Barbara Daly: The woman behind the make-up

Barbara Daly's name is synonymous with make up – in an illustrious career spanning 3 decades, she has collaborated with many of the world's great photographers and supermodels as well as making up a host of famous faces. She has worked on films and in television,  produced a make-up video and designed two successful cosmetics lines.

She was born and grew up in Leeds, where as a girl one of her favourite regular outings was to 'Saturday Cinema'. She was intrigued by the transformation of stars on the screen, and this instilled a passionate interest in make-up design. Soon she was regularly raiding her mother's cosmetics bag, and by the age of 13 she had made her first job application to work in the make-up department at the BBC.

She was turned down because of her age so, with her fascination for colour and drawing, art was the natural choice of study for the next stage of Barbara's career.

After studying Fine Art and Graphic Design at Leeds College of Art, Barbara left Yorkshire for London. She was eventually accepted on a 2 year training course in the BBC's make-up department,  and then went on to work for the BBC on everything from costume dramas to current affairs and comedy.

Barbara left the BBC to become a freelance make-up artist in film and photography. What she didn't know was at that time it was usual for models arriving at a photographic studio to do their own make-up. But fortunately she was 'discovered' by Barry Lategan and Grace Coddington who booked her for a shoot for English Vogue. Over a career spanning three decades, she subsequently went on to work with many of the great names in photography, Avedon, Bailey, Elgort, Lartigue, Moon, Newton, Parkinson, Snowdon, Swannell, Testino, Watson... the list is endless.

Many of the looks that she created have become iconic, like the shockingly memorable images she designed for Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange'. She subsequently developed a close creative relationship with Kubrick, working on other films such as Barry Lyndon.

At this time, many of the up and coming directors were working in TV advertising and this gave Barbara the opportunity of collaborating with the likes of Ridley and Tony Scott, Alan Parker and Hugh Hudson and others to produce many unforgettable commercials.

This was a period of intense creativity in the world of fashion and photography and Barbara's work for British, American and the iconic Italian Vogue, as well as many other leading magazines was at the forefront. The make-up was often dramatic and intricate but she always made the models look beautiful. It was probably for this reason that she was asked to make-up Lady Diana Spencer for her wedding day (probably her most famous commission) and continued to work with her over the following years.

Over the years, Barbara has worked with a host of supermodels from Twiggy to Cindy Crawford, as well as actors, musicians, and politicians. She was called in to work with Margaret Thatcher when she became prime minister and also with Norma Major and Nancy Regan.

During her multi-faceted career, she has written 3 books on make-up and even hosted her own television show, Daly Beauty for ITV- one of the first shows to be dedicated entirely to make-up hair and fashion.

Barbara created her first make-up range after meeting Gordon and Anita Roddick, founders of the Body Shop, and together they launched the innovative Colourings brand, which she successfully ran with her husband Laurence for the next 5 years, before selling their share to the Body Shop.

Barbara's unquenchable enthusiasm and creativity led her to her next project, Barbara Daly Make-Up for Tesco in 1998.  The product range launched the following year, and was revolutionary, offering professional quality and designer chic at supermarket prices. It quickly developed a cult following from the likes of Twiggy, Kate Moss, Stella McCartney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lulu and Kylie Minogue.The award-winning brand continues to thrive and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

In 1992 Barbara was awarded the OBE for her services to the cosmetic industry. She has also won many industry awards including the Pantene Pro-V award for Outstanding Contribution to Beauty and the Cosmetic Executive Women's Lifetime Achievement award.

Barbara is currently a Vice-President of Look Good Feel better, a patron of FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments), HOPE (working of behalf of Handicapped, Orphaned, Poor and Exploited Children) and START (The Skin Treatment and Research Trust) and has worked extensively with the visually handicapped.