For devoted beauty enthusiasts, the name Natasha Denona, 55, may spark more excitement than names like Margot Robbie and Angelina Jolie — but that was not always the case. Denona began her career as a dancer and model, and when she became pregnant with her first child, she decided to stop modeling. Her husband Yaron, who now runs the beauty empire bearing her name alongside her, suggested she start doing makeup. In 1996, she took his advice and began working as a makeup artist.
For years, she worked with Bar Refaeli and other major names in the industry, using a range of unique techniques she developed herself, until she founded her own makeup school in 2002. After years of frustration over not being able to find products that met her exact needs, she launched the Natasha Denona makeup brand in 2013 — and the success was meteoric. Less than three years after its launch, her products were being sold at Sephora stores worldwide. Since last September, Israeli consumers have finally been able to buy her products locally through the Be pharmacy chain instead of flying abroad.
In the meantime, nearly every product she launches goes viral online and sells out at remarkable speed, and when she walks around Europe, fans approach her regularly. In 2026, Natasha Denona appears to be living the dream every makeup artist and beauty brand owner aspires to.
“I’m very happy about all the support,” she tells us. “It’s wonderful to see that people understand there’s much more here than just hype.”
Why do you think the beauty world fell in love with you this way?
“It’s really because the products are so unique. When I started the company, I was my own inspiration to create something that didn’t exist on the market. I used myself as the customer. I love makeup and use makeup, and I’m always looking for gaps in the market. Whatever is missing, I’ll create it.
“I always try to develop formulas that deliver what I personally love — products that sculpt the face while also creating my glowy style. Chemically, it’s difficult to achieve, but I manage because I work with chemists constantly. The fact that celebrities and everyday customers love the products is incredibly satisfying. I’m not a child anymore, I feel the success, and the excitement comes from people appreciating my work.”
How does it feel knowing some of the world’s biggest stars use your products?
“It’s exciting that they love and use them without being paid to.”
Who excited you the most when you discovered they were using your products?
“Two weeks ago we were at an event in San Francisco, and Michelle Pfeiffer came up to me and introduced herself. I was shocked and immediately wanted to tell my mother because she’s her favorite actress.
“And three years ago, Gwen Stefani hosted an event for friends and invited me to brunch at her home in Los Angeles. She was incredible. She’s an icon, and she told me she was wearing my concealer.”
Who else?
“Kim Kardashian’s makeup artists have our products, and I know they use them for family events. They used the Golden Palette and the Glam Palette, for example, at a famous Indian wedding they attended. Kylie’s makeup artist also requested my concealers and used them when doing her makeup. Dua Lipa uses my lipsticks. Oprah Winfrey mentioned our powder foundation in an interview she gave. Hailey Bieber used my eyeshadow palette and even uploaded a video, and there are probably many more I don’t know about.”
From the outside, you seem fairly indifferent to all the attention surrounding you.
“I’m sure there are people who see me as a celebrity, but I run away from that. I’m embarrassed by those things. It’s easy for me to talk about products, and teaching comes naturally to me, but the whole idea of being a recognizable person that people want pictures with — it gets under my skin.
“It excites me when people respect the products, but when people love me personally, it’s overwhelming. I’m the kind of person who likes sweatpants and curling up under a blanket at home. I would never want to be a celebrity.”
Do people recognize you often on the street?
“In Italy it happens quite a bit. In the United States I notice people looking, but not many approach me. If I walk into Sephora stores, people come over for photos. I built my brand to work behind the scenes, and somehow it pushed me in front of the camera.”
You keep your personal life out of the spotlight, but don’t your three daughters get overwhelmed by having you as their mother?
“My daughters are very excited about it, and my two older daughters especially love makeup. When they hear compliments directed at me, they get excited. A lot of their friends didn’t know until three years ago that they were my daughters — now they know. But it’s not something they talk about because they’re embarrassed to brag. They’re very modest and want real friends, not friends because they’re my daughters.”
'I’ve never seen anything like it in my life'
Recently, Denona launched a new foundation that exploded online with TikTok stars like Jeffree Star, whose account has 8 million followers, and Mikayla Nogueira, who has 17 million.
“Every other post was about it. It really broke the internet. Twenty-nine out of 53 shades sold out. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
In a makeup world that already feels saturated, how do you still keep innovating?
“The truth is we have more products than we can even launch — we release a new product every month, which is a lot. I have endless ideas. Some companies are strong in lipsticks or blushes. We try to be strong in everything. But not everything is good. Sometimes a product isn’t perfect, and I try to make it better.
“For example, with the foundation and concealer, I wanted to create something hydrating that also stays on the skin. I knew foundations that were either heavy and opaque or sheer and disappeared. Mine succeeded because it’s somewhere in between and has incredible staying power. There’s never been a foundation with a finish that gives this kind of glow to the skin’s texture.
“At the end of the day, I’m looking for solutions for makeup lovers — things I always dreamed would exist but didn’t, things that are chemically difficult to achieve. For example, I’ve been working on a mascara for six years and it still hasn’t reached what I want, so I don’t currently have a mascara. I worked on the concealer for four years and the foundation as well. During the development process for the foundation, we made nearly 200 revisions. The mascara, by the way, passed 200 revisions a long time ago, and it’ll launch when I feel it’s perfect.”
It’s impossible to ignore the fact that every few days another celebrity launches a beauty brand. Does that affect you?
“Celebrity brands don’t affect us because it’s a different category. We’re a makeup artist brand, just like Kim’s makeup artist’s brand and Pat McGrath’s brand. In recent years, celebrity makeup artists have also started launching brands. We thought it would affect us and discovered it doesn’t. It turns out that when people love certain products, that’s enough to keep them buying.”
Recently, makeup artist Huda Kattan, owner of the Huda Beauty brand, faced criticism after expressing support for the Iranian regime. In response, hundreds of disappointed followers posted TikTok videos smashing her products and swearing never to buy from her again. When she later tried to walk back her comments, saying she was not informed enough to express an opinion, it was already too late. More than two months after the backlash began, the anger appears to have subsided, but the damage to Kattan’s brand was significant.
“My brand is international,” Denona says when asked how the political climate and the fact that she comes from one of the world’s most controversial regions affect her business in the beauty industry. “Our company manufactures in Italy and operates internationally. Sephora is very supportive of us, and even people who know where I’m from don’t really care. Yes, here and there there are comments, but it doesn’t hurt us. There’s no place for hate in the makeup community. I don’t give it room.”
You’re celebrating a decade at Sephora, which is essentially a temple for makeup lovers and a place every beauty brand dreams of entering. How does it feel?
“At first it feels like living the dream, but eventually reality catches up with you and you realize it’s endless work. We’ve been there for 10 years for a reason. The bigger the success, the more work there is. There’s an enormous amount of technical work involved. Managing a brand isn’t easy at all. Sephora doesn’t give you a moment to rest. We love our work and enjoy the success, but we work nonstop.”
And now for the question that personally interests me the most: Which products do you always carry in your bag?
“I always have concealer, a lip liner, the Hi Gloss and the Hi Blush, which you can apply on clean skin or over makeup.”