The Makeup Mole

This is a lady who really needs no introduction, and I am very proud to include her in my Interviews. She is the most creative of makeup artists, the Creative Director of Illamasqua Cosmetics and a regular contributor to Italian Vogue, I-D, Numero and Harper’s Bazaar, to name but a few. She works with photographers like Nick Knight and Karl Lagerfeld and her work is renowned across the world for it’s completely iconoclastic and other-worldly approach to beauty. It’s makeup, but not as we know it.

On a personal level I have assisted Alex for over six years now in London, Paris (and even Sydney!) and she really is magic with a brush. Her makeup truly is art, and she is still one of the most wonderful, down to earth (and hilarious!) people I know. Without further ado, I give you The Interview:

1) What are you working on at the moment?

MY DRAWINGS. RESEARCHING AND COLLECTING MY THOUGHTS TOGETHER FOR ILLAMASQUA’S SPRING SUMMER COLLECTION AND TOP SECRET PROJECT THAT COMES OUT NEXT YEAR, BOTH INCREDIBLY EXCITING. I’M ALWAYS JOTTING DOWN IDEAS OR DRAWING LOOKS ON THE BACK OF SOMETHING OR IN MY SKETCH BOOK, I’VE ALWAYS WRITTEN INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES OR WORDS TO PROMPT ALTERNATIVE AVENUES OF THOUGHT, INSTEAD OFJUST CUTTING OUT PICTURES ALL THE TIME, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT ALLOWS YOU TO GO OFF IN YOUR OWN WORLD MORE. MY HOUSE LOOKS LIKE A CRAFT SHOP AT THE MOMENT AND I KEEP FINDING DOUBLE SIDED GLITTER TAPE IN THE MOST UNUSUAL PLACES!

2) Favourite makeup job ever?

THATS EXTREMELY HARD, I ALWAYS LIKE TO SAY ‘THE BEST ONE IS THE NEXT ONE’, I DONT LOOK BACK MUCH, I’M ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT HOW MY OWN PRACTICE COULD EVOLVE AND BE IMPROVED OR FIND A NEW TECHNIQUE , THE HOLY GRAIL OF MAKEUP, THE PERFECT MOMENT. AS A BODY OF WORK DOING THE BOOK WAS DEFINITELY A FAVOURITE, IT WAS AN OPEN SKETCH BOOK, I TURNED UP AND WHATEVER WAS IN MY HEAD THAT DAY, THAT’S WHAT WE SHOT…THEN I WOULD GO HOME AND WORK ON THE DRAWINGS. I THINK ALONE DRAWING AND BEING ALONE PAINTING ON A MODEL AND BEING INSPIRED BY HER FACE AND ENERGY IS MY FAVOURITE…

3) Top 5 products?

THAT QUESTION ALWAYS FREAKS ME OUT BECAUSE I NEVER USE THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER, I’M A MAGPIE AND A HOARDER AND WILL USE BEAUTIFUL PIGMENTED LUXURY MAKEUP AT THE SAME TIME AS CHEAP HORROR KIDS FACE PAINTS…FORCED TO CHOSE I’D SAY…..

• ILLAMASQUA EYESHADOWS AND BLUSHERS
• ILLAMASQUA SATIN PRIMER
• MAC BEAUTY POWDERS
• LAURA MERCIER SECRET BRIGHTEN POWDERS
• BLACK AND LOVELY COLOURED HAIR SPRAYS

4) Best makeup tip ever?

BOLDNESS OF ATTACK, LET YOUR MIND AND SPIRIT BE FREE, THERE ARE ‘NO RULES’, YOU ARE YOUR OWN CREATION.

5) How did you get started in the business?

I WAS AN ARTIST WORKING PRIMARILY ON INSTALLATIONS USING THE BODY AS THE CENTER OF THE ART, AND MY FRIEND INTRODUCED ME TO A FASHION DESIGNER WHO USED DANCERS INSTEAD OF MODELS MUCH LIKE LEIGH BOWERY AND MICHEL CLARK. I DESIGNED THE MAKEUP LOOK FOR THE SHOW AND THROUGH OTHER PEOPLE SEEING MY WORK IN THAT CONTEXT I BECAME A MAKEUP ARTIST. MY ART WORK IN THE FRAME OF FASHION BECAME ‘MAKEUP’.

