Makeup Artist François Nars Opens Up About His New Documentary
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Watching Unknown Beauty: François Nars, the new documentary directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland, is like getting to peer inside the legendary makeup artist’s brain. Though it does lend insights into Nars’s childhood and early life—like summers in Biarritz with his mother, Claudette—and the launch of his namesake brand, the film is more so a love letter to the films, images, and people that have inspired his art throughout his life.
Scenes from over 50 films are played alongside backstage footage and rare images of some of Nars’s muses, like Lauren Hutton, Isabella Rossellini, and Unknown Beauty’s narrator, Charlotte Rampling. “The exaltation that cinema brings me is always very present in my creative universe,” the artist says at the start of the documentary, before it descends into a stream-of-consciousness narrative revealing how Nars came to New York and built his beauty empire. The film is a must-watch for creatives and anyone who loves the intersection of beauty and cinema.
Ahead of the documentary’s release today, Bazaar sat down with the prolific makeup artist and photographer to further dissect his love of cinema both new and old.
How did this documentary come to be? And why do it now?
It was actually not my idea. Because I hate talking about myself. So, it really came from the team at Nars—they thought it was going to be great to have some kind of, like, story about my life and about whatever. They gave me full freedom of how I want the documentary to be. When I heard that Lisa Vreeland was going to be the one doing it, it made me really excited. I was very happy to do this with her. We understood each other very well. She has that, you know, great culture. And I love her documentaries that she previously did, so it was a fun, fun process.
For me, it was really about talking about my inspiration, and where it comes from, and what really drove me all those years to become a makeup artist first and then a photographer, and then to open a makeup line. So that was the whole idea, to show what I love.
You’re so obsessed with cinema, and much of the documentary touches on that. How did it feel to turn the camera and narrative on yourself?
Oh, well, it’s always so exciting. You know, I love doing makeup, but I love taking pictures. It’s really, it’s so complementary, you know, and they go so well together. Having in front of your camera so many iconic people that I always admired or, or loved, you know, in the past—I think it’s wonderful to be able to take pictures of people that you are really attracted to, that you admire, with their work. I’ve learned so much watching all those movies about light, about lighting, about fashion—I come from a good school.
You reference many movies from different time periods in the film. Is there a recent movie you’ve seen that you left feeling just really inspired by?
Oh, that’s an interesting question. I really talked so much about my youth in the movie, and about all the movies that really made a strong impression growing up, and of course, all along my life. I still watch a lot of movies. A recent movie—there was one movie that I saw the other day that I really, really thought was great. It’s called The Duelist. It’s a Russian movie, but the visual of the movie is very interesting. It was on some channel, I think it was on HBO or something. The visuals are unbelievable. And the critics, when I read what they were talking about, they too said the visuals and actors are amazing. It was a very interesting story about the old aristocracy of St. Petersburg, you know, back before the tsar. It’s very well done.
Where do you usually watch all these movies? Are you going to the theater? Do you subscribe to all kinds of channels where are you consume all of this movie content?
I’m truly addicted to [Turner Classic Movies]. I’m obsessed with TCM. When I’m home, I have it on all the time on and, you know, of course, some movies are more interesting than others. But I must say I love watching TCM—it’s my favorite channel in the world.
Since so much of the documentary touches on film, I looked at your IMDb page. I saw only one credit, and it was for Mars Attacks!—a great film. I grew up watching that! Can you tell me about it?
It’s true. I created the makeup on the alien girl—you know, Lisa Marie.
Would you like to do more in film, or would you rather stay an admirer than work in it?
It’s a good question. I love period movies, because I always feel that the period makeup is not always exactly how it should be. And I’m always a bit disappointed by period movies that take place in the 1800s. I love the research. If I was doing a period movie makeup, I would go to a museum and get thousands of books on painting, which I have already, but you know, you have to study paintings. And I feel like, you know, a lot of directors don’t really pay enough attention to exactly how makeup was—if there was less or more, sometimes they put more or put not enough. So I would love that. But for some reason I’ve never been asked to do that. Don’t forget in America, too, there’s the union. So it’s quite complicated—I don’t know how I was able to do that Tim Burton movie, Mars Attacks! but I guess it was easier then to be the creative person? One of my favorite period movies is Barry Lyndon by Stanley Kubrick—I thought that was the most amazing makeup that was done in that movie. The light was incredible. It was candlelit with a special camera and special lens. So, I would love to work on movies—to create the makeup.
We’re going to get you an Oscar. Don’t worry—that’s going to be our goal.
