Sandy Linter, 73: Makeup Superstar

 

Starting at the Bloomingdale’s makeup counter at the tender age of 21, by 27 the self-taught makeup artist was doing the faces for a who’s who of celebrity and society including Jackie O and Barbara Walters.  It was the time of Studio 54, of the permanence of the glossy magazines, of fabulously creative fashion photography sessions, and she was at the center of it, literally. She was the blond featured in the famous Chris von Wangenheim fence photo with it girl of the moment Gia. She was in the in-crowd, a celebrity in her own right, along with the famous faces she brought to life.

In 1979, Linter released Disco Beauty: Nighttime Makeup, her most iconic book to date, which many of her fans know her by. It was a time when she regularly worked with the great photographers of the time: Avedon, Elgort, Penn, and 20 years with Albert Watson.  She did countless covers of Vogue, working on superstar models Brooke Shields, Patti Hansen, Tara Shannon, Rachel Hunter, Rosie  Vela, Gia, Anjelica Huston, and Christie Brinkley. Sandy worked with supermodel Cheryl Tiegs in the entire decade of the 1980s, and has been doing Elizabeth Hurley since 1995, doing all the big campaigns for Estée Lauder. 

Today, she continues to do makeup on a daily basis and has established herself as one of the foremost experts in beauty for women of every age, having published the book The Makeup Wakeup: Revitalizing Your Look at Any Age. At 73, like all of us, she has had some bumps, a recent 1/2 knee replacement being one of them. But the sassy girl from Brooklyn is not done yet. If you want to know about makeup, there is no greater expert on earth. Sandy knows faces, she has spent her entire life dedicated to and surrounded by beauty. She knows skin, in a way that only experience of that level can produce a deep knowledge of the craft. 

The world of uber-creative fashion shoots, the result of the combined genius of brilliant stylists, photographers, hairstylists, and makeup artists, have changed. Digital diminished it to a shadow of what it was. Even when there are magazine shoots, fashion wants the latest young talents, and so she works more now directly with her celebrity clients and less on photo shoots. “They were the best, most creative days of my life, but that world doesn’t exist anymore. I can look back and be grateful that I was there for it, but I also find looking forward is so exciting.”

“Beauty is different now; there are so many more body types and ethnicities than in those early days. Today we have a variety of skin color and women are more voluptuous, in an almost 1950s sort of way, than they were then. Back then they had a couple of black models, but there were few, and virtually no Asian faces.”

 

“In the ’70s, beauty was all about the outsides, the surface; it was not about health or about what was happening on the inside. This was never spoken about. Today, there is still importance placed on the beauty of the face but, thankfully, feeling beautiful is so much more important now. To feel beautiful on the inside you need to feel the respect of other people and to feel a deep sense of self-respect. If we think about Marilyn Monroe, once thought of as the most beautiful woman in the world, she didn’t feel that way internally — it was very hard for her. We have to realize that these women who are looked at for their beauty have lives that are not easier than our lives. They work hard at it, and they have to manage all the conflicts that come with it.”

 

Chanel makes a terrific blush. It is a cream blush on a stick: Les Beiges.  The glow blends easily on the skin. It comes in a range of colors and is a good refreshing look for over 50s.

We are hearing about post-pandemic exuberance about to burst onto the streets. Are you sensing anything, maybe with eyes and color?
Color is definitely back these days, but for those of us over our 50s, we have to be careful. I like the pinks, dark rose, and even orange tones. For the lashes, you want to accentuate them. Chanel mascara is fabulous for thick or thin lashes. For under-eye concealer, I like YSL Touche Eclat concealer. They have a wider color range now. Personally, I wear eye make and false lashes daily. Kiss trio lash ‘looks so natural lashes’ is what I wear.

 

I use Chanel LE Blanc to remove makeup, I use a face brush from Anisa to do this. It is better than a washcloth. I actually have a collection of skincare brushes by Anisa- to apply skincare, and also for applying makeup. I use the very economical and trustworthy Andréa eye Q’s eye makeup remover pads. I’ve added at night the SBLA , neck, chin and jawline sculpting wand.

 

Anything else you could recommend?

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/sandylinter/

 

Main cover photo by: Leslye Kohl