Gucci Westman has parlayed her backstage prowess into a star-studded clientele and a coveted clean-luxury brand of her own.
For more than two decades, makeup artist Gucci Westman has been a calm, unflappable force backstage at fashion shows, known for crafting luminous “no-makeup makeup” looks that let skin glow. Her dedication is such that she once worked through a perforated appendix rather than cancel on Oscar de la Renta’s runway, delegating to assistants while she lay down between models.
Westman first made her mark on film sets in the late 1990s before breaking into Fashion Week in 2000 as the rookie lead for a Tommy Hilfiger show. A decade later, she was a New York Fashion Week fixture designing looks for labels like Oscar de la Renta and Rag & Bone, often test-driving new products on the runway as Revlon’s global artistic director.
““There aren’t too many people you genuinely thrill to open the door to and see at 4am, but Gucci Westman is one of them”.”
— Anne Hathaway on Gucci Westman, Financial Times (Aug. 2024)
Westman’s artistry isn’t confined to runway. Over the years, she became synonymous with show-stopping magazine covers for titles like Vanity Fair, Vogue, W, and Harper’s Bazaar. She famously stripped back Kim Kardashian’s makeup to only lip balm, highlighter and eyeliner for W’s 50th anniversary cover, and gave Anne Hathaway a smoldering, buzzed-about look on Interview’s Summer 2022 cover.
Her makeup philosophy centers on enhancing faces rather than masking them. Even A-list clients appreciate Westman’s restrained touch. For Nicole Kidman’s Venice Film Festival appearance in 2024, Westman used her just-launched Vital Skincare Concealer “only where needed to maintain [Kidman’s skin] integrity,” achieving an “airy, supernatural finish”.
In 2018, Westman channeled her expertise into her own line, Westman Atelier, bringing her skin-first mission to a range of “clean” cosmetics. She insists on plant-based ingredients and safety but never at the expense of performance – if a natural option falls short, Westman will swap in the safest high-tech alternative to ensure each formula delivers.
“There is a purpose for every product. It’s not like anything is frivolous or created just for the heck of it.”
— Gucci Westman for W Magazine (Sept. 2023)
That uncompromising approach has driven a steady stream of standout launches. In 2023 she introduced her first skincare product, the Skin Activator serum, marking the brand’s expansion beyond makeup. The following year brought the Vital Skincare Concealer, a high-coverage yet seamless concealer that quickly became a red-carpet staple.
Westman Atelier reached another milestone in 2025 with the debut of its first lip liners. She gave the world a sneak peek by using the new pencils on Kidman at the 2025 Met Gala – a global premiere for the eight-shade “Lip Suede” line before its public launch later that month.
Launched at Barneys in 2018, Westman’s once-niche startup has since grown into a prestige brand carried by major retailers like Sephora. Now five years old, Westman Atelier’s success – built on deliberate product curation and a “real skin” aesthetic – has taken Gucci Westman’s unique trajectory from backstage legend to beauty entrepreneur.
