Oh look, that looks gorgeous!
Gorgeous!
Amazing!
Ding dong!
Cindy, hi! How are you?
I'm good, and you? Good to see you.
No, it's great to see you too.
Where are you?
At my sister's place in France.
It's two hours away from Paris and I'm with my whole family.
How fantastic!
Are you in London?
No, no, thankfully I'm in the middle of the countryside,
in middle England, surrounded by trees and birds.
But I'm actually alone, so it's great to talk to you on the phone.
I know, it feels good.
So, I hear that you've heard about some new trend.
Yes, the trend is neon bright and I've never done it,
I usually like my makeup to be simple,
and today I really want to try something new
and I need you to look pretty while wearing a bright color
and a neon color.
So, I think we could take the idea of fuchsia.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous glowing skin,
and then I think we'll be able to pull it off.
So, you've prepped your skin.
What skin care have you used?
I would use Infallible L'Oreal Foundation,
and then I would add on top some concealers where I feel I need it;
under my eyes, maybe right here.
But darling, you're so gorgeous, you need very little.
Thank you.
So, I would do this and I would wet my sponge a little bit.
Yes, that's very important because if you use it…
I mean, who uses a dry sponge anyway? Because it doesn't go in.
Then tap it in.
Yeah, tap tap tap tap tap.
Cindy, whilst you're doing that, how did you start as a model?
I grew up in the south of France and I was scouted on the beach,
in my hometown,
and they told me to come to Paris to be a model.
So I talked to my mom about it.
She really wanted me to finish school,
so I was just going back and forth during my school holidays
to start being a model.
And then I moved when I was 18, after I passed my exam and everything.
And that's it, and then I became a model for real, I'll say,
and I moved to New York and Paris.
I started traveling.
I didn't even want to be a model because I didn't know it was a real job.
I don't know, it's weird.
I just didn't know we could do a career.
I was always really tall and skinny, so everybody was like:
"Oh! you should be a model". But I just didn't know.
When I was scouted, it was kind of a surprise.
And then I think, more and more, when I started meeting people,
doing castings,
I started with meeting Alaïa,
it was just all of this that made me want to actually move to Paris
and become a model.
When you met Alaïa, did you know that Alaïa was Alaïa?
I did not, no.
And I was more concerned about me because I didn't know how to walk with heels.
I was 16 and I was already way too tall to wear heels,
so it was like my big concern before I started with him.
And then I was just going all the time, every season,
for maybe two years, until I passed my exam and moved to Paris.
He was the first one that really gave me a shot.
Honey, it's interesting because when you see you walk in heels now…
- I got it. - Honey, you are rolling with it!
You'd never know that you were once scared of putting heels on.
I mean, it was a bit like that for me.
I remember the first time I met Lee McQueen.
I was working with a stylist friend of mine and she said:
"Oh, this guy's asked me to do his show.
Do you want to do the makeup?
Do you want to come and meet him with me?"
So, me and Katy England and Eugene Souleiman,
because we always worked together,
we rocked round to Hoxton Square and knocked on the door.
The door opened and sat in the corner was this guy sewing a frock.
He was like: "Hi, yo, I'm Lee, Lee McQueen.
Who are you?"
And it was just crazy because you didn't realize
that you were in the presence of your ultimate icon.
It was amazing!
Right, we need to move on.
We need to move on from this foundation because I think it's perfectly blended.
What you're going to do is you're going to go straight in
and do the lipstick on the lid.
You talked about a fuchsia,
so I have this one from Yves Saint Laurent,
which is, I think, the perfect color.
Yeah, that looks really nice.
By using the lipstick as an eyeshadow and a cheek shadow,
we can still retain the shine, which translates as the glow.
And remember, you're going to take the lipstick with the flat bit
and you're just going to dab, dab, dab, dab.
Just right here, right?
You know, be bold.
Yeah.
And now do the other eye.
Yeah.
You know, what I would be inclined to do as well is to get the lipstick
and just do a "C".
Now, you're going to take a fluffy brush,
feathering it out to your temples,
then you're going to go into little circular movements;
light as a feather
because if you press too hard, you are not buffing the product in,
you're actually brushing it off.
Like this?
Oh look, that looks gorgeous!
