What are your earliest memories of makeup? You’re well known for your work with the original supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington among others. Of the original group of supers, who did you connect with the most and why? Who do you find the most inspiring right now? Your makeup line has become so popular that you’ve become a household name and yet the brand has retained its cool cred. How do you strike a balance between the two? Over the years you’ve created some huge cult hits, namely the color Orgasm. Are you ever surprised by which colors take off and which ones don’t perform as well? You came out of retirement to do the Marc Jacobs autumn ‘09 show. How had things changed in the world of fashion shows from when you were a fixture backstage?
The Caron powder my grandmother used in France. It had a wonderful fragrance and an amazing finish. I used to love kissing her. I remember that feeling very well. And my mother gave me the appreciation for beauty. Every month, she would buy French Vogue and I would spend hours poring over the pictures and recreating the makeup looks.
That’s a tough question. I loved working with all of them, especially Linda Evangelista. She was obsessed with makeup. We would spend two hours plucking her eyebrows! She really understood and got into the persona of what we were trying to achieve. I also loved Naomi and am still very close with her. She is such an iconic beauty and has not aged one bit since I first met her. I could do her makeup with my eyes closed.
Daphne Guinness. She inspires me to do so many things! She is the next model for the Nars fall/holiday 2010 campaign. She is the Nars woman, very creative, elegant and so high society–so very decadent with a British background. She was so much fun to photograph for the 15X15 Project and for the campaign. She is a living piece of art.
We are not afraid to be a bit different, to make shades that are bold. We don’t tell women how to look, but give them the shades, products and inspiration they need to feel and look beautiful. It’s a good feeling. I’m proud that Nars has helped give women the confidence to express themselves.
With Orgasm, I always felt that buying a blush was a good way to actually get an orgasm. So why not? And I guess women got the message. I follow my instinct and create colors that I love. There is always a doubt when you put a product on the market. Will it sell? But, I try not to worry and think about that aspect too much because I think when you believe in what you do, you can only succeed.
Over the years I think that fashion has become a media frenzy, it is constantly under projectors. Now, most shows are televised and the backstage area is captured by camera crews. So you have to concentrate twice as hard as before to work and have fun.
I’ll be in New York City. I don’t have any specific plans except spending time with family and friends.
