How Makeup Artist Sir John Recovered from Burnout — and How He's Helping Others Prioritize Wellness Now (Exclusive)

Sir John is the mastermind behind countless memorable makeup moments. 

His work — as former L'Oréal Paris creative director, chief creative officer for CTZN Cosmetics and mentor on Lifetime's TV series American Beauty Star, as well as backstage at fashion week, for magazines, on campaigns, sets, tours and in the privacy of celebrities’ homes before red carpets — has taken him around the world and back again. 

But today, the current Killian Paris creative director is in his expansive, sun-drenched L.A. studio where he creates content and fosters connections, to discuss what he’s adding to his resumé next. 

The makeup artist is headed to Canyon Ranch’s Lenox, Massachusetts resort Oct. 20-25 to take part in its Enchant Beauty Festival.

The six-day event includes archery to zip lining, and everything in between, including a conversation with the pro titled “Beauty is a Feeling.”

“I always talk about the fact that beauty is a feeling,” Sir John says. “It has to do with identity and the mental health aspect of: Why do we put on mascara? Why do we need concealer? I think it’s important to start to unpack how we feel about what we see — those are conversations we need to normalize. Because the way a mom sees herself is the way a daughter will see herself.”

While millions of people lean into aspects of the beauty industry every day, some people don’t think they’re influenced by it. That’s simply untrue, Sir John says. “I was talking to a few people who are like, ‘Oh, beauty doesn't affect me.’ But if you spray on a fragrance, it affects your mental health. If you pass by a building and you see you're having a good hair day, it moves a needle for you. It puts a pep in your steps.”

Today more than ever, Sir John feels beauty and wellness are intertwined. “There is really a shorter distance, if no space, in between them. When we think about one, we think about the other.” 

Therefore, everyone can benefit from a “vibe check” every once in a while, including the beauty expert, who shares that he once had a heart-to-heart with himself about the beauty landscape and his place in it for his own well-being.

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“I say this to younger beauty professionals: in some way we're servants to the talent. We give so much of ourselves, and most of the time we are working on someone's crown chakra, so energy is really important. And, for so long, most of my job has been kind of nonverbal in that we read the room to understand what our clients need, and sometimes we can suffer from burnout,” Sir John says.

“I was suffering from severe burnout for a while and I was starting to lose some of the magic. I knew I needed to take better care of myself because I was giving so much of myself to everyone else and losing what I loved about what I do. So, someone told me to do an artist residency and take a trip just for inspiration to get recharged. As creatives, we never prioritize this space.”

The experience was the catalyst “to have more mindful practices on how to keep myself rock steady,” Sir John shares.

Canyon Ranch’s event will seek to help recharge its guests through multiple programming options to restore the mind, body and spirit. In addition to Sir John’s conversation, tastemakers such as Rachel Roy and her daughter Ava Dash, celebrity trainer Dani Coleman and more.

Beauty and wellness have a history of exclusivity. Those are barriers Sir John is actively working to break down. “When we think about the wellness purveyors, we think about a certain aspirational lifestyle that most BIPOC communities didn't feel they were necessarily invited to. But mental health is really important to me. I’ve worked with BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective), and with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and [in doing so] I realized that all of these things that we do really start to lean into our mental health. So as a beauty professional and also as someone who is really vocal in our culture, it's my job to move some of this along so it's not so transactional and superficial, but it starts to be a bit more reflective and healing.”

For his own wellness routine, the beauty guru says it starts in the morning with mindful practices. “I sound bathe. I know it sounds like woo-woo, but I’ve realized it's really calming for my nervous system. Then I put my crystals in sun,” he says. “I also use my Medicube, which is this serious little facial tool from Korea. Then I put my grills in.”

“Back in 2021, I coined a phrase called ‘dopamine glam.’ We're in a space where everyone is choosing something — a nail color or an eyeshadow — that makes them feel something. With dopamine living, you set your day up so you can have little pockets of joy, like Pac-Man in the 1980s.”

For Sir John, that ranges from making his own flower arrangements to working out with his trainer in his backyard with his dog not too far away.

He has methods to manage stress, such as cooking or saging his space after a bad call or Zoom.

Changing his environment has a major effect on his state of mind. “Before I was a makeup artist, I used to do the windows at Barney's, Bergdorf Goodman and, remember Henry Bendel? I was the merchandiser there for a while. Then I went across the street to Gucci. Moving environments, moving things around the home, changing your visual can totally, change your state of mind in a big way. So if you want a big, huge, not even a dopamine hit, a serotonin flush because that's more sustainable over a long time, change your environment. Continue to move things around.”

When it comes to his best tips these days, Sir John is focused on the inside out. “I love makeup, but what I really am really concerned about at this big grown age of mine is my gut health, what I’m doing to eat my skin care.  I want to be here for a long time.”

That doesn’t mean he never indulges in his favorite things. “I still love seven cheese mac and cheese,” he laughs. “I still love all the things and I love tequila, but just no salt around the rim.”

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When Sir John heads to the Berkshires in a few weeks, he says, “I'm looking forward to the community, I love dialogue, I love talking. You know what I realized? There's more power in my voice, or what I can say, than anything I can do with my hands.”

More than 150 people have signed up to attend the event. Reserve your spot here.