8/30/20

Francois NARS: Makeup Artist, Photographer & Author- X-Ray

It’s no secret that Francois Nars is a makeup legend & the genius behind the NARS Cosmetics line. Less widely known is that he is an equally talented photographer & author of 2 gorgeous coffee table photography books: X-Ray (1999), Makeup Your Mind : Express Yourself 2011). Both are beautiful & stylized & all-Francois (makeup & photography). The latter is an instructional manual along the lines of the late Kevin Aucoin’s books, The Art of Makeup(1994),Making Faces (1997), & Face Forward (2000).

Like Kevin’s books, Makeup Your Mind is an amazing how-to for makeup artists at all levels. While I admire makeup artistry, it is Francois’s ability to capture compelling images of subjects in the arts that has me spellbound. The subjects in X-Ray range from supermodels Stephanie Seymour & Karen Elson, to socialites such as Comtesse Jacqueline de Ribes, to entertainers Grace Jones & Eartha Kitt.

The outsize book has 241 Images, each one arresting in its own right. If you love makeup & haute photography, this book deserves a spot on your coffee table. I tracked my immaculate copy down on Amazon Prime.