spain, Telva, Marie Claire France, Marie Claire USA, Elle México, Elle Portugal, Schon Magazine, Mua Club y Glamour Italia among others. It was official makeup of firms such as MAC, Chanel, L’Oreal and Max Factor.

I have worked with Madonna, Darryl Hannah, Laura Pausini, Justin Timberlake, Harrison Ford, Evanescence, Sara Montiel, …

Marina Golacheva
Belarus

Marina Golacheva is Belarus make up artist who has been into the industry for recent decade. She is director and Head of Make Up at Kryolan Make Up School in Minsk (Belarus), make up instructor at Kryolan Russia (Moscow). Also she is certified juror of the following recognized events:

OMC HAIRWORLD 2017 (Paris, France)
International Beauty Festival “Nevskie Berega” (Невские Берега, Saint Petersburg, Russia)
International Festival “Rosa Vetrov Hair” (Роза Ветров, Minsk, Belarus)
International Festival “Vernissage of Minsk” (Минский Вернисаж, Minsk, Belarus) 5) International Festival of Georgy Kot (Sochi, Russia)

She had been awarded as a champion of Russia and Belarus, prize winner at OMC Hairworld Championship / OMC Europe Cup and participated in World Bodypainting Festival (Klagenfurt, Austria). Besides Marina is trainer of Belarussian make up team and used to work as lead make up artist for National Television (news department) in Minsk. Her students from different parts of the world has been nominated for awards in different contests and championships.

Marina approaches make up work with her own creative techniques and gives workshops in Moscow (Russia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and many places in her native Belarus.

Denis Kartashev
Russia

Denis Kartashev is a makeup artist, champion of Russia and Europe in makeup, winner of the Grand Prix International Mondal Coiffure Beaute (Paris France), judge of professional makeup contests (OMC, IMATS London) speaker of the international exhibition IMATS (London UK) speaker of the international exhibition the MAKE UP SHOW (New York USA) cooperation with New York & Paris Fashion Week, speaker and referee of the VIRIDILAND World Championship. He is the founder, creative director of the makeup academy DENIS KARTASHEV MAKEUP ACADEMY (Moscow Russia).