For four years, Claire Rivals has worked behind the scenes at the Cannes Film Festival. Between stress, confidentiality and hectic pace, the Ariège makeup artist prepares several celebrities every day before the red carpets. A demanding universe that she tells from the inside.
In the corridors of the Le Majestic hotel in Cannes, Claire Rivals advances from one room to another with her black briefcase in hand. Behind each door, a celebrity is getting ready before climbing the steps. A French actress? An American star? An international influencer? She only knows it at the last moment. For four years, this 29-year-old from Ariège has been one of the little hands at the Cannes Festival, those who work far from photographers but nevertheless participate in creating the image of celebrities.
“I really get into the intimacy of the personalities,” says the professional makeup artist from Saint-Martin-de-Caralp. Every day, the same ritual is repeated. Arriving a little early at the hotel, she prepares her equipment, disinfects her brushes, checks her products… Then her schedule falls into place at the beginning of the afternoon. Work can then begin.
“We have about thirty minutes for beauty per person,” she explains. Between five and six celebrities pass through his hands every day. At her side, always the same hairdresser with whom she has worked in pairs for several editions of the festival. While he does hair, she does makeup. Objective: to be ready before the evening screenings and red carpets.
“Stress is mostly for us, but we don’t show anything”
The timing is tight, the pressure permanent. “I have no room for error,” she slips. Because in Cannes, it’s impossible to redo your makeup just before going up the steps, photographed all over the world. “Celebrities are used to it. It’s their daily life. The stress is mainly for us, but we don’t show anything.” This year again, it is impossible for her to reveal the names of the personalities she is preparing. Confidentiality contracts are strict. “We can’t tell who we’re doing makeup and where.” Discretion has become essential in this environment where confidence counts as much as talent.
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However, behind the apparent ease with which she moves today in the Cannes palaces, there are thirteen years of work. Always passionate about the world of beauty and fashion, Claire Rivals first studied aesthetics and then specialized in beauty and artistic makeup. Very quickly, she understood that this profession could take her much further than a traditional institute.
Her first big event arrives with the Miss France committee. Then the experiences followed one another: Fashion Week in Paris, the Rio carnival, collaborations with Dior, Chanel and even Christian Louboutin… In 2017, she even won the title of second best makeup artist in France.
“If the power goes on, we can always take a photo”
“It’s not luck, it’s a lot of work,” she insists. “Finding a place in the industry is very complicated.” Networks, word of mouth, competitions, meetings: each step gradually opens the doors to major international events. In Cannes, she learned to control her stress, even in front of the celebrities she admired when she was younger. “I don’t have to show anything,” smiles the young woman. “Even when I’m a fan.”
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She particularly remembers her meeting with James Lafferty, the interpreter of Nathan in the series The Scott Brothers, whom she did his makeup at the Monte-Carlo Festival. “Ever since I was little, I’ve been a fan of his. But you have to remain professional. Afterwards, if the flow passes, you can always take a photo.”
Among the encounters that marked her, Claire Rivals also cites Adriana Karembeu, whom she did her makeup during the Monte-Carlo Festival. “She is incredibly simple,” she says. “And she has an extraordinary face to make up.” But not all experiences leave the same memory. In 2019, she found herself facing an American actress from the series Les Experts, who was particularly demanding. “The makeup lasted about two and a half hours,” she recalls. A far cry from the thirty minutes usually given before red carpets. “I was happy when it ended,” jokes the makeup artist from Ariège today.
Next goal, Coachella?
Despite the intense pace and the days of repetition, Claire Rivals says she never gets tired. “When I’m there, I don’t have the impression of being at work.” Between two festivals, the makeup artist is now preparing the opening of her own institute in Pamiers, scheduled for next September. A high-end show in which she wishes to put all the experience acquired at major international events to good use. High-tech facial and body treatments, professional makeup, beauty workshops… The young woman wants to develop a place in her image, focused on makeup, her “real domain”.
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But there is no question of abandoning the red carpets. “The Cannes Film Festival, I will always try to continue. Because I love it,” she assures. And among the events that she still dreams of adding to her already busy schedule, one name immediately comes up: Coachella. “I already have some contacts,” she slips. A goal kept in the corner of his mind, between two climbs of stairs.
