PATRICK TA
In the five years since he moved to Los Angeles, Patrick Ta has accrued more than 1 million Instagram followers and numerous celebrity admirers. The former MAC makeup artist caught the eye of “it girls” including Gigi Hadid, Shay Mitchell and Kim Kardashian, and went on to work with Olivia Munn, Jenna Dewan, Blake Lively, Rosie Huntington-whiteley, Chrissy Teigen, Rita Ora and Jennifer Lopez. While he’s embracing color and edgy eye shapes, “a bold lip and glowy skin” remain his staples.
How did you get started as a makeup artist?
I’ve been doing makeup in Los Angeles now for about five years, but I started six years ago. I used to have a tanning and nail salon in Arizona, but that failed miserably. So at the time, I needed a job, and my roommate was a manager at one of the MAC stores. She got me a job with no experience, and I fell in love with makeup there. And because of that, I started Instagram. And then I made the move out to Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to meet two of my favorite clients now, Shay Mitchell and Gigi, shortly after moving there, and they’ve both completely changed my life.
How did you distinguish yourself from the other Instagram artists?
I noticed that everyone kind of had this cookie- cutter makeup look, and I really wanted to work in fashion, so I definitely tried to lighten up my makeup and make it a little bit more fresh and glowy. Then over time, instead of copying everyone else — which I definitely did at first, I was definitely looking on Instagram trying to recreate these looks — when I figured out the style that I
like, people started booking me more.
How would you describe your style, and the things you do a little differently?
I definitely love glowy skin. I think glow is one of my favorite things to do — glow just brings skin to life, brings foundation to life. And I love adding a bold lip on everyone. I always try to add a lip because I feel like it’s such a statement. And a lot of my clients let me — especially my client Olivia Munn. She loves a lip, and she has really beautiful freckles, so I always try to let that shine through.
What are some of your favorite looks you’ve done recently?
I just did this look on Bella [Hadid], this graphic winged- out bold eyeliner. I’ve been really loving these shapes. Just because I’ve been doing glowy skin and a bold lip for so long…. So I’m definitely trying to do different eye shapes, different colors, different blending techniques.
What are your favorite awards show looks? You just did Olivia Munn for the Critics’ Choice Awards with the red lip.
Yeah, I loved that. I think one of my favorites would probably be Jenna Dewan for the [2016] Golden Globes. I did this blue-y, smokey eye, and she wore this Cinderella dress that was blue …. And I also did Gigi almost four years ago for Vanity Fair. It was just like super bronze and golden, and she wore this Versace outfit.
And you did Sophia Bush in pink for the 2017 SAG Awards.
I love that as well. That was definitely a more edgy look for her …. I am still doing [pink eye shadow], but you can only do that when the time calls for it.
What looks and trends do you think we’ll see at this year’s Oscars?
I think color is something that is going to be here for a while, just because with Instagram, I feel like people are using more colors, artists are seeing different colors, so you want to always one-up your next post.
So many of your clients, such as Kim Kardashian, have great, glowing skin. How do you create that for the red carpet?
I always use skin prep, so by using a great moisturizer, a great oil, you’re building that moisture underneath the foundation. Then definitely leave areas a bit unpowered, like your cheekbones, the peak of your forehead, anywhere that would catch natural light …. I always set the perimeter [with setting spray], so I leave the center of the face matte, and the perimeter nice and dewy.
I always love monochromatic everything. I’m very into peach at the moment.” Beau Nelson
You use the blush color in the eye crease as well, to tie the look together.
It definitely makes things a bit more cohesive, so whatever blush color you use, I would use it in your crease color.
What would you like to see more people doing with makeup?
Just being more adventurous and trying new things, such as color. I feel like girls tend to be scared of lip color, but you have every single day to try a different look, so why not?