Nina Westervelt

Achieving the new natural look requires a specific arsenal of nearly-there makeup. A primer on minimalism.

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Does anyone remember Way Bandy? It’s been more than three decades since the publication of his best-selling book, “Designing Your Face,” and more than two decades since he died in 1986 at age 45. Bandy, who, from the early 1970s on, worked on the faces of models and celebrities — everyone from Cheryl Tiegs to Cher — was the first maestro of maquillage. In an age before Pat McGrath and Bobbi Brown, before the invention of the superstar makeup artist (Kevyn Aucoin worshiped him), Bandy was paid thousands an hour and flown far and wide for his skills with applying pigment. He did so in such a way that the personality of the woman was felt to come through, enhanced by his touch — although he was also known for his ability to transform a woman’s face entirely, when the occasion called for it. Read on …

Video: The No Makeup Makeup Look • The makeup artist Tina Turnbow gives a tutorial on how to create the sophisticated, minimalist look of the season. See entire list of cosmetics and tools here.



To this day I cannot look in the mirror to apply makeup without thinking of the detailed, almost scientific directives that filled his book — as fascinating to read as they were impossible to reproduce. In my memory, foundation alone required mixing together four or five ingredients. Recently I ordered a ravaged, out-of-print copy of his book, just to see if I was exaggerating Bandy’s techniques. There, sure enough, were the simple black-and-white line drawings by Bandy, just as I recalled them; there, too, were the baroque recipes for combining “nickel”- and “pea”-size amounts of different liquids and lotions to create foundation, and “three tiny dabs” of different colors to create the right shade of lipstick. What I hadn’t remembered, though, and which I came upon with surprise, was this piece of advice tucked away in Bandy’s introduction: “The face designs given here are timeless and ageless. . . . Use as many or as few of these cosmetic techniques as you feel comfortable with. Generally speaking, as one gets older, less is more.”

Less is more? Here I had been thinking of Bandy as a creator of intricately painted, precisely contoured visages, the opposite of what I considered to be the relatively recent push toward a new minimalism in makeup, exemplified by the sort of glowing, nearly-bare faces one saw coming down the runway at the spring fashion shows of designers like Jil Sander, Isabel Marant, Stella McCartney and Proenza Schouler. Clearly, minimalism — of a sophisticated, sleight-of-hand sort — has always been around as an option, just as exaggerated makeup has always been part of the fashion story. Sandy Linter, a makeup artist for Lancôme who did her first Vogue cover in 1974 and appears to carry around a visual archive of cosmetic trends in her head, remembers 1988-89 as a “nothing look,” adding, “I had to survive that.” She also recalls Aucoin doing a “minimalist look” on Demi Moore in the mid-’80s, which instantly became “hot.”



Still Lifes: Stan Wan; Balmain: Nina Westervelt



Both styles of makeup have always existed side by side, but what seems different right now is that, set against the heavily made-up faces of reality-TV stars like Kim Kardashian and actresses like Jennifer Lopez, a more nude face seems like something of a rediscovery, a return to an off-camera, everyday realism. This is partly due to advances in cosmetic formulations, as Tina Turnbow, a makeup artist known for her understated approach, points out: “The technology has evolved so you can achieve a seemingly flawless complexion using less makeup or undetectable makeup. I don’t want to see shading and striping in person.” She adds that “having good skin and skin-care products is more important and desirable than piling on makeup.” Terry de Gunzburg, the founder of By Terry, a high-end line of skin care and cosmetics that feature light-reflecting ingredients, agrees: “You cannot ask the average woman to be a makeup artist every day of her life. The products have to compensate for nonability.”

