Teen Vogue's Makeup Muse Test-Drives Jason Wu's New Makeup Line

by Jane Keltner de Valle

Early on in my pal Jason Wu's career, I remember him calling me in a panic. An up-and-coming young actress had worn a dress of his to a premiere-a coup under ordinary circumstances. But, he informed me: "the hair and makeup were all wrong." From then on, he took it upon himself to act as red carpet style advisor to anyone he dressed, going so far as to call in shoes and bags (before he launched his own line of accessories) and to book beauty teams.

Thus, when he confided in me last New Year's Eve that he would be collaborating with Lancôme on a capsule makeup collection, I wasn't the least bit surprised. Jason has always been about a head-to-toe look. One of the perks of being close friends with a designer (aside from having him design my wedding dress-swoon!), is that I get to advise on and test-drive his creations long before they hit stores. So when a package arrived at my office with a chic mascara wand and lipstick, both packaged in his signature dove gray, I considered it my duty to apply, and apply liberally. The lip color is a rich, glamorous red, the kind that will transform you into a modern-day screen siren in one fell swipe. (Jason loves a glamour girl. The I-just-rolled-out-of-bed grunge look has never been his cup of tea.) Next: the mascara. As a fair-skinned blonde, I've always wrestled with black being too harsh for my complexion. Yet, I find brown to be blah. Here lay the product of my dreams. Midnight blue! A magic wand for lashes if I ever saw one.

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