Once every six months, (summer and fall) my friend Sarah and I venture to Barney’s in Beverly Hills to work with the top New York runway makeup artists from Nars Cosmetics.
Dalbert, the sweet counter manager in Barney’s calls us and sets it up.
It’s always the debut of their fall or spring line, and they go all out to promote it.
When we walk out of Barney’s we usually have a huge bag of what we bought and almost the same amount of promotional items. Dalbert always takes care of us.
We start off in the morning with breakfast or brunch at Barney’s Greengrass, with Sarah having a split of Chandon and me, a Grey Goose Citron Martini – up, very chilled with two olives and a twist of lemon.
Last time we were there, it was celebrity heaven (or hell, depending upon how you see it). Joan and Melissa Rivers and her baby; Raquel Welch, still looking amazing (I wonder who helps her maintain her youthful beauty?), and other vaguely familiar Hollywood types.
I once ran into Billy Crystal, and thought I went to high school with him, so I asked him. A little embarrassing, but still pretty fun.
Once satiated, we head on down to the first floor and land at the Nars counter, where Dalbert gives us a great big hug, and introduced us to his make-up artist associates.
We dig in with James Boehmer, Director of Global Artistry for Nars, aka really, really good make-up artist.
We first started with a cleanser, followed by a toner, followed by a brightener, followed by a light moisturizer, followed by eye cream, followed by a tinted moisturizer, followed by a foundation, followed by blush, followed by powder. Whew!
With all that stuff on my face, I started to get a hot flash. But I looked good! I was informed that I now had a wonderful clean slate to start to create my summer look.
To start? OMG.
We moved on to the color part of the lesson, starting with the eyes. We tried “Bombshell,” “Party Monster,” “High Society,” “D Gorgeous,” “Night Life,” “Pearl Beach,” and others.
I chose a dual shadow called “Kuala Lumpur.” Safe name.
Moving on to the lips: we tried on a variety of colors and textures, including “New Lover,” “Manhunt,” “Sexual Healing,” “Easy Lover,” “Misbehave,” “Pillow Talk,” “Scandal,” “Striptease,” “Triple X,” and others.
I am going to apply for a job as a lipstick-namer. What a hoot! And the colors are awesome. I chose “New Lover.”
Blush was last. I had a choice of “Seduction,” “Orgasm,” “Desire,” or “Deep Throat.” Deep Throat? Really? Yes really – the color was gorgeous. My first choice. I’d rather have a Deep Throat blush than anything else in that “category.”
Before I left, I had to get a few favorites from the Orgasm Collection. Must-haves for me are the Orgasm blush, Orgasm lip gloss, and the Orgasm Illuminator. They say it gives you that “afterglow” we all naturally seek. Sounds good to me!
My makeover cost me close to $300 (okay – a little bit more) for all the products that I chose, but walking out, I looked 10 years younger!
Well worth the experience. And it’s only twice a year. Thanks Dalber and James, for making us look and feel beautiful. See you in September!
Barbara Bishop is President of Santa Monica-based BBPR, Inc. For comments, suggestions, email Barbara.bishop@bbprinc.com.
