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tips & tricks
Must-have makeup, skincare, hair help and the best new body buys…
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beauty master class: Aaeon De May
IN THE BEGINNING
We are sitting in a sublime Parisian apartment in a room decorated with trinkets that inspire Kiwi make-up artist Aaron De Mey. Growing up in Tauranga, New Zealand, De Mey studied art at the Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland before heading to Manhattan in 1998. “I landed in New York and worked on my first job with Naomi Campbell,” he says modestly. “My agent said, ‘If it works and she likes you we will sign you.’ She did, they did and I never looked back.” In addition to his new role at Lancôme, De Mey is also the creative make-up director for Comme des Garçons, Dior Homme and Givenchy Homme. As such, he has become the darling of such luminaries as Carine Roitfeld, editor-in-chief of French Vogue, and photographers Craig McDean, Bruce Weber and Mario Sorrenti. On fashion shoots, he is given carte blanche to work his magic – “that is an unwritten rule” – which is hardly surprising as De Mey is completely beguiling, a little bit punk angel and a lot creative genius.
BEAUTY RULES
“I feel that as soon as people have rules, there are limitations. It’s nice to have guidelines and instructions, but as with any way of life, with make-up, with any career, as soon as there are rules and limitations people are afraid to experiment and nothing new can be created outside of that. It’s when rules are broken and barriers taken down that newness is created and that’s what interests me.”
DREAM PRODUCTS
“Every woman needs the perfect red lipstick and dramatic eye make-up. I’m also working on the ultimate concealer and brush.”
LIFE MOTTO
“Surprise is everything that I’m about. My objective in life is to create surprise.”
BEAUTY PERFECTION
Aaron is a Libran and a “perfectionist” who breaks things down into colours and textures. “Everything goes into small make-up bags that are clearly labelled. There’s a bag for luminous skin, a bag for tanned skin, one for natural styles ... Everything fits into two black suitcases. I can’t live without mascara and concealer. You can create anything with these. With concealer, you can correct the skin very gently. With mascara, you can open and define the eye. From these two things, everything else grows,” he says.
“I prefer to use a mix of brushes and fingers. The fingers give a warmth and help melt the product into the skin and blend more seamlessly. A brush can be exact and I’m brush obsessed. This is one of the reasons I visited Tokyo with the Lancôme team. I wanted to see the brush masters and their techniques.”
WOMEN WHO INSPIRE HIM
Models Lily Donaldson, Daria Werbowy and Kate Moss; designer Rei Kawabuko; singer Courtney Love and actors Chloë Sevigny, Meryl Streep and Charlotte Rampling.
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