Deborah Koepper loves sharing her insider trade tips. “Every client wants thicker, fuller lashes,” says the makeup and skincare expert. “So I apply a black gel pencil beneath the lash line to create a quarter-inch root. Without that root, lashes look thinner.” Raised in Baltimore, Maryland, the locally based, beauty guru apprenticed for the director of pharmacy at Johns Hopkins before enrolling at Von Lee International School of Aesthetics where she excelled in her makeup classes and culled skin-perfecting secrets from her mentor and the school’s founder, Carole Walderman. Then a random phone call from the First Lady’s hairstylist, Robin Weir, changed everything. Nancy Reagan was scouting for a makeup artist and Deborah’s background in medicine, beauty and business, along with her sartorial sagacity, fast-tracked her to first place. For four years, she perfected the world’s most famous faces, from Princess Diana and Madame Gandhi to sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
Her art attracted a cult following that included Hollywood legends, British rock stars and a Sheikh who asked for her hand in marriage. Later, she was hired by Elizabeth Arden and relocated to the Sunshine State (“The land of Disney and old people,” she teases) to run the cosmetics giant’s Palm Beach outpost. In 1993, she opened Deborah Koepper Beauty on Sunset Avenue, and then launched her eponymous makeup line 16 year later. Today, when she’s not on location for a magazine shoot or putting the finishing touches on her new homeopathic skincare line, Deborah enjoys spending time at her family’s beach house on Fenwick Island where she loves going bare-skinned and collecting sea salt in her flaxen tresses.
QUINTESSENTIAL COUTURIER Givenchy. The clothes are simple, timeless and elegant.
DAILY DUDS A black leather dress, designer shoes, and black Tahitian pearl and diamond earrings
SIGNATURE FACADE Smoky eyes, bronzed cheeks and a glossy pink-beige lip
WORTH THE SPLURGE Saint Laurent Rock 40 Chelsea boots with black stars and silver glitter. Whenever I wear them, people stop me.
GASTRO GO-TO Jean-Pierre. The food is excellent, and I always feel like I’m dining in a European bistro.
SPEED DIAL DISH Oysters on the half shell at the Seafood Bar at The Breakers. I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay so I know good oysters.
HAPPY MEAL Organic rosemary chicken soup I prepare from scratch
SMILE MAKER Family, sunshine and the outdoors
DRINKS DU JOUR Synergy kombucha and Cristal Champagne
SNACKS ON Homemade salsa with blue corn chips
WHAT’S PLAYING “Dancing with the Stars.” It has everything—dancing, makeup and spray tans.
MUSIC MILESTONE Seeing Duran Duran at SunFest. They’re older now, but John Taylor is still so cool.
NEVER WITHOUT La Perla lingerie and Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey perfume
WORKOUT MASTER Yoga, swimming and biking. I’m also a member at LA Fitness because I travel a lot and their gyms are everywhere.
GUILTY PLEASURES Caviar and flying private
TRAVEL ITINERARY When I go to a new city, I like to wander around. I don’t plan anything in advance, I just go where the locals go.
CARRYON CONFIDENTIAL A Gucci wallet, tortoise hair clip, iPhone and earbuds, an embroidered floral handkerchief and lip gloss
PALM BEACH PICK Biking around the gardens at Bethesda-by-the-Sea, Society of the Four Arts and Pan’s Garden
PERSONAL PASSION Helping women maximize their natural beauty
WEEKEND ESCAPES Cape May and Assateague Island
SWEET RIDE A 2017 Land Rover Range Rover in Indus Silver I named Hi-Ho Silver
BUCKET LIST Attend Fashion Week in Paris and Milan
PASSPORT CONFIDENTIAL I want to tour Germany and visit my family in Einbeck.
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