As long as I was doing a good job, I’d be happy to receive it.
Looking back at your life now through this film, did compiling all of that archival footage and photos bring any memories back to you during this process?
I think at the age of seven or eight years old, my parents took me to the movies a lot. My parents loved the cinema. So I learned so much. I have a gigantic, gigantic collection of movies, DVDs; I purchase them on as soon as they come out on Blu-ray. I’m talking thousands and thousands of DVDs. It was very hard in that movie to select, let’s say, I think we went up to 50 movies, but could have selected, like, 400 movies that I love so much. I’m really a big, big, big movie lover, you know, and I have an incredible library in my head of so many movies: American, European, really quite an incredible range. So I rediscovered some of them, but they are always present. I’m always looking at them for inspiration for when I take pictures or for Nars campaigns. These movies are always with me in my head.
Is there a particular makeup look in a film that still strikes you as being so beautiful and so good to this day? Is there just one beauty look that you go back to all the time as a source of inspiration?
I was on TCM the other day and I was rewatching The V.I.P.s—have you seen that movie, with Elizabeth Taylor? She was so brilliant with makeup. She would look so elegant. I mean, you should see her hair. It takes place in an airport, and she’s taking a plane, the plane is delayed. And there are all these great actors around her, but she just looks unbelievable. I mean, she has on a lot of makeup. It’s not a natural look. She was so beautiful. It’s very inspiring: the lipstick, the eye shadow. I think young makeup artists should really watch old movies. Elizabeth Taylor is one that really always has fun makeup to look at.
I was also so touched by how you speak about your grandmothers in the film. I read what you said about how your foundation was inspired by your mom’s dislike for for most other foundations. If you had to guess, what do you think your grandmother’s favorite Nars products would be?
Oh, well, one grandmother on my father’s side would love the lipsticks, because she was really into red lips. She would never go out the house without her red lips. So she would love all the lipsticks that we have; any of the Nars lipsticks, she would go crazy for. My other grandmother, she liked lipstick, too. She wore lipstick, but they were not wearing a lot of makeup. But I would say both of them were really addicted to their lipstick, you know?
I’m so curious to know, do you spend any time on TikTok?
No, no, I don’t.
There are some funny videos fictionalizing what the Nars naming process must be like, given products like Orgasm blush and Climax mascara. I’ll have to send them to you. Can you give me a little bit of a short history on how the name Orgasm came to be?
The blushes were all names of emotions, like feelings and emotions. So one of them, you know, I picked it out of the blue—I thought orgasm … why not? Orgasm for life, loving life, enjoying life—it was not necessarily a sexual thing. Women love the shade, and then the name got picked up, you know, all over the planet. I think the names give an identity to each color instead of just having boring names. I give them movie names, location names, anything that makes you dream, that makes you happy. I would have called them just numbers—number one, number two, number three—but that was also a bit boring at the end. We got copied so much by so many other brands giving. like, really fun names. It’s really an idea that I had from day one when I created the brand.
Orgasm Blush
sephora.com
$32.00
I also read that you’re more of a night owl than an early riser. I’m guessing that’s still true. If you find yourself unable to sleep, like in the middle of the night, what do you do?
I try not to, but I stay up quite late. It happens! I’m trying to be better because I could stay up until two o’clock in the morning watching, or drawing, or just thinking. It’s not maybe the best thing for you. So I’m trying to go to sleep now around 12 midnight or 12:30. I sleep pretty well. I have a very good sleeping diet—I try not to get any caffeine too late in the night. I try to eat very early. I have a lot of habits that I’m trying to be good at to help me sleep better. I’m following a lot of like, nutritionists, doctors, I watch a lot of YouTube, and all that, and I’m really trying to change diets and be a good guy. I have little agendas where I work, I write things, names or anything, that comes to my mind in the middle of the night.
You’re still deeply involved in the brand. What are you working on? What’s next?
I’m always working on the next campaign ideas, the next colors. I’m always thinking about doing a new book. I’m supposed to travel quite a lot for work in the coming months. I’m going to France, I’m always getting inspiration there. I’m always writing stuff that comes to my mind. Or let’s say I see a great movie and I love the name of the movie. That’s how I found the name Jungle Red. I’m very eclectic, and anything can really inspire me. I try to be inspired by the great things and not all the nightmares happening on the planet. I try to keep the idea of beauty in my head. I need to be surrounded by beauty.
Unknown Beauty: François Nars is now available to rent on Apple TV and Prime Video.
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