6) How is it different to when you started?

YOU ARE MUCH MORE VISIBLE NOW, THE BUSINESS IS ALMOST TRANSPARENT, THE RISE OF BACK STAGE FILMING ETC AND NEED FOR CONTENT HAS MADE AN UNSEEN WORD PERMEABLE. I DO LAMENT THIS BECAUSE THE WORLD OF FASHION NEEDS IT SECRETS, THAT’S WHAT MAKES IT ALLURING, WITHOUT MYSTERY YOU HAVE NO MAGIC WITHOUT MAGIC YOU HAVE NO BELIEF.

7) What do you love doing in your spare time?

RUNNING, DRAWING, STARING INTO SPACE, TAKING CLOSE UP MICRO PHOTOS OF NATURE. MAKING SURE I TAKE IN THE ‘DETAILS OF LIFE’…

8) What are your favourite looks for the coming Autumn/Winter season?

I DONT REALLY PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO LOOKS…I NEVER KNOW WHAT TO SAY HERE….I JUST WANT TO SEE THE ‘LOOK’ OF CONVICTION AND CONFIDENCE REGARDLESS HOW YOU CHOSE TO PAINT YOUR FACE.

Here is Illamasqua’s new Brand Film as well, explaining their roots in sub-culture and pre-war Berlin. And frankly any makeup film that references Fritz Lang’s Metropolis – well I’m in!

I found this incredible video of Hungarian supermodel Eniko (yes, she is a Victoria’s Secret model, and also an all round lovely girl), with makeup by the unbelievably talented New Zealand born, NY based makeup artist, Aaron de Mey. Now Creative Director for Lancôme, here is a fine example of what the man can do. This is some serious makeup indeed.

Makeup by Kay Montano

Anne Hathaway is looking fierce on the cover of the UK’s ELLE magazine this month, resplendent in THAT Balmain dress and a smokin’ smoky eye. Here’s what her makeup artist Kay Montano used to create it:

Foundation – Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation

Powder – Chanel Translucent loose powder

Blush – Chanel Joues Contraste in Rose Petale

Eyes

• Chanel Ombre Contrast duo in Bleu Tendre
• Eye pencil in Noir
• Ecriture de Chanel in Noir
• Inimitable Obscur mascara in Noir

Lips – Chanel Extrait de Gloss in Insouciance.

I am a big, big fan of Laura Mercier products as you might know from reading of my almost creepy love of her Translucent Powder and Secret Camouflage concealer. The Secret Brightener? Not so much.

The idea is that you use this under the eye before concealer in order to “brighten dark circles, reduce shadow and minimize discolorations”, according to the website. Which sounds great in theory except that this product is pearly pink. And I mean REALLY pearly pink. Even on my Mattel-doll complexion it shows up pink under the concealer. I believe it now comes in two shades, and to be fair I haven’t tried the second shade, so I can only comment on how Number 1 looks. Also I wouldn’t know how it reads on anyone else’s skin as it never made it near my kit.

However it could be used as a pretty highlighter on the cheekbones, just please, for the love of Mary, not under the eyes. It will give you that awful deer caught in the headlights look which you see when sometimes a celebrity is caught by flash photography with the paprazzi, and their makeup artist has been slightly too generous with the under eye highlighter. As a sweet highlighter pen it’s great as it can be tossed in your bag, and it’s easy for doing delicate spots like the tip of the Cupid’s bow.

For undereye highlighting I can safely recommend YSL Touche Eclat, Clinique Airbrush and Estee Lauder Ideal Light, but not this dude.

This one, I’m sorry to say, is going in the bin.

Bin it!*

* Does not affect my love for the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder, nor her genius concealer and powder, which I’m still evangelical about.

Way back in the mists of time I wrote one of my first posts for MM, and it was telling the world how crap I thought NARS’ old mascara was. (There was also something about Huey Lewis and the News in there, but Lord knows what that has to do with mascara, crap or otherwise).

However I am thrilled to report that after extensive testing, NARS new Larger than Life Volumizing mascara is proving itself to be a winner. The brush is a bit bigger than normal but not jumbo oversized like Diorshow mascara or Benefit’s Bad Girl Lash, and the main thing I like about it is that it doesn’t get goopy or overload the lash. Thus you can build a few coats with it still looking lovely and fluffy, and it really is quite volumizing.

