Ep. 281: How iconic beauties of the ‘70s and the fashion and music of the ‘90s inspired makeup artist James Boehmer to dream, discover and create

BeautyMe with Charisse Kenion

Today’s guest is makeup artist James Boehmer, whose dreams took him from St. Louis, Missouri, to New York, to Japan – working at one of the most influential makeup brands in the world: Nars.

In this episode James shares how he got to where he is today but also shares where he started, as a little queer kid growing up in St. Louis and watching glamazons such as Donna Summer and Debbie Harry on television.

James shares some amazing stories from the late ‘90s when he first began working for Nars and how his entire life changed when he began working in Japan after the brand was purchased by Shiseido in 2000.

James also shares on the differences between living and working in hectic Manhattan to the quieter, slower surroundings of Connecticut and how he’s finding the early days of opening a new store, Peggy Mercury.

EDIT: In the episode intro I say that James moved to Japan; this is not the case. Although he travelled there often throughout his role at Shiseido, he was never a resident.

I would love to know what you think of this one, so don't forget to let me know in the DMs over on Instagram @charisse_kenion, or find me on Threads at @charisse_kenion.

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Links

Find James on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesaaronboehmer

Follow Peggy Mercury on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itspeggymercury

Shop James’ skincare faves: https://shopmy.us/collections/985162

Find me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CharisseKenionYT

Find me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@charisse_kenion/

BeautyMe newsletter: https://beautymenotes.substack.com

Find me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charissekenion

BeautyMe on ShopMy: https://shopmy.us/beautyme