The beauty world's reigning trendsetter shares her secrets to beauty success.
Pagination
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While other little girls were busy dressing up their Barbies, British makeup artist Pat McGrath was making toys out of tubes of lipstick. “My mom was traumatized whenever the Avon lady came around because I would cry when she left,” she recalls. “I was mad for the testers she had, the minis — I was obsessed.” A few decades later, beauty editors and fashion designers worship at her altar. As the woman behind each season’s new take on the smoky eye or statement lip, McGrath creates the trends that trickle down from runway to beauty boutique. She conjures up new ideas for more than 100 shows a year, and this creative force is what made CoverGirl sign her as its global creative design director and why brands like Giorgio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana have enlisted her help in developing their makeup lines. “I’m addicted to fashion and makeup, so, in a way, it’s easy for me,” she says. “I’m inspired by what I see.”
As she circles the globe for work, McGrath collects local items like fabrics and tools and carries them around in duffle bags in anticipation of a “lightbulb moment” for a new product or colour. Take the 28 pairs of false lashes she bought in Las Vegas, for example: She kept them for two years before using them to complement the feline prints in Miu Miu’s spring/summer 2010 collection. Despite her status in the beauty world, McGrath wears minimal makeup, if any. “I think [beauty] comes from within,” she says, “and makeup is a little extra on top.”
Pat’s It list
Hotel “The Ritz in Paris and the Dorchester in London.”
Restaurant “Scott’s and China Tang in London and the Waverly Inn in New York.”
Travel must-haves “My iPod, CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara, This Works oils and vitamins.”
Vacation spot “Formentera, a small island off Ibiza, Spain.”
Band “La Roux.”
Films “All About Eve and Now, Voyager.”
Skin Rx “I use SK-II masks.”
In her words ... Pat on old Hollywood and her beauty and fashion obsession on the next page ...
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