Jake Bailey, the beloved 37-year-old makeup artist who died too soon last week, built a network of admirers in Hollywood like few people could. Until the inventor of the camera that takes off ten pounds comes around, good professional makeup artists will always be a girl’s best friend in front of the cameras. (Even Liz Taylor –noted for her jewels — might admit even diamonds come in second. Taylor doted on her makeup artist Francesca Tolot, who’s worked with the likes of Kim Basinger, Julia Roberts, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Sharon Stone, Sophia Loren, Beyonce, Madonna, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson.)
Jake Bailey’s list of loyal celebrity clients was not shorter and was saturated with a new generation of luminaries who face cameras far more frequently than Ms. Roberts or Ms. Loren did. Bailey crafted unique looks for Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Emmy Rossum and — crucially for his career — Paris Hilton. (Hilton said in sorrowful remembrance that she’d worked with Bailey for 15 years and that they’d traveled the world together.) Bailey, who was also a photographer, seemed ever grateful to be in the position he’d attained for himself. Grateful and cheerful, optimistic and always looking in new directions. (Peruse his tweets to engage a seemingly happy man.) The secret to his success is found there too, in an off-handed observation that displays a depth of thinking in a person whose profession was literally surface beauty. Reading it you realize he kept all those clients happy not because no one else curled a lash like Jake, but because he knew exactly how important it was — and wasn’t. On September 18, Bailey tweeted: “Physical beauty may get you laid but it won’t get you loved.” His clients treasured his honesty above all. And it’s why they’re all bereft at his passing.
