Whiz Kids.

Byline: CATHERINE PIERCY editor: Sarah Brown

Taking the helm at two iconic beauty brands, a pair of top talents are breathing new life into your makeup case.

Gucci Westman

Even growing up in Varberg, Sweden, "I lived for the Charlie perfume ads," says makeup artist Gucci Westman, who spent hours face-to-face with the original images when she became Revlon's global artistic director this past spring. "I want to put that confident, effortlessly cool feeling back into the makeup." These days, she looks to everything from Manhattan's historic redbrick buildings to Tokyo's pop anime scene for new ideas for the classic American brand. Fresh off a shoot in Berlin with Keira Knightley for this month's issue, Westman is feeling unapologetically bold: "The women there have such fun with their makeup--false lashes, pink lips!"

Aaron de Mey

It was a colleague's shoe collection that inspired newly minted Lancome artistic director Aaron de Mey's first lipstick for the company's fall collection: a crisp vermilion red made to match the soles of her Louboutin stilettos. For the multitasking ebony eye/lip gloss he designed to go with it, he drew inspiration from the volcanic black sand beach near Piha, New Zealand, where he grew up. Armed with his Polaroid camera and a sense of adventure, the ...