It’s not often that you get to chat with a celebrity makeup artist so when I had the chance to talk to Mary Greenwell I was sure to make the most of it. We talked tips, trends and top models. Quite the pioneer, Mary built her career by creating looks that graced Paris runways and Vogue covers throughout the 80′s. She worked with The Supers such as Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell paving the way for makeup artistry as we know it today. One of Mary‘s most iconic clients was the late Princess Diana, adored for her timeless look. Lately, Mary is Chanel‘s makeup ambassador and has expanded her talents into fragrance with Lemon, available at BeautyMART being her latest fragrance.

The Beginning - I didn’t necessarily have a defining moment, but I was offered a job in Fiorucci in LA at the Il Makiage counter. Fiorucci was a trendy department store in the 70′s disco era. Then I was given the opportunity to train as a makeup artist for them in New York with the founder, Ilana Harkavi. She took me under her wing and I worked in New York for the next 3-4 years. I was given the gift of makeup, and they really trusted me even when I didn’t trust my own ability. I didn’t even wear makeup so it was fantastic when someone sees something in you when you’re young and insecure. When you’re given something, take it; it’s important to take the opportunities given to you.

On Working With Princess Diana - Working with Princess Diana was a huge experience. To be her trusted makeup artist was a big compliment as she was such a loved and wonderful woman. She was amazing, sweet, very lovely and she had beautiful skin.

On Her Fragrances - At a time where I wanted to move forward I thought ‘do I create makeup and just another eyeliner or do I do something positive?’ I don’t feel dressed without perfume and I find it to be much more individual and revealing of me. Fragrance gives such pleasure, you spray something and it’s dreamy, it’s like your world within a fragrance. It may evoke something in you like the past, your mother, a friend or a particular event in your life. I worked with world renowned perfumer Francois Robert, he’s my ‘nose’. I can’t pretend to go into a workshop and know what to do, so I trusted Francois to create my vision. I would tell him my ideas and he’d create what I wanted but there was tweaking by adding a bit of this and taking away that. I chose the name first before creating the fragrance. I just loved the word Plum, it’s quintessentially English. Plum connotes delicious, warm, cozy, fruity and sweet whereas Lemon is the opposite – zesty, outdoorsy and it’s quite unisex too. Lemon is the perfect compliment to Plum.

The Dream Clients - It would be my good friends Cate Blanchett and Uma Thurman. But I would loved to have work with Marilyn Monroe, I love her vulnerability and that she looked like the everyday woman out there but also drop dead beautiful.

In Mary’s Kit - I’m privileged to have the best products in my kit from the likes of YSL, Chanel and more. As makeup artists we schlep heavy kits around with us, but there are always the ones we trust to use in the dark just like an artist has their favourite oils and paints. For me I can always rely on under-eye concealer, the usual concealer, reflecting foundation or BB cream, eye shadow quads from Tom Ford and Dior and eyeliner whether it’s pencil or liquid.

You don’t need much to create a great look, you only need around 10 products. You have your basics that you need (as mentioned above) then you have products like shimmer for effect, the products in trend such as orange lipstick and blue eyeliner. It just depends on what look you’re going for. Also work to your budget – I recommend spending more money on your skincare, foundation and concealer but for products like blush and eyeliner there are some great affordable brands like Bourjois.

The Trends - I absolutely love the no mascara look, if you’re young enough it would look great. Colour too, colour has become important again and it’s all luscious, rich and looks a part of your skin instead of sitting on it, touching and blending has done this. Green eyes and bright lips, they’re of the moment with divine reds and oranges.

The One - Lipstick – anything in the berry family. Creme In Your Coffee by MAC is is the staple in my life, I never run out of it. It’s not very trendy or of the moment but it’s a timeless berry that you can wear all year round.

