Yasmin Istanbouli: Your favourite it-girl’s makeup artist

Mesmerised by Nara Smith’s full beat, glazed to the nines for Ralph Lauren? That definitely wasn’t from scratch: you’re admiring the work of Yasmin Istanbouli, the Los Angeles based makeup artist working her sorcery across Hollywood. Soft glam, no-makeup makeup, luminous y2k shadow, smoky and sultry eyes—Yasmin does it all, and that’s why she’s a favourite among her celebrity clientele. Her A-list roster of regulars includes Charli XCX, Greta Lee, Gabbriette, Imaan Hammam, Ella Purnell, Chloe Cherry, and Addison Rae. Her work has been celebrated in GQ, Office, HommeGirls, and Highsnobiety, earning her collaborations with brands like Byredo and Marc Jacobs. Meet the makeup artist crafting the looks of the world’s biggest it-girls. 

Born to a Korean mother and Palestinian-Saudi father, Yasmin’s upbringing was distinctly multifarious. Circa peak cut-crease era, she attended the notoriously rigorous Scripps College, where she was actively involved in Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) on campus. From there, she graduated with a thesis, Depoliticising the Identities of Refugee Women, a photo series and narrative project that humanised Arab female refugees beyond the reductive, politicised lens of mainstream media. Even for a then-nascent celebrity makeup artist, political justice—justice for her people—loomed as a central priority.

Today, having become the go-to makeup artist for pop culture’s elite, Yasmin still keeps Palestine top of mind. “I hope to bring more awareness to the Palestinian movement and liberation,” the makeup artist tells Dazed MENA. “Especially as a half-Palestinian artist working in America—specifically Los Angeles and New York. I find myself engaging with all different types of people, and sometimes feeling alone or like an outsider, so I hope the more I speak out on Palestine, the more people will learn and support.

The initial ripple in the butterfly effect that now has Yasmin perfecting Alex Consani’s looks? “Watching the drag queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race put their makeup on!” she tells us. She began her career as a marketing assistant in LA, but a spur-of-the-moment course with Priscila Ono, Rihanna’s makeup artist, inspired her to leave that role and forge her own path—catching up remarkably quickly for someone so new to the scene. 

Her Instagram has since become a smattering of celebrity airbrushed to perfection—enviable looks that radiate effortlessness under Yasmin’s magic touch. She occasionally blesses her audience with the rare makeup tutorial on her Instagram (@yasminist, FYI) tucked between posts of Stephanie Suganami, Justine Skye, and Palestinian it-girls Simi and Haze. 

The secret behind Yasmin’s flawless finishes, which coax natural features into glowing harmony, is her tailored methodology: “I try to approach it based on the person I’m working with and their own approach to their way of doing their own makeup,” she clarifies. “I like to make people feel like themselves but with a little edge. I really love 90s beauty: cool tones and sexy shadows.”

Recently, the artist wrapped up her work on the SWEAT tour with Charli XCX, which began in September 2024 and lasted for two months travelling across the US. Accompanying this year’s ultimate pop princess (along with fellow reigning prince Troye Sivan), Yasmin was the architect behind every makeup look, keeping the glam locked in place, defying even the SWEAT tour’s most heated moments. The shock of it all? “I’ve only been doing makeup for three to four years,” Yasmin reveals, leaving those of us still stuck in the Sisyphean struggle of perfecting a liquid line utterly humbled. Not too bad for someone who started with a RuPaul binge and a dream. “I just hope to grow more and I’m always wanting to learn more! And follow my IG to see what’s next!”