Michaela Bosch is a Boston makeup artist (born and raised) whose inventive and theatrical designs are not for the shy and retiring among us. On her Instagram (@michaelabosch), Bosch posts striking — and often otherworldly — shots of her work, taken by photographer Ash Soong (@ashsoong). While some of her designs simply enhance the beauty of the models she works with, others veer toward the surreal. It may not work at the office, but at the right club, you’ll be the queen of the dance floor.
Q. How did you get your start in makeup?
A. I entered a contest in 2012, the prize of which was to go to a makeup school in London for six weeks. It was put on by Lisa Eldridge, who is a huge, amazing makeup artist. She basically invented the YouTube tutorial. You just had to submit your work and they picked only one person and it was me.
Q.What’s the biggest project you’ve worked on?
A. It was a beauty story of really inventive futuristic makeup for the 10th anniversary issue of Vogue China. Not only was I assisting my heroine, Lisa Eldridge, I got to be a part of something that hadn’t been done before. I also got to see what it was like at the highest rungs of what I want to do.
Q.What inspires your style, and how would you describe it?
A. I think I’m inspired the most by my background in art history and visual art. I include makeup and fashion photography in my definition of art history. I’m interested in working with tradition in new textures and mediums. I would describe my style as weird and clever beauty.
Q.What’s your favorite look that you’ve done?
A. My favorite look I’ve done is something I did with Ash Soong for Schön! Magazine. I like that look because it had a lot of color. I used a hot pink lip gloss on the eyes to melt into the blue eye shadow. It was approaching almost a neon with a really bright red lip, too.
Q. How important is Instagram to your business?
A. It’s really important. I treat my Instagram like my resume. I only post the stuff that I think is going to help me out. I get so many e-mails from clients that liked what they saw on there. I have a lot of people I follow that do really inspiring work on there, too. I think it’s important to see what your peers are up to.
John Stapleton can be reached at john.stapleton@globe.com.
