Lulu Face & Body: Makeup can make your day Hollywood makeup artist pays visit to Pier Village cosmetics boutique BY GLORIA STRAVELLI Staff Writer At left: Melissa McNeel has opened the second location of her cosmetics boutique, Lulu Face & Body Cosmetic Apothecary, at Pier Village in Long Branch. At right: Renowned makeup artist Tina Earnshaw paid a visit recently to introduce her own line of cosmetics. Although it won her an Academy Award nomination, Tina Earnshaw just can’t bear to watch a replay of the blockbuster movie “Titanic.” “If I watch that movie again, I know I’m going to see all the beards and mustaches floating,” said Earnshaw, who designed the makeup for the box office mega hit. “All the beards on the second- and third-class passengers — there were a lot of beards and mustaches — and I had to keep putting them on, being [the actors were] in the water.” After more than four decades of work in print and cinema, the British makeup artist is legendary for her ability to bring out the beauty in women she works her magic on. “I’ve always found making women beautiful very satisfying. That’s what I got well known from. I made them look stunning,” she said recently during her first sojourn to the Jersey Shore. PHOTOSBY MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Nominated for Academy Awards for her work on “Titanic” and “Shakespeare in Love,” Earnshaw’s client list includes Hollywood’s elite — among them Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Connelly, Anjelica Houston, and Anthony Hopkins, on the big screen — and fashion icons like Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Jerry Hall. Her work has been captured by some of the most famous photographers, such as Annie Lebowitz and Richard Avedon, and has graced the covers of premier magazines including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire and Harper’s. Most recently, she was the makeup artist for Jennifer Connelly for the movie “Dark Water.” Earnshaw was at Pier Village in Long Branch Oct. 27-29 as part of a red-carpet tour to promote Arisan, her own line of makeup, at Lulu Face & Body Cosmetic Apothecary, 12 Centennial Drive, where hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. “I’m loving working with real people now,” said Earnshaw about the launch of her cinema-inspired color line, which is one of the upscale skin care and cosmetic lines featured at Lulu Face & Body. Arisan includes lipstick, eye shadow, glosses and cosmetic brushes. “A whole range of makeup for everyday people,” Earnshaw said. “Classic color for classic beauty. The look is ageless — modern but classical.” If making women appear beautiful is Earnshaw’s raison d’être, making them feel good about themselves is the philosophy behind Lulu Face & Body. “Women love makeup,” said owner Melissa McNeel. “The thing with makeup is, you could buy a lipstick and it could change your day. It’s about making the customer feel really great about herself.” McNeel and her sister, Teresa Newman, both Brick, opened the first Lulu Face & Body Cosmetic Apothecary three years ago in Manasquan. They decided to open a second location in Pier Village after being recruited by Pier Village management. “They approached me to come here,” she said. “I saw the area and what a great location it is and I think will be year-round once the developing is finished. “Plus, there are a lot of communities around here: Monmouth Beach, Sea Bright, West End. People from those towns will, I think, shop here. It’s all about convenience.” McNeel had previously worked for Mac Cosmetics for 13 years, most recently as regional manager in charge of Mac counters in 23 stores in New York and New Jersey, including Nordstrom and Macy’s. “I always wanted to have my own store/spa,” said McNeel, who tired of the traveling involved with her regional post and of the department store environment. “Women don’t want to go to the mall and deal with department stores,” she said. “People’s lifestyles are so busy. A small store is more convenient, and you can get prestige cosmetics.” Prestige cosmetics, according to McNeel, are a step above mass market cosmetics, having finer ingredients, more color choices and higher-end skin-care products. “They’re more focused on individual skin types,” she said. “The lines we carry include Murad, which was created by a dermatologist, and Juvena skin-care products, which are from Switzerland.” As for target market, Lulu Face & Body can stretch all the way “from teenagers to women in their 70s and older,” McNeel said, because makeup has universal appeal. “Anyone who likes to wear makeup is a potential customer,” she noted. In addition to Arisan, makeup lines available at Lulu Face & Body include Paula Dorf, which gives a classic look, and Tarte, according to McNeel, “a bit more fun and flirty.” Prices for foundation range from $35-$55, she said. “Those are the same price points as department stores,” she said, “but the service is much more personalized. We are building relationships with our customers and having fun with it. A lot of times women will come in with their friends.” Accessories include makeup brushes ($95 for an Arisan brush), cosmetic bags, candles, and hair-care products for men and women by Bumble & Bumble and Phydo. “We also have a lot of great gift ideas,” McNeel said, singling out bath and body products that relax and distress, like The Thymes line made with natural ingredients such as eucalyptus, ginseng and lavender. In addition to products and accessories, the cosmetics boutique offers makeup application sessions. “We do this by appointment for women who want to come in and try new colors for the new season or if they’re tired of their current makeup. We also do a lot of bridal makeup and special occasion,” McNeel said. The fee for a special occasion or bridal makeup application session is $50. The makeup artists at Lulu Face & Body also give makeup lessons, at a fee of $75 for a lesson that lasts an hour and a quarter. The staff are “makeup artists who all have worked in the industry for years for companies like Mac, Stila,” she added. Cosmetics, with its ever-evolving range of products and emphasis on being creative, has proved to be the right niche for McNeel. “I love the creativity. I still love doing makeup,” she said. “That’s the fun of it, and it’s fun for everyone. Young girls come in for eye glitter, lip gloss. A young girl can come in and start to learn colors that work with her skin tone and learn good application. Nowadays, young girls are very savvy about makeup. “For older women, we find out what they need, and help with that — for example, skin care, and when you age, your features change,” she continued. “So, you need to know how to protect your skin and different tricks. We’re sensitive to that.” “My philosophy is, try it on, use it; if you like it, come back and get it. I don’t want a woman to buy a bag full of cosmetics, go home and throw them in her drawer and never use them. I want her to buy one or two products, use them and come back for others.”