She’s the world-class makeup artist who pioneered beauty on YouTube, the master of the effortless modern beauty routine, an expert cosmetics curator and self-professed product fanatic. Now, Sam Chapman has teamed up with Beauty Pie to produce a nine-piece collection of brand new, makeup bag must-haves.
Here, we sit down with Sam to find out more about her life in beauty, from her first encounter with makeup, to what it was like working backstage at the world’s biggest fashion shows, to how it felt to suddenly have millions of fans across the internet who shared her passion for makeup.
“My first beauty memory is watching my mum apply blue mascara”
My mum wasn't really a big makeup wearer but she used to follow trends, which was amazing. I remember when I was a kid, I would watch her applying her makeup and she would always wear blue eyeliner and blue mascara. Probably because someone told her that it made her eyes look blue, I imagine.
Plus, it was the 70s so everyone was doing it! She even had that Princess Diana haircut. You know, the iconic short crop that everyone copied. It was so fabulous and my mum has always been beautiful.
“Initially I wanted to be a singer”
Which is hilarious because I was really, really shy and self conscious. I went off to college to do performing arts but I ended up doing makeup, at which point my mum said I should move onto the makeup course.
My aunt had been a model in the 60s and had become a really established makeup artist, doing lots of high end photoshoots with big celebrities. So when I decided to go into makeup, she took me under her wing. She’d send me samples of all the products she would get sent from brands that weren’t even in the UK yet. She would take me on shoots and I would clean her brushes but mostly I just wandered around taking it all in.
”When I started filming makeup tutorials, YouTube had only been around for one year”
I just did it because I loved it. I was eight and a half months pregnant with my second daughter and I’d just stopped working, and I was passing the time on online makeup forums (they were a big thing back then) talking to other makeup artists from around the world.
Someone asked me how I would apply a really quick smoky eye, so I filmed it and uploaded it to YouTube because the file was too big to send on the forum. She watched it, and then other people started watching it and it snowballed from there. I don't think anyone could have predicted how quickly it took off.
There were a couple of pinch me moments. I remember one day looking at a video that had just gone live, and it's suddenly showing 90,000 views and, and I thought, ‘that’s the capacity of Wembley Stadium’ and it kind of sunk in how big it was getting.
“My sister Nic and I weren’t close before YouTube”
My sister Nic is absolutely amazing and I love her to bits but as kids we weren’t very close. We were into very different things - I was very much into underground rave culture and grunge, and she was more into mainstream pop. But after about one month of doing YouTube, I asked Nic if she wanted to do it with me and that’s the moment we became really good friends.
“I’m over being told what to do”
I'm over being told what's in and out. I'm over being told, full stop. I think the internet does that so much, constantly telling people no or that they've been doing it wrong. I'm like, stop it. That’s nonsense. Not everything has to be a teaching moment.
When it comes to makeup, I'm not like one of those people who tells people that they should do it one way. I think if it makes you happy, do it however you want. I think we have to stop putting everybody in boxes.
“I’m a makeup commitment phobe”
From about 13 or 14 years old, my mum subscribed me to The Face magazine, which had the most incredible creative photoshoots. I was always into the transformative power of makeup. There could be two shoots with Kate Moss and she would look totally different in each. I love the idea of just being able to play around with your identity like that.
I still find it quite difficult to wear the same makeup everyday. I feel like I need to try something different. I have about 1500 products and brushes in front of me and I’ll always choose something different to try. I love the idea of waking up and matching my makeup to my mood.
Sam with her new BEAUTY PIE collection
“I’m never without these 2 products”
I always, always, always have concealer on me - maybe three or four different types of concealer. And two or three different red lipsticks and a lip brush. Whenever I need a boost or I need to feel confident, I always go for a red lip. That’s why I had to include one in my collection with Beauty Pie and the shade, Pops, is my signature shade - a true poppy red.
“My Beauty Pie favourites”
I’ve been a member of Beauty Pie since the beginning and there are so many things I absolutely love. I love the brushes - I’ve worked in brushes for 10 years so I know a good brush and these are brilliant. I love the Super Luminous Under Eye Genius. I love the lip liners, especially the shades Vanilla Nude, Foxy and Chai. Oh, and the Uber Volume Boost Mascara in Brown!
