patti lupone | World Wide Aura

Avis Amberg (Patti LuPone) is a former silent movie actress who has left her glory days behind but she’s still at the centre of the public life in Hollywood: her husband *is* one of the most important movie studios in town, as she explains to young Frank Castello, the aspiring actor she’s having a rendez-vous with.

Avis is all about Old Hollywood glamour, as shown by the elegant black lace lingerie and the satin robe with feathered accents she’s wearing. But make-up has its part, too.

The lipstick she’s wearing is by Bésame Cosmetics [1]: the shade is Victory Red, deep red with a neutral base, inspired to Montezuma Red and Victory Red, two popular shades created by Elizabeth Arden in 1941.

Those were the years of WWII and Arden was asked to make a lipstick for women who served in the U.S. army; the success of Montezuma Red brought to Victory Red [2], which could be worn by all those who wanted to show their patriotism in those dark times.

[1] After extensively appearing in American Horror Story: Freakshow and Feud, it was only natural to see Bésame Cosmetics featured in Hollywood, too, for an extra touch of authenticity.

[2] The face of Victory Red was Constance Ford, who would later become a famous movie and TV show actress.

In 2016-2017 the multi-Tony and Grammy winner Patti LuPone added an extraordinary role to her already stellar career: she performed as Helena Rubinstein in the musical War Paint, based on the 2004 book by Lindy Woodhead which chronicled the long-time rivalry between beauty enterpreneurs Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden.

This photoshoot by Lauren Klain Carton was published on Vulture to illustrate an interview she had with Jason McHenry: it features backstage pictures, which mean dressing room pictures, which mean cosmetics!

The first products I’ve identified are Take the Day Off, a make-up remover by Clinique, and T. N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel astringent.

And now the make-up. The products up front are by Make Up For Ever – the super matte loose powder in the round plastic pot and the high-definition pressed powder in the black compact.

The white-cap bottle on the left is MAC 2-in-1 tinted serum from the Lightful C collection.

On the right side of the table there are Make Up For Ever Brow Gel tinted brow groomer, BeneFit Roller Lash mascara, Make Up For Ever Aqua Shadow eyeshadow crayon, Aqua Lip lip liner and Rouge Artist Intense lipstick. There’s also a MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline eye liner.

The picture above also includes a bottle of MAC Studio face and body foundation.

This shot is great: LuPone in full Rubinstein attire, ready to step on stage. The product I’ve spotted here is Schwarzkopf Professional Osis+ hairspray.