On who’s idea that purple lip was…
“She’s a little tanned right now, so we wanted to play up a glowing radiance, post-sun look, but the purple lip was Joan’s idea. For me, it was really about finding the texture, because she didn’t want anything glossy. We mixed colors together and got really creative. She saw the lip on Instagram. She follows beauty addicts and we compared makeup war stories and found the perfect purple that wasn’t too burgundy and wasn’t too, you know, cheap-looking.”
On sipping Pinot Grigio with Vera Wang and just how he got Joan looking like, well, *that*...
“I used a sheer wash of color for the skin. I really wanted to manipulate her foundation on top of wet skin, so we used moisturizer and while the moisturizer was wet, we brushed a little bit of foundation on. I gave her a smoky eye with a taupe shadow, so it was almost like invisible smoke—you don’t really see any color, but it does give that carved out definition. After that we used mascara and individual lashes—she wanted big bright eyes, so we gave her individuals on the top and a couple on the bottom as well. And then tons of mascara. It was more or less all about mascara, bronzer and highlighter. I highlighted the cheekbone and there was a little bit of a brow highlight to give some structure. We used the bronzer at the bottom of her cheeks [to give definition]. And the lips, the lips were purple! It all took us about 45 minutes. We hung out, had some wine with Vera and then got her out the door.”
On everyone’s purple lip opinions ('cause you know there are going to be a lot of them)…
“Joan was very happy. With the lip, we wanted to touch up all night, but bags are so small these days—she could only fit her phone or her lipstick, so I was like, ‘You’ve got to take your lipstick.’ Vera was shocked to see the purple when she walked in the door. I think she kind of wanted it for herself!”
On why he loves working with Queen Joan (we think she deserves the title, okay?)…
“The highlight of the evening for me was shop talk! Joan is like my sister. When we see each other, it’s always good to catch up and talk about where we are and our lives and love and stuff like that.”