Whether creating make-up looks for fashion shows or conjuring up a new lip shade, Tom Pecheux has one goal in mind.
'First, it's to make the woman look her most beautiful. And afterwards, if you can bring in an accessory - a bright colour, maybe a bright blush, or eyeliner, an interesting eye shadow - that's the creative part,' says the creative make-up director of Estee Lauder. 'But it's important to make a woman look her best and feel comfortable before getting creative. It's really important for a woman to feel confident and great wearing make-up.'
Originally from Chablis, France, Pecheux didn't set out to become one of the world's leading make-up artists. 'It really started by accident,' he says. 'I was a pastry chef but I didn't really enjoy working in the kitchen. One night I went to a party and met a girl who was at make-up school. I didn't even know make-up could be a profession. But something clicked inside my head that this was the career for me.'
Pecheux enrolled in Paris' Ecole des Techniques du Maquillage Artistique Christian Chauveau make-up school, working in theatre and ballet before deciding on a career in fashion. After gaining prominence with the French editions of Marie Claire and Glamour, Pecheux joined forces with two other rising stars of fashion, photographer Mario Testino and former French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld.
'We developed a very strong relationship and at that time, when the two key make-up looks were either super made-up or grunge, we created the healthy, natural-looking woman who was rich, playful and beautiful,' he recalls.
Pecheux went on to work with top fashion houses and on shoots with celebrities and supermodels. 'I think the woman who most impressed me was Princess Diana,' says Pecheux, who did her make-up for a 1997 cover for Vanity Fair. 'She was not the most beautiful woman, but she had the most beautiful aura.'
