Who says you need Photoshop to totally transform a person into someone else? Not us — and not Maria Malone-Guerbaa. The London-based makeup artist has made her career doing hair and makeup for everything from the BBC drama The Cut to theatrical productions like Evita and Rock of Ages; where she really shines, though, is in her recreations of famous personages. Using just face paint — no Photoshop and no prosthetics — she can turn herself into literally anyone, from fictional characters like Maleficent to real-life people like Nicholas Cage. Seriously, you guys — you have to see this to believe it. Her talent skill are astonishing.
Originally from Limerick, Ireland, Malone-Guerbaa originally intended to study at Limerick Art College; however, she turned her place at the school down when she realized she wasn’t interested in fine art. “I felt at the time that there wasn’t anywhere for me to go with what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be a standard artist. I loved special effects, particularly body and face art,” she recently explained to the Daily Mail. “I went to find out about it, but there was literally nowhere in Limerick of Ireland that specialized in that kind of makeup art.” Accordingly, she moved to London — but she ended up putting her passion for makeup on hold after meeting her husband, having two children, and opening a line of cafes.
When she turned 33, however, she decided to pick up her face paints and brushes again and enrolled in a makeup academy. Soon after, word of her talent spread; now 40, she’s been working steadily ever since. Her “famous faces,” as her fans call them, began as a way simply to practice, but after she put them up on her Facebook and Instagram pages, they went viral. And with good reason — I mean, check out how detailed they are. Here she is as the Queen of England:
Jack Nicholson’s version of the Joker:
Elvis:
Zombie Marilyn Monroe and Freddie Mercury:
Another Jack Nicholson face, this time of Jack Torrence in The Shining:
And even a sloth:
Want to know how she does it? Here’s a video of her turning herself into Anthony Hopkins:
Mind-blowing, no? To check out more of Malone-Guerbaa’s amazing artwork, find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Images: Maria Malone-Guerbaa/Facebook
