Lee Richter Talks Perseverance with Cary Lane

Today we are here with Carrie Lane, who is the beauty director here. And for many years she's been making dreams come true for people who want to get into makeup.

Yes.

And you help the models look gorgeous.

Oh, thanks. I'm glad to have everybody here. Oh my God.

Yep, so tell us a little bit about what it's like to be involved here in New York Fashion Week.

Well, it's insane. I apologize, I've lost my voice. I've been yelling so much. It's absolutely insane. It is really intense and a whole lot of fun.

And how do the people get to work with you?

They are very lucky. I'm just kidding. There's a selection process, of course, and like with anything, you want to get the best of the best. But I also like to accommodate newbies too. So I actually— what I do differently than most beauty directors, not just for this company but in general, because I do do beauty directing for private privately and other, like Coachella Magazine and stuff like that, is I like to have a variety of artists. I like to have people that are maybe not only just, this is just their first show, but maybe this is, they're only a few months into doing makeup, all the way to a variety of, all the way up into expert level.

So the experts become the mentors?

Well, yes, you gotta pair them together and they kinda learn from each other. They learn what they should have in their kits. If they're sitting next to somebody who's done this for a while, you learn what you have in your kit, you learn maybe certain techniques. I mean, also, you know, I can't be everywhere every time, and even though I have an absolutely incredible team with me of leads, and they are absolutely incredible, I still, you know, it's still nice to not have to utilize them because we can't be everywhere at every time. Absolutely.

So what are some of the golden nuggets that come out for you personally by being part of the event?

Golden nuggets?

You know, connecting to other experts.

That's it, yeah, golden nuggets for me, honestly, it brings me so much pride and satisfaction to know that I am contributing to somebody's dream. These makeup artists, it makes me teary-eyed to think about now, these makeup artists, they work so hard to get here, and so to provide them the opportunity and the platform to be here That is amazing for me. And then to also be able to teach them something and for them to teach me something. I learn something every time I'm here. I learn something from every artist. You know, I see them do something and I'm like, that's really cool, I want to do that.

I know the makeup yesterday was extraordinary, even on the kids. Like, you could see it from any part of the room too. It was so beautiful.

They did a fantastic job.

And to get the kids to sit still that long, I don't know how you do it.

Those are a little more— they, you know, professionals, right? So they Well, their parents of course are with them, number one, which sometimes is good and bad. But they've done this for a long time. They started very young. And so these children yesterday were— man, were they good. They just sat there and they were children. Of course they got like, you know, squirmy and antsy, but like they were so good. They were so nice to work with.

So if there's someone out there and it's their dream to be part of New York Fashion Week and to be part of behind the scenes like that, what would be their first step?

The first step is continuing to reach out. Some people are like, they do this thing where they reach out and then they don't follow up.

Because they think maybe they were rejected, where it just might not have been the right timing.

Bingo. Or maybe I got 100 phone calls also and theirs just went to the bottom of the list, but if they called again, it would be right there and I would catch up.

So beep.

Persevering. Perseverance. Perseverance and don't take anything personal. Holy moly, I have a great little story, quick one, about a woman that walked in last night. She was a model and she looked stunning. I'm like, oh my gosh, you're absolutely stunning. It was at the end of the night and she's like, oh thanks, I'm a model, can I give you my info? And I go, yeah, I don't know what I'd do with it. I don't, I don't do that department. I really don't have time to like direct you there, but I'll take your info. And I get it. Was a little sassy and made it funny, but she's like, well, I just am trying to connect to anybody I can. And I said, cool. I'm like, well, how often do you do shows? And she's like, you know, I haven't done as many as I want, but I'm trying to walk for everybody I can. I go, that's, well, that's amazing. For that alone, I'm like, I want to help this girl, right? So I'll put her into the right places. I'll take the time because she's, I know she's worth it, right? You kind of get an idea.

And you can connect her. You know these people. I can.

I just don't want to spend all my time doing it if I don't want to. if it's not worth it. So she says, she starts to sit down with us and she says, you know, I walked for so-and-so and I really enjoyed it and I just auditioned for so-and-so and he said I didn't have a strong walk. And I said, oh, well, how do you feel you did? And she's like, well, you know, I just feel like I wasn't that bad. I feel like I'm a pretty good walker. And I go, all right. I go, well, like, why don't you get a second opinion? And she's like, yeah. She's like, I just don't know who to get. And I go, all right. So I put her in touch with the right person. I talked to him personally last night and wanted to make sure he called her personally because he's the best of the best in my opinion. And for that, I mean, do you know how much that's gonna help her?

Yes.

It's a ripple effect that is incredible, that all because she walked around to talk to anybody she could, whether it mattered or not. And she was so pleasant and nice. She wasn't egotistical. She wasn't on a pedestal. She just was easy to get along with and just has you know, a dream. And there are a lot of models that think that they can get away with their beauty easily because—

Personality matters.

Yeah, and they get inflated a little bit. But do you know how many beautiful women are around? So that girl was beautiful, 100%, naturally beautiful, and, um, but she still is hustling. And so good for her. So people like that make it. That's—

those are the people who really Well, thank you for inspiring them to be persevering, to actually keep following their dream, and helping to make these dreams come true, because you're such a big influence in this room. And that's what everyone says here, you help them make their dreams come true. And you have people that have been here many, many years, so you saw them in the beginning when they were just starting out, and now they're professionals. So they kind of graduate with you, don't they?

Yeah. Absolutely. I personally have only been with this company for about a year, but I've been doing beauty directing for several years, and it is nice to see the same models come back, right? This past year, seeing some of the same makeup artists in different cities. And yeah, definitely outside of this company, when you watch somebody grow, even within a moment here, these girls, there was a designer who wanted me to approve every single one, which I like to do anyway, but she was very particular. And so I had to like do like an emergency, drop what you're doing, everybody come here, we need to talk about this, and I need to approve everybody. And there was a line, and it was difficult to have to, in front of everyone, criticize to a point to make it better because I didn't have time to go one by one and it would get confusing. But I did it. It was difficult, but it was so worth it for them. And I felt bad, but then I'm like, oh no, like they actually felt like I helped them.

That's how they get better.

Oh, this is great.

But you have the eye of the professional, so by you sharing that, you're actually helping them get better.

100%. And I know as a makeup artist myself for 10 years, I want to get better. I mean, I want that criticism. I want that critique. I shouldn't say criticism, but the critique. And it is hard to swallow. It is hard because you're an artist and you know how good you are already. And you're like, wait, and now you're telling me something? And it is hard to swallow, but it is so worth it because you just grow better and better. And I think that again, asking what the what the what makes you what will bring you here, what will get you here if this is your dream, is to know how to to learn, know how to listen and take critiques. They will only help you, only help you.

Well, thank you for being here. You're welcome. Thanks for helping make dreams come true and adding more beauty to the planet. Yeah, thanks.

We appreciate it.