Do You Know The Story About A Makeup Bag?

  A makeup bag isn't normally something you see all over Instagram. But when it's a bag as cool as the one Dior gifted to the guests of their Dior Beauty & Operation Smile luncheon last week, it's easy to see why. The black pouch features a gorgeous illustration created by Dior's resident artist, Jamie Lee Reardin, a Canadian-born illustrator living in southern California whom the brand brought on last year. Since then, Reardin has collaborated with Dior on various events, attended their ready-to-wear collection in Paris this season, and watched her career skyrocket. After spotting the bag all over my Instagram feed, I gave Reardin a ring to ask her all about it. Unfortunately, the bag isn't for sale (tear), but don't be too sad: In honor of her year anniversary with the brand, Reardin graciously agreed to create four exclusive illustrations, just for Allure, of her favorite Dior runway looks of all time. Keep reading to check out all the amazingness.

  Tell me all about this makeup bag! "So the illustration for the bag was based on [Dior's] new Tie Dye collection for summer 2015, and I just wanted to make sure I incorporated the colors that were infused in all of the lipsticks and palettes. I also drew inspiration from the Dior spring 2012 show, where Raf [Simons] had done a couple of really vibrant tie-dye prints on the dresses. So I kind of took the shapes of those dresses and the colors of the makeup collection and tied it all together into the illustration."

  Cool! Where else do you find inspiration for your work? "I pick up inspiration from everywhere. I'm obsessed with Tim Burton; I hope to work from him one day. I get a lot of inspiration from Walt Disney. I love the photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott—they are incredible—and Tim Walker as well.... I try to draw that sense of magic that is in his photographs into my work."

  How long did it take you to create the bag?"Because of the short turnaround time, it was a quick process. I did the sketch in three different mediums—pencil crayons, watercolors, and I did a combination of gouache and watercolor paints, which is what we ended up choosing because it was more impactful than the other two."

  How are being a makeup artist and a fine artist similar? "It's so interesting, I was just speaking with a makeup artist the other day, and she was saying how a lot of her clients expect her to be a really great artist on paper because she's so great at makeup artistry. And she was saying that she has no drawing skills, and I was like, 'I don't have any skill applying makeup on other people.' I guess they're similar in that both mediums are about enhancing features, making parts of the face stand out, and also looking at how colors blend together. It's funny—makeup artists will often focus on the eyes, and that's always the focal point of my work. The eyes are the first thing I draw and exaggerate, and it just helps bring the drawing to life. I've used makeup in my illustrations before, which is also interesting. I've sometimes used nail polish to fill in lip color because it really pops, and when it dries, it's a little raised on the page and gives the drawing more dimension."

  Are you a beauty junkie? "Definitely, and I'm more so since working with Dior because I've had an opportunity to try a lot of products. Now I feel like I need everything they provide me with, all the time. Also seeing the different color combinations of the products has influenced on my work."

  Which products from the summer line do I have to check out?"I just bought the new Dior Addict Tie Dye Lipstick at the Operation Smile luncheon, and it's awesome. It's a regular lipstick but with the Christian Dior initials embedded on the top in a contrasting color. It's interesting to look at, and it creates all cool effect. It's so pretty that I actually didn't want to put it on at first! And the other one is the Diorskin Nude Tan Tie Dye Edition Blush Harmony. It's a blush palette that has four different shades fused together to gives your skin that gradient, sun-kissed look."