EVERY GIRL NEEDS ONE
Every glamour girl wants make-up artist Chay
Roberts to do their “look”. His A List clients include the entire Real Housewives of Auckland cast, Lady Deborah Holmes, Dame Trelise Cooper, Nadia Lim, Dr Libby Weaver, Teuila Blakely, Antonia Prebble, Siobhan Marshall,
Kylie Bax and Chrystal Chenery. Roberts is most famous for his Avant-Garde look, (think 90s supermodel), which can involve expensive imported eyelashes, a favourite of the Housewives (whose expensive clothes can cause anxiety about spills), through to a barely-there make up look favoured by Lim.
“I suppose my signature look would probably be a blown-out, warm brown, smokey eye with glowing, sculpted cheeks and nude lips,” he says.
Blakely likes to own this look . . . and Roberts for that matter.
“Well you know he was mine before anyone else’s! And I’ve always said he’s going to be a household name one day. “The thing that universally separates the good from the great in any craft is true talent combined with a good heart and a fierce soul . . . which is why I specifically ask for him on all the shoots of mine that he can do — he has been very busy since meeting the Housewives though, but he’s still mine ladies.. He-he..”
RHOA star Gilda Kirkpatrick met Chay for the first time during the show and has been one of his most loyal clients since. She’s recommended him to many of her friends and regularly sings his praises on social media.
“I love him because he puts a lot of passion and creativity in his work. Chay has so much integrity and self respect, you can see that in his work, he aims for perfection,” she told Spy.
Roberts is an expert in reading the mood of his clients: “I have a big personality, can be very opinionated at times and l love to banter and interact with my client. However some people prefer quiet, or like to use that time to catch up on work via their phones.
“My most famous celebrity to date, and the person I got the most kick out of doing was Kiwi YouTuber Shaaanxo (Shannon Harris). Her fanbase is in the millions, I was stoked to work with her and thrilled at the level of exposure that opportunity offered.”