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Hi there,

Ever wonder who makes QVC hosts’ and models’ make-up look so good on air and in print? Meet Adrienne, a make-up artist who has worked on everything at QVC over the last 15 years including commercials, InsideQ magazine, the program guides, and the 2013 Spring Look Book. Most recently, Adrienne worked with host Sandra Bennett for the March InsideQ cover and feature story photo shoots.

“It’s so much fun,” Adrienne told me when we met at QVC to chat. “My business card says. ‘I love what I do and it shows in my work.’ That has been my mantra since my very first job for a Salvatore Ferragamo runway show in New York City. I know how fortunate I am, and I never take it for granted. My father always told me as a young girl, ‘Once you think you know it all, pack your things, your job is done. Never stop learning!’ So, I learn every day.”

I asked Adrienne when it was she first knew she wanted to be a make-up artist, and she told me her fascination with makeup started at a very young age. “My mother had quite the assortment of Elizabeth Arden products that I quickly got my hands on. She said the first make-up application I did was on her coworker when I was about five years old. At the time, l felt compelled to give everyone who would let me very red lips and a beauty mark made from mascara or eyeliner. My father was a hairdresser and became one of the top stylists in the 1960s. He and my godfather opened a salon and I used to watch them do hair.”

Aside from her parents instilling a love of make-up and hair styling in her, Adrienne’s formal training took place at Jean Madeline Institute of Cosmetology (founded by friends of her father) where she received her hairdresser license in 1989. “Growing up I practiced doing makeup on myself and my friends. Many were kind enough to lend me their faces! When I was 19 I decided I wanted to do movies and went to school for special effects make-up at Joe Blasco in Hollywood, California. My love for special effects probably came from my father. He was a big fan of scary movies and would explain to me it was only make-up.”

Adrienne started working with QVC in the early 1990s. Her first show was with Mary Beth Roe, Nolan Miller, and four models, and she had 1 ½ hours to get everyone ready. Some of the other QVC guests Adrienne has worked with over the years include Leslie Blodgett, ****** Clark, Jackie Collins, Erica Courtney, Doris Dalton, George Hamilton, Carson Kressley, Kenneth Jay Lane, Barry Manilow, Leslie Sansone, Denise Austin, Josie Maran, Donny Osmond, Melissa Rivers, and Rachel Zoe.

Even when her career took her to the TV and film industry, Adrienne always maintained a working relationship with QVC. “I was fortunate to be able to return to QVC between films and TV shows. There are a lot of people here at QVC who are like family to me. I feel really blessed.”

Some of the TV shows she has worked on include Hack and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Her most recent film work was on the The Lovely Bones. The list of personalities Adrienne has worked with looks like the Who’s Who of Hollywood: Stanley Tucci, Mark Wahlberg, Girard Butler, Steve Buscemi, Willem DaFoe, Matthew Morrison, Luke Wilson, Danny DeVito, Matt Czuchry, Patti Duke, Ray Charles, Adam Arkin, Andre Braugher, Saoirse Ronan, David Morse, Jane Krakowski, Bebe Neuwirth, David Arquette, and Mickey Rourke.

When she is not working, Adrienne is busy raising her seven-year-old daughter, Tallulah (named after actress Tallulah Bankhead). “I was working on a movie with Mickey Rourke and one of the set dressers would tell me stories about Tallulah Bankhead. She was a strong woman who spoke her mind at a time when many woman didn’t. Tallulah is a Native American name that means ‘leaping water’ and it just clicked with me.”

When I asked Adrienne about her favorite QVC beauty products and what she loves about them, she told me she used many of them on Sandra Bennett for the March InsideQ photo shoot (see below). “I met Sandra when she first came to QVC. I did her makeup for an InsideQ (then the Insider) cover shoot and we bonded immediately. She has to be one of the sweetest people I know and an incredible mother. I have a lot of respect for her. I enjoy when we share stories about our daughters. The similarities between her youngest, Claire, and my Tallulah are uncanny.”

Shop Adrienne’s Faves*

• SPACE.NK by Terry Touche Veloutee Highlighting Concealer Brush Gives beautiful under eye coverage and goes on like “butter.” It’s like 8 hours of rest in a gold tube. 

• Temptu AIRbrush Makeup System—I use this at home and at work for a flawless finish.

• Josie Maran Set of Five Argan Lip & Cheek Color Sticks—I love the Rosey shade. It doesn’t look like blush, but gives a natural, fresh, healthy look.

• Josie Maran Argan Illuminizer from the Model’s Secret Glow Collection—The illuminizer not only makes your skin look beautiful, it nourishes it with argan oil.

• Dalton Cream Eyeliner in Black Onyx, part of the Dalton Eyeliner Trio with Brush and Clutch This never leaves my kit. The consistency makes the application easy and it stays on like a champ. The black is a true black. I can’t live without it.

• Dalton Airless Brow Fix & Brow Brush —I am a huge fan of brows and lashes; brows are the frame for the eye. This glides on with an angled brush making brows look soft and filled in.

*Product availability subject to change without notice.

Do you have a make-up question for Adrienne? Send them to QVCInsider@QVC.com and I’ll post the answers in a future blog. And be sure to view and “Like” Adrienne’s Facebook page.

Happy trails!

Troy

Editor, InsideQ magazine