Past painter, future photographer, Paul Starr is best known as a legendary  makeup artist who’s collaborated with   iconoclasts such as David La Chapelle, Annie Lebovitz, Helmut Newton, and Spike Lee, and created unforgettable faces for Madonna, Björk, Angelina Jolie, Lindsay Lohan, David Bowie, Scarlett Johansson, Sophia Loren, and Gwen Stefani. Also author of On Beauty and regular contributor to WE LOVE BEAUTY, we had to play Q&A with Paul, and have the celebrity tastemaker tell us…

TN: How did you get into makeup?
PS: To be perfectly honest, a lot of it was being at the right place at the right time. I studied art, primarily oil painting, and photography. I was interested in the  face… looking into someone’s eyes and making a connection. There was just something I got from connecting with people that was stimulating to me. So in school, I loved having people sit for me and I’d photograph them, or sketch a study for a portrait that I would paint later, [and this training] helped to stimulate my eye.

When I came to L.A. I was in need of a job, and a friend of mine who was a working makeup artist, introduced me to a photographer, who introduced me to this whole new world of people. I was suddenly taken from a budding college student into this world of creative, working artists, on all different levels – photographers, film makers, set designers, musicians, painters. These artists took me under their wing and I became part of their inner circle. I was later introduced to a makeup artist named Richard Sharah who took me under his wing. He had many VOGUE covers to his credit, and he did some promotional work with David Bowie, who was one of my favorites. As a teenager I loved Bowie’s androgyny and visual transformations. I thought that if I could learn how to create art for the face and then photograph it I could be mixing the medias, and it would be really cool. To me, makeup was the beginning of my new art form.

TN: What’s the simplest thing a girl or guy could do to update their look?
PS: I don’t really know that there is just one thing, because I could name several. For women, I think you should always be open to refreshing your makeup. By that I mean, you should go through your cosmetics twice a year purchasing new things like mascara, and lip balm, and then figure out what works for you seasonally and then make those additions. It’s the simplest thing you can do is to refresh your look. When it comes down to it, it’s not rocket science, it’s just makeup. Women should learn to be playful with it. It’s their rite of passage, so to speak.

For men, it’s a different thing altogether. it’s not really their rite of passage to wear makeup. It’s not something that’s taught to them by their fathers (laughs). Men should really focus on grooming themselves to look their best. Make sure you don’t have eyebrow hair that’s three inches long; it’s okay, guys, you can buy a grooming scissors and a tweezer, it’s not going to make you queer. Shave every now and then, keeping your beard groomed is pretty sexy to the ladies. A good way to update their look is with a new haircut. Tear photos from magazines of styles that you like and take them to your favorite hair salon. Consider using a self-tanner. Adding color to your eyebrows and lashes. I’m not saying to go for something extreme and become one of the new metrosexuals. Just groom yourselves a little bit so that you still look masculine and sexy and not perfectly pretty. Save that for the babes.

TN: What is a product every girl should own? Every guy?
PS: I’m a firm believer in keeping great skin. Take care of you skin—it’ll last you a lot longer than a bottle of foundation. I’m all about good skincare, using a good sunscreen (at least 30 SPF), and once your skin is great you won’t need to rely on foundation. If I had to pick my must-haves for women, I’d say a good kohl liner, a lip and cheek tint and a basic black mascara. I guess the one thing that I’d have in my own kit as a man is a great moisturizer, a lip balm, and a bronzer. Everybody has to find what works best for them.

I believe in getting facials monthly. You’re going to have to find the best facial that really work for you. And that can be a difficult thing. It”s taken me years to find the right facialist. You have to find what’s going to work for you, but I think facials are great for men or women. So it all comes back to creating a healthy glow on your skin.

TN: What are some great looks for this holiday season?
PS: Well I always like to be open to a couple of them. At one time, the holiday season always meant a great red or fuchsia  lipstick, which is [still] a classic look that’s timeless and evokes the spirit of the holidays, but I also think a simple black eyeliner (like the one seen on the cover of my book, Paul Starr: On Beauty) is a classic look for holiday. You have a cat eyeliner and you do a pale lip to make it fresh and modern, or a cherry lip to give it a ‘50s look ala Ava Gardner. Working a good smokey eye is a great sexy look for Santa. Combine this with a lip stain, or a pale gloss. Yummy!

TN: What can you do to amp up day make up for work to take it into a cocktail party?
PS: I think a black kohl eyeliner is a great way to take your face from day to night. I like to carry the Chanel quads (my favs this season). I usually get one that has a pale shimmer, a smoky gray, black or brown and a gold. Women should find one classic compact of colors that they can have at all times. I think it’s good to have two great lipsticks in your purse for night time. A dark shade, and a nude one. I think a lot of women are terrified of red lipstick, they think it’s too much like what their mothers would wear, or their grandmothers, for that matter. But there are so many different colors and formulas now, that I believe that there is a great red lipstick for every woman. Put one of those in your makeup bag. Check with counter professionals and seek their advice, or go to ThisNext and check in to see what Paul Starr’s got to say (laughs).

