Rebecca Restrepo '88

Rebecca Restrepo ’88 creates colors. As Elizabeth Arden’s Global Makeup Artist that’s her job. She created the palate for Elizabeth Arden’s Beautiful Color line, and she has developed all of the brand’s new products for the past three years. Now, she’s working on the colors we’ll see in 2018, as well as new hues for the company’s line of eyeshadows and blushes.

Originally from East Elmhurst, Queens, Rebecca found her to way to Cathedral because her father mandated that she attends an all-girls’ Catholic high school. She was happy that the high school was in the city, which was where she wanted to be. “I just loved that it was the closest to midtown that I could get,” she said.

Right away, Rebecca found her tribe. “On the first day of school, I met my best friend who is still my best friend,” she said.

Rebecca loved going down to the art galleries in SoHo and experiencing the energy of the neighborhood. “I really wanted to be entrenched in art and fashion. That was my thing,” said Rebecca. “We wanted to experience the city. Back in that day it was really raw and really artistic.”

She earned a BFA from School of Visual Arts, where she studied painting and advertising. Through painting, she found her voice and discovered the exhilaration she got from creating something new; however, she also realized that the starving artist lifestyle wasn’t for her.

“In my last semester, I used to do all of my friends’ makeup,” said Rebecca. She also worked part-time at a makeup counter. Because some of her friends worked in the photography and advertising industries she booked a handful of gigs doing makeup for photo shoots. “When this happened, I realized I could do fashion; I could create art; I am constantly evolving and I can make money off of it. That just happened to be the beginning of when makeup artists were actually starting to get credit in fashion. Before that it was models doing their own makeup. I hit the field at the perfect time,” she said.

Rebecca’s painting background turned out to be an asset. “Once I’ve painted a face on a blank canvas, when I have a face that’s already structured in front of me it’s like a piece of cake,” she said.

To gain experience, she said yes to as many opportunities as possible. That mindset paid off. As a freelance makeup artist, she’s now worked with clients such as Lucy Liu, Emily Blunt, The Seinfelds and more. She also worked with The Obamas for Annie Leibowitz’s Vogue photo shoot.

Despite working with some of the biggest names, she’s not easily awe- struck. “Every photo shoot is really exciting to me,” said Rebecca. “It’s not about I’m working with this person, I’m so excited. As part of my job, I cannot be a fan. Immediately, when you’re a fan, it makes the person uncomfortable. I have to come in as a professional and look at them as a person, as a subject that I’m going to work on.”

What does excite her is making her clients feel beautiful. “What I’m most proud of is when they feel great. Whether it be a regular woman that I’m doing a makeover for or whether I’m doing a celebrity or a model, they look at themselves and feel it. They feel amazing; they feel beautiful. That, to me, brings me joy. Making someone feel good through my art is so rewarding,” said Rebecca.

As Elizabeth Arden’s Global Makeup Artist, she gets to spread that happiness. Her position is a new one for the company. “The fact that I was the first makeup artist that they’ve ever signed, I found that really cool and inspiring. It felt like I made it. That made me feel like I’ve made it more than working with any celebrity or anything else—being able to create actual color,” she said.

Looking back, Rebecca feels Cathedral has contributed to her success by teaching her valuable principles that have served her to this day.

“Being at a school that has so much structure and discipline, teaches you accountability, and it teaches you that if you don’t do your part, you’re not going to get somewhere,” said Rebecca. “I think that has really helped me in being the professional that I am—along with my parents who were very strict. That’s why they liked Cathedral and the Catholic form of schooling because they knew that if I wasn’t in front of them and they weren’t teaching me, the school was teaching me. Teaching me morals and a sense of respect, which was critical to them and has been critical in my life