He affectionately calls her 'my M' and was one of the first people she messaged following her engagement to Prince Harry. Indeed, despite Meghan Markle's ascent to superstardom, Daniel Martin has remained within her inner circle; he attended her A-list baby shower in New York prior to Archie's birth (‘it was so cosy’, he said of the reunion. ‘we sat on the floor and told stories and caught up’) and visited her at Kensington Palace the following year. (He shared a tea-and-avocado-toast Instagram and thanked Meghan for being the ‘consummate hostess and still being the avocado toast whisperer’). This week Daniel appears in the much anticipated Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan. He also came to Meghan's defence through Instagram in the lead-up to her monumental interview with Oprah, which aired last year in March. Daniel shared a picture of him applying makeup to the Duchess of Sussex with a heart-warmingly supportive caption:
In 2019 Daniel sat down with Harriet Kean to talk bridal beauty, Instagram surprises and learning a thing or two from The Duchess Of Sussex (via YouTube).
Let's flash back to 2018, the year of that royal wedding. Daniel reportedly found out about the royal wedding when Meghan sent him a bride and groom emoji via WhatsApp, (she casually asked ‘hey – what are you doing 19th May?) He immediately accepted, unware that his work – a natural, ‘dewy-skinned’ look - would have such a lasting impact.
‘I’ve known Meghan for over 10 years and I know what she’s comfortable and not comfortable in. It’s all about being comfortable in your own skin, because it’s such an iconic moment in anyone’s life. All I knew that day was I want Harry to see her.’
Make-Up Fit For A Royal Wedding
Daniel chose a ‘no makeup-makeup’ look to accentuate her natural beauty. ‘I love her freckles,’ he said. ‘She has incredible skin so it was easy – it was a visceral reaction.’ Meghan, according to Daniel, is ‘not fussy’ when it comes to makeup. ‘We literally did her makeup trial over text – I didn’t even have time to see her.’
With 1.9 billion people tuning in to watch the wedding, it’s surprising that Daniel has reportedly said that the morning preparations were incredibly relaxed. ‘It was a very chill morning,’ he said. 'Guy, her dog was with us. We were playing around with him. Her mom was there, which was amazing.’
It was a very chill morning. Guy, her dog was with us. We were playing around with him
‘I just wanted her to look and feel as best as she could,’ he told us. ‘It didn’t even hit us until we got to Windsor and saw the people lined up that this was actually happening.’ Daniel added that he’d ‘known Meghan for so long in a different space’ so it ‘felt far removed.’
Daniel didn’t expect the public’s reaction to Meghan’s natural make-up to be so monumental. ‘A lot of Moms reached out to me after the wedding and thanked me for inspiring their daughters,’ he continued. ‘I wasn’t realizing how much make up the world was wearing.’
Meghan's Love Of Online Beauty Tutorials
‘She makes me go on YouTube to learn about things,’ he laughed. ‘She’ll be like ‘Oh I follow this person and they did it this way – and I was like ‘oh okay!’
‘YouTube beauty is so different to what I do,’ he added. ‘Going on YouTube to look at reviews and how they’re using the products has opened me up.’
Ditch Your Make-Up Brushes
His top tip for a natural look? ‘Use your hands. If you do your make-up your hands, you’ll notice there’s a glow, a radiance, a liveliness to the skin that you don’t get using the tools.’
‘I also mix moisturizer with concealer – there are so many great concealers out right now that have a lot of coverage,’ he said, adding how he loves the Augustinus Bader The Cream, £205. ‘So if you can break that down a notch to get that skin coming through, you can do that with either an oil or a moisturizer. But get your hands involved – you’ll definitely see a difference!’
Get The Meghan Markle Make-Up Look
Meghan Markle Best Make-Up Looks - Grazia 2021
1 of 15The Fashion Week Look
Pictured here at New York Fashion Week in 2014 Meghan is clearly entirely free of any royal fashion constraints, and that means a heavier make-up look is entirely allowed too. Hello smokey eyes!
2 of 15Get The Fashion Week Look
bareMinerals Lasting Line Long-Wearing Eyeliner, £15 We love this super-soft twist-up pencil liner. It's great for creating a bold, smoky line, and smudging with the spongy tool at the other end of the pencil. It lasts all day, too.
3 of 15The Wedding Look
What's not to love about Meghan Markle's wedding make-up? Subtly defined eyes, barely-there blush, rose pink lips and thick, luscious lashes. Meghan reportedly wore a pair of Velour falsies on her wedding day, and conveniently the brand has recently launched in the UK! Shop the very lashes below.
4 of 15Get The Wedding Day Lashes Look
And these are the very lashes that Meghan Markle reportedly wore on her wedding day.
5 of 15The Everyday Lashes
We're always head over heels for Meghan Markle's lashes. That curl, the depth of colour, the length the thickness. How does she lock down her lash look? She once recommended an £8.99 mascara to her make-up artist at the time Lydia Sellers. That mascara was Maybelline's Lash Sensational Luscious Mascara. Duly noted!
6 of 15Get Everyday Lash Look
And here is the very mascara that Meghan recommended to make-up artist Lydia Sellers!
7 of 15The Highlighter
Pictured here at the launch of her Smart Works Capsule Collection on 12th September 2019 Meghan's highlighter game was stronger than ever.
8 of 15Get The Highlighter Look
You simply can't beat the finely milled Hourglass highlighter powders for highlighter and this Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Sculpture Palette, £81, showcases them all.
9 of 15The Russet Look
Meghan arrived at Canada House on the 7th January 2020 with Harry, sporting this sumptuous makeup look.What: Meghan matched her trademark liner and lashes with a shimmering shade of taupe eyeshadow that was applied to her lower lash line as well as her lids. A warm bronze powder was swept across the top and outer sides of each cheekbone, whilst a little subtle highlighter rested on the apples of her cheeks. The finishing touch? A slick of a sheer, russet shade of lippy.
10 of 15Get The Russet Look
Try this combination of products: NARS Blush in Liberté, £25, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light, £42, Fenty Beauty Snap Shadows Eyeshadow Plaette in True Neutrals, £21, By Terry Hyaluronic Sheer Rouge Lipstick in Hot Spot, £29.
11 of 15Get The Russet Look Blush
Shop the NARS Blush in Liberté, £25.
12 of 15The Glossed-Up Lips
At the Endeavour Fund Awards on the evening of Thursday 5th March 2020 Meghan made her first appearance in a good long while, and her make-up proved a crowd-pleaser.What: Meghan opted for a russet shade of blusher, and used the same tones on her eyes and deep into her sockets, along with Kate Moss levels of kohl to dramatically define her eyes. On her lips, she's chosen to up the gloss factor, with a sheer berry shade of colour. As she chose the evening to debut a new Victoria Beckham dress, we think it's only fitting to recommend the Victoria Beckham Beauty Bitten Lip Tint, £30, as the copycat option. Who knows, maybe it's even the very same one that Meghan's wearing.
13 of 15Get The Glossed-Up Lips Look
Try the following products: Victoria Beckham Beauty Bitten Lip Tint, £30, Tom Ford Eye Kohl Duo in Copper Brow, £32, NARS Cosmetics Voyageur Eyeshadow Palette in Nectar, £28.
14 of 15Get The Glossed-Up Lip Look
Shop the Victoria Beckham Beauty Bitten Lip Tint, £30.
15 of 15The Interview Look
On 7th March 2021 Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah airs in the US via CBS, a two hour long special. Her makeup look of choice? A soft brown smoky eye, luscious long lashes, a soft blush and a barely-there lip.
READ MORE: Meghan Markle’s Go-To Beauty Products Have Been Revealed