The practice of
looking closely

A.B.B.A. began as a makeup practice and grew outward. Clients would come for an application before an event, then ask what to do with the makeup they already owned, then ask what to wear, then ask why the version of themselves in photographs never quite matched the one in the mirror. Those are not separate questions, so they are not treated as separate appointments here.

Before any of that, there were thirty-five years in the industry and three decades backstage at New York Fashion Week — work beside Iman, Donna Karan, Annie Leibovitz, and André Leon Talley, and seasons spent learning how light, fabric, and a face actually behave when the room is moving. A private session here is built on that, brought back down to one person and one mirror.

The work is simple to describe and slower to do. We look at what is there — bone structure, undertone, the way a garment falls, the impression a room takes in the first few seconds — and then we make deliberate choices about it. Some of those choices are about makeup. Some are about a jacket. Most are about confidence being built on something concrete rather than on a compliment.

Sessions are private, by appointment, and unhurried. Whether you are preparing for a wedding, a portrait, a new role, or simply want your mornings to take less time and look better, we start in the same place: an honest read of what suits you, and a plan you can actually keep.