Marco Castro sees beauty as more than skin deep—it’s a radical act of identity and culture. Born in Lima, Peru, and based in New York, Marco spent over a decade as a Global Makeup Artist for NARS, where he refined a signature minimalist style under the mentorship of François Nars.

His visionary touch has since graced icons like Pedro Almodóvar and Nan Goldin, and shaped the visual language of brands like Willy Chavarria, Luar, Louis Vuitton, and Calvin Klein.

His artistry extends beyond the makeup chair. As a filmmaker, Marco crafts intimate, elegant explorations of immigration and identity—centering underrepresented voices and reframing beauty through a cultural lens. His work has been spotlighted in Vogue, i-D, W, Document Journal, and CR Fashion Book, and he was recently named one of the Top 9 Beauty Artists of New York Fashion Week by WWD.

Deeply influenced by his mother—a spiritual healer—Marco draws on ancestral wisdom and the transformative power of healing plants. His creative world is one of ritual, resistance, and reinvention. Whether collaborating with Willy Chavarria or building inclusive spaces for queer people of color (as featured in 10 Magazine), Marco’s work is a testament to beauty’s power to connect, heal, and empower.

For Marco, beauty isn’t a look—it’s a language. And he’s rewriting the narrative, one face, one frame, one story at a time.

For Marco, collaboration is about synergy, not status. He works with creatives who share his artistic energy, ensuring each project brings something fresh and unexpected. Whether collaborating with major celebrities or emerging voices, he thrives on the magic that happens when different perspectives unite. This passion has led him to work with talents like Tokisha, Nas, J Balvin, and Moses Sumney, creating moments that redefine beauty and storytelling. Some of his standout projects include:

• The Out of Body Issue |i-D Magazinefeat. Tokischa, shot by Mitch Zachary

• Shapeshifter |10 Magazinewith Willy Chavarria, shot by Diego Bendezu

• A night with Willy Chavarria and his muse Moses Sumney, shot by Danielle Levitt 

• Everybody in the Bar Plays Shaboozey |The Cut, shot by Clifford Prince King

• New Face Editorial with Joan Smalls, shot by Luis Alberto Rodriguez & styled by Carlos Nazario

Marco Castro doesn’t just create beauty—he gives it meaning. His work is rooted in personal history, shaped by his experience as an immigrant in New York, and driven by a mission to uplift the voices often left out of the frame.

While his minimalist aesthetic has defined iconic looks for brands like Luar, Campillo, and Willy Chavarria—and captured through the lenses of Stefan Ruiz, Emmanuel Sanchez Monsalve, and Diego Bendezu —it’s in filmmaking that Marco’s storytelling fully expands.

His films, celebrated at international festivals, explore immigration, identity, and intimacy with striking elegance and honesty. Each frame is a quiet act of resistance, a visual poem honoring those rarely centered in mainstream beauty or cinema.

Marco’s vision moves fluidly between fashion, editorial, and film—but always with one purpose: to make the unseen seen.

Watch films directed by Marco Castro