Sam Visser Steps in to Lead YSL Beauty

YSL Beauty named makeup artist Sam Visser its global beauty director on Wednesday morning. The California-raised creative says, in an email, he'll be "designing makeup looks, consulting on packaging and imagery, and developing future concepts for the brand" in his new role.

The makeup artist has grown known for his boldly editorial beauty looks on celebrities like Bella Hadid, Kylie Jenner, and Irina Shayk. Over the years, he's flaunted his expansive wheelhouse with looks from gently bronzed visages to porcelain doll-inspired looks. At YSL Beauty, he'll help lead creative in campaigns as well as celebrities the brand works with. His guiding vision? To "push the look into the next phase of 21st-century culture," per a press release. He's ready to make some changes.

"I am excited about the re-ignition of glamour and the daring looks Mr. [Yves] Saint Laurent was famous for in the '70s and '80s. Also, utilizing gender as a lens through which we perceive and create beauty products. I think the future is in accepting that all types of beauty are right and that we are the catalyst for that self-expression. So, ensuring we have products and colors that achieve everything from the most natural of makeup looks to full-on glamour fantasy looks is important."

Visser says YSL Rouge Volupté lipstick was the first piece of luxury makeup he ever bought, at 12 years old, as a gift for his mother. His appointment as global beauty director, thus, marks a full circle moment. Ahead, he tells L'OFFICIEL over email, his aim "is to maintain the brand's rich heritage while remixing it with modern elements to ensure it remains fresh."

The makeup artist, who says YSL Beauty's Touche Éclat is one of his favorite products to keep in his kit, adds that he is "fascinated by the creativity and self expression makeup allows. The limitless possibilities of transforming a face keep me inspired."