Dermatologist Review of Paula Dorf

Paula Dorf Cosmetics, Inc. was launched in New York City in 1995. The brand was co-founded by the eponymous makeup artist Paula Dorf and her businessman husband, Sandy Dekovnick. Paula Dorf’s career and product offering reflect a story grounded in hard work, on the job intuition and the rare ability to turn improvisation into innovation. Today, Paula serves as President and Sandy as CEO of Paula Dorf Cosmetics, Inc., which remains headquartered where it all began for Paula in the heart of New York City’s Theater District on Seventh Avenue. Paula Dorf’s trademarked motto is ‘become your own makeup artist’.

Paula was born in the mid twentieth century in the Bronx. By the early 1980’s she demonstrated a clear dedication to makeup artistry and had risen to become one of the most well established and highly regarded makeup artists in her beloved New York. Paula’s fame in these early years was based upon her work in makeup artistry for music videos, album covers and films. These assignments tend to be demanding and high stress. Many folks from my generation may remember the heyday of the rock band ‘Kiss’ – it was Paula that kept these high maintenance makeup rock stars in their trademark stage makeup. Paula found that to provide optimized results for her demanding high profile clientele she needed tools that were different from those available at the time. Her solution was to devise and improvise unique new brushes by modifying existing makeup and other artistic brushes. During the 1990’s, Paula’s career continued its ascendency and she ultimately lists even President Bill Clinton as a client.

Paula continued to develop and refine her brush designs based upon observations made while practicing her art ‘in the trenches’. Ultimately she launched a cohesive brush and makeup brand in 1995. Paula Dorf Cosmetics contained not only breakthrough brush designs but also new and innovative makeup concepts. The product offering and distribution were initially low key but have been ramped up considerably over the past five years.

Paula Dorf’s main contributions to makeup artistry tools include her Foundation Brush, Cheek Cream Brush and Eye Transformer Brush. These tools were designed to facilitate excellence in makeup application. They are patented and have received industry awards. Her makeup breakthroughs include Transformer which actually changes eye shadow powder into liquid eyeliner. Transformer then helps this ‘transformed’ eyeliner stay in place all day. Paula’s other innovations include her Perfect Primer that helps keep foundation fresh while feeling silky on the skin.

Today, the Paula Dorf Cosmetics product offering includes a complