Meghan Markle Had No Stylist and No Glam Squad on Hand for Recent Tour of Nigeria, Her Longtime Makeup Artist Daniel Martin Says

All eyes were on Meghan Markle this weekend as she and her husband, Prince Harry, undertook a visit to Nigeria—their first international tour of sorts together since stepping back as working members of the royal family in 2020. Her fashion wowed and sparked conversation, from a peach maxi dress in the “Windsor” style (consider us intrigued) to a minimalistic white suit to a meaningful accessory that honored her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. And, it’s interesting to note, according to Meghan’s longtime makeup artist Daniel Martin, Meghan did her own hair and makeup while in Nigeria, he told Us Weekly, adding that the Duchess of Sussex is “so good” at doing her own glam, he said. (She also apparently did her own hair and makeup when she and Harry were in Dusseldorf, Germany for the Invictus Games there last September.)

“I feel like when I’m not with her, she has more room to play,” Martin said. “I think that’s the fun thing when you see her, like, she’s in Nigeria right now. It’s just her. There’s no stylist, there’s no hairdresser. She’s doing everything herself, and she’s so good at it.”

Martin—who did Meghan’s wedding glam when she married Harry six years ago this month, on May 19, 2018—did give his famous client and friend some tips and tricks to the trade, though: “I mean, she loves some blush,” he said. “She loves the cheek. She loves a big brow.” Harry, however, prefers it when his wife wears “nothing” on her face, Martin said. 

It’s been a while since Martin has collaborated with Meghan—nearly two years, actually, when Meghan “was in New York,” he said. That said, they continue to “keep in touch all the time,” and Martin approves of her doing it all herself. “She’s so good at doing her own face,” he said. “She’s her own person. It’s so nice.”

As May 19 approaches in less than a week’s time, Martin reflected on working with Meghan on her minimalistic makeup for her wedding, where her glam matched her minimalistic Givenchy gown designed by Clare Waight Keller.

“That was an interesting point in my career because it totally just took,” Martin said. “I also think it was…at that time [when] Instagram makeup had just kind of started. Everybody was kind of doing that Instagram Live [and] was all about a full breakdown. And then the, like, big momentous moment of the year—the bride shows up, wearing little to nothing, and I did get dragged.”

After all, didn’t Martin say that Harry preferred Meghan with “nothing” on her face? “They came for me, but at the same time, you got to really see who she was, and I think that was the takeaway,” he said. “It was that you got to see someone for who they are rather than the pomp and circumstance of the actual wedding.”