Why Cannes Is Like the Hunger Games for Makeup Artists

Drama is not exclusive to the big screen in Cannes.

Naïma Bremer — a celebrity makeup artist and Fenty global artistry ambassador whose work has appeared at Paris Fashion Week and in the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar — has been to the film festival for four years to help boldfaced names prep their faces for the crush of photographers at the Palais and various red carpet events. And from her perch, there’s serious competition in the streets.

“We always call it the Hunger Games for glam,” she said with a laugh over Zoom from Stockholm at a recent work event. “Our agents are always going crazy trying to get jobs for us during the festival and it’s quite hectic rushing around because there are people from all over the world who come and we have to fight over the same pool of clients to get that big red carpet moment. But it’s so worth it.”

So worth it, in fact, that Bremer foots the bill herself to come to Cannes for 10 days and hustle from job to job and client to client. While luxury houses like Dior and Chanel bring their own rosters of artists and ambassadors (travel and accommodations included), some hair and makeup artists like Bremer and her peers pay their own way.

“A lot of people don’t know that we come on our own, and it’s a big investment,” Bremer explained, adding that it can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 each year. “The prices are really crazy here for hotels, food and everything, it makes no sense. Luckily, I have a lot of friends so we can share an apartment and that makes it so much more fun.”

That said, she considers it money well spent. “There’s so much exposure here and it’s such a major event that as an artist, it gives you a certain credibility and I would say that it adds credit to your name. Your work is seen by so many people.”

During her Cannes tenure, Bremer has done makeup for such high-profile names as Jasmine Tookes, Josephine Skriver, Natasha Poly, Iris Law, Sabrina Elba, Pritika Swarup and Sara Sampaio, among others. Many of those women have social media followings in the millions so when they share Bremer’s work, it only further amplifies her artistry. That means, she takes her time to make it perfect.

“The whole world is looking at Cannes red carpet photos and on Getty Images, there is no filter. There is no lying. You have to switch to your techniques that you know will look good and work in any light possible. That’s really difficult to do because the makeup has to almost be undetectable, but you have to put on enough so you can see it. It’s one of the hardest makeup techniques to do.”

In order to accomplish that, Bremer estimated that she gives each client a minimum of two hours. But it can also be a challenge to pull it off in that time frame if the client is also having their hair done or last minute styling changes with the gown, jewelry, etc.

The Caribbean-born artist, who has also worked on stars outside of Cannes like Saweetie, Willow Smith, Kali Uchis, Ryan Destiny, Imaan Hammam, Amina Muaddi and others, also said that a big mistake makeup artists make is expecting that their reps will land them every job in Cannes. “It’s actually also great to reach out to people on your own, let people know you’re there and ready to work.”

To survive the week, Bremer also packs a few essentials in her kit: TheraFace LED light mask, TheraFace depuffing wand, steel cryo sticks to help with depuffing and inflammation, a good SPF like Fenty Skin’s Hydra Vizor, Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Sun Drops or Christian Dior’s new Le Fluide UV Invisible, Fenty Beauty’s rose amber lip luminizer and a “must have” lip liner like YSL Beauty’s new Lovenude Lip Blusher in soft matte.

Oh, and a good attitude. “Going to Cannes for me has almost become like a little vacation/glam meetup, so if you’re able to shift your mind from it being super stressful to enjoy it as a time to find community with your fellow artists, it can be really fun actually,” she said. “And I always give a little time to myself. The most fun thing that I get to do in Cannes is after I’ve done my glam, I go sit on a bench on the Croisette and people watch. You get to see so many people walking by in their crazy outfits. It’s great.”