Mary’s Advice - There are no shortcuts so it’s all about hard work. My assistants have always practiced and never given up but expected hard work. Freelance is not easy, you will not make a lot of money at first so be prepared to be broke. Go to agencies and ask to assist, also try to get on the assisting lists for different makeup artists. There wasn’t an industry when I first started, but eventually makeup artists like Laura Mercier and Kevyn Aucoin paved the way. We came along with the supermodels in the 80′s and that’s when the career as we know it started.

In this installment of The Beauty Business, I bring you Bassam Fattouh. If you’re a beauty obsessive living in the Middle East or love music artists like Elissa, Najwa Karam and Haifa Wehbe, you’d know all about Bassam, he’s arguably the best makeup artist in the region! He’s behind the much sought after dramatic eye makeup that Haifa Wehbe is known to sport so I just had to have a talk with him about his career, what’s in his beauty kit, advice for aspiring makeup artists and his cosmetics line, Bassam Fattouh Cosmetics which is available across the Middle East.

1. How did you get into beauty? Was there a particular defining moment that led you to become a makeup artist?  Well ever since an early age, I had the love of art in all its aspects: the glamour and the attention to details, especially in decoration, fashion, colors and all forms of creativity. It only takes a fraction of a second when you have such a passion to know what path to follow and as you can tell I choose make-up.
2. You’ve made up the faces of the Arab worlds biggest stars including Haifa Wehbe and Elissa, how can budding makeup artists get themselves out there and work with big names? To be perfectly honest, my intention was never to one day be a make-up artist for the stars or seek the big names to do make-up for, as for me the true star is the make-up itself! The starts were never my target but following my passion which was the make-up and its colors, to play with the various colors and draw art with them. As for up-and-coming make-up artists, well they should always be innovative, have the tendency to be creative, be inspired but never imitate and follow their passion.
3. You have your own cosmetics brand available in Lebanon, what was it like creating a cosmetics brand and were there any challenges along the way? Not just Lebanon but throughout the Middle East and Gulf region (UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, etc). To me it was a dream come true. I have always envisioned myself as a brand name and thank God through my perseverance I made it happen. Of course there were challenges creating the brand by itself was a challenge! Now the challenge is continuing with the unimaginable success we have encountered.
4. What has your biggest career achievement been so far? Simply my make-up line
5. Out of anyone in the world, who would your dream client be and what look would you create for them? I’d personally love to do Kerry Washington’s makeup! One time I was interviewed and questioned about this issue, where I said that I have what I believe is an autoreflex reaction of correction i.e. when I see a woman’s face I directly spot what needs to be done and have a vision of what the outcome would be. So for me every single woman is a star and a client from celebrities who inspire me are Scarlett Johansson, Megan Fox and there is a particular model I like, Miranda Kerr.
6. Any cult favourites in your beauty kit? Just give me the Bassam Fattouh brushes and I will do wonders with them. Investing in good brushes is very important.
7. Which one beauty product does every woman need to have in her makeup bag? It depends on relativity. To be perfectly honest it is very relative depending on many factors such as a woman’s complexion, what would give her a better look, etc. For some it is the mascara, others it’s concealer or powder. But if I had to name one item, I would say lipstick because it could act like a face lift
8. The Middle East is famous for its hot weather, do you have any tips on keeping makeup fresh in the heat? For the eyes avoid oily and creamy eyeshadows. For the skin, use oil-free primer, and use loose powder over foundation to take off the excess grease.
9. Everyone loves Haifa Wehbe’s makeup! What’s the trick and how can we recreate her look at home? No doubt her look of smokey eyes and oriental twist is iconic. You can use kajal pencil to draw the eyes, then smudge it to have a defused shade. Add a grey satin-finish eyshadow (not black), then smudge it well and according to the eye shape. After that use eyeliner then mascara and there you go!
10. What’s in store for Bassam Fattouh in the future? For the near future, wow we have many new innovative launches to come for my cosmetic line such as a BB cream, sheer lipstick, super special eye glow base and much much more. As for in general, I’m looking for the Bassam Fattouh brand to go to the global market.