In the City of Light, Meghan Markle was glowing for her first-ever appearance at Paris Fashion Week, with radiant makeup courtesy of her friend Daniel Martin. The royal and celebrity makeup artist was admittedly "overwhelmed" reading about the luminous beauty look that he had a hand in creating. "I shut down, to be honest. I was so overwhelmed," Daniel confessed to HELLO! two days later in an exclusive interview to promote his collaboration with Companion Candles. "I have a social media manager who's handling all of that. But I mean, it was interesting because I hadn't had a reaction like that since her wedding."
Daniel's recent visit to Paris was "truly an inspiring trip"—and one where he found inspiration on the streets and seeing what people were doing. He said, "Granted, fashion week is always about the clothes, but I saw less makeup inspiration than the states. Like beauty culture in the states is so unique in that like there's such a presentation with having a full face, whereas this season in Paris, it was just like a lipstick and skincare, or there was nothing on the eyes, or there was a lot on the eyes, but there's nothing on the lip."
A post on Daniel's Instagram Story referred to the Duchess' fresh-faced makeup for Pierpaolo Piccioli's debut Balenciaga show as "glass skin 2.0 hits next level... 'Ceramic.'" Speaking to HELLO! about that type of effortless look, Daniel noted, "It's something that you [can] achieve on your own. You don't need a makeup artist to do that. And I think when you spend time with yourself and understanding skincare as a ritual than something forced, you can kind of create your own by owning it," Tatcha's global director of artistry and education said. "And that's what I loved about being in Paris. It was like this appreciation back to the clothes. I was so inspired by it."
Hours later, Daniel revealed in an Instagram reel that that night in Paris, he did his usual skin prep with Meghan, which involved a lot of Tatcha. "The switch up was I actually mixed the Tatcha Longevity Serum in with the foundation, and I think that added another layer of radiance to her makeup that just made her look even more juicy and glowy," he said. "I use foundation a lot with my hands, so when I apply it, I'm applying it like a massage, like I do with my skincare. I'll go in with a brush to add more coverage, and then I use a sponge to blend it out, but I never apply foundation with a sponge, and I never apply foundation directly to the brush to the face.
"Regarding powder, she has powder only in the T-zone of her face. There's no loose powder all over. I just wanted to knock out the shine that happens in the middle of her forehead and around her nose. And that powder I used was a Paris-Berlin press powder."
Daniel also used the Tom Ford contour cream for Meghan's cheeks. "I kind of use it like a bronzer," he explained. "And on top of it was the Tatcha Serum Stick, so it gave that added radiance to that. We just wanted to keep everything light, fresh, radiant. Just flew in and your skin gets dehydrated from the plane, so I just wanted to bring some hydration back into her skin and just bring some life to it."
While Daniel has mastered the art of glowing skin, he’s now teamed up with Companion Candles to create another kind of glow at home: a limited-edition candle, "La Forêt Noire by Daniel Martin," that reflects his eye for beauty and wellness. The makeup artist first made candles with the Duchess of Sussex in Season 1 of With Love, Meghan. "[Companion Candles founder] Loren [Lewin] reached out to me when she saw our episode, and I've always loved candles," he said.
"What I didn't realise was how harmful certain scents and fragrances are to animals, and that was something that I learned from Loren, and when she reached out and kind of shared her story and her brand, I was like, 'Oh, my God. I would love to do this,' because it's outside of my wheelhouse of beauty. I personally love candles, but I also didn't realize how harmful even the most glamorous, expensive candle could be for your animal."
In addition to being moved by Loren’s mission and the charitable component of her business, Daniel was drawn to Companion Candles because of who was at the helm. He said, "Working so closely with my friend Vicky [Tsai], who owns Tatcha, and Meghan with her brand [As ever], the female founder element was really important to me as well." A portion of proceeds from Daniel's collaboration with Companion Candles, which launched Oct. 23, will be donated to the nonprofit organization Mission Meow.











