Lord Huxley of Huxley’s School of Make-up

Welcome to the home of Michael Huxley – the man behind Huxley School Of Make Up. Over 6ft tall, bleached blonde hair, groomed eyebrows, and most days wearing a colour-coordinated outfit, you might not be so surprised to learn that he goes by Lord Huxley on the gram.

It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be (2020) Oil on canvas

The school is right next to my studio and every time I see the students I wish I had an outlet like that in school. There’s constantly young girls and boys doing shoots in the car park, drag queens walking in and our, Plaster-of-Paris masks leftover in the dumpster from the special effects class, and of course, Rihanna and Dua Lipa play on repeat. 

There wasn’t a second of hesitation when I ask Huxley to be my subject. A week later I was in his Gold Coast home listening while he showed me around the items he’d collected over his lifetime. When people let me in their home there’s always a discrepancy between what they want to show me vs what I actually see as important. Michael showed me around his collected furniture, including an antique studio light which served as an ode to the origins of his make up school - a photography studio that doubled as he home while he made ends meet. His preference for antique furniture seemed a stark contrast to the street style he’s deeply inspired by. 

When I was doing some research on Michael before our meeting, something really struck me. A throwback post on Instagram of his high school days. It was a typically dorky photo of him and his best friend Karina as teenagers, captioned “just a couple of losers who couldn’t break up.” The photo has since been deleted, and for what reason I don’t know, but regardless the reality is sweet for just a couple of losers. Karina’s swimwear label is next door to Huxley’s and business is fuelled by her 1.2 million followers on her Instagram.

Curious about the makeup industry, I did some brief research on its history and found that the commercialisation and increased affordability of mirrors are the two factors that helped spread the popularity of makeup during the early 1900’s. It’s interesting to think that this one small innovation in manufacturing was fundamental to the development of the now $532 billion beauty industry. Perhaps it was always going to happen, but I couldn’t help but think of the tale of Narcissus as I read this.

Several decades later it was the popularity of film that shifted a need for makeup as there became a demand for cosmetics that looked good on screen. Prior to that, theatre actors had used exaggerated makeup to ensure that those watching in the very last row could still make out their facial expressions, however, up-close on camera their faces looked cakey. This spurred the cosmetic company Maxfactor to invest in new formulas and manufacturing processes for more everyday purposes. But it was really in the 1950s that makeup took off when advertising campaigns told the everyday woman that they could use make up to look like their favourite movie star. Fastforward to 2021 and women are getting plastic surgery to look more like their filters on instagram. We’re an impressionable race to say the least.

Let’s take a brief walk through the painting 

The title the painting comes from the title of the book sitting underneath the perfume bottle, ‘It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be – the world’s best-selling book’ written by the former Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi – a global advertising agency. Catching and witty at the same time. 

Interestingly, once the painting was completed Michael came in and walked us through the meaning behind the objects. Initially, when I saw his benchtop and started photographing it, he had jumped and said ‘don’t take photos of that!’ The next day he told me that he had cleaned it up. Yet. when I posted photos of the work in progress, his friends had instantly identified him in it. 

Michael stood back and walked us through some of the items, most notably the Rolex box. As it turns out, it’s a fake, and actually full of cuff-links he never wears – as he’s not exactly the type to wear a suit. It spurred him to talk about the way people perceive him, particularly in the rigid business world. He recalled a business awards night where Huxley School of Makeup took out first prize for Arts and Culture and how he intentionally wore a see-through button-up as a statement to the scene – There’s a photo of the outfit on his Instagram and he’s standing next to Tammy Hembrow. 

He laughed at the brands in the paintings and commented on how interesting it is to see how people actually see him. I have a lot of respect for what Michael has created. No doubt ostracised at the all-boys schools he went to as a teenager, he has created a safe-haven for teenagers alike. His students are highly engaged, proactive, and he has a strict screening process of the students that apply. He’s found a lot of purpose imparting his wisdom into his pupils and is very invested in their success. They have a family and a place where their expression is encouraged, and they’re taught to be empowered in that.

That’s a trait I respect a lot in a person, giving to the world what they felt they never had.