Family photographs and artwork of horse riding and the Irish countryside adorn the walls behind him. James sits comfortably as himself, nestled in hints at just some of the influences that have shaped his artistry.
James first sprang onto our screens in 2020 with Netflix/The BBC’s Glow Up Season 2, where he achieved an impressive placement as first runner-up, amongst a group of incredibly talented artists. Since then, he has continued on to work at the highest level in the makeup and fashion industry, providing his expertise, skills, and important representation.
At the time he applied for Glow Up, James had already worked several industry jobs in the UK, including Horrible Histories, and his first feature film with Netflix’s Rebecca as a hair and makeup trainee.
“I always felt very independent and never constrained to doing things the normal way. Even when it came to my first job and moving to London and believing in getting a TV job... I just couldn’t second-guess it,” he shares.
“I saw a casting call come out, and I was watching the first season in the UK at the time. I’d moved to London, and I was obsessed. So I was like a giddy fan girl being like, ‘Oh my God. Let me give this a shot. Let’s see what happens’. And then they call me back, that’s when I actually started to panic. I was like, ‘No, no, no, you’ve made a mistake, diva’.
“That was the first time that I realised I was kind of chancing my arm and not thinking too much. I just had to find a way to, honestly, without pun intended, keep ticking and just keep moving forward.”
As someone living with Tourette syndrome, James knew that appearing as himself on TV would require an added layer of vulnerability compared to some of his peers.
“It’s going to come out of the woodwork. I’m gonna actually have to be vulnerable about this and honest and not let my mind and what I share overcompensate or get me trapped in a place that I can’t get out of. I always like to have a sense of control because of the involuntary nature of the tics,” he explains. James adds that he has to consider “How much of it am I willing or able to control? How much am I gonna let that just have a hold on me? I then, as a response, have had so much of my life in, I suppose, more of a controlled environment, or would just protect my safety as much as possible.”
Perhaps this sense of control and expertise has lent itself to James’ approach to most challenges in his life. As a teenager, he was an accomplished horse rider-triathlon, and a qualified ski instructor.
“Whatever I’m doing, I’m doing 100%,” he says. Where did the inspiration and passion come from, though? As a creative, his artistic expression was nurtured from a young age. He would attend drama school in his local art centre, Dunamaise Arts in Portlaoise, and Galway’s Arts Festival with his godmother. The interest in makeup, however, began not specifically as a fascination with the medium, but grew partially from something many of us engaged in in school, the near-universal phenomenon of drawing eyes in notebooks.
On trips home from boarding school, where James took art for both the Junior and Leaving Certificate, he found himself drawn to the signature dark eye looks of the Amy Winehouse-inspired fashion of the time.
“I always remember Amy Winehouse ‘Back to Black’ won the Grammy in 2008, and I saw a big shift in pop culture and style and design from what girls would wear, that ‘2K6’ style; foundation mousse, the white lips, heavy powdered bronze faces and these massive winged liners with thick, clumped mascara. I was starting to draw on all of my school books, like geography, science, whatever. Sketching out shapes of brows and liner.
“I wasn’t thinking in a beauty/fashion sense at the time. I was fascinated just by eye contact – your eye line and how we perceive and observe each other. The power of the eyes is kind of my love language. It’s my communication, and that’s what I was drawn into first from a design and art point of view. And later, I started to think, well, can I do this on myself?”
From there, the MUA within started to blossom, with experimentation in the bathroom at home with items ‘borrowed’ from his cousin’s beauty kit. While his family is supportive, that feeling of shamed femininity, familiar to so many queer people, was still there.
“There was this already instilled idea, a subconscious or distinct nature of knowing I couldn’t leave the bathroom. [I would] wash my face vigorously with a bar of soap and have no trace. I’d hide the makeup bag and these products in between the pipes underneath the bathtub.”
This was through no fault of James’ family, but the harsh pressure society at large puts on gender and identity expression.
“I have to give [my parents] a huge shout-out because they’ve been the biggest supports and pillars of my life with all aspects, diversity, neurodivergency or queerness.”
James has come a very long way from secretive experimental glamour sessions in the bathroom at home. The question remains, however, how does he navigate an industry not always known for its sensitivity to diversity, especially for those who may need different accommodations?
“I used to think if I disclaimed [that I have Tourette’s], was I hindering my opportunities? There are days that I accomplish so much more, and then there are days that I can’t. There’s no black and white. I’m able in so many other ways to live in an ableist world, then some days it’s incredibly challenging. There are things that definitely compromise my understanding, my stamina, and my credibility and literal ability to work. So I’ve had to learn how to structure myself over the years.”
One method James uses to ground himself in difficult moments is Emotional Freedom Tap (EFT) therapy. “There are different nerve endings that I tap on my wrist, my ear, and it’s subtle, silent tapping. This helps me regulate my nervous system that little bit more instantly, and it gives me a grounding essence,” he explains, stressing how beneficial it has been for him.
Personal efforts to manage at work are important, but they can only do so much. The world needs to better its understanding, and this is where advocacy comes into play, which is a major part of the artist’s work. He is an ambassador for Tourette’s Action UK, but he also advocates through his social media.
“I had a tic seizure in 2022 that left me with a scar on my forehead. The shock, embarrassment, shame, frustration, and exhaustion became unmanageable. My image and message weren’t maintainable, and the internal pressures had done their job, which is a form of OCD trying to maintain obsessive perfection, strongly connected to Tourette’s. I felt I had surrendered to my own syndrome and wasn’t comfortable enough to speak more in depth about having Tourette’s online.
“In May 2023, I started posting Reels and TikToks addressing more personal information about my tics and Tourette’s in general, where I discovered Tourette’s Action UK and TAA (Tourette Association of America). Gradually, I developed a growing and trusty [sic] relationship with both organisations and collaborated on important milestones throughout the year for both orgs, including Tourette’s Awareness Month (May) and the TAA’s #GivingTuesday initiative in December to help raise necessary funds to keep support lines free and operating.”
James has continued his advocacy on social media, and although he cannot know exactly how many people with Tourette’s are going to be queer and pursue a career in makeup, he knows that his content can “help bring other young artists with Tourette’s forward.”
James’ story so far shows that an upbringing in which a queer child’s interests and passions are nurtured can be a significant boost when tackling any of life’s many hurdles. This is something that rings particularly important today, when it seems such support and openness may be under threat.
And what’s next for his story? Well, he is particularly looking forward to being one of the co-directors and educators for a neurodivergence training course in the UK, something he would love to see brought to Ireland. Further future goals include joining fellow inspiring speakers on important panel discussions around neurodivergence, disability and queerness. He wants to continue spreading more education to local and global audiences and host a podcast to share how we can overcome hurdles in our lives to find out what truly makes us “tick” with passion.
“I want to be storytelling about overcoming your own hurdles in order to discover queer excellence. What is your love and your drive and your driving force, and what have you had to fight through in order to get to that point? And letting that be its own driving engine for trying to seek out more people that… might not feel brave enough or strong enough yet to use their voice. That work, I think, will never die,” he concludes.
To see more of James Mac’s work, check out jmacmua.net or his Instagram @jmac_mua.