The look is soft, feminine and a little bit cheeky. Jessica Stam harkens back to yesteryear in this shoot by Steven Meisel. She is a woman who revels in her femininity, with that fiery spirit bubbling just below the surface. Pairing today’s trends with a clear nod to the 1930’s, the palette is smoky shades of violet, tarte pinches of peach, cherub cheeks, and finishing with a deep earthy putty. The trick to mastering this look is blending … place the colors, and then with a clean brush retrace your steps while softening the edges to a feathery finish.
This look, rich in history, left me daydreaming about the past this week. I got to thinking, how is it that we all began our love affair with makeup? I remember watching my grandmother thoughtfully applying each step of her cosmetic’s process like it was her morning meditation. I would dig through her stash of products like they were hidden treasure, and clumsily paste the colors to my face with child-sized fingers. After studying her old modeling portfolio, her FORD book of model beauty, and the piles of fashion magazines laying around her house I got better and better as time moved on.
I shared this question with my facebook friends, and here is what they said:
Jannelle Althoff: I still don’t know how to do makeup – is that bad? I figured out mascara the hard way… Wore too much the first time in junior high and some boy teased me saying had spider legs on my eye lids. Ha! my mom never wore make up when I was growing up, otherwise I think I would have learned from sneaking into her goods 🙂
Alx Nixon: One product at a time, mascara, eyeliner, etc. trial and error. As I got the basics down I got more experimental.
Heathyrre Kautz: As a kid…learning by copying the magazines like many others stated, then getting crazy and experimenting. After that…working for brands like Lancome and MAC taught me most of what I know today. But I think experimenting is always key. 🙂
Christen Bakken: still don’t know how to do makeup, but I watch tips on tv…
Stephanie Allen Klasse: In front of my mirror with a Vogue at my side. It’s been a process since the age of twelve or so.
Samantha Bowers Koch: ‎Magazines, trying to copy TV, and looking at my mom for what NOT to do 😉 … Going to cosmetology school was a big learning piece for me, as well. Now, it’s just a matter of getting something out of every experience – and taking classes is my next goal.
Tina Kristoffy: I learned it the same way as Stephanie said, in front of my mirror, about the age of 13 or 14, but it was Cosmo that I was always looking at. My mother never really wore much makeup, and I always did and do, a complete face (and then some,… lol). Being a makeup artist is the best!!! I do attend a Iredale University class here and there when I can 🙂
…your work is AMAZING!
Ron Lopez: watching my Aunt.
