Five of Our All Time Favourite Beauty Books

Beauty books are great for learning, experimenting, finding inspiration and look pretty damn cute on a coffee table. Over the years the Match My Makeup team has collected a huge variety of amazing makeup and beauty books. After much deliberation, we’ve managed to all agree on five favourites, and we’ve listed them below. Has your favourite made the cut? 

Art & Makeup by Lan Nguyen-Grealis

Part art history lesson, part biography and part makeup guide this book is a masterclass in creativity. Editorial and commercial makeup artist Lan Nguyen-Grealis gives us a glimpse inside her creative process while teaching us about art and how she became one of Britain’s most successful and versatile makeup artists.

Face Paint: The Story of Makeup by Lisa Eldridge

Is there anything Lisa Eldridge can’t do? We adore this journey through time as she takes us through the history of makeup to its future. She explores the ingredients that have been used over thousands of years, and at around 60,000 words, acts as an encyclopaedia of the cultural impact of makeup. 

Makeup Masterclass by Rae Morris

Rae Morris’s Makeup Masterclass is an educational goldmine. With step-by-step processes, clear to understand instructional guides and a scientific method, this book is a must have for those who like to understand in depth what will suit them. Her colour wheels are life saving - you’ll never struggle to pick the right eyeshadow colour again!

Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin

An iconic book by an iconic makeup artist, Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin has stood the test of time. While it is often joked that the 90’s were the decade that fashion forgot, the looks and tips he explores in this book are still on trend today.

Not just stopping at practical advice for professionals and consumers alike, this book is also packed full of beautiful images of some of the 90’s most well known celebrities.

Palette by Funmi Fetto

Vogue’s Edward Enninful touts Funmi Fetto’s Palette as “the beauty bible for women of colour everywhere” and an “influential voice in the conversation around inclusivity.” People of colour have been traditionally excluded from the beauty industry and skincare discourse, so this book could not have come sooner. It not only lists over two hundred beauty and hair products that work for people of colour but is a symbol of “representation and equality.”

Is your favourite beauty book on this list? Hit us up on our socials and let us know!