Gucci Westman on Makeup After 40, Nicole Kidman and the Foundation She Scrapped

Gloss Angeles

Legendary makeup artist Gucci Westman discusses her transition from transformative film makeup to a signature natural aesthetic. She shares

Key takeaways

• Gucci Westman emphasizes that makeup should evolve with facial changes, specifically suggesting avoiding heavy matte foundations as one ages.
• The launch of Westman Atelier's liquid foundation was delayed by a year because the formula failed during scale-up production.

Main topics

• Makeup for aging
• Westman Atelier product development

Notable quotes

It only becomes informative when it is shared.

Conclusion

A masterclass in intentional beauty and the intersection of profession

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:14) Today's guest is legendary makeup artist and Westman Atelier founder Gucci Westman. She's created iconic looks for clients like Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, and Nicole Kidman. And while she's best known for making people look like the best version of themselves, her behind the scenes work in film proves she can completely transform them too. We discuss how makeup should evolve as we age, why she scrapped an entire foundation launch and started over, and whether she was the impossibly glamorous makeup artist neighbor at the center of that viral essay. Okay, Gucci, so before we started rolling, we were talking about all of this. amazing behind the scenes. We were like, you know, there's so many gatekeepers in LA, like no one wants to disclose. In Speaker 3 (0:57) LA, Speaker 1 (0:57) I don't Speaker 3 (0:57) know that it's limited to LA. Okay. Yeah. Speaker 1 (1:00) Okay. In the beauty world, there's so many people gatekeeping what they're doing. And you were just talking about how you've done threads before. I Speaker 3 (1:09) think it's really important and interesting to share information because it only becomes informative when it's shared. Right. You know, and if it's a source that you trust, a reliable source, there's nothing better. I only trust people I know to, you know, if I'm going to Japan and I have no idea which restaurants to go to, I'm going to ask people who I trust and I know have excellent taste and, you know, I value their opinion. So I think it's a necessity that as a community that we share. I've experienced threads twice. I know it doesn't work. Speaker 2 (1:49) And Speaker 3 (1:50) it's super painful. The last time I did it was with Dr. Seabog in London. Honestly, childbirth was less painful. Speaker 1 (1:58) I'm not. No, I can imagine. Is Dr. Seabog the one that partnered with Cindy Crawford on Meaningful Beauty? Or is that somebody else? Am I thinking of someone else? I Speaker 2 (2:07) think he's French. Speaker 3 (2:09) He's French. Oh, okay. Okay. He actually was a plastic surgeon, I think. Previously, so his approach is interesting because he goes really deep. But the pain, I was actually working with Nicole Kidman the day I decided to really impulsively do these threads. And I was in so much pain. Like he gave me. like Valium. And then he gave me something else. And then I was like, uh, I don't know. I have to do makeup like in 20 minutes. Like, oh Speaker 2 (2:38) my gosh, Speaker 3 (2:38) my hands are shaking. And Nicole never laughed so hard. Adir was there too. And Adir was like, I don't think it worked, babe. Speaker 2 (2:47) And I was like, okay, but also your face is snatched. You are stunning. So maybe I'm a makeup artist. Yes, you're an artist. You are. I think Speaker 3 (2:59) that we all have to share good information. Speaker 2 (3:03) And that is why we have this podcast. I love it. I'm so Speaker 1 (3:06) happy Speaker 3 (3:07) to be here. Speaker 2 (3:07) Not gatekeep Speaker 1 (3:08) and have people on like you. I just want to be, I have to say this because I looked it up. Dr. Seabog did Create Meaningful Beauty with Cindy Crawford. Just saying. I knew Speaker 2 (3:18) I knew that Speaker 1 (3:19) name. Speaker 2 (3:19) He should have just given you the melon extract serum. I knew I knew that name. Because when we were researching Speaker 1 (3:24) for her episode, I was like, I swear that's who