Makeup Beat

OK I know she stars on Gossip Girl. I’m just a bit surprised Vogue would give her a cover. Desperate for a younger reader I guess. Feb. Vogue US by Mario Testino.

“Oh, Miss Scarlett! Johansson turns up the heat a la Marilyn Monroe in a new ad campaign for Dolce & Gabbana – nearly a year after alleged rival Lindsay Lohan imitated the icon in New York magazine.” But this version is so much better.

I’ve featured the work of Kabuki on Makeup Beat many times. He is one of the most innovative makeup artists around. Kabuki adds texture and demention to his work by adding varies appliances to the face and is a genius with unusual color combinations.
A true cosmetic visionary, Kabuki is a man after my own heart. Having developed his talent by turning himself into the wildest fantasy creations as a former New York Club Kid of the 90’s (for me it was painting myself during The Cockette heyday in San Francisco). Then photographers like Steven Klein and Peter Lindbergh called asking him to create his magic for their photos in the magazines VOGUE, W, and PAPER.

These days KabukiMagic is the inspiration for top cosmetic companies NARS, MAC, and L’OREAL. And for celebs like MADONNA, KYLIE MINOQUE, GWEN STEFANI as well as designers DOLCE/GABBANA and KARL LAGERFELD.


Being a true artist (his work appears in galleries) Kabuki utilizes every thing but
the kitchen sink in his quest for originality. Also you may have seen his work on the television show’s SEX IN THE CITY, UGLY BETTY, and the film PARTY MONSTER.
And now you can learn from the master himself…

“Edward Steichen: In High Fashion features the finest examples of his fashion and celebrity portraiture made for Vogue and Vanity Fair. Much of the exhibition is drawn from the Steichen Archive at Condé Nast, which contains more than two thousand original vintage prints. A select group of prints from the George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester will be shown only at ICP. Some of the images in the exhibition are well-known, iconic images in various histories of photography. Never before, however, have more than a modest selection of these prints been exhibited or published.”

1-16-09 thru 5-3-09 @ I.C.P. MUSEUM | 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 | Phone 212.857.0000

From my 1986 Elite Model-Fuji Film calendar project that I created the concepts for each month, cast the models and fashion stylists plus did all the hair and makeup for photographer Douglas Dubler. Dalma as my ‘Witch of Love’ for Feb. was one of my favorites. I wanted this makeup to be a homage to my hero Serge Lutens.
Little did I know it would become a collectors item. Ha!

My friends Billy Boy* and Lala of Foundation Tanagra are having a launch party Jan 30 in Switzerland. Go to his MySpace.

I first fell in love with Jill’s videos of her Mother Lola Rose on You Tube. Then I learned of her hilarious book. Buy it on Amazon.

Eva Voorhis was from California and I did her makeup and hair for some of her first photo tests in the late 70s. She has very thick curly hair and I was one of the first hairstylists to tackle the task of blow-drying it straight.
I knew Eva was a great beauty and was proven correct when she traveled to New York City and was very soon on Vogue covers around the world and featured in Revlon cosmetic ads. I wonder what ever happened to her?

Trial by fire?

Work it Janice! On the Oxygen network.