It does, doesn't it?
Right, yeah, let's stop there for a minute and do the other eye.
So, Cindy, let's talk a little bit about the industry that we're both in.
How has it been, being a woman of color,
from when you started to where you are now?
I feel like it has changed a lot
because, first of all, I remember my first season,
when I did the Calvin Klein exclusive in New York.
I heard that I was the first woman of color that got this exclusive.
It was 2013 and I felt honored and it was amazing for me,
but then I was like: "How is that even possible?
How can I be only the first one to get an exclusive for Calvin Klein
only right now?"
And I think that's when I realized that the industry needed to change
to change and that we had work to do.
And hopefully, right now it's way better,
we can see a big change in shows and it's not only with skin colors.
Yeah, I think it's a great time to be in the business,
whoever you are right now,
because humans, we're all represented on the catwalk,
which I think is great.
I can't believe that it's taken us this long to get to this situation.
How did you get into the industry?
I know you started as a hairstylist, so it's just…
how?
How is that even possible?
What is your story?
It was funny, both me and my husband…
I was married, I got married when I was 17,
I think I married him because he was a drummer in a band,
it seemed like a cool idea.
Anyway, he said: "I'm really bored."
And I said: "Yeah, I'm bored too."
We kind of looked both like Sid and Nancy.
And he was like: "Let's go somewhere else."
And I thought he was going to say "let's go to Paris",
because I loved Paris.
I said: "Yeah, okay."
And he said: "Let's go to Australia."
And I was like: "Yeah, alright."
So, I find myself in Australia!
And then I had lots of friends, I was really into the gay scene,
I had lots of friends that were sort of hairdressers
and makeup artists and drag queens
and we all used to go clubbing.
And I used to wear tons of makeup and I thought:
"Oh, I'd quite like to try some makeup."
So, I started testing.
Then, through testing and through friends, I started working.
I was in Australia and we were going on location,
I got an agent in New York, L.A., Japan.
I was like: "This is what I want to do.
I do not want to stand behind a chair cutting hair for 10 hours a day,
I want to see the world and work with beautiful models."
I mean, what's not to like?
So, that's how you started.
Wow! What a story!
Right, I think that is well and truly blended.
It is good, right?
Yeah, it's really good.
Okay, so let's get into some eye makeup.
I think we're going to start with the burgundy color.
Let's lay that on the eye, dip into the product
and then, before you go to place it on your eye,
just tap the brush so you don't have too much product.
And when I'm doing it, it feels just so professional,
like (inaudible).
Exactly.
You're a professional makeup artist now.
And then you're just going to place that in the center of the eye.
Don't go too far into the corner
because we're going to keep that light there.
We want to make the eye feel more almond-shaped.
Yeah, so now you're working with the ombré shade
and you're just working that into the outer corner of your eye.
And just sweep it out a little bit, and upwards,
because the whole thing is you want to create
that sort of lovely almond shape.
Beautiful!
Should I blend it a little bit?
Yes, blend it with the… Yes, blend it, yes, yes, yes.
So, now we're going to get the sort of golden color.
We need to accentuate that inner corner.
Right here?
Yeah, just right in there.
And then you can just place it and then use a larger brush
just to buff it out.
Right!
I think we need to get some YSL liner on those eyes.
Yeah, and go really, really close, as close to the waterline as you can,
because what we're doing here now is just defining the eye.
Great!
So, you've done that, now what about underneath the eye?
Have you put anything underneath the eye yet?
No.
I've got this burgundy.
Yes, we're going to use that burgundy.
Are there any rules about colors?
How do you choose your colors and put them together?
If you're Val Garland, you would say there are no rules.
It doesn't matter what you do, but does it look beautiful?
If it looks beautiful, then it works.
If you look like an idiot, no, take it off.
Yeah.
Can I use this gold up here a little bit?
Just to make…
Yes, why don't we put that gold high in the arc of your eyebrow?
Do it with your finger because sometimes,
when you're putting a metallic eyeshadow on with your finger,
you get much more pigment onto the skin.
You can now take a brush and just buff the edges,
so that you don't see a line.
What you want to see is a gradual gradation of color on the eye.
You don't want to see where you've put the color placement.
You know, at the end of day, I want to see a beautiful woman,
not the ABC of makeup.
