Direct speech: make-up artists - about modern beauty

LIN DENOYE M.A.C Paris

There is a long-standing relationship between fashion and makeup. When we are preparing a show, we work together with designers, and it’s very important for us to tell a good story. Designers always have a fairly clear, specific image of what they want to show, and as soon as the model goes to the podium, the viewer should instantly read this thought.

The basic principle of makeup - if we have a lot of it in our eyes, then it will be less on the lips - it works in the relationship between fashion and make-up. If we have very, very bright, noticeable clothes, then we will most likely choose only one detail in the make-up, which we will make in color. And vice versa. That is, one part of the image indicates the other lack of any accents.

If we talk about the relationship of fashion and the situation in the economy, then minimalism now plays a big role. Women have a different attitude to shopping. Many fashion houses are returning to their classic models, as women want to spend money on something that will last a long time. This trend has lasted two or three seasons. And it also reflected on make-up. Women don't just want to look beautiful. In one motion, they want to create a rather expressive image that does not necessarily consist of a multitude of elements. Such an aspect as speed is important, and at the same time you need to create something that will have a strong effect. Therefore, as I believe, textures now play a special role. They seem to reflect what we see, create the effect of expensive leather: we wear all this royal silk or wool, because we want to invest in something that will have value, and at the same time we do not strive more for flashy luxury.

Neon colors, of which there are so many in spring both in clothes and in make-up, are also minimalism. We call this trend ready-to-wear beauty, we have seen it over the past three seasons. These are the images that we see and say: yes, I can reproduce it or adopt some elements. The same story in fashion that has never been so desirable: we see something and immediately understand how it works! Now the aspect of immediate acquisition is strong - “I want it now,” and the makeup goes along a similar path.

GORDON ESPINE M.A.C New York

I was always inspired by old movies. My most favorite, most beautiful woman is Audrey Hepburn. I can endlessly revise the “Funny Face” and “Breakfast at Tiffany's”, although “Lovely Face” I love most. There Audrey plays a model, and Fred Aster plays Richard Avedon. In the 70s there was a film called The Eyes of Laura Mars, Faye Dunaway plays in it, it’s something like a horror film: the heroine sees the world through the eyes of a murderer before he commits a crime. She sees how he does it, but does not know who the killer is. Real people from the world of fashion, real designers and a very famous makeup artist of the time - Joey Mills are filmed there. I was 15 when the film came out, and I immediately thought - I want to work in this world! Makeup, clothes in the movie are fantastic. They were not made up - they were real. So fashionable references to cinema inspire me incredibly.

It's funny that when we think of classic beauties, we keep in mind the images of Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren. Yes, there is Faye Dunaway and Kim Basinger, but their images do not have that power. I think the thing is in women who rewrote some canons. For example, before Audrey Hepburn beauty was never thin with a long neck. For her time, Audrey looked rather strange, if not ugly. But she showed that the idea of beauty can not be to be cute, or sexy, or just pretty, but to be elegant, special, to bear her own definition of what beauty should be.

It seems to me that we always somehow draw inspiration from the past. But even when we are inspired by the past, in the present it is still changing, adapting to the needs of today. If you remember what kind of makeup was worn before - well, no one will do that now! Then the foundation lay on the face like a pancake. It looked pretty scary. We now have other needs and other products. When I first started working as a makeup artist, the quality of the products that were available to us was more or less the same, only the colors changed a little. And only in the last twenty years, make-up really began to improve. Basics give a glowing effect all day, not the first 10 minutes after application. The mascara lays down in a thick shiny layer, but does not appear under the eyes in an hour. Now you draw a line with an age pencil, and it stays in its place until you wash it off. So, no matter how we poeticize the past, we are not trying to live in it.

TERRY BARBER M.A.C London

I am inspired by subcultures and music. I grew up in London in the times of neo-romanticism, and the same David Bowie influenced me greatly. It seems to me that the signs of that time penetrated the concept of beauty and influence fashion: pay attention to how often designers make girls look like Bowie. Music and fashion always went hand in hand, and beauty was also influenced by music. Take, for example, Debbie Harry - a huge impact on the beauty industry! This idea of a very rock and roll beauty - Kate Moss has been exploiting her for many years - a black pencil around her eyes, full lips.

Makeup is also an accessory. It can be treated like shoes: different shoes create a different mood. If a woman is dressed in all black and, for example, paints her lips in neon-orange, then a certain intrigue appears in the image. Now, when a woman wears red lips on her unpainted face, it makes the image more youthful, more rebellious, because if you make red lips and a lot of makeup on your eyes, you will look older, the image will become traditional.

It seems to me that the latest trends in make-up, which we formulated them, are the characteristics of modern women. There is a nude woman who does not want the make-up to look like a make-up, she wants to look well-groomed, so she uses all sorts of invisible products. There is a classic woman who has the power, the power. Such a woman, on the contrary, tends to the sexual image, paints her eyes. It is not a matter of trends, but of your character, of how you want to be today, with what images to play.