that is. Wait, Speaker 2 (3:28) so Speaker 3 (3:28) what was Meaningful Speaker 2 (3:30) Beauty? Speaker 3 (3:30) I can't remember. Speaker 1 (3:31) It still Speaker 2 (3:31) exists. What is it? It's Cindy Crawford's brand. She does skincare, hair care. Very, very successful. Speaker 1 (3:38) Yeah. And he partnered with her on it to help create this. There's like this melon extract. That is like proprietary to her brand. But she started it like when Kaya was like not even born yet. Right. And now. Speaker 2 (3:51) Of course she did. She's Speaker 3 (3:52) always been clever. She is. Yes. Speaker 2 (3:55) Let's get into what everyone wants to know. What are five things that are always in your kit? I Speaker 3 (4:01) always have to have my Q-tips. They're ITs is the brand. One side is pointy. The other is actually flat and kind of rounded. Not. round, but flat and Speaker 1 (4:14) rounded. And if Speaker 3 (4:15) I don't have those, I sort of get a little bit like, Oh God, what, what, you know, it's perfect for a liquid liner. It's perfect for a little, you know, if you ever have anything, you just need a point cleaning out. I, you know, um, I have, it's kind of boring, but I have these sponges that I wet and they expand that I use for moisturizer and sunscreen. Okay. And I typically have a bag of devices that are from all over. So it can be Japanese, Korean. I have a mix. And I just like to be prepared, you know, because I have some girls that really love a good device session Speaker 1 (5:02) before makeup. When you say device, are you saying like microcurrent or gua sha? Yeah, more Speaker 3 (5:08) like the hardcore. To Speaker 1 (5:09) help lift? Speaker 3 (5:10) I think that my most used one is a Korean. device called Time Master Pro. Okay. Speaker 1 (5:16) It's Speaker 3 (5:16) actually very reasonably priced and it's quite effective. You know, you notice a little bit of less swelling if you're traveling, things like that. I do have really also important lights that I travel with, with, you know, like proper stands. All the cords, I have an extension cord. Those are things that if I don't have, I can be screwed. If there's bad lighting in a hotel room and the extension cord that also works as adapter, like it's both any currency or any frequency. What do you call it? Yeah. Speaker 1 (5:56) Yes. Yeah. Electricity. Voltage. The voltage. Thank you. Speaker 3 (6:01) I actually, my brushes, I really struggle if I don't have certain brushes that I feel like, ooh, if I don't have. for example, my spot check brush or an eyeshadow brush, then I'm just like, okay, what do I do now? I really like a liquid liner that is not waterproof because I make mistakes. If I make a mistake and then I can't fix it. That's really stressful. So I like the Too Faced one because it's water resistant. Black. It's not waterproof. Speaker 1 (6:33) Oh, Too Faced. Yeah. Wow. That's Speaker 3 (6:36) the Speaker 1 (6:36) one and Speaker 3 (6:37) it's pink, the actual pack. Yes. You know, the thing it's, it comes in that that's something I always have. I also use, this is also interesting because they're difficult to find. They're, it's called Dark Swan and they're these individual lashes from Denmark. Anyways, I get them by the trillions. I mean, I buy them all the time. They're super expensive, but they're excellent. You don't see the glue, you know, very good. Speaker 1 (7:10) And when you're applying lashes. Anne Hathaway taught me about. Oh. She's like, you have to try these. I was like, they're really good. Do you get them in Denmark or do you order them and they? I order them. Speaker 3 (7:21) Oh, wow. Speaker 1 (7:22) Okay. Speaker 3 (7:22) Yeah. Speaker 1 (7:22) From where? Speaker 3 (7:23) Their website, I think. Wherever ships. Speaker 1 (7:26) Okay. Speaker 3 (7:27) I'm sure we have to pay a tariff. Speaker 1 (7:29) When you apply eyelashes, do you apply under the lash or over? Speaker 3 (7:34) No, Speaker 1 (7:34) you're supposed Speaker 3 (7:35) to with these, but I don't, I feel like that's really intense. Speaker 1 (7:40) Yeah. On the Speaker 3 (7:40) waterline glue. I Speaker 1 (7:42) know. It's, it is a weird feeling, but I feel like it looks normal for me. Now, if