Of course, there will always be women who want to use makeup as camouflage or, as de Gunzburg wryly puts it, as “a contemporary art installation.” De Gunzburg, who has thought long and hard about the business of beauty — first as the creative director of YSL Beauté for 15 years, where she dreamed up its iconic Touche Éclat, among other products, and then as head of her own company — has decided views regarding the future of cosmetics. Talking by phone from London, which she calls home along with Paris, de Gunzburg is at pains to describe what she sees as “the colorless makeup, no-foundation foundation” trend that defines the new minimalism. Although she characterizes the look as effortless, she points out that, in fact, it requires a certain amount of work and, perhaps most important, the right products to emphasize color correction. De Gunzburg believes, for one thing, that American women use too much coverage, favoring “yellow foundation,” which “makes you look old.” Instead she advises, as do many makeup mavens, that women opt for some sort of tinted moisturizer; she recommends her own Hyaluronic Face Glow, which is hydrating while providing a sheer matte finish. (Linter’s go-to is Lancôme’s Rénergie Éclat Multi-Lift, while Turnbow’s is Chantecaille’s Just Skin tinted moisturizer.)

But wait, you must be thinking, what about the all-important primer we’ve been reading so much about these past few years, outdone of late only by the folderol over “BB creams” (all-in-one balms that provide primer, moisturizer, sunblock and coverage)? Turns out that Linter doesn’t much believe in primers: “I don’t see it and I like stuff I can see. I use it more for problem skins.” Turnbow, who does, favors Laura Mercier’s Radiance.



Still Lifes: Stan Wan; Bottega Veneta: Go Runway



Once you’ve got your base down, be it a tinted moisturizer or a more substantial foundation applied sparingly, the checklist is fairly unintimidating: concealer, to be applied only where needed after foundation, when you’re less likely to overdo it. (Although I consider myself relatively makeup-savvy, I tend to get this step wrong. Just the other day I merrily told a friend who called me with two new concealers on hand and the urgent question of which to put on first, foundation or concealer, that she should begin with concealer.) I’ve found that By Terry’s Touche Veloutée concealer works well at banishing shadows, although Clé de Peau Beauté’s concealer is forever being cited on lists of favorite beauty products.

After this, the only essentials are mascara; chocolate-brown liner, which is less harsh than black; a smidgen of blush (Linter likes Kevyn Aucoin’s cream blush while Turnbow recommends Maybelline’s Dream Bouncy powdery cream); and a crowning dab of lipstick. (It turns out that blush isn’t mandatory, although most of us think it is. Only certain faces have the structure to benefit from blush. Women with round faces can often go without.)

You were wondering, perhaps, about lip liner? While you weren’t looking, this once-ubiquitous item appears to have been consigned to the dust bin of cosmetic history. Linter declares categorically that it “went out of fashion because it was so abused.” (Tom Ford, let it be noted, refuses to include a lip liner in his line.) De Gunzburg believes red or hot pink lipstick is a crucial accessory, but not everyone agrees. Turnbow likes bright color for making a statement but when paired with a harsh liner thinks it can be aging. She suggests using stains and tints, like Clinique’s Chubby Sticks , and when more color is called for, is partial to outlining the lips and then filling them in with a chunky pencil. Nars’s Red Square is a favorite for a velvet finish she describes as “French.” French women never wear glossy reds, apparently.

So there you have it. The truth, it seems, is not so much that “less is more” as that “more is less.” The new minimalism means that you can layer on products, if they’re the right texture and you know how to do it artfully enough. The objective is to let your skin show through and to look like a flattering version of yourself. But, wait! Have I mentioned eyelash curler? Brow pencil? Way Bandy, where are you when we need you?





Acure facial toner, $16, acureorganics.com.

Jurlique Moisturize Replenishing day cream, $40, jurlique.com.

Clark’s Botanicals Ultra Rich lip balm, $19, clarksbotanicals.com.

Laura Mercier Radiance foundation primer, $32, lauramercier.com.

Chantecaille Just Skin tinted moisturizer, $64, chantecaille.com.

Korres Quercetin & Oack antiageing & antiwrinkle concealer, $22, korresusa.com.

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat concealer, $40, yslbeautyus.com.

Josie Maran Argan Matchmaker powder, $34, josiemarancosmetics.com.

Votre Vu Vu-On Rouge, $21, votrevu.com.

Nars eyelash curler, $20, narscosmetics.com.

Tom Ford Beauty eye defining pencil, $35, bergdorfgoodman.com

Benefit They’re Real mascara, $23, benefitcosmetics.com