Dick Page: Beauty hero

The first time I interviewed makeup artist Dick Page was in 2004. I had sent emails to him asking for a phone interview and assumed they had just gone into a black hole where requests from Canadian editors went to die. But while working late one night, my phone rang. When I answered, the voice on the other end announced, “Hi Lesa, it’s Dick Page” and I managed to not fall out of my chair. Hearing him describe makeup inspirations and applications was unlike anything I’d ever encountered; it was poetic. I even put my head down on my desk afterwards, the experience was so enthralling. (I’m a dork. So be it).

A few weeks ago at New York Fashion Week, I finally came face to face with the man. As I entered the backstage area, I saw him directing his team on the look for United Bamboo. I will fully admit that I felt a tiny, suppressed shriek escape at the mere sight of his presence. As he explained the “super simple monochrome look” he was doing to the model before me, I clung to his words like precious baubles. Maybe it’s heightened by his English accent, but everything he said just sounded so soothingly picturesque. For example, when describing his lipstick application technique—he used a new one he’s developed for Shiseido called Perfect Rouge Glowing Matte—he said, “See I’m just sketching it on. It gives it a little bit of structure and tone, but it’s not a fully painted mouth.” Listening to his words juxtaposed with his delicate painterly touch, I felt like I was in a beauty-induced trance. When I shook it off, I then morphed into a stalker, waiting for the right moment to ask for a photo. I know, I know, it’s highly embarrassing, and I nearly aborted the mission ten times in the span of five minutes. But it was one of those moments you have to seize.

Click the images below to see Dick Page at work.

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