From Europe to NY Sets: Yuliia Brik’s Skin-First Playbook

Chicago-based and runway-tested, the Ukrainian makeup artist brings NYFW discipline - and camera-ready calm - to American sets.

New York & Chicago - A new name is circulating behind the monitors: Yuliia Brik. Chicago-based and trained on Europe’s fashion circuit, the Ukrainian makeup artist is quietly winning over U.S. producers with a skin-first philosophy and a backstage habit most people notice only in the edit bay: continuity.

Before relocating to the States, Brik held a leadership post as Art Director at a high-end European beauty salon, where she helped translate “taste” into standards - the kind teams can reproduce under pressure. That systems mindset now shows up on American sets in the way she preps, sequences, and times every step so looks survive heat, lights, and long days.

Runway Discipline, Editorial Finish

Brik’s résumé spans lead makeup artist credits for designer Andre Tan and a New York Fashion Week team slot - along with an invite to return. The through line is speed without drift: finish, tone, and texture that hold steady as cameras move and lighting changes.

In September 2025, during a KAZKA video shoot in New York, Brik was tasked with maintaining the lead performer’s on-camera look through rapid scene resets. The result: fewer make-up resets, tighter timekeeping, and consistent skin from first take to last - exactly what post-production hopes for and rarely gets.

Chicago Base, National Reach

Now based in Chicago, Brik splits time between Midwest bookings and coastal shoots. Locally, she’s known for translating runway ideas into wearable editorial - the kind that photographs beautifully and still looks right in real life. Nationally, her on-set work has touched music and editorial projects connected to Jerry Heil, Michelle Andrade, Anna Trincher, Nadia Dorofeeva, and David Guetta.

“Wearable isn’t the opposite of editorial,” Brik tells OK!. “It’s the stress test. If a concept holds up under time, movement, and weather, it’s a real concept.”

The Skin-First Playbook

Brik’s approach starts long before foundation. Skin prep is the first decision, not an afterthought.

• Micro-correction over masking. She maps undertones and corrects selectively, keeping volume and texture where skin actually lives.
• Light that reflects - without slip. Cream-to-set formulas and fine powders are layered in thin passes, with blotting and misting between complexion steps, not just at the end.
• Continuity as craft. She tracks finish, saturation, and texture across models and scenes so intercuts feel seamless.

Her kit reads like a pro’s checklist - long-wear bases across undertone families, utility creams that photograph clean, and shade anchors designed to lock in color under mixed lighting.

From Artist to Builder

What differentiates Brik isn’t only what ends up on camera; it’s how she codifies the path to get there. In Europe, she produced lookbooks and trend guides for teams. In the U.S., she distills the same logic into tools crews can use on deadline - face charts, undertone matrices, and step sequences sized for real schedules.

Colleagues say that methodical streak is why she slides easily between editorial, music videos, and live formats: the vocabulary stays the same; the pacing changes.

Quiet Luxury, Real Skin

If you scroll beauty pages, you’ve likely seen Brik’s take on quiet-luxury skin - polished, breathable, and grounded in real undertones. It’s less about hiding and more about directing attention: soft structure, controlled reflectivity, and color that holds through a day of shooting or an evening of appearances.

The Invisible Habits Producers Notice

Ask around set and you’ll hear two words: timing and hygiene. Brik builds her work to the day’s call sheet - blocking, lighting cues, and scene priorities - so makeup supports the schedule instead of fighting it. Sanitation is strict, product rotation is planned, and touch-ups are mapped to camera moves rather than guessing between takes.

“Comfort reads on camera,” she says. “If talent’s skin feels good, everything else - performance, expression, stamina - gets easier.”

Teaching What Works

From her Chicago base, Brik runs focused workshops and advanced sessions for emerging artists and on-camera talent. The emphasis is pragmatic: what to keep in the kit, what to swap, and what to skip, plus step-by-step flows attendees can repeat the next morning. It’s education designed to travel - from Midwest studios to coastal sets.

What’s Next

Brik is finalizing a compact set of “method cards” - skin maps, undertone grids, and sequencing charts aimed at artists who need NYFW speed without sacrificing wearability. With another runway season on the horizon, expect more of that calm, camera-ready finish she’s becoming known for.

Fast Facts

• Base: Chicago, IL (working nationwide)
• Role: Makeup Artist & Beauty Art Director (NYFW team; former art director at a high-end European beauty salon)
• Edge: Runway-speed execution, continuity, wearable editorial looks
• Select Credits: Lead MUA for Andre Tan; NYFW; music/editorial work connected to Jerry Heil, Michelle Andrade, Anna Trincher, Nadia Dorofeeva; music-video work tied to David Guetta; KAZKA video shoot (NY, 2025)
• Find: https://www.instagram.com/brickylia