Why Red Lipstick Is 'Power' and False Lashes Are Orgasmic
If you’ve ever met Yaz Bukey at one of her over-the-top Paris fashion week presentations (the latest of which was a theatrical pageant reminiscent of the Oscars), it quickly becomes clear that the designer not only has an eye for accessories, but she fully understands and appreciates beauty. Her stiletto nails are always on point (as they should be—she gets them donetwice a week); a ribbon or colorful scarf is often wrapped around her ponytail for some ’50s-inspired, feminine flair; and her lips are always, always painted red. “Makeup is part of my life every day. Even if I’m just at home, I do my makeup,” she said. It doesn’t exactly come as a surprise that Japanese beauty giant Shu Uemura tapped the Ottoman princess (we’ll get to that in a second) to create its latest comprehensive collection (launching in the U.S. this week).
When Bukey gets on board, however, it’s all or nothing. She wasn’t going to let a team of marketers make decisions and slap her name on a lipstick and call it a day—she wanted to play an integral role, deciding on everything from packaging design to eyeshadow colors. “I needed to try everything, see it on different people, and ask around to see if they were happy with it—I needed to be 100 percent into it,” she explained. “I’m also a control freak!” The entire project took more than 20 months to complete, and the icing on the cake was the fact that the designer herself stars in the campaign (a first for the brand, though not a first for Bukey, who has transformed into various characters for her own label’s lookbooks for the past seven years).
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(Bukey wears Hervé L. Leroux / Photo: Courtesy of Yaz Bukey)
Bukey was also a natural choice for a cosmetic collaboration because, coincidentally enough, the designer’s personal life shares many parallels with the brand’s founder, Mr. Shu Uemura. The famed makeup artist contracted tuberculosis as a young adult and was confined to a hospital in the mountains of Japan for eight years. Similarly, Bukey’s high-profile parents (her father was a Turkish ambassador) and royal ties (her family reigned in Egypt at one point) were both reasons for her high-security home life—she rarely saw the outside world without a chaperone. Instead, she created her own imaginary universe filled with fantasy (which she eventually channeled into her own brand) and expressed herself by drawing on the walls of her home with lipstick. “I would do even more!” she laughed. “If my dad said it was very vulgar to have holes for earrings, I would take an ice cube and do it myself.”
(photo: courtesy of Yaz Bukey)
Now she’s taken that same rebellious spirit and infused it into a 32-piece line for Shu Uemura that is divided into four subcategories: Romantic Betty, Sexy Yaz, Smart Lola, and Daring Tina. “I wanted to do something on girl power, and by playing with makeup, I think you can become the woman you want to be, if only for a moment. Maybe at some point you want to be very sexy like Marilyn Monroe, but the next day you want to be an intellectualized beauty like Lauren Bacall,” she explained. “That’s why I chose four girls that are like Wonder Woman—they put their makeup on, twirl, and suddenly they’re someone else.” Despite their fierce independence, Bukey’s beauties ultimately fall in love with the same man: Shu Shu. (Mon chouchou is also a French term of endearment that describes your “favorite person” and the phrase that loyal client Frank Sinatra inscribed on a makeup case that he gave to “shu shu baby” (aka the late Mr. Shu Uemura, for his birthday.) When asked who held the title of mon chouchou in Bukey’s life, she replied, “I don’t have time for a chouchou!” Not that we blame her—she’s a little busy producing bags and earrings worthy of the street-style set, developing a makeup range, and, of course, getting her nails done. Here, more of her best-kept beauty secrets.
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(photo: courtesy of Yaz Bukey)
I heard that you bought your first album solely for the cover art. True story?
The very first album I bought was from Culture Club—just from seeing Boy George with all this makeup on. He also used to wear kimonos. Today, the problem with the younger generation is that they have everything at their [fingertips]. If you’re into a rock vibe or like girly dresses, you just go to H&M and you become what you want. Before, if I liked Boy George’s kimonos, I would have to find a way to do something that resembled them. And later on, I learned the brand that he was wearing was Vivienne Westwood. But this helped my creativity—if you want something so bad that you have to create it yourself with the thing you have in your hands, it pushes you very far, and that’s much better.
I suppose the same is true for makeup—it’s all about experimentation.
Exactly. I didn’t know [growing up] how to do makeup, so I had to try different things. If I wanted a very white [complexion], I would put baby powder all over my face and then some red lipstick. It brings something new to it.
Your accessory line is all about the visual impact. Do you think the packaging or look of a beauty product is really what sells it?
I think in this case, the visual aspect is very different from what is expected in the market right now. It becomes a unique object that you want to collect. Even when it’s empty, you want to keep it. That’s what I wanted to have.
You’ve said that all women should wear red lipstick. Why?
I feel that women of [today] are a bit afraid of lipstick because they think that it’s going to move on their lips and it’s a constraint, but it’s not, it gives you power. And I want powerful women around. Red is hypnotizing—when you speak, people have to listen to you!
In addition to having lipstick on, your nails are always done.
For me, nails are really important. They are like hair in that they have to be perfect. You show the respect you have for yourself and other people by having beautiful hands. I can tell a lot about people when I see their hands.
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Where do you get your nails done?
I have a French manicurist who is really, really good. She actually brought nail art to France 15 years ago. Her name is Sylvie Ollo and she’s amazing. She comes to me two times a week—once for a refill and once for color. I like to change the color with my looks. Before I came to New York, I had white nails because I was wearing a lot of purple and black. So I had red lips, white nails, and a purple dress—I like to make color combinations.
Do you use regular polish or gel?
I have acrylics. Since I work with my hands, they need to hold up.
In addition to the products in your Shu Uemura collection, what are your beauty must-haves?
I really love the BB cream from this Korean brand called Erborian. It’s very good because it’s not greasy at all and it gives a very nice effect straightaway. For creams, I like Gel De La Mer, but I don’t use the same moisturizers all the time. I also like Shiseido, and I just discovered Shu Uemura’s Tsuya [line]. Apart from that, I use hair products from David Mallett. I like his hair serum #DM027. For nails, I love the colors from OPI and how long they last. The red I use for my manicure is Big Apple Red, and for my feet I use the darker Vodka and Caviar.
I heard your dog, Viktor, also gets her nails done.
Yes, each time she gets the same color as me!
Fragrance is always such an essential part of every Parisian’s beauty routine. What’s your go-to scent?
For perfume, I like Byredo M/Mink. I don’t like the idea of changing your perfume all the time. I like that the perfume becomes a signature so that when you enter a room, people know that you are there without looking at you. When I discovered this perfume, I stopped using [Guerlain’s] Shalimar and I’m full on with M/Mink by Byredo.
Which product in your collection for Shu Uemura are you most proud of?
There are three products that I really love: the cleansing oils, because they are collectible and alive to me. They can sit all together in front of the mirror and have a conversation. I love the idea of closing the bathroom door and the products come alive! Of course the red lipstick because it was made especially for me and it has my first name on it. And I like the packaging on the eyelashes because they are having a little orgasm! Oh, Shu Shu!
By Amber Kallor
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