“I

have to apologise because I love to talk,” says make-up maestro Linda Cantello when I sit across from her at the Armani Hotel in Milan. “Please don’t,” said no journalist ever. Meeting Cantello is the beauty editor equivalent of a patternmaker getting to pow-wow with Coco ... or a baker invited to Heston’s for tea. She’s a big deal.

Cantello is credited with inventing the modern smoky eye, a look that was integral to Tom Ford’s super-sexy vision for Gucci. Before she buffed and blended that shadow, we just had a hot mess of liner and colour slapped on our lids. She was backstage when make-up artists became trend forecasters. And for the rise of the supermodel, when Christy, Naomi, and Linda refused to get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day. She has worked with iconic photographers including Richard Avedon and Irving Penn. And she was at the coalface when technology became part of the make-up conversation—a moment kick-started by her boss, Giorgio Armani himself, 20 years ago with the launch of Luminous Silk Foundation.

Despite her three decades (and surely a back catalogue of jaw-dropping anecdotes), Cantello doesn’t much care for trips down memory lane. “I prefer to look forward,” she says when I quiz her on the pivotal points in her career. “I’ve had great moments and created plenty of looks, but none of those things defines me.” She has a mop of blonde hair, those signature black frames, and a rebelliously makeup-free face. Is she so make-up ... that she is actually beyond wearing it? “I guess I am the anti-makeup make-up artist. I hate rules,” she says with a laugh. “There are so many tutorials now by people who aren’t make-up artists teaching women exactly how they should do their makeup. But I think we’ve gone too far and have actually instilled fear. I say trust your instincts and have some fun. What’s the worst that can happen? You wipe it off and start again. It’s only make-up!” As for her bare face, Cantello says she now has the confidence to go without it if need be. “As long as you feel good, you look good.”