TN: What do you want for your holiday gifts?
PS: I would have to say the first thing that comes to mind is world peace. I think that we as a nation have really suffered a lot of over the past few years and our individuality has been threatened. I’m not trying to get political, but you turn on the TV and there’s so much disaster… There’s just no release. Don’t you just want this all to stop?

But, If you want to get superficial about it, I really want a new sports car. And I’d love to be in the Bahamas, somewhere on a deserted island on a quiet beach with someone really hot. Doesn’t that sound great?

TN: Any sneak previews you can share with ThisNext readers?
PS: I am working on a new book right now, a follow up to my first one, On Beauty. It won’t be the same type of book… I don’t want to give too much away but it will be a book for every woman. I’m trying to reach and access the hard-working, business woman…the working mother. This is the core of America. There are two other things I’m working on: developing and designing a product line— brushes, makeup cases, tweezers, eyelash curlers, etc.—for women, and I’m working on developing something special for men. And that’s all I’ll say. It’ll be cool, and interesting, I promise. I’m also developing my work as a photographer. That is kind of something I’ve always been interested in, and so I feel like It’s all come around full circle. You should see the behind the scenes photos that I’ve taken over the past twenty odd years. One day I’ll publish them.

TN: Biggest response a look of yours has received?
PS: Jennifer Garner’s look in the (orange) vintage Valentino dress at the Oscar’s. Or in the red Valentino dress he made for her at the Met ball this year.

TN: The product that’s had the biggest influence on your career?
PS: Once again it’s really hard to say because I’m constantly changing things and trying to find new things that I love. There is a concealor palette made by a German company called Kryolan, which has really made such a difference. I have to say it kind of changed my career, I can’t leave home without it.

TN: If you were a product, you’d be a ________.
PS: I would be… a kissable lipstick.

TN: Your favorite product discovery in the last six months… Or something that inspired you?
PS: I have to say I like two things: I really love “Tinte Innocence” foundation by Chanel. Also Mark by Avon… created by my friend, Jillian Dempsey. She’s created a tinted moisturizer that is really sheer. Kind of like Dermalogica’s Active Moist with a tint. Very cool.

TN: Most prized possession?
PS: There are a few: I have letters from Elizabeth Taylor, and Dolly Parton, that I really love… Just beautiful letters that they’ve sent me over the years. I was also given an award in 2004, it’s a My Lucie Award (my first of three); they voted me “Makeup Artist of the Year, 2004. It was such an honor. What I love about this award is that it was an award that was given to me by photographers in the industry… It meant a lot to me because photographers actually voted for me, as someone who brought so much to the art of photography. I have an amulet that Joni Mitchell gave me… Just little things. I’m a pretty simple guy. I have an incredible book collection I’m proud of. A lot of signed, first edition, or limited-edition books. I have a great photographic collection that I’m pretty proud of, with photos by Helmut Newton, Peter Lindbergh, Dick Avedon, people that I’ve worked with.

TN: A product love secret you’re too embarrassed to share?
PS: I’m not embarrassed about anything. I take care of my  skin, I eat really well, I exercise, I’m really focused on my health, from the inside out.

TN: Name an item under your bed.
PS: My diary.

TN: What’s something in your closet that’s not clothing, shoes, bags, etc.?
PS: I couldn’t tell, and if I did, I’d have to kill you. (laughs)

TN: Fav trend for winter?
PS: I love winter clothing, I love getting in nice, warm cozy cashmeres, and I love putting on my Uggs this time of year ( I only wear them around the house). I love when women update their makeup. I love coming to New York, because women just do it, because they change their look for fall/ winter. I love being in New York during Christmas time.

TN: Least fav trend for winter?
PS: Ski masks, and ear muffs. Hideous!

TN: Can’t leave home without my______?
PS: My toiletry bag. And it’s a Louis Vuitton bag that I always keep packed with my favorite products. It’s got all my serums and lotions and potions , including Epicurean’s Colostrum cream.

TN: City or suburbs?
PS: City. Suburbs are so boring. I think I would die.

TN: Loft or the perfect house with the white picket fence?
PS: I do have a house with a white picket fence, but I prefer a loft. I love a wide-open space. It frees the mind. That’s where I want to create, some place where I have a lot of space.

TN: Flip-flops or sneakers?
PS: That’s really hard. I love sneakers, I wear them everyday, but I do where flip-flops when I’m on my deserted island.

TN: Coffee or tea?
PS: Tea. Preferably green. I love the health benefits. I also love Yerba Mate tea. The only black tea I ever have is Earl Grey, with milk and honey, which I learned to love when I lived in London.