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"Everyone thinks I get it right the first time, that I just pick up the liner, whiz it along, and it’s done, but I don't — it does take me time," Michael Ashton, Adele's makeup artist told me, referring to the singer's iconic eye makeup. We were sitting with Ashton right before he got Adele ready for one of her last concerts ever. The icon might be retired from the stage, but her cat-eye is eternal — and it's all thanks to Ashton.
The Marc Jacobs Beauty global artistry ambassador has been doing both her hair and makeup for a decade, single-handedly proving just how vital a signature look can be. (He even painted her nails in the early days!) But as it turns out, eyeliner was the first thing that he ever applied on Adele — and it was all by happenstance back when she was 19-years-old.
"She was going to an event with friends and I got called to cut her fringe," Ashton explains. "She asked if I could do eyeliner, and I said, 'Sure, I can do eyeliner.' I suppose it got the seal of approval because here we are!" That strategy has morphed into a three-product technique that anyone can copy.
We asked Ashton to walk us through Adele's beauty journey, sharing his tips and tricks to copy some of her most-iconic looks at home. "What I love about having started to work with Adele at the very beginning is you go on a journey together with someone, and you both grow," he says. Check out the exciting evolution, ahead.
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