dtangled

“I hope you know you are the luckiest girls in here!”

This is how my girlfriend, Miss Cris, and myself are greeted at Saks on Saturday morning upon being spotted by some cosmetic counter ladies. We have brought in our own ringer: makeup artist Renato Almeida. Instead of becoming territorial and aggressive as these women and men are known to do, they gather around us and watch in awe as Renato transforms my face from slightly overslept with more than a few spots into something flawless – luminescent even. Now I understand what Norma Desmond meant when she said “I’m ready for my close-up.”

Renato, a native Brazilian who I first met through MC and her hubby, is Shiseido’s National Makeup Artist; as such he travels around the country making appearances and doing makeup for a lucky few. The rest of the time he is backstage at some of the industry’s biggest shows – Carolina Herrera, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior – or working on editorials at W Magazine, Vogue Brazil, and L’Officiel. He has done the makeup of Gisele, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, and Cindy Crawford, among others. W recently profiled Renato as an up-and-comer to watch.

Although he loves Shiseido and he becomes animated when describing some of his favorites (Total Regenerating Cream, which he endearingly had no idea cost $260) , he doesn’t play favorites when it comes time to pick out the best of the best in each category. He is effusive and earnest in his endorsements of certain products (a good concealer is a must), and brushes off others as unnecessary (there is not much difference among translucent powders). He takes me from Shiseido and Clé de Peau to Chanel, from Giorgio Armani to Laura Mercier, and mentions Urban Decay is one of his favorite mid-tier lines and that MAC has the best eye shadows. At the Dior counter, while he explains to us the merits of contouring, a young, clownish woman, who has clearly been abusing her makeup counter all day, interrupts him and shows us the Natural Glow Sculpting Powder, demonstrating how it is used. He politely goes silent and lets her finish, then looks at me and utters a brusque, “No.” And we’re off to the next counter.

When Renato hands me a small mirror, I hardly recognize the face looking back at me. I am a better version of myself – a more worldly and sophisticated one. My features are acentuated in all the right places, none overwhelming the others, balanced and appearing as if I have no makeup on at all. All the makeup ladies are regarding me approvingly and fawning over Renato. This is why I love makeup so much; the right product can truly make a difference. I believe this, despite my knowledge as a salesperson, which dictates that I wholly understand that the business of beauty – really the business of any kind of self-improvement is still business – can prey on our insecurities, and often the person behind the counter will pile on more and more superfluous products for the sake of the sale, not the customer’s well-being. But some products obviously work, as Renato has so skillfully demonstrated, and I observe the cosmeticas furiously taking notes about what combination of products he has used on me. That will be a sale no one regrets.

Miss Cris, herself one of the gorgeous models who Renato has said is bored to have her makeup done, informs me she is of the former mindset. “No matter what products I use,” she says, “my skin is always the same.” Disturbingly perfect? “It doesn’t matter. It’s all the same.” She is a pro at doing her own makeup now, and knows all the tricks. At each counter she samples colors on the inside of her honey-colored wrist and turns on her heel as the counter minions approach her. Yet at the Chanel counter she pauses when Renato proposes a new lipstick for her. “This color,” he assures, “is the right one for you.” Her face goes slack and she turns her chin up obediently as she assumes the makeup-face she has undoubtedly mastered over the years. She admires her newly ruby lips in a mirror, smiles charmingly at me, and disappears to make a purchase. I can’t help but wonder if she really believes that the products she helps sell with her face are useless for normal women, or if she is just jaded after years of trying everything under the sun.

Renato acknowledges to us over lunch that there is so much out there, and most women are disoriented by the profusion of products. Like any good selection, the best products are weeded out through trial and tribulation by experts like him. I purchased or sampled almost everything he suggested for me and I will be reviewing products and looks as I try them out.

To learn more about Renato visit his website here.