Celebrating one of the Arab world’s leading makeup artists – Bassam Fattouh, the trailblazer finding beauty in every woman.
Vogue Arabia, March 2022. Photo: ELSN
For makeup artist and creative Bassam Fattouh, beauty has always been deeply individual. On set with Lebanese television host Jessica Azar, Fattouh carefully studies every contour of her elegant face, before beginning his deliberate brushstrokes. Drawing from more than two decades of practice, he could create his iconic bridal beauty look in his sleep, yet still takes the time to evaluate his canvas before tailoring his style to her individuality. “For me, being a makeup artist is knowing how to work with each person’s face, not against it”, he explains. “Being creative isn’t about drawing the same graphic on every client, like you sometimes see on social media. A woman’s face isn’t a flat sheet of paper, so artists need to know how to capture and enhance her individual beauty.”
March 2022, Vogue Arabia. Photo: ELSN
It’s a philosophy Fattouh has carried with him since he first left Beirut in the mid-1990s, to learn the art of makeup at the famed La Maison de Beauté Carita in Paris. Returning with the technical skills to match his innate creativity, Fattouh says he wanted to do makeup his own way. “I came back to Lebanon with a different vision compared to what makeup artists in my hometown were doing. It was 1998, and I was really very young, and I had no clients. The war had finished, and it was the start of rebuilding our country,” he remembers. The makeup artist opened his first beauty boutique as Beirut turned a fresh page. “It was hard work but also exciting to see the city rebuild and find herself again,” he muses. “This was, for me, the golden age of Lebanon, and a show of her strength.”
Vogue Arabia, March 2022. Photo: ELSN
Unlike his peers, Fattouh wanted to be front and center as an artist, calling the decision to market himself as the major turning point for his career. “I wanted to build my own name, not another company’s name, so I was really the first artist in the Middle East to advertise his own work, by hiring a photographer and stylist, then getting my images published in magazines.” It was through this self-starter set-up that Fattouh met his first muse, the singer Haifa Wehbe, who he continues to work with 20 years later. “I met Haifa by coincidence at a TV station when she wasn’t yet a star, just a promising young artist. I was amazed by her beauty, so I told her, let’s do a photo shoot. Luckily, she said yes, and immediately after that it was a big boom, where we were in all the magazines. Afterward, all the stars began approaching me to work with them.” Fattouh’s little black book of clients is a long list of the Arab world’s best-known faces, rising talents, and iconic designers, with the likes of Haifa, Elissa – “truly beautiful inside and out,” he shares – Assala, Adriana Lima, Valerie Abou Chacra, and countless others on speed dial. “Bassam is not just a close friend of mine, he is my only makeup artist and the only one I trust to make me feel beautiful and confident during my shoots and events,” confides Elissa. “When he does my makeup I feel that I’m the prettiest and the most confident woman in the room.” “Bassam truly understands a woman’s beauty and he knows how to bring out her best,” agrees Azar. “He is gifted in a way that his work makes your beauty traits stand out, and so you love even your smallest imperfections.” Najwa Karam says, “He gives me this confidence about myself and makes me feel beautiful.” Despite his famous clientele, Fattouh maintains that he sees every woman in his chair as a star in her own right. “Every woman is a muse to me. When I meet someone, I study her face, think how I can enhance her natural beauty, and help her look and feel even more beautiful.”
With Najwa Karam
Fattouh’s specialty – glowing bridal makeup – was born from his desire to see his clients happy. “It is so special to see the bride’s satisfaction and happiness, her bright eyes. For that day, I’m invested in just making her the most beautiful she’s ever been.” Featuring a dewy base, sweetly flushed cheeks, and subtle but shimmering eyes, Fattouh’s bridal look is a far cry from the stereotype some hold about Arab makeup, a misconception that Fattouh laughs about. “Th is may be shocking, but there is a perception that Arab women wear only heavy makeup. And it’s not true – women here love a soft and natural look as much as something glamorous.” He says that his clients – famous or not – are most interested in makeup which “respects their features;” that adopts international trends and makes them their own. In turn, points out Fattouh, global beauty is influenced by the Arab world, with stars like Kim Kardashian adopting elements of classic Arabian makeup. However, he says that Arab women retain their edge. “For the modern Arab woman, her strength is that she merges the styles of both east and west. As Lebanese, we have an amazing culture, and are educated with open minds. We are the pioneers of the Arab world, especially in the fashion and the beauty industry. Maybe that’s what makes us stand out again and be successful in what we do.”
Haifa Wehbe with Bassam Fattouh
The youngest of four, Fattouh says the woman closest to him, his own mother, didn’t have the time to spend on her own makeup while raising her family during the war. The trauma has been long reaching, with a close relative’s shooting a devastating event for his mother, in particular. “My mom didn’t have time to take care of herself, and definitely she was sad,” he reflects. “Maybe, in my subconscious, that’s why I like to beautify women. Maybe I wanted to erase the sadness on my mom’s face, to see the brightness in her eyes, as a beautiful woman. When I became established, I could do my best to take care of her and give her some of the happiness she deserved.”
Fattouh working with Elissa
It was this desire to make women feel happy through beauty that launched Fattouh onto his next great adventure: the debut of Bassam Fattouh Cosmetics in 2010. “I was the first Lebanese makeup artist to launch their own makeup brand, and it was my dream,” he reminisces. Pulling elements from his go-to beauty staples, Fattouh devised a range which would make beauty more streamlined for both his customers and other makeup artists. “I wanted to develop an authentic brand that reflects what I like, with my know-how of what women like, especially in the Middle East. I’m always thinking of products to solve a specific problem or suit a need for my clients,” he explains. “Previously I would mix products to get the results I wanted. I used to apply a loose shimmery eyeshadow to highlight the face, because we had no powder or liquid highlighter at the time. That’s why I created my Backlighting liquid highlighter, which turns to a powder finish on the face.” His influence has reached the fashion greats, with the makeup giant counting Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad as both friends and creative collaborators. He also works with regional and global designers on fashion week runways and collection look books. “I’m involved in the fashion world, and I have a great relationship with many Lebanese and international designers,” he smiles. “I have worked for so long with Elie Saab – he is a pioneer who opened the door for all Lebanese artists to be recognized for their talents. Collaborating with designers who are at that global level is an incredible experience that allows me to combine my passions.” The makeup artist even delivered a flawless beauty look for Christina Mourad for her wedding to Elie Saab Jr.
March 2022, Vogue Arabia. Photo: ELSN
After two decades of success, Fattouh is looking to reach a new height, exclusively revealing his plans. “My dream is to have my own beauty academy. I love to teach and educate artists, and it would be a career high to open a Bassam Fattouh academy for mentoring that new generation.” This next venture will be firmly ensconced in his beloved Lebanon, partly because of the confidence he has in the country’s own future success. “I have no choice but to believe that Lebanon will once again return to her full greatness – this is why I stay,” he muses. “The Lebanese are so strong, and we are born with the ability to build then to rebuild again. We almost lost everything, but Lebanon still has talents, and I believe that it will boom again, and the golden age will return.”
Read Next: 6 Tips for Perfecting Your Contour with Bassam Fattouh
Originally published in the March 2022 issue of Vogue Arabia
Makeup: Bassam Fattouh
Art director: Oussama Francis
Hair: Yehia Chokr at Yehia and Zakaria Salon
Photography assistants: Joe Ghanem, Hassan Abou Melhen at Millimeter Pro
Hair assistant: Reda Chokr
Model: Jessica Azar
