You oughta be in pictures …” the old song goes. But if those pictures are going to be on a magazine cover and you’re clearly out of your teens, a lot of work needs to be done to make you camera-ready.
“With young women you don’t have to do much. It’s mostly evening out skin tones or [hiding] moles,” says Leslie Jane Seymour, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire magazine. “However, as women get older they want the wrinkles taken out.”
But, she says, every reader should realize that the gorgeous girls on most magazines always have some flaw “on their face or body, things you wouldn’t know about until you photograph them.”
Chicago fashion photographer Jeff Stella agrees, and notes: “The normal aging process makes everything harder [to photograph] because you can light younger models many ways, but the older the model gets, the more limitations there are.”
Hence the reliance on retouching. “When you do [digitally retouch] photos, you can manipulate images in unlimited ways: take out pimples, lines, give more hair or even give longer legs to the models,” says Chicago photographer Jennifer Girard, who has made a career shooting actors, models and celebrities.
Despite the fact that virtually all magazine photos are retouched in some way, Seymour says the natural look is in and magazines want their cover girls to look like themselves.
Which was reassuring to our “cover girl,” Rita Marks. “Those women are all beautiful–and so young. I’m not glamorous and I’m not a size 2,” says Marks, herself a slim size 8.
We recruited Marks, 54, a dental assistant and the mother of a grown son, to see what preparations are needed for this kind of photo shoot.
It took nearly seven hours to transform her. “My back was killing me from sitting in the makeup chair,” Marks says. But was it worth it? “I look so good–when I looked in the mirror I didn’t recognize myself.”
NOON
Rita Marks, a week before the makeover
5:30 P.M.
A day before the makeover, colorist Steven Smiss of the Marianne Strokirk Salon deep-conditions Marks’ dry, color-treated hair, and recolors it dark blond with honey blond highlights. Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.
8:00 A.M.
The day of the makeover, Marks receives a neutral French manicure at the Ivan Noel Salon. Time: 45 minutes.
9:00 A.M.
Stylist Cat Di Domenico of Ivan Noel trims Marks’ naturally curly hair. Then, she uses a round brush to straighten the hair while she blow-dries it. Time: 2 hours.
Noon
Bobbi Brown makeup artist Judy Belo of Bloomingdale’s Michigan Avenue prepares Marks’ face. On the day of our shoot, a nasty cold left Marks with the cosmetic challenges of a red nose, puffy eyes and sallow skin. Belo uses concealer under the eyes (above) and applies contour shadow (left). Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.
1:35 p.m.
Bloomingdale’s stylist Christina Pollastrini holds the red suit Marks will wear (right) while Belo tests lipstick shades against Marks’ complexion as well as the suit. Time: 10 minutes.
1:55 p.m.
Di Domenico (left) and Belo do final touch ups.
Time: 5 minutes.
2:10 p.m.
After nearly seven hours of preparation, Marks’ makeover is complete. To mimic magazine shots, Marks’ finished portrait was digitally retouched.
