He began his career in 1989 and has since become one of the most sought-after beauty experts in the world. Celebrity makeup artist Patrick Foley is easily regarded as one of the most-recognized masters of flawless looks for stars and their red-carpet appearances, but one relationship holds a special place in his heart.
“In addition to being my best friend, Jaclyn Smith has been my inspiration for beauty ever since I was a little kid,” Foley says of the iconic Charlie’s Angels actress who served as the driving force for a new Sisley Paris lipstick launch, hitting shelves this month. “I talk to her several times throughout the day, and it’s been like that forever. She’s so thoughtful, and she’s so insightful. She is such a good person—she is truly the real deal.”
Besides being close confidants, Foley says that when he does Smith’s makeup, “she’s always open to what’s new,” but keeps with what’s working with her. “I worked with Farrah Fawcett for years as well, and both of them are very similar when it came to beauty—they were up for anything, but they knew what worked on their lips, and they liked to stay in that zone. What’s so unusual is…usually when you see people in older photos, you’re like, ‘Oh, I love that look back then,’ but when you see pictures of Jaclyn from 30 years ago, 40 years ago, it still holds up.”
Also holding up: The Sisley Paris story. In 2023, Foley approached the brand with the idea to create Phyto-Rouge Shine Sheer Beverly Hills ($67), the “perfect beige lipstick,” named after the city where Smith and he met. Following the success of that particular product, Sisley Paris and Foley decided to collaborate once again this summer, this time with a new lipstick shade called Phyto-Rouge Shine Sheer Bel Air ($67), named for the city in which Smith resides. The goal: To create the perfect mauve lipstick without the need to mix several different lipsticks together.
“Jaclyn always wore this plummy nude on Charlie’s Angels,” recalls Foley. “It’s not too brown, it’s not too plum. It’s a nude that works on all skin tones. It took about two years to create…because when you do a nude color, unlike a bright color, the texture is really important. With a red, you can have it be really bright or not, but you don’t have to have different tones in the texture. With nudes, you do, or else they’ll look dead or chalky, or they don’t show up. I was really happy with it, it was a color that she wore a lot. Charlie’s Angels was from ’76 to ’81—and that’s a long time ago—but that color never looks dated. It never looks out of style. She’s so classically beautiful, it just enhances it. That color works on everyone. It’s so unique.”
“Patrick and I embody the definition of true friends,” says Smith. “I’ve always looked to him for his guidance and expertise when it comes to beauty, as his genius in cosmetics is unparalleled. He has a natural talent and gift for knowing exactly what shades and colors to pick. I’m honored that he’s found the inspiration in me to create Bel Air, something beautiful for women everywhere. Let me tell you: Every girl needs somebody just like Patrick, someone who believes in them. I’m very flattered. I feel that his inspiration and his talent is an aid. As my mother always said, ‘Love is blind.’ He looks at me through a certain lens of love, and I’m happy about that. I really am. When you have a friend that loves you like that, and I love him right back, good things come. Light attracts light, is what I always say.”
As expected, Smith echoes a similar description to Foley’s when it comes to her own beauty style.
“I don’t experiment that much,” she says. “Because I work with Patrick and different experts in hair and makeup, you pick up tips along the way. I like less is more, and I also tend to like whatever is easiest. After as many years as I’ve been doing this, you know what works for you. I really like to be as close to natural as I can be, whether that be in skin care, color cosmetics or hair. I basically try to keep it all the same.”
And, Smith stresses, this current project goes beyond lipstick for her. “It’s so flattering to be part of it. I always say, ‘Don’t give me any credit.’ Just to be a part of his creation is really fun for me. It’s interesting. I was in New York recently, and I stayed at a hotel that had a Sisley spa—it is beautiful. The man working there told me they were coming out with a new lipstick. I didn’t want to say, ‘I know the person who made it!’ It was really funny; I don’t think he was a Charlie’s Angels fan!”
Like all Phyto-Rouge Shine lipsticks, the latest creation is tinted with a lustrous finish and a melt-in feel that provides lips with a moisturized and plump feeling—a perfect meeting between the satiny coverage of a classic lipstick and the sheerness of a gloss. And, for the first time, the slim-line tube is refillable, with a portion going to the Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts.
“I have to say this launch came, and then our city was devastated, as everyone knows, and we were going to do a lipstick launch…but it didn’t seem right,” says Foley. “It was really Sisley that came up with the idea to give a portion to help. They’re just such a thoughtful company to work with…a lot of other companies would’ve just said ‘forget it.’ It was 100 percent them.”
