A Jedi Makeup Master

Sephora opened up in Southpark mall when I lived in Charlotte, and I remember I almost hyperventilated the first time I crossed its threshold. Perfumes and sparkly shadow and glosses, oh my!

I walked out with a Christian Dior eyeshadow in a shade of Addams Family green that I thought made me look modern but instead made me look like I was getting over the Black Plague. I mean, I was going to pull through, but pictures of that period revealed that it was touch and go for a while.

I love color, and little pots of nail polish were just the thing, I thought, when I was having a bad day. Pretty soon I had a shoebox full, and one day I used them to paint a rocking chair. Really. They are enamel, and I was paring down my paint collection.

The fingernail polish rocking chair. Obviously, I had the yellow paint for a base.

Yet another time I was sucked into something because of the vintage picture on the tin that promised a dewy, silent movie complexion. After smearing it on my combination skin for just a few days, I created an oil slick under my makeup that made me look like I had just finished a shift standing over a McDonald's deep fryer.

So when I met Andrew Petersen last year, make-up artist extraordinaire and founder of Misiu Beauty, I did not realize that he was the Obi Wan Kanobi of cosmetics.

We met socially, and I instantly gravitated toward his sunny personality and his positive attitude. He is genuine and although I mentioned coming to see him for a consultation, I never really followed through. He didn't sit me down in a chair under a magnifying glass, ph test my skin or any other such thing. We just chatted.

Well, over the summer, he revealed his Jedi makeup master status. We met for a glass of wine one night, and when we said goodbye, he rummaged through a bag in the dark parking lot and pulled out some samples literally in two minutes. Foundation, a perfume, and a Laura Mercier lip color. He said, try these and hugged me goodbye.

1. The foundation matched my skin tone perfectly.
2. I am considering hoarding the lip color, a sheer berry that I never would have tried, since during the winter, it makes me look like I've just returned from a brisk walk on an English moor.
3. And just instinctively, he chose for me a perfume that is my favorite ever. Rose Oud by Killian. It deserves its own blog post.

Wow.

But more than just his amazing knowledge is his sincere enjoyment of people. He loves to help people see the beauty in themselves, the beauty he sees and that he knows is much more than just their lip color or eyelash length.

Every time I apply one of those samples, I silently applaud Andrew for daring to be so generous with his laughter, his encouragement, and his knowledge. Bravo, my friend, your example is generous as well.