Departures of note

Olivier Echaudemaison was a French makeup artist and fashion creator, born in Périgueux in 1942. He began his career in hairdressing, joining the prestigious Parisian salon Alexandre at seventeen, where he became the hairdresser of numerous celebrities including Grace Kelly, Romy Schneider, Jackie Kennedy and Sophia Loren, later serving as artistic director of the salon in London.

In the 1970s he turned to makeup, developing the Harriet Hubbard Ayer line before joining Givenchy in 1988 to create its makeup collection. In 2000 he became creative director of makeup at Guerlain, where he modernized the house's makeup line and created iconic lipsticks including KissKiss and Rouge G, while collaborating with leading fashion designers and photographers such as Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin.

A flamboyant personality of the fashion world, recognizable by his permanently tinted glasses, he was made an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2019 in recognition of his contribution to French creation in the beauty world. He remained a figure of Guerlain for 25 years until leaving the house in 2025.