Edward Bess, subtle enhancement for an elegant Parisian style

While in New York City, shopping in Bergdorf Goodman’s is always on the to-do list, including a visit to see Edward Bess makeup. The first thing that one notices about Edward is his luxurious hair - long and beautiful, irresistible to touch.  His hair is waist length and is naturally curled to perfection.  He is such a handsome and personable man, any client who is there to experience his products, which have lovely names and beautiful colors, is immediately caught in the web of conversation about very pretty things.  So fresh and young, for all ages, women swarm around Edward for a chance to be made up personally when he is in the store.

Growing up in South Carolina, Edward would give style advice to his mother and sisters.  They looked to him for what to wear and how to wear it.  “I’ve had a lifelong sense for color,” Bess says. “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t giving my mom and my sisters my two cents on what to wear. Their trust in me gave me confidence in my opinions.” He moved to New York City when he was 16 and found himself in a modeling contract.  After a few years of extensive travel, he decided to exchange his modeling career for the pursuit of creating beauty.  He began by developing his personal brand of lipsticks, designed to flatter all women, and he convinced Bergdorf Goodman in New York City that his collection “The Lip Wardrobe” needed to be in their space, resulting in a sold out run. As his makeup and skincare line has continued to grow, his “less is more” approach appeals to all customers who experience the Edward Bess brand.

The Edward Bess makeup line includes color palates for every skin tone; foundations, eyeshadows, blushes all have names that reflect the feeling you have when wearing the makeup.  Names like “lovely”, “first bloom”, or “romantic” are top sellers.  His fragrance, “Ooh la la” was developed in France and his first customer for the perfume was Oprah. Skincare and haircare with ingredients from The Black Sea finish off the collection for the complete beauty routine.

Over the past ten years, Edward Bess has expanded his counters to include Neiman Marcus in Los Angeles, online Net-a-Porter.com, and the hip department store Colette, in Paris.  Edward says, “The Colette customer is so worldly - often times from all over the world, not just Paris”.  “She has an incredible sense of style” and when a woman comes to him for advice, he is eager to share his worldly wisdom. Edward divides his time promoting his line between all of his makeup counters, and the client who gets a personal makeover from Edward himself is indeed fortunate; with his very elegant style of makeup, she will find her true beauty.