NARS

From magazine covers to powder-room counters the world over, NARS has long since conquered the world of beauty. And if the brand is officially based in New York, its DNA comes from across the pond. François Nars, the label's founder, is originally from the south-western town of Tarbes, France. Admiring his elegant mother Claudette and her gorgeous wardrobe as a child, it wasn't long before he'd developed a well-honed taste for fashion, beauty, and art. The young creator went on to study at Paris' Carlita Institute, and, following graduation, he began his career working with Olivier Échaudemaison and photographer Paolo Roversi. Distant horizons beckoned, and like so many before and after him, Nars emigrated to the United States in the hopes of securing an American Dream of his very own. Fortune smiled on the endeavor, and soon he was collaborating with the likes of Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Noami Campbell, Kate Moss, Helmut Newton, and Richard Avedon, just to name a few. In 1994 the talented creative decided it was high time to start his own line of make-up, which originally consisted of twelve hues of lipstick sold at Barney's New York. A runaway success, the cosmetics line rapidly expanded to become the full-beat arsenal we know it as today. Five years later, the iconic Orgasm blush was launched, which still remains the brand's indomitable best-seller. To promote the products, Nars took it upon himself to get behind the camera and create the label's ad campaigns himself. Applauded by the press, this multi-faceted entrepreneur had taken on yet another role: photographer. Quickly rising to become an influential image-maker, in 1999 he published X-Ray, a book of photographs featuring a host of diverse models: all ages, all origins, famous and entirely unknown. It was an avant-garde approach that heralded the calls to inclusivity that would proliferate in the years ahead.
In 2000, the label was bought by cosmetics giant Shiseido, and in 2016 François Nars would be honored with France's prestigious Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur for his contributions to the evolution of the beauty industry.