Sam Visser’s YSL Makeup Artistry Tips: Inside His Melbourne Visit

As a YSL Global Makeup Artist, Sam Visser brings a bold, expressive, couture-inspired perspective to beauty.

Sam’s partnership with YSL Beauty has been over a decade in the making, and his unique vision for the brand taps into YSL’s storied past, while forging an exciting path that champions singularity – and pushes the boundaries of makeup artistry.

To commemorate the launch of the YSL Lovenude collection, Sam recently hosted an intimate masterclass in Melbourne, sharing his signature lip sculpting and blush diffusion techniques with other YSL makeup artists, industry professionals, and beauty creators.

More than a crash course on makeup application, Sam Visser’s makeup masterclass reminded us to have fun when crafting our makeup looks – and to revel in the process. Below, we’re sharing some of our favourite makeup artistry tips inspired by Sam Visser.

Who is Sam Visser?

At just 26 years old, Sam Visser has cemented himself as a makeup visionary, translating his natural curiosity into a maximalist makeup aesthetic and vintage-meets-futuristic style.

Sam has been working as a professional makeup artist for 10 years, earning his first full-time position as Kris Jenner’s makeup artist while he was still a high school sophomore. By the time he was 21, he became a beauty ambassador for Dior – a title he held for two years.

He has partnered with major fashion houses – collaborating on campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Versace, Balenciaga – and seen his work featured in Vogue, W Magazine, and The Face, among other publications. A myriad of celebrities have sat in Sam’s chair, such as Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Amelia Gray, Sabrina Carpenter, Alex Consani, and Bella Hadid.

Sam’s history of early mentorship in the Los Angeles makeup industry and being discovered on Instagram at just 16 years old is reminiscent of a Hollywood biography. It’s appropriate, then, that his artistry so often pays homage to the great heroines of the silver screen – from Sharon Tate to Lily-Rose Depp – and makeup’s most rebellious, experimental eras.

Being appointed YSL’s Global Makeup Artist is something of a full-circle moment for Sam; his first-ever makeup purchase was the iconic YSL Rouge Volupté lipstick at 12 years old (a gift for his mother). Sam’s personal history with the brand is something he brings to every YSL makeup look, embracing a shared ethos of confidence, freedom, self-expression, and modern glamour.

Sam Visser’s approach to YSL makeup artistry

Sam approaches every makeup look with a single ambition: to unearth a person’s confidence that comes from feeling beautiful. This means celebrating individuality, gender fluidity, and, rather than abiding by a rigid set of makeup rules, treating application and wear as a form of self-expression.

While the “clean” or “no-makeup makeup" look has dominated trends of years past, Sam’s makeup artistry feels bold, sculptural, and cinematic – a confluence of vivid colours, graphic lines, and softly blurred textures that feel equal parts timeless and contemporary.

Sam’s artistry reflects the duality of YSL Beauty: polished but rebellious, glamorous but fresh, evocative but wearable. In this unique space where heritage and modernity converge, Sam’s desire to play, express, and create with makeup is infectious. And, while our hands might not be as deftly skilled, so many of his techniques are grounded in practical habits that translate to everyday application.

Sam Visser-inspired makeup tips to recreate the modern YSL look

From deploying a lip pencil as eyeliner or applying the YSL Loveshine Candy Glaze to the high points of the face, Sam maintains that a modern YSL makeup look needn’t conform to fixed beauty rules.

With that in mind, we’re going to guide you through some of our favourite Sam-inspired techniques that you can use to customise your own beauty routine.

1. Start with luminous, dewy skin

For your base makeup, focus on hydration and luminous finishes to create a dewy, light-reflecting canvas that works with your natural skin texture instead of masking it.

Having worshipped Touche Éclat for close to a decade, Sam is a huge advocate for radiance-boosting formulas that don’t compromise on performance.

Our light-infused primer, Touche Éclat Blur Primer Gold, can be used to unify skin tone and subtly blur the appearance of pores and fine lines. For high coverage, all-day wear, and a radiant, skin-like finish, we defer to the All Hours Glow Foundation. Then, for all your concealing and brightening needs, the skincare-enriched Touche Éclat Radiant Touch Highlighter Pen can be used to colour-correct and even out skin tone.

2. Use blush as a statement

Channelling Dua Lipa’s love of bold blush and sun-kissed cheeks, Sam uses blush not as an accoutrement – but as a key focal point of a makeup look.

