EVANGELISTA: Did you love working with him during the era when you worked with him, or did you wish you could’ve worked with him in another time? EVANGELISTA: It’s those colors you always mixed together to put on my face—the colors that you used on me. They were flat and matte, and then you’d add. EVANGELISTA: When was the first time that you ever played with makeup? Did you get into mother’s makeup? NARS: Well, the only thing I can tell you is that I was obsessive. Today, it’s all about postproduction, though, which is a bit sad to me because I come from an era where there was not as much retouching. There were mirrors—we learned about mirrors. But a good photographer and a good makeup artist could not rely on retouching. It’s very funny because I was talking with Bruce Weber the other day, and he said to me, “Do you believe that everything is so computerized? I’m still shooting film; I never went to digital.”

NARS: She’s been to Tahiti with my dad many times, but now a little bit less in the last couple years. It’s a long trip. i aLwayS fELT LikE i couLd do makEup wiThouT So many producTS . . . ThE fun parT of doinG makEup iS rEaLLy mixinG ThinGS. François Nars EVANGELISTA: But there were so many girls booked on that shooting, and we were just sitting and waiting. Then I got my turn, and I got so insecure because you were all talking about my gums and my knees. I thought, “Oh, they don’t like me. There’s something wrong with my gums. They’re saying, ‘When she smiles, we can see her gums.’” And I’m like, I’m gonna get thrown out of here because of my knees.NARS: Of course it’s annoying. It’s getting so hard to find the good names after almost 20 years. I have this little agenda that I’m filling up 24 hours a day with names. So I’m working on it even when I sleep. Sometimes I wake up and write down a name in my agenda. Can you imagine? We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Synthetic Wax, Polyethylene, Dimethicone, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Hydroxyapatite, Diisostearyl Malate, Microcrystalline Wax/Cera Microcristallina/Cire Microcristalline, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Glyceryl Behenate, Sorbitan Sesquiisostearate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Calcium Stearate, Tin Oxide, Simethicone, Bht, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum), Linalool, Citronellol, Limonene, [+/- (May Contain/Peut Contenir): Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Carmine (Ci 75470), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Mica, Red 28 Lake (Ci 45410), Red 33 (Ci 17200), Red 33 Lake (Ci 17200), Red 6 (Ci 15850), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140)].

NARS: You were actually there. I think it was on that shoot in Miami with Steven for Italian Vogue. Guy bourdin waS onE of ThE phoToGraphErS who rEaLLy infLuEncEd mE To bEcomE a makEup arTiST, and i fELT ThaT hE dESErVEd To bE GiVEn crEdiT for ThaT. François NarsEVANGELISTA: So what’s your favorite thing to do now? Making makeup? Taking pictures? Working on your campaigns? Or do you love all of it?

EVANGELISTA: When I see the way brands name their products now, I want to scream, because you were the first one to come up with these amazing names for your colors, which absolutely describe the color. That was your concept, and I feel like that’s part of what made your products so unique.

François Nars

NARS: Other people have tried very hard, but I think I’ve still got the best names. There’s nothing you can do, so you have to take it as flattery. NARS: Yes. She’s brand-new to me, so I can’t say. She’s got a look, yeah, but having a look is not enough. To me, that’s not necessarily a model. Before you, there were people like Veruschka. Those were models who will stay forever. I feel today, no matter what, you don’t really see girls that you feel have the potential to stay and become really iconic. I’m sorry, but that’s how I feel.