Ines Alfa, digital makeup artist. “3D makeup offers endless possibilities of expression”

Faces decorated with fins or floating tentacles, eyes framed by iridescent algae, cheekbones decorated with blooming flowers… Welcome to the futuristic and ethereal universe of digital makeup artist Ines Alfa. Since 2016, the Parisian artist has been exploring the possibilities of electronic makeup, working on digitized bodies and pushing the boundaries of beauty using 3D software and augmented reality. Her daring spirit and avant-garde vision attracted Prada Beauty, who called on her to co-design the Prada Couleur make-up range. To deepen the experience, Inès Alpha has even created filters that allow you to test the products on yourself or explore other facial features from another world. Meeting with the pioneer of electronic beauty.

Madame Figaro: You designed this range in collaboration with Lynsey Alexander, Global Creative Make-up Artist Prada Beauty. How did the process go?
Ines Alfa. The brand aspired to bring together a digital makeup artist and a “physical” makeup artist, so we had to combine the two practices. Linsey suggested pigments, formulas, and physical colorings on the illustrations of faces drawn on paper. For my part, I also suggested shades and beauty enhancements using 3D software that I designed on digital avatars. We understood that we have a lot of ideas in common and are on the same wavelength, but also inspired by each other. For example, Linsey painted from colors that I had created on the computer, which were very difficult to produce in laboratories and in the physical world due to the limitations of raw materials and certain know-how. These are very powerful and saturated shades full of light that we don’t really have to have.

How does this makeup range stand out from what already exists in the industry?
In addition to extending and augmenting makeup in the digital world, these eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks were inspired by fashion, with references directly from the history and prints of the house of Prada. In my opinion, makeup is one of the inseparable accessories of appearance, like a skirt or a bag. Prada Dimensions palettes also allow you to create maximum look possibilities with few shades. There are three complements with neutral shades and a fourth bolder one that allows you to go from basic daytime makeup to something more daring with a real bias. Or just add a little touch of color that’s “very Prada.”

Your favorite item from the collection?
I had a lot of fun creating the palettes, it was fun imagining all these color combinations… The more colors there are, the more I like it. Personally, I like the shade Pure 05 best with this sky blue tone.

How did you become a digital makeup artist?
I was an art director for an advertising agency for seven years, specializing in the world of luxury, fashion and beauty. At the same time, in my free time, I started learning 3D programs to escape and express myself a little more artistically. As I experimented with all these tools and honed my skills, I came up with the idea of ​​combining my two areas of expertise. I merged makeup and technology to create 3D makeup. At first it was just a passion, I did it for fun, then it became my job. I am very proud to say that today it is real, that it was not just something I had in my imagination, but that it is now a concrete profession.

Nature is the best designer. We just copy him and try to be on his level, but he will always be better than us

Ines Alfa, Prada Beauty Digital Makeup Artist

Where do you find inspiration?
Nature is the best designer. We just copy him and try to be on his level, but he will always be better than us. I am particularly inspired by the underwater environment. This is a world we have little access to, but if we blow this universe out of the water with digital tools, post-production and special effects, it will become magical and fantastic. Drag Queen makeup inspires me a lot too. It’s an art that made me work on self-expression.

Which part of the face do you prefer to work on?
The eyes. Because it’s the vehicle for our emotions, it’s the first thing we notice about someone. As soon as we can lighten the look, enhance or decorate it, the effect is stronger. Also, because it’s easier to integrate 3D around the eyes than around the mouth, for example, which is always moving.

What does 3D bring that is different from traditional makeup?
The interesting thing is that it gives many possibilities of expression, almost infinite. It allows you to create your own reality. We are a bit like God, we choose the gravity of the world, how things come to life, their texture, color, etc. And all this in a short time. We don’t need materials, there are no physical limitations… except the cost of software and computers. Of course, we experiment, we experiment, and sometimes we fail. For example, augmented reality and filter technology allowed many errors to be spotted, such as facial detection tools not capturing certain profiles or black skin. This is how we allowed for more inclusiveness. 3D also creates a real digital community, particularly in social networks or the metaverse, where we can be who we are.

3D makeup offers a huge number of almost infinite possibilities of expression. It allows you to create your own reality

Ines Alfa, Prada Beauty Digital Makeup Artist

How long does it take to create a 3D makeup?
This can take anywhere from two weeks to a month. It all depends on whether I’m working alone on a project or with a client.

Do you hope that one day we will be able to see your creations in real life using futuristic accessories?
It’s certainly something I’ve thought about since the beginning of my career in this field. The day we can see digital makeup with our own eyes, like through contact lenses or augmented reality glasses, I hope to still be in this world.

The day we can see digital makeup with our own eyes, like through contact lenses or augmented reality glasses, I hope to still be in this world.

Ines Alfa, Prada Beauty Digital Makeup Artist

Like Prada, more and more brands are launching into augmented reality and metaversion. Has this become a necessary step for luxury cosmetics brands?
It’s perfectly normal for them to want a piece of the pie, but you shouldn’t force yourself to go for it just because it’s fashionable. You should use these new technologies when you have a good idea and something interesting to tell. For Prada, for example, it made sense because it is a brand that has always been at the intersection of fashion, art and innovation.

It would be extremely frustrating to live in a world without physical makeup

Ines Alfa, Prada Beauty Digital Makeup Artist

Are the metaverse and augmented reality the future of makeup?
Perhaps in a dystopia where we’d all be completely dematerialized and where we’d all live on a hard drive, which I’m not at all hopeful about… I have a hard time imagining a world with essentially virtual makeup. 3D, augmented reality and the metaverse are complementary tools. It would be extremely frustrating to live in a world without physical makeup. I would miss the textures, the sensations and the smells.

(1) Prada Color range from Prada Beauty, available at Sephora, Galeries Lafayette and Prada .