This is an excerpt from September 2026 Beauty Profile
It has been quite a season for Sophia Sinot: moving to new bases, creating viral looks, and, of course, being on tour with Zara Larsson. But despite her hectic calendar, the 28-year-old globally renowned makeup artist has been finding beauty references somewhere decidedly offline. “I have been obsessed with nature lately. It has been an inspiration for Zara’s tour looks,” she says sweetly over the phone.
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Nature, as she describes it, has become her latest mood board for colors, patterns, and textures—an inspiration that has manifested itself in her recent, most talked-about beauty looks for the tour, which include artful interpretations of butterflies, flowers, sea creatures, and beyond.
Sinot’s work, of course, hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, it is the exact opposite. It became one of the driving forces of the new age of beauty maximalism, satisfying the world’s growing appetite for what’s next in makeup.
The internet is perhaps the loudest witness. Open Instagram and her work seems to be everywhere. Switch to TikTok, and you’ll find hundreds, if not thousands, of beauty creators recreating her looks. And that influence, of course, has travelled far beyond borders and beauty capitals, reaching creators here in the Philippines, too.
Kylie Celebre, a beauty creator known for recreating one of her looks, says, “She’s inspired me to really make use of a lot of rhinestones—to the point that I bought every single color possible. I love how she creates polished yet whimsical looks, and I really resonate with that.”
Art Torrontegui, another beauty creator known for his avant-garde, unconventional looks, shares, “When I saw Sophia Sinot bring creative makeup back into the mainstream, I felt seen as a beauty creator who chooses to embrace bold and avant-garde looks. It reminded me why I started creating in the first place, and why I should never stop being creative.”
That influence extends beyond creators. It has reached Filipino fans, too, picking up colored eyeshadows, glitter, and rhinestones as new ways to express themselves. But the scale of it is not something she takes for granted. If anything, she seems to regard her success with equal parts gratitude and disbelief.
“Moments like that are so incredibly special for me because that just shows that we found a way to just impact culture. And all we did was just have fun. Just me and Zara, we were just having fun. And we took photos. We took photos and we posted them. And for that to have such a crazy impact on the whole world, I never expected that.”
There is something special about how she speaks of the joy she found in beauty, even more so in how that joy has since found its way to others. This made me understand one thing clearly: becoming one of today’s biggest beauty megastars was never really a miracle. Sophia is exactly where she is meant to be.
Her instinct to create came long before makeup. Growing up in Huizen, a small town outside Amsterdam, Sinot remembers her first love as something more tactile, making art with her hands. “I was very creative as a child,” she reminisces. “I loved drawing, and I loved painting. Both of my parents are also very creative, and they’ve always encouraged me to follow my creative journey.”
At nine, a young Sophia discovered makeup through a video of Michelle Phan on YouTube. “She was one of the first people that did makeup tutorials, and actually, for me, the only YouTuber I ever watched,” she says. “I was really obsessed with her, and ever since I discovered her, that’s when I discovered my love for makeup. I think I was around 11 when I started wearing makeup myself. I also started experimenting with it, and doing it with my friends. By the time I reached high school, I would find myself spending more time on my makeup than my actual school work.”
Despite her love for makeup, Sinot admits that the idea of pursuing it did not arrive early. “For some reason, I was not really thinking about my future with it,” she tells MEGA. “I was a mess of a student, but when I eventually finished my exams, I think that’s when it clicked for me—I have to think about what I’m going to do next.”
Post-high school, she decided to take a makeup course, recalling her first class as something that shifted her perspective of what she knew about the industry. “That is the time where I learned that glamour is actually so much more than I thought it was,” she looks back. “From where I grew up, I was just really much in a bubble. That’s why I also moved to London. This is where I felt like my bubble got small. But I think as soon as I had a little taste of what this whole world is about, that’s when I realized that this is actually exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Pursuing makeup proved pivotal, not just for her career but for her life. Since then, her work has reverberated across the industry, appearing on the faces of KATSEYE, Troye Sivan, Doja Cat, Emma Chamberlain, Camila Cabello, Dove Cameron, and more. These days, hardly a week goes by without her work becoming the subject of beauty conversation. Now, she is travelling the world with Zara Larsson on her Midnight Sun tour.
Her first encounter with the star was entirely unexpected. “We actually met through Paul Edwards! He’s a photographer from Stockholm,” she shares. “I met him when I was in Stockholm at a party where we ended up talking, and we exchanged social media handles. A few weeks or months after that, I received a message from him asking if I wanted to fly to Stockholm for a shoot with him and Zara. And I said yes.”
Sinot recalls that the shoot came without any specific direction. “It was really just for fun,” she smiles. “Ever since the day we met, we’ve really done a lot of fun and creative looks. At that time, I also did her hair, so I brought a bunch of wigs and extensions with me!”
Their creative chemistry came naturally, the kind that this generation calls a vibe match. It wasn’t long before the star booked her back-to-back, trusting her to paint her face for shoots, shows, and world tours. When asked about the secret to creating a strong pop star look, the makeup artist made the ultimate beauty statement: creativity doesn’t end on your face.
“I just go all out. I think don’t leave any part of your face untouched,” she tells MEGA. “And your body! And even your body! You can always also push it further to your body, your hair, your nails, or your outfit. Gems are fun to play with! Place it on your hands, your collarbones, or your shoulders. Just go crazy! Don’t hold back.”
Image courtesy of SOPHIA SINOT
Frequently Asked Questions
Sophia Sinot is a 28-year-old Dutch makeup artist known for nature-inspired, maximalist beauty looks. She currently tours as the makeup artist for Zara Larsson’s Midnight Sun tour and has worked with KATSEYE, Troye Sivan, Doja Cat, and Camila Cabello.
Sinot and Larsson met through photographer Paul Edwards after connecting at a party in Stockholm. Their first shoot together had no specific direction, and their creative chemistry led Larsson to book Sinot for future shoots, shows, and tours.
Sinot draws inspiration from nature, translating colors, patterns, and textures from butterflies, flowers, and sea creatures into her looks for Zara Larsson’s tour, contributing to a broader wave of beauty maximalism.
Sinot discovered makeup at age nine through Michelle Phan’s YouTube tutorials, started wearing it herself around 11, and pursued a formal makeup course after high school, which shifted her understanding of the beauty industry.
Filipino beauty creators like Kylie Celebre and Art Torrontegui cite Sinot as an influence, crediting her with popularizing rhinestone use and bringing avant-garde, creative makeup back into mainstream beauty conversations.
