I love everything about Project Runway. So it comes as no surprise that I'm super excited to bring you my interview today with the makeup artist seen on the show season after season, Collier Strong! Collier has also beautified the faces of some of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood, including Kate Beckinsale and Beyonce, and he's also the Consulting Makeup Artist for L’Oreal Paris USA. Read on to discover what he loves most about working on Project Runway, his favorite L'Oreal products and so much more.
I love watching you on Project Runway every season. How did you become involved with the show, and what do you love about working with the designers each season?
I became involved with PR because of L'Oreal sponsorship of the show and since I’ve been a spokesperson for them for 12 years. It was a very exciting way for L'Oreal to not only feature the brand, but me as well.
I love working with the designers each season because of the creative collaboration between us. We’re given a limited amount of time, as they are in each challenge. So you have to be incredibly creative as quickly as humanly possible. It seriously could be an Olympic sport.
How did you become involved with L'Oreal Paris? What have you enjoyed most about working with such an iconic brand?
I became a spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris in 1999. I was working on all their commercials and print campaigns and impressed the then President, Carol J Hamilton. They approached me to work with them. It’s been life changing for me, to say the least, in a creative sense and on a basic professional level. I’ve met and worked with some of the most iconic women in the world and traveled it to do so. I was just in India in December working on the magnificent Aishwarya Rai. How many jobs do you know where you can experience that?!
What are your top 5 favorite L'Oreal products and why?
Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base. It’s an amazing mattifying primer that makes the skin look better even before you apply foundation and concealer. Also, it helps those two products glide on the skin and look more natural.
Infallible Le Rouge Lipcolor. It’s great on my clients for the red carpet. You have to remember they get their hair and makeup done hours before we ever see them on “carpet.”
L'Oreal Match Foundation. It’s got the most comprehensive color range of any foundations found at mass or in department stores. And the formula is fantastic.
L'Oreal Youth Code Skincare System. I love how light it is on the skin and no fragrance, and [it] works on every skin type, which is what I need at work since I work with so many different faces.
What are your top 3 makeup tips?
1) Always use a lash curler! It opens the eyes. Try applying a light coat of mascara first.
2) Always carry a powder compact and lipstick! Even if you don’t know how to do your makeup, lipstick and a powdered face will make you look polished and “done.”
3) If you wear foundation, make sure it matches your chest so your face looks like it belongs to the rest of your body.
Being a makeup artist must be fun -- but what do you do in your spare time?
As with most people with careers, it demands so much of my time and I travel so often I spend all my time off with my partner of 11 years and with our fantastic group of friends.
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