My best purchase in 2026 has been a two-day class with Lionel Adriano (@lionel_makeup).
I wrote to him in June 2025. ‘I would like to know if you offer makeup coaching for other artists.’ Maybe I manifested correctly. I looked on Google Maps for the street view of his studio, @revolveatelier. I checked car itineraries : it was around 11 hours to drive to. I mentioned to a few friends that getting a class with him would be such a cool milestone to reach in my business.
Looking out for mentors is something I did for years. Never looked for boujee masterclasses held in L.A. or New York – but be sure I extended conversations with those who appeared like masters in the jobs we shared. I kept trying while more often than not, I was disappointed.
Theoretically, could this product substitute this one? – Oh, I don’t know about drugstore products, I only do professional lines.
What would be the first step to prevent a frizzy hairstyle? – Well, it depends… Every head is different… (then silence.)
Let’s say I HAD to make this product work, how could I use it? – Why do you insist? Just buy something else.
They were good artists, but they weren’t good teachers. You see, I love school. Philosophy class. History sessions. French (never for the grammar, only as a means to read and write). Even the hardest classes I had – physics in high school, scuba diving in college, accounting in university, driving lessons later – I still liked it. They proved (or did myself prove?) that I could have a basic understanding and a passing grade at adequately applying principles. They’re my highest honors : pride overtakes distress.
But to structure study, principles have to be defined clearly. And this is where good makeup instructors are so hard to find.
Lionel is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For Quebec residents, it’s like Saint-Hyacinthe. Same number of residents (60k), a little airport, a convention center. Lancaster is also the oldest and most famous Amish settlement. You don’t expect to find top artists there.
Nonetheless, by watching Lionel videos, I had the gut feeling he could EXPLAIN most things. Makeup is of course art, not science, so you don’t get equations and solid principles. Yet, art can be analyzed, explained, compared. It needs years of experience, preferably hands-on, but moreover, an endless curiosity.
He didn’t have a class prepared for me. He said ‘How do we proceed?’ ‘Do half a face fully with your products, then I will try to repeat it on the other half with my products.’
What look would you like? ‘‘The most intense and glamour skin you would do.’
When he finished skin, I though… That’s it? That’s the most intense level he would reach? It’s still quite natural… I expected higher coverage, baking even. And yet, there was nothing really to improve. A few pores here and there, the little shine – Lionel saw them, and kept them there. They were proving the skin was alive. Our model face was pulsing with life, instead of being brought into marble perfection, crystallized, eternally perfect, deadly immobilized, mummified.
Then we did other parts (eyes, brows, etc.). When he applied blush, I saw it. The exact ‘feel’ I was getting from watching another new reel of his work. This fleshy, real, perfected foundation. Skin is never a stand-alone piece in creation – it communicates with its family. So creating great skin is a continual process. You can add details between every step. It’s not done until the end.
Then there were few details. He was using a type of lash I had never seen before, that solved a conundrum I had for a class. I was using disposables to things he washed and reused, and vice versa. He had the largest collection of concealers, but a curated collection of brushes – opposite for me.
When time came for me to practice the other half, I ended up using some other of his products instead of mine. Was the excellence of his makeup mostly the result of using higher-end products, or the right layering, or both? It was like swatching in a Sephora, but with the coolest friend instead of a tired employee. We took our time, and so I had time to train my fingers, my brushes and my eyes. I could compare the finish and coverage not only with my usual results, but also from a collection and brand to another. Lionel uses $200 foundation bottles – his most viral video explains why -, while I still keep a drugstore line for my corporate jobs. I am still in the phase of knowing myself a bit better before committing to the full luxury kit without waste.
Meeting Lionel gave me space to voice my discomfort about wasting SO MUCH product. He agreed – between expiration dates, FOMO hype and perpetual brands, collections and limited editions launches, makeup artistry creates a LOT of waste. But then, I realized – just like our wardrobe – we tend to use the same products over and over. I used to judge myself to mixing colors endlessly : he does the same.
We are about the same age. Lionel has 20 years of experience – I do have half. (I had a previous career in communications – he started right away in cosmetics retail.)
He does makeup standing up – I do it seated. He warms up products on his hand – I use painter paper. We both believe in the power of layering powerful products extremely finely.
He would love to work exclusively from his studio – I live for the mobile nature of my business, always in new places. We are so similar, yet so different. We don’t wear the same shoes. What matters is that we share the same glasses.
During our two days together, I could freely discuss business, market positioning and work cadence with him. We followed the same known-yet-niche artists. He comically rolled eyes as I was denouncing irritative situations within our field. The hardship to establish a 1 to 10 order of steps to apply makeup when you teach. He could relate to everything.
We happened to hang around while his colleague, Ashley (@blendedbyash), finished work. And they shared with me what it was to work closely together. For an afternoon, I accessed a community. Suddenly, I found my relatives.
Somewhere, it unlocked shame – liberated of guilt of not doing better, I could see more clearly. In the following days, back in Quebec City, I opened and sorted drawers. I felt better with my choices. I trusted myself more both during application and at home, adjusting my kit for next jobs.
Meeting Lionel work soothed my artistic soul. I drove 11 hours so I could understand that I can stop comparing myself. We have different ways of reaching the same goal and we all do good jobs.
