ELLIS FAAS - by Melissa Street

Ellis Faas has always had an eye for fashion, even as a young girl in the Netherlands she would plaster her bedroom walls with images from Vogue magazine and would sometimes make her own clothes!

She began her career as a photographer working with Serge Lutens, where she would often be used as the model and she would completely transform herself with makeup. As time passed, she grew to dislike the technical side of photography and she decided to develop her new passion for makeup.

She headed to Paris where she trained in makeup and special effects at Christian Chauveau’s Technical School of Artistic Makeup. She returned to the Netherlands after graduating and began to work for various fashion magazines and on a few movies. She moved to London in search of more creative challenges. There she used her talents and training in special effects by imitating skin diseases for medical advertisements.

When the great Mario Testino discovered her, a collaboration was born and Ellis would soon be traveling with Testino to Paris, New York and Los Angeles.  Through Mr. Testino she would meet fashion editor, Emmanuelle Alt, who would then introduce her to Karl Lagerfeld.

Ellis has worked for brands such as Clinique, Lancôme and MAC Cosmetics, and she was commissioned by L’Oreal to create a line of makeup for the brand Biotherm. When her contract ended with L’Oreal in 2007, she went on to create her own brand: ELLIS FAAS.

The Human Colors Collection from ELLIS FAAS is a big favorite of mine. I absolutely agree with Cate Blanchett’s explanation of the line…”The line of ELLIS FAAS is based on the colors that the body produces naturally. The important thing is finding the balance between the tone of the skin and the shades of makeup you choose.”

This collection is filled with tawny peach, pure freckle tones and vivid blood red like that which pulses through your veins! Faas used human beings as a universal spectrum, so the colors in this range complement all skin tones.

“Only tested on Super Models and never on animals,” the ELLIS FAAS brand is also exclusively manufactured in Europe, this means that the ingredients within the ELLIS FAAS line are also never tested on animals!

Another remarkable thing about this line is their packaging! The product itself is in a “pen” form with dial up technology. A few clicks and the product is dispensed out of either brush or doe-foot applicators. To store your “pens” ELLIS FAAS sells a “holder,” which can fit a maximum of six normal pens, along with one foundation pen and a compact powder. You can also clean the sponge or brush applicators with a little bit of soft soap, which is recommended by the company for hygiene purposes and to prevent the applicators from clogging. For more information please visit the ELLIS FAAS FAQ Page on their website.

My favorite products from this line are: Creamy Lips L101 “Ellis Red."

Creamy Eyes collection.

Eyeliner E501 Black and Mascara E401 Black.

It is the brand I use both personally and professionally. The ELLIS FAAS collection can be hard to find. I get mine online from the company directly or from Sephora.com http://www.sephora.com/ellis-faas.