Early 2020s blush looks were defined by placement on the apples of the cheeks, but Sam honours and modernises the “draping” technique of the 70s and 80s: sweeping bold colour across the cheekbones and up towards the temples and eyes to give the face a lifted, sculpted look. Then, to make it seem as if colour is appearing from within the cheeks, Sam applies a sheer cushion foundation like Touche Éclat Glow-Pact Cushion Foundation over the cheeks to soften the edges of blush.

A powder blush formula like Make Me Blush Bold Blurring Blush works best for recreating this beautifully diffused wash of colour. But we also encourage you to lean into the blush aesthetic that you like best – whether that’s dusting it across your nose and eyes to harmonise with your cheeks, or building up pigment for a more intense flush.

3. Define the eyes with bold lashes and modern liner

Long before he was a YSL makeup artist, Sam Visser was a makeup historian, and his flair for striking eye makeup is a window into his encyclopaedic knowledge of the craft.

His eye makeup style is a tapestry of decades’ worth of artistry: graphic lines and cut creases that echo the rebellious energy of the 60s; vivid colour blocking that pervaded the 80s; and the grunge aesthetic and smudged textures that defined the 90s and inspired the indie sleaze movement in the 2010s.

Fuelled by the duality of these styles, Sam has become renowned for crafting modern, edgy, and memorable eye makeup looks.

The best part of Sam’s technique is that you don’t need to have an expert hand to create a high-impact eye makeup look. All you need is a dream (plus a mascara and eyeliner that will do the work for you).

For bold, voluminous lashes that accentuate and open up the eyes, we recommend the Lash Clash Mascara, a smudge-resistant formula that delivers up to 200% more volume. Short-lashed beauties can opt for the Lash Latex Lengthening and Lift-Sculpting Mascara for instant length and long-lasting lift. Or, if you want to channel Charli XCX in Sam’s makeup chair, use our Lines Liberated to create a perfectly undone smudged liner look.

4. Create soft-focus lips with shape and dimension

Lip liner has historically been one of Sam Visser’s most-coveted makeup products, so it was fitting that his lip technique was a core focus of his Melbourne masterclass.

Sam emphasises the importance of lip prep to create a smooth surface – or “lip slip” – for easier lip liner blending. To get this hydrated base, he uses the YSL Loveshine Candy Glow.

Once the lips feel nourished, the Lovenude Kiss Shaper lip liner can be used to define and softly sculpt your lip shape. Sam uses small, light strokes to line the lips – but whether you adhere to your natural lip line or overline your cupid’s bow and bottom lip is entirely up to you. To add further dimension, you can take a darker shade of lip liner and shade the outer corners of your lips. Then, fill in the rest of your lips using the Lovenude Lip Blusher for a blurred, second-skin nude lip effect.

If you favour a luminous shine over a soft matte blur, swipe the Loveshine Plumping Lip Oil Gloss over your lips for a supercharged glossy finish.

The YSL products behind Sam’s Melbourne visit

One of our key takeaways from Sam’s masterclass was that a makeup look is greater than the sum of its parts. In a lot of ways, Sam is in the business of world-building: carefully crafting each element – a luminous base, dimensional colour, expressive eyes, and blurred lips – until a complete picture emerges.

To craft your own look, we’ve rounded up the YSL icons behind Sam’s makeup masterclass below.

1. For luminous skin: Touche Éclat Blur Primer, All Hours Glow Foundation, Touche Éclat Illuminating Highlighter Pen.
2. For sculpted colour: Make Me Blush Bold Blurring Blush.
3. For expressive eyes: Lash Clash Mascara, Lash Latex Lengthening and Lift-Sculpting Mascara, Lines Liberated.
4. For blurred and dimensional lips: Lovenude Lip Blusher, Lovenude Kiss Shaper.

Why Sam Visser’s YSL artistry matters now

True makeup artistry, like true beauty, is marked by being unapologetically yourself – a philosophy that Sam Visser shares with YSL.

Experimentation underpins all of Sam Visser’s makeup looks, with every element customised to the person sitting in his makeup chair. Makeup should empower, and Sam’s Melbourne masterclass offered an enticing glimpse into the new era of YSL makeup: one steeped in confidence, individuality, timeless style, rebellious spirit, and creative self-expression.

If you want to build your own beauty kit inspired by Sam Visser’s makeup looks, explore the full YSL makeup collection next.