makeup as an art
A client and I were chatting the other day about Vincent Longo, whom she didn’t realize was still in business. It turns out she’d taken an art history class with him in Italy nearly ten years ago. He went by a pseudonym until the end of class, when he revealed his identity. This client hadn’t known of his line until that moment, but his complete focus on the art, on learning to see old things in new ways really opened her eyes to a broader perspective on makeup artistry.
We live in a time where anyone with a wifi connection and a YouTube account can make a video about contouring and call herself a makeup artist. But it’s so cool to see how the drive, passion, talent–and that special je ne sais quoi that so often accompanies genius–of a few individuals can really take makeup and artistry to a whole other level. Consider the late Kevyn Aucoin and his utter brilliance: a huge percentage of professional makeup artists today will cite his work as at least part of why they decided to pursue this career. I remember sitting in the chair at the hairdresser’s, waiting for my mom to finish getting her hair done, and reading Making Faces. He was such an absurdly talented man, and it’s a shame he’s not been able to see how his eponymous line has flourished. Vincent Longo, Bobbi Brown, Charlotte Tilbury…the list of lines that started with a single artist’s talent goes on.
Even take the work of artists whose names aren’t as well-known, like Dick Page, for instance. You might not know his name, but he’s the artistic director for Shiseido, and the hand behind countless style shoots. Or Hung Vanngo, whose Instagram is alive with face after celebrity face (think: a whole bunch of today’s biggest models and starlets)–there’s so much talent in this industry.
The next time you pop in to restock your goodies, take a beat to appreciate just how much thought has gone into each product. It’s truly inspiring!
