Shella Martin
Recognised as an industry leader, Shella Ruby Martin is adept at establishing trust and dialogue with her clients;knowing when and how to tap into her commercial nous while blending it with visual ingenuity.
With over 20 years of experience in Australia as well abroad, she has been selected to work with Pat McGrath,Val Garland, Lucia Pieroni and Diane Kendal during Milan and Paris fashion weeks.
A fresh take on beauty undercut with creativity and modernity has become Martin’s signature, which has made
her the go-to for a broad range of fashion and beauty clients including Dion Lee, Maticevski, Strateas Carlucci, Hermès Beauty, Gucci, MECCA Beauty, MECCA MAX, Mecca Cosmetica, Rationale, Vik & Woods, Aries and Scanlan & Theodore and her artistry can be seen in the pages of More or Less UK, Vogue Polska, Vogue Japan, Vogue, Elle, 10 Magazine and Vision China.
Beyond editorial work and runways, she has worked with celebrities for red carpet, film and television, including Gracie Abrams, Coco Gauff, The Jonas Brothers, Celeste Barber, Noah Cyrus, Gemma Ward, Melissa Leong, actress Arden Cho, Vera Blue, Julia Stone, Tash Oakley, Ashley Hart, Kimbra, Montaigne as well as with industry identities Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann and Marie Claire editor Nicky Briger. Collaborating closely with major names to cultivate their own sense of beauty style has been a true culmination of her passion for beauty and sharing that love with others.
Her skincare knowledge has been further validated with an official Rationale ambassador and she is recognised as an industry leader among her peers and the industry with a long list of trade awards including the current ABIA Editorial Makeup Artist of the Year for both 2022 and 2023 and 4 Australian Makeup Artist of the Year awards in recent years. Renowned in the industry, Martin has conducted skincare and makeup masterclasses for brands such as MECCA, David Jones, Myer, YSL Beauty, Bioderma, Fluff Cosmetics and Grown Alchemists.
It was from a young age that Shella Ruby Martin first discovered her love of makeup; sitting at the edge of the bed watching her makeup artist mother with her clients, and delving into international fashion magazines. A career detour outside the beauty world was brief, with her passion for artistry and a deep knowledge of skincare drawing back into the industry, culminating into a career spanning over two decades.
As one of Australia’s leading artistry creatives flexing her versatility across editorial and fashion shows to brand shoots, Martin approaches the beauty look with a fresh and individualistic eye, all the while understanding how it seamlessly works with art direction and the final visual imagery.