Rebecca Restrepo Fusing Fine Art with Fashion

Inspired by the vivid colours of her family’s Colombian heritage and her favourite painters, Rebecca Restrepo in 2012 was named Elizabeth Arden’s Global Makeup Artist. With Salon India, she shares her skills and learnings.

- Aradhana V Bhatnagar

Please tell us about yourself. 

As a make-up artist, I work on a huge range of projects, from fashion shoots for magazines and celebrities, such as, Lucy Liu and Emily Blunt on red carpet looks and press for projects they are promoting. As the Global Makeup Artist for Elizabeth Arden, I am both a brand ambassador and creative consultant. I work in close collaboration with the brand, doing trend forecasting, developing shade palettes and beauty consultant training. I have the opportunity to use my expertise backstage during photo shoots, as well as filming make-up tutorials to share expert advice with consumers through Elizabeth Arden’s social media channels and on-counter tools.

What inspired you to take up make-up artistry as a profession?

I realised that I wanted to be a make-up artist when I assisted Laura Mercier and Kevyn Aucoin at the inception of my career. They really helped me understand this business. I had been studying fashion and painting and realised that being a make-up artist was best to fuse my passion for fine art and fashion.

How did you get started?

A native New Yorker, I studied painting and fashion at FIT and the School of Visual Arts, eventually discovering make-up as the perfect blend of the two. A close friendship with hair stylist Garren, at Henri Bendel, led to opportunities to assist Laura Mercier, and from there my talent blossomed.

What are the educational courses you have undertaken? 

The educational courses I have taken are art school classes where I received my BFA at the School of Visual Arts.