Trends and Things: Spotlight on makeup artist Phyllis Williams
by Vonetta Booker-Brown

After that, Williams took her lipstick and didn't look back. She got her start working in Bullock’s cosmetics department during the 70s, at a time when black makeup artists were few and far between. Building her resume by working for companies catering to women of color (Barbara Walden, Revlon’s “Polished Amber” series), she tirelessly freelanced for lines like Perscriptives and Borghese. Meanwhile, networking, taking classes and soaking up information was all part of Williams' game.  She began doing student film, then music videos for the likes of R&B artists Usher and Johnny Gill.

 Nowadays, Williams' face-beating credits read like a who's who--TV shows and movies such as Martin, Living Single, Set it Off, Money Talks, beautifying the faces of celebs like Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Daisy Fuentes, BeBe and CeCe Winans, even Quentin Tarentino. Her flawless faces have also appeared on the pages of Vogue, InStyle, Glamour, Entertainment Weekly—heck, we could go on and on. For Scene’s "Trends and Things," Williams briefly puts down the tweezers, brushes and fake lashes to tell Scene about her long journey to creative freedom--one she's still traveling with the inception of HauteZine.

Have you seen a change in glamour from back in the day to the present? 

Williams: Yes, and no. For the most part, the everyday look is a paired down one, not nearly as structured as it was in the 60, 70, or even the 80s, if you look at it—liner, bright colors, lots of blush, lip gloss, heavy brows—we wore some makeup back in the day! The look is lighter, healthier now. And I think it’s a reflection of people’s lifestyles in many ways. We’re busier people, healthier, we exercise more—who has time to spend an hour on makeup, or having a “do” that’s stiff? But where I do see the glamour is in beautifully-shaped brows, definition on the lips, and beautiful colors in lipstick. The look now is far more sheer than it is opague—in other words, you really need to take care of your skin. This is a look that reflects a healthy lifestyle. The look is dewy, and not as matte. 

What kinds of trends do you see coming up soon? 

Williams: The things we’ll probably see the most are new textures and makeup with shimmer.  Things are going to go high-tech in its actual formulation. There’ll be liner with better coverage and interesting iridescents.  They’ll be able to create a metallic effect without the makeup being heavy or overdone.  Also, I think the packaging of makeup is going to become more streamlined.  Cosmetics will go high tech.

How you incorporate fashion with celebrity on your site? 

Williams: Well, Haute-zine is an online source for fashion, beauty and information. We're basically catering to the urban demographic—I like to think of us as a black In Style, from the perspective of the image makers—the makeup artists, hairstylists and costumers. We’re trying to fill a niche—there’s a whole Hispanic, Asian and African-American demographic whose needs aren’t being met by mainstream media.  Basically, I wanted to create access to people who look like me.

Speaking of trends, are there any that simply work your nerves? 

Williams: Let’s see—the whole hair accessory trend just wore me out. Matte lipstick wore me out for a time, also. As a makeup artist, I always had people saying, “I want matte!” They wanted everything to be matte, and it kind of ties your hands as a artist—sometimes, you want to do something other than that. And then, of course [laughing], there’s what one of my makeup artist friends calls “booty lips.” 

Booty lips? 

Williams: Yeah, “booty lips”—where you take the darker liner and leave the insides of the lips bare, and put lots of gloss over it? She calls them “booty lips.” When they first came out, they were beautiful, gorgeous. Then, they kind of got worn out.  Like, “Oh, Lord—if I see another set of dark-lined lips…” 

Is there one facial feature that people tend to overlook? 

Williams: Yes–eyebrows. You've got to take the time…go and pay to have them done, if you must!  HauteZine.com’s going to do a step-by-step on eyebrows, so people can get some tips and learn. But shaping your eyebrows is one of the quickest ways to shape up your look. It can give you a really polished, pulled-together look immediately.

Do you have a favorite celebrity that you’ve worked on or would like to work on, and why? 

Williams: I liked working on Jada, because she’s beautiful. You can’t really go wrong with that face. Hers is such an easy one to make up. I worked with her for about a year; I did quite a bit of her magazine work (to promote Set It Off), and I really enjoyed working with her.  

Have you done runway work before?

Williams: I've done smaller shows. My thing’s been mostly TV and print. I haven’t done the fashion world yet, but that’s the next direction for me. 

What are the differences between movie, print and TV work?

Williams: Film makeup should be as natural as possible—the screen sees what the eye sees. You don’t want people to be distracted by the makeup—unless, of course, the goal is to make them look old or haggard. TV requires more makeup because you have a tendency to lose definition on video, and the lighting is also very strong. Runway, of course, can be “far out”—that’s where you can push the creativity. In print, it’s precision—it has to be clean and flawless. When they take that picture, the makeup can’t be smudgy or clumpy. You have to be creative, and to do a great job you have to do it flawlessly.

What are the advantages and disadvantages to working in the business? 

Williams: The money is definitely an advantage.  And if you’re lucky, you get to travel, work in exotic locations,  hobnob with celebrities and go to fancy parties.  If you’re working with a celebrity, you get treated pretty much like a star.

The con is that it’s not a 9 to 5. Sometimes you can be on a roll—and then the work stops. All those people who worked on Seinfeld for 11 years—when the show was over, they had to scramble! So, there’s an element of hustle to it. The other thing is that the way people treat you differently when you’re working with celebrities can be a double-edged sword. It feels good to have it, but sometimes it feels bad to see people treated shabbily just because. There are lots of politics involved. Now, you can sometimes take the safe route with a nice, steady gig that pays decent money. But creatively, it might not be as fulfilling.

In closing, what would you say to those who really want to get into the business? 

Williams: Get as much training as you can. Go to school—if there’s no makeup school near you, go to art school. Learn how to draw, learn how to paint, learn about colors—all of that stuff you can translate into makeup, because it’s the same thing—just pigment in a different medium. So, learning about contouring, highlighting and hue is very valuable. Then…work. If that means working in a cosmetics department or beauty supply, do that. If your church is doing plays or fashion shows, volunteer to do that. Call up photographers, tell them you’ll work for free—in exchange for photos to add to your portfolio. My advice would be to get the training, and put yourself out there to get you some work. Pay your dues!

Still struggling with that liquid eyeliner? Check out Williams' site, HauteZine.comor some tips.