I try to, because of my lid shape, if I try to do on. top of my lash line. You can see it. It just does not look natural. Same with me. I feel like Speaker 2 (7:57) it's also just, it's easier to blend. How do you Speaker 3 (8:00) make Speaker 2 (8:00) it stick Speaker 3 (8:01) though when the tear Speaker 2 (8:02) line is wet? So I buy the ones that are already have an adhesive on them. So I don't even have to like. Speaker 1 (8:07) Oh see, I can't do that. They fall right off of my lashes. Speaker 2 (8:10) Mine are the ones that have like, it's not glue, but it's like an adhesive and I just stick them on and I run out the door. But it's not because Speaker 3 (8:17) your, your eyelid, it's always like kind of wet though. Speaker 2 (8:21) But for whatever reason, it stays. Yeah, these are also Speaker 3 (8:24) supposed to be applied under. Okay. But I jack them right into the root. Okay. Yeah, Speaker 1 (8:30) you get in there. Yeah. You know how to place. Right in there. Yeah. And Speaker 3 (8:34) then I'll go in between the lashes with the Too Faced liner. Speaker 1 (8:39) Yeah, and kind of blend that together so you can see. Yeah, just like Speaker 3 (8:42) little dots of, you know, space or whatever. Yeah. It might Speaker 1 (8:47) be. All right, Gucci. You started in film makeup. where the goal can be to completely transform someone. You transformed Cameron Diaz in being John Malkovich and also created Christina Ricci's iconic blue eyeshadow look and Buffalo 66. That is such a flex, by the way. So many makeup artists want to recreate that look. They use it as inspiration for blue eyeshadow. I see it all over Pinterest all the time. It's like the perfect blue eyeshadow look. It is incredible. Speaker 3 (9:16) Wow, thank you. Speaker 1 (9:17) Yes. So ultimately though, you became known for making people look more like themselves. So you have this dichotomy of like complete transformation and super glamour to like the essence of who somebody is. What was the moment that you realized that that was your signature, not completely transforming somebody? That Speaker 3 (9:37) is, wow, that's cool. You really nailed it. And thank you for recognizing that I can do other things too. I feel like my entire career, I've been trying to remind people that I also have done many things that are not natural. Speaker 2 (9:54) Yes. And hello. You've got the Speaker 3 (9:56) receipts, babe. You know, yeah, I try to, I want to show them Speaker 2 (10:00) my transactions even, you know. Don't worry, we will. We will. See screen. Thank Speaker 3 (10:05) you. But it is, it is something that, you know, I think as an artist, everybody has a sweet spot. And I was maybe trying to fight it for a while because I also love getting my rocks off. I say that all the time. It's really important for a creative person. You become stagnant if you don't, you know, and I need that in my life or I get restless and a little moody. And so I guess what I love so much and what I did borrow a lot from doing movies and commercials and a lot of character sort of things with Spike Jonze and from the beginning is I loved. that character development and bringing that over to fashion and where you can really feel somebody's experience, where they've been. So if they've been, if it's somebody who has, you know, working with Grace Coddington also enabled me to use all of those resources that I had learned and I felt so confident and comfortable in. And so. she would say something like, oh, you know, it's as if she's lived in the desert for three weeks. And that immediately sparked this inspiration and this idea in me where I would create that skin that embodied the idea of being in the desert for three weeks. But it wasn't cosmetic looking. It would look real. Speaker 1 (11:35) And Speaker 3 (11:35) so those sort of things I really loved. And I feel that that wasn't necessarily even transformative. It was more of a... an emotion and it was a transformation in, in a, in a different sense where you're still yourself, but it looks as if a real person has experienced something. Yeah. Speaker 1 (11:56) You Speaker 3 (11:56) know, like if you too had just done hot Pilates and your hair and your skin,