As a makeup artist, how do you do your own makeup?
Do you wear a lot every day?
I've got to have a brow.
I have got to have a brow because I have no brows.
My brows are…
well they're gone,
because - I'm going to sound really old now -
in the ’70s, when we were all sort of punks,
I thought it was a good idea to shave off my eyebrows.
Yeah, it was kind of cool, and it even worked in the ’90s,
when we all had those very, very thin eyebrows that we drew on.
But by the year 2020, I look like a bald egg.
So, I have to have a brow.
Shall we get some mascara on now?
Yes, I'd love to.
I have this one.
This one is my favorite; Paradise from L'Oreal.
It's so hard to find a good mascara sometimes,
because it can dry…
This one is perfect.
Oh, should I curl my lashes? I should curl my lashes first.
Yeah, never curl your lashes after you've put the mascara on
because you could risk pulling them out.
Every woman or every person
- let's not exclude the boys and the inbetweens -
everybody should be using an eyelash curler.
An eyelash curler is like a face lift for your eyes,
even if you're not wearing mascara.
Curling your eyelashes really opens up your face.
It's an incredible tool.
It is good.
And then I use some mascara.
Look at those lashes!
Ding dong!
They're major!
And one thing I do as well to make sure I get the lashes really coated
is I just put mascara on the edge of a fan brush,
and then you can really wiggle it in close onto the lashes.
And then we're going to move on to the brows, aren't we?
But you've got quite good brows anyway, haven't you?
I just have a little scar right here.
Yeah.
So, what was your last impulse buy then?
That would be a buy in lockdown, wouldn't it?
The thing is that during this quarantine, I was bored most of the time
and I just bought a keyboard, a piano, that is right here.
I'm so bad at it, but I just always wanted to learn.
I might need a life to get good at it, but it's a process.
Wow! Amazing!
Amazing!
So, where are we now?
Should we just increase the pink a little bit more?
Should we increase the pink?
We need to get some glow on, we need to get some bronze on
and we need to get the lips on.
So now, we're going to define those cheekbones a bit more
by bringing in a little bit of sculpting under the cheekbone
and into the forehead.
So, we could use this one from Fenty, which is a bronzer.
You're just going to buff that up and in and away towards your ears.
Because what you're creating is just like a shadow.
Nice!
A little bit more with this one or maybe this one in the corner?
On the outer corner of the eye? Yeah.
Gorgeous!
Beautiful, darling, beautiful.
So, if you could be someone else for 24 hours,
who would you be?
I think I would be a man, just to see and try.
I think I would be Will Smith.
I think that would be great just for one day.
I'm going to be really rude here now
because I'd love to know what it feels like to have a penis.
I think it would be amazing.
Anyway…
And the next makeup step is going to be the Glow Amour,
which is the highlighter.
Now, it comes out in a drop
and you're going to put it on the back of your hand.
A little tap, tap, tap.
Let's do it sort of a little bit lower.
Tap it in there.
And you can put a tiny little bit in the center your nose.
You see people polishing the ends of their nose with highlighter
and their chin,
but sometimes I think you can just look too made-up.
- We're going to go for a natural lip. - Just let me show you.
Beautiful, yeah. Mix those two together.
I like to line the lip first and then add the color in the center.
I think this is amazing, you're using an eyebrow pencil
to line your lips.
That's fantastic!
Yeah, it's gorgeous!
And what's nice about the nude lip is it really reinforces the eye.
Beautiful.
And now, for the final touch,
I think what we should do is get a little bit of moisturizer
and rub that into the tips of your fingers.
And again,
just lightly tap that high on your cheekbones
and that really will bring out the glow.
Gorgeous!
I love it.
Can I use some powder just to mattify it a little bit?
The only place I would say that you need powder
is in the very center of your forehead, between your brows,
because that's really picking up on the light now.
I love doing this. Can we do this more often?
Because I need to learn a few tricks from you.
Yeah, I think this looks great, I think this looks fantastic.
I think you're definitely ready to go to the festival.
But this year, you're having a festival at home
because we can't go anywhere, we're all at home.
But at least you will know what to do when you go to a festival next year.
Exactly.
I love it, thank you!
Thank you!
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