Le Métier de Beauté's Erin Lockard - A Makeup Artist Rock Star

One of the joys of my year was meeting Erin Lockard, Le Métier de Beauté makeup artist extraordinaire! Erin is one of the most delightful people on earth - and enormously talented. She is shown at right above with Lisa Lingis, our wonderful Le Métier de Beauté regional representative.

We've been very lucky this year. Erin has traveled east from her usual Southern California hang-outs to help us celebrate special occasions. Just in the last few months, she was here for Nordstrom's Trend Show at Montgomery Mall (and the launch of Come One, Come All); she helped Michael Reinhardt introduce his beautiful new Capitol Kaleidoscope at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie; and most recently, she was making women gorgeous, using Jan's Jewel, of course, at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria (I left as she was working with Deborah Ourisman, a delightful gal). I have followed Erin around, like a groupie follows a rock star. At Mazza, Erin spent about an hour working meticulously on my makeup, and I loved the results. She's a perfectionist.

Erin is an artist. She knew it at age three. One day, her parents wouldn't let her watch Cinderella, so she got even. She took her crayons and drew a mural on her parents' bedroom wall! She studied art (trading her crayons for pastels) in school and painted before she became a makeup artist. She has always loved paining animals and eyes - even before she raised a makeup brush. If you watch Erin do someone's makeup, you'll see that she spends more time on the eyes (the windows to the soul) than any other part of the face.

She has promised to send me a photo of one of her animal pictures. She's a strong proponent for animal rights (e.g., whales and tigers), so Erin and I have something dear in common - besides a love for Le Métier de Beauté. We both wish we had been in those small boats challenging whalers.

Erin worked for other lines before she joined Le Métier de Beauté (thanks to Mikey's keen judge of talent). She was the manager for Giorgio Armani Beauty at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, and she was a manager for an agency for makeup artists. Over a couple of years, she also worked for several Estée Lauder companies and Fresh. Like other extremely successful makeup artists, Erin did makeup for weddings and magazines. She also went to nursing school, but her makeup artistry pulled her away. Will she go back some day? Maybe. She loves to help people, so she's be a perfect nurse.

You might not know that, more than anything else, Erin loves to brighten our days. She's a terrific people person, and she knows that when someone sits in her chair, she has an opportunity to make that woman's day special. That's the part of her work she loves the most - making us feel good about ourselves. No matter where you find Erin, you'll find big smiles.

Here's Erin above with Carol Schutte, a Best Things in Beauty reader. By the time I started taking photos of Erin and all of her new friends, it was dark outside, so I had to use my flash for these photos. Below, you'll see the finished look Erin perfected on Violet Lucas. Check out the eyes! Although I have smiling photos of Violet too, I wanted to show you her eyes - pretty before, but stunning after Erin's work.

Naturally, Erin and I chatted about Le Métier de Beauté color! Erin wants an eye shadow named for her. That sounds like a reasonable request, right? I asked her what the color would be like. She described a gold tone, somewhere in between Nutmeg and Sugar. I'll buy that. She also wants the company to bring back Bella Bronze, one of her favorite shades. See? Even company reps have wish lists!

If you get the opportunity to make an appointment with Erin Lockard, do it! I'm reminded of a local menswear advertisement on our local TV channel. "You'll love the way you look." More than that, you'll have a wonderful time.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty