Make-Up Mastermind Peter Philips on Fighting Humidity, Contouring For Your Age and Stick Foundation’s Comeback
The legendary MUA shares his tips for a seamless blend in celebration of the latest launch of Dior Forever Skin
From concept to creation, Peter Philips is the mastermind behind all of the iconic Dior beauty best-sellers we know and love. Diorshow, Forever Glow and Dior Backstage are lines born under the watchful eye of the creative and image director of Dior Beauty. For over 10 years, Peter and his flawless techniques have transformed the way we apply make-up. The latest launch comes in the form of a fabulous trilogy of face saviours: Dior Forever Skin Perfect, the first multi-use stick foundation, Dior Forever Skin Contour, the sculpting and bronzing stick that blends seamlessly with all skins and Rouge Blush Colour & Glow, the duo palette to define the face.
“Highlighting and contouring has become a basic standard in everyday make-up routines” says Peter, adding: “Our Forever Skin Perfect Stick Foundation is the ideal tool to achieve a sculpted face, by combining a few shades in one look, or by using our specifically designed Forever Skin Contour shades, you can sculpt and highlight endlessly.” When given the opportunity for a masterclass with the maestro we jumped at the chance to take us into the new season with suitably sensational skin…
How important is it to experiment with make-up?
There are the young kids and they keep experimenting and having fun with make-up and it’s nice. I mean if you’ve been around and seen make-up for over 30 years like me, you see things coming back in from the beginning, it’s like ‘my gosh, I’ve seen that before’! Then I see the joy they have in discovering all those make-up trends. It’s the same joy I had when I was young and discovered make-up. Then you see the reinterpretation of the same make-up tricks the same trends and it’s like, yes, let them discover, let them make the same mistakes that we did; that’s the fun part of make-up, you know. It’s kind of reassuring to see that things come back to them. With a twist they are reinvented over and over again, which is great.
Is there an age when women should stop contouring?
If you contour with dark, I think it’s more for younger people because you add shadow. Normally quite often younger people are still plumper and they like to contour. The more you age, the more you lose your baby fat and, you don’t need to contour and shade anymore, but to highlight or you add colour. That’s why we have compact powders you can add colour because it brings more life to your face. For example, it’s not only your face that kind of changes shape, it’s your lips and your mouth too.
It can get very humid in the UAE no matter the time of year. Should we reach for powder in times of high shine?
It depends on what make-up result you want. A powder is always good. You can use a powder to help set it (your foundation), but then it becomes a bit more present. Don’t use too much product because it will melt and look horrible. Build up slowly in thin layers and then blend out beautifully. Don’t overdo it. You can always fix it during the day.
What magical make-up can we expect next?
There are a lot of exciting things coming up, but I don’t think I can talk about it! I don’t want to jinx it, you know. The formulas are always tricky and we’re reformulating all the time. There are always obstacles, but at the same time, we discover. New possibilities and new formulas. It’s a constant, reinvention of yourself. I’m very excited and you’ll see when it comes out.
If you were not a make-up artist, what would you be?
I would love to be an architect or an interior designer as I love buildings and architecture.
How have your shoppers changed over the years and has this changed Dior’s Beauty’s product lines?
With the boom of social media, the consumer became more and more of an expert. They know more about highlighting and contouring, which beforehand were the secrets of the ‘backstage.’ Stick foundation is the ideal product to, subtly, or extremely play with highlighting, and contouring, in full cover make-up or even natural make-up. After a lot of research, we found a new generation of stick foundation. This new Forever Stick foundation is long-lasting and has a blurry make-up finish, which allows you to do natural make-up as well as full cover make-up.
Do you have a favourite beauty trend?
Well, I keep getting blown away by how big the beauty trend itself is. How big make-up is. You know, the biggest trend in beauty is make-up, playing with products, discovering, new looks, and new possibilities for expressing yourself. I feel now the whole contouring and blushing thing seems to be evolving, and being embraced. Maybe it’s because of the influencers, they have become a bit older and they grow into their make-up routines and discover more. Because I know in the beginning it was all about those young kids on social media contouring and highlighting. Like when we all were young, you know, we experimented and we exaggerated. There are nuances, I think that’s a trend now, that people discover the little nuances. Like little highlights around the lips, for example. Or a nude eyeliner, instead of a big black number. Those nuances are more approachable. They will help you to grow into make-up. I think people who used to be maybe a bit more intimidated by all the big make-up trends, are now recognising themselves and embracing it. They discover how a glow or a blur or a tint of peach or a lip liner can help to enhance that natural beauty. I think that’s something that is a huge movement now.
For more information visit: Dior.com
Images: Supplied
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s September 2024 issue.