Skokie Review - T.R.E.N.D. Section
thursday february 5, 2004
Section D - page 9
 
Why is it that some brides look great in their wedding photos…and others look ghostly and wan?According to Elise Brill (Leesi B.), it’s because beauty is in the eye of the beholder—and that includes the discerning eye of the camera.
 
-- “The camera sees things differently,” says Skokie, IL resident Leesi B. “The challenge is to look great for the camera—without looking overly made-up to your wedding guests.”
 
“Wedding makeup is different from everyday makeup. To make a bride beautiful in person AND in her photos, you need to understand how the camera works.”
 
That’s something Leesi does know. Before she turned to the cosmetics arts, she worked in the film industry as a casting director for Chicago agency Kordos and Charbonneau.
 
From the time she was a child, Leesi was attracted to faces, photos, and the transformational power of film. After studying film arts at Columbia College, she spent five years as a casting director (one of the youngest in the country). Two of the first film/television projects she worked on were Raw Deal with Arnold Schwarzenegger
and Michael Mann’s Crime Story.
 
But after postponing her own wedding three times to accommodate hectic work demands, Elise decided it was time to transform herself—into a makeup artist.
 
“I’d always loved watching the artists on the set. I set out to learn everything I could about makeup and its application.”
 
She went to work for Lancôme and then Bobbi Brown. In 1993, she struck out on her own—and immediately found herself gravitating towards weddings.
 
Today, weddings make up 70% of her business. One reason is that savvy photographers frequently refer her, knowing that customers who use her are more likely to love their photos. In fact, she is already booked to 2005—and even has bookings in 2006.
 
Weddings are joyous occasions, but they can also be tricky.
 
“There’s a lot of tension in the bride’s house on the morning of the wedding. I try to be sensitive to it, to be a calming influence.”
 
Then there’s the occasional crisis to resolve—like the bride who gave herself a black eye threes days before the wedding when she tripped in an airport. (Leesi was able to cover the bruises). Or the bride who mistakenly ripped off half an eyebrow while waxing her brows. (Leesi feathered one in.) And of course, pre-nuptial pimples are all in a day’s work.
 
“I like a natural look, natural makeup. Whether it’s her eyes or her smile, I love to play up a woman’s best feature.”
 
But that’s only half the story. In the course of learning the cosmetic arts, Leesi became fascinated with cosmetic formulations. Why do some work better than others? Why do some last longer? And why do some cost so much more than others?
 
Leesi spent more than two years conducting product research. She learned how cosmetics are made and what ingredients go into various formulas. She discovered that while not all makeup is created equal, expensive designer cosmetics could be recreated at a fraction of what most designers charge.
 
She became obsessed with the idea of making high-performance makeup available at affordable prices—and thus her product line, Leesi B. Cosmetics, was born two years ago. Today, she offers more than 200 products on her website, www.leesib.com. These products are created by the same manufacturers who make the best-known designer cosmetics—but without the designer price tag.
 
Says Leesi, “We are programmed to believe that if it costs more, it’s better. That’s just not true. I sell a jar of high-performance moisturizer for $28, and it works every bit as well the $148 moisturizer you’ll find at the expensive makeup counter.”
 
Many of her customers are her bridal customers. Once they try her makeup, they want to keep using it.
 
Leesi updates her line four times a year to keep pace with fashion.
 
his fall, the look is smoky eyes, pale, slightly shiny lips, and “dewy” skin (created with mineral-pressed powder). Blue eye shadow, she reports, is in.
 
“…but not for weddings,” she quickly adds. “Blue looks harsh in photos and will look dated over time.”
 
And after hundreds of weddings, she should know.