Farrah Fawcett’s Beauty Secrets, Through the Eyes of Her Makeup Artist

For many, Farrah Fawcett will forever embody the sun-kissed glamour of California cool—the feathered hair, the megawatt smile and that effortless glow that made her both relatable and untouchable. But for the artist who worked closest to her, that luminous look was never about perfection.

“I met Farrah at a really unusual time,” recalls renowned makeup artist Patrick Foley. “I just moved out to California. I was going to school and I got signed by an agency for modeling.”

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Like many, the MUA had grown up idolizing Charlie’s Angels. “Growing up as a little kid, Charlie’s Angels was my absolute favorite show. I was obsessed with it. My wall was full of them. It’s funny that I became such close friends with Farrah, Jaclyn and Kate.”

Fate stepped in during a shoot with famed photographer Herb Ritts. “On one shoot, Farrah came. It was just so unusual. There were literally about four people on the shoot. We drove to different places, and she went with us. I got to know her that way,” Foley shares. “She was just so complimentary, and she was so kind.”

From chance encounters to creative collaboration, their connection grew organically. “Farrah found out I was a history major, and she invited me to a clay class. After that, we were friends. I told her I wanted to go into makeup, but there were a lot of roadblocks. Everyone wanted you to stay in your lane, but we wanted to play. We’d just play makeup. It was very easy-breezy.”

That “play” became a professional partnership. “She liked what I did. I still remember calling her for the first time. I was excited. I bought some high-end makeup, and she liked my insight on it. It was just so gradual.”

When it came to beauty, Farrah was quietly particular and eternally timeless. “She liked to be able to take a certain amount of control herself,” Foley says. “She didn’t want to be subject to other people’s schedules. She had very specific things that she liked. She liked a light foundation, and at the time, it was Chanel Lumière with medium coverage. She didn’t like a lot of bronzer, but she did like blush. There was a blush from Chanel called Golden Sun, and she loved that. And I would always put it on her eye—she loved that, too.”

Her signature color palette—taupes, grays and soft blush tones—still feels modern today. “When she was going out, she liked taupes and browns, but a lot of taupes, grays on her eyes,” Foley says, sharing one feature Farrah was big on. “She was very proud of having green eyes and not blue eyes. She didn’t like a lot of false eyelashes or things like that. We used a lot of Chanel at the time. She liked lipstick, but she hated anything bright or dark. She was always looking for a perfect baby-pink lipstick.”

But what truly made Farrah’s beauty timeless wasn’t just the makeup—it was her philosophy. “Honestly, I think everything about her look holds up. She was easy to do, she trusted me and we had a deep friendship. We shared a lot of really intimate stuff, and I don’t think she trusted everyone. A lot of times, she thought a lot of hair and makeup people were insane because they were so exaggerated. She knew how shy I was, and she was also essentially shy.”

That mutual trust led to one of the most defining lessons of Foley’s career. “I remember telling her, ‘I think I want to go to makeup school. Will you help me check out?’ She goes, ‘No! I forbid you from going to makeup school because not everyone teaching you is currently working. It’s an art.’”

He laughs, remembering her conviction. “She also said: ‘You’re so sensitive. You’re so shy and you’re so vulnerable. I know you’re going to get in someone’s hands, and they’re going to take your artistry away from you. You’re never going to be creative, and I can never get it back.’ She was the one who helped me negotiate my contract at Barneys and I told her she should be a lawyer. I’ll never forget what she answered with: ‘If I was a laywer, you wouldn’t be able to afford me.’”

For all her strength, Farrah was also deeply human. “She wasn’t crazy about having everything look perfect because she knew her features weren’t perfect, but altogether, it was perfect,” he says softly. “She had a lot of faith in that.”