One thing I would say is that sucker is staying on once it’s on! Make sure you have a good remover because it has the staying properties of a waterproof mazzie, without the crunchiness – which if you live in a hot climate or like a badass, long last mascara, this is for you.

In the mascara stakes Monsieur NARS, you have well and truly redeemed yourself.

BAG IT!

MAC have just released their Christmas collections which are, quite frankly, always worth waiting for. This year is no exception with A Tartan Tale, packed to the brim with tiny, bite-size makeup goodies that make you want to go on a spending spree to end all spending sprees.

What I like about the MAC Christmas sets (apart from the super cute packaging) is for a makeup artist, they are a great (excuse?) chance to stock up on miniatures for your kit. The glitter, pigment and gloss sets are all a fab way to expand your kit, because, let’s face it, how often do you use that acid yellow glitter pigment? Maybe a couple of times a year. Does that mean you shouldn’t have it in stock? Hell no! What kit isn’t complete without a whole range of bonkers glitters and pigments, and MAC at Christmas is the perfect place and time to stock up. Plus as it is Christmas it’s a great chance to put the hard word on your nearest and dearest and explain the dire consequences of you going YET ANOTHER YEAR without your acid yellow glitter pigment. A scary thought, I know.

Their brush sets are also a great way for aspiring (and working!) makeup artists to expand their brush collections – and we all know you can never have too many brushes, don’t we? MAC’s brushes are very comprehensive, great quality and reasonably priced, so now’s the time to get your kilt on and check out A Tartan Tale.

www.maccosmetics.com

My complete infatuation with all things Burberry shows no signs of slowing down with the launch of their new Winter Storms campaign. Check out this immaculate new ad for Burberry, shot by incredible London photographer Jacob Sutton. I shot a TopMan campaign with him earlier this year, and he’s just a lovely, down to earth guy, as well as being a brilliant photographer. He’s now shooting regularly for British Vogue and is behind the new campaign for Burberry’s Beat fragrance. I’m thrilled he’s doing so well – if anyone deserves it, he does.

As always Burberry is blowing me away with their iconic take on classic British fashion. As an added bonus the songs in their campaigns stay in your head for days! Enjoy.

How can you have a Christmas Gift Set in your kit, I hear you scoff? Well that’s easy my friends, because the beautiful coffret box that the Aesop Gertrude Street set comes in is just the most perfect size to take my decanted foundations, and is now the basis of how I organize my makeup when I’m on a job.

I should be telling you about the delicious contents of the aforementioned box which have made me love Aesop products even more – the Fabulous Face cleanser which is gently cleansing my dehydrated face, waking me up every day with its scent of bergamot and rosemary. You wouldn’t think an olive oil cleanser could feel this yummy, but it does, and it doesn’t cause breakouts either (which some oil cleansers are prone to do).

This particular gift set comes with five beautiful full size products nestled within – the cleanser, the Tea Tree Leaf Facial scrub which when mixed with the cleanser is a wonderful exfoliant, the Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque that’s an amazing treat when your skin feels congested and comes with French clay (fancy) and Vitamin E, the B & Tea Balancing Toner which I’ve blogged about before as it gives you that lovely super clean feeling (nice when it’s hot!). Last but by no means least, the Mandarin Facial Hydrating Cream, which is happily nestled on my bedside table, my current standby night cream. All the products have been specifically selected for a warm climate, so it was a welcome addition to my skincare arsenal.

But can I talk about the box again for a minute? This is what has me sold on this set – all my decanted foundations are stacked, perfectly aligned within its sleek black walls, and it zips up at the top so it can just be lifted out of my bag for instant access at work. It’s ace. Like everything from Aesop it is practical, beautiful and luxurious – in a word, classy. And now I can now carry Aesop with me wherever my makeup takes me.

For Christmas this year Aesop have six different sets named after the streets where their shops are internationally, all with a different selection of products to suit every skin and every budget. And I think you’ll know you’ve been very good this year if you find Aesop in your stocking.

The Aesop Christmas sets are on-counter now. For more information, visit www.aesop.net.au