A lot of things might have changed in Meghan Markle’s life now that she’s officially a royal—but there is one thing the new duchess is intent on keeping the same: her name.
Her make-up artist and friend Daniel Martin, who created her understated look for her wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday, told People he asked Meghan, who has been his friend for almost a decade, how he should referred to her now that she’s a royal.
‘I asked her that. “Do I bow to you? I don’t want to disrespect you, but I’ve known for almost ten years. What’s up?”’ he said. ‘She started laughing and she said, “I’m always going to be Meg. Meg.”’
Down to Earth: Meghan Markle’s make-up artist, who took care of her look on her wedding day, has revealed that she told her before the ceremony that she will always be ‘Meg’
The make-up artist, who is based in New York City, still pledged to ‘be respectful and know [his] protocol’ next time he sees the Duchess of Sussex.
Daniel, whose A-list clients have included Jessica Alba and Elisabeth Moss, is based in New York and works as a brand ambassador for Dior, as well as the creative color consultant for Honest Beauty, Jessica’s label.
On the day of the royal wedding, he was one of four people who assisted Meghan as she got ready to walk down the aisle, in addition to her mother, Doria Ragland, her dress designer, Clare Waight Keller, and her hairstylist, Serge Normant.
Meghan played ‘1950s, chilled music’ on Spotify, and Doria was ‘in good spirits’, Daniel told the magazine.
As for the bride, he described her as relaxed and true to herself in the moments that preceded her wedding ceremony.
‘She didn’t seem nervous. She was very cool, she was regular Meghan,’ he said.
‘I think we were nervous, but we didn’t want to make her nervous so it was very chilled. Of course, brides have nerves, but if we didn’t put so much expectation on it, it wouldn’t have made her nervous. It was very even, very easy.’
Chic: Meghan’s wedding day make-up was a simple, minimalist look with a light smokey eye and a pale pink lip, in keeping with her modern gown
Details: The bride let her natural freckles show and had a healthy, glowing complexion. Her defined brows gave structure to her face, while her peachy lips gave a fresh touch to the look
Meghan’s wedding day make-up was a simple, minimalist look with a light smokey eye and a pale pink lip.
The bride let her natural freckles show and had a healthy, glowing complexion. Her defined eyebrows gave structure to her face, while her peachy lips gave a fresh touch to the overall look.
Daniel was smitten with Meghan’s simple Givenchy gown.
‘It was all so easy. It didn’t hit us that she was getting married until she got the dress on,’ he said.
The make-up artist, who found the dress ‘so beautiful and so architectural’, added : ‘The spectacle of the veil and the crown and it was, “Oh my goodness, this is really happening.”‘
Daniel also revealed the final sentence he and Meghan exchanged before the ceremony.
‘Nothing really hit any of us until we got there and we saw the people and the magnitude of everything,’ he recounted. ‘The last thing we said to each other was, “We’ll see you on the other side.”‘
After the ceremony, Daniel saw Meghan again for touch-ups, before she posed with Harry for their official wedding photos.
‘That’s when I started crying,’ he said. ‘It was the first time was able to be there in person. It was almost like she looked at me and said, “What did you think? How’d it go?” And I lost it.’
Job: Daniel (pictured in a file photo) is based in New York and works as a brand ambassador for Dior, as well as the creative color consultant for Honest Beauty, Jessica’s label
Sure tastes: Meghan, according to Daniel, is ‘extremely decisive’ and knows what she wants whenever they work together
Daniel, who met Meghan in 2011, has also revealed that he was among the first to know about Harry and Meghan’s engagement.
‘Meghan and I communicate a lot through text because I travel for work and because of the time difference between the both of us, it’s hard to get on the phone,’ he told Elle.
‘So she sent me a text asking what I was doing the weekend of May 19th. I was like, “I may be in Cannes for the film festival but what’s up…” and she sent me the bride and groom emoji right back and I literally dropped my phone! Then she sent me the shhhh emoji back so I couldn’t let anyone know…’
The duchess’ make-up look, he said was the result of a ‘very collaborative’ process.
‘She’s extremely decisive and I know exactly what she wants,’ he said. ‘She’s very open and loves make-up so it’s always been fun playing dress up with her!’
Modernity was a key factor in crafting the look, which was meant to go with Meghan’s ‘structural, yet feminine’ dress.
‘The linear line through the boat neck created a framing of her face from her collar bone up. If Meghan had much more make-up on, her face would have been the focus and not the gracefulness of her dress,’ he said.
‘It would have been distracting, and that’s what you don’t want when the dress is the main attraction. Make-up should be the finishing touch to the dress, never the other way around… especially on your wedding day!’
As for touch-ups, Daniel said Meghan used ‘blot papers and lipstick’ to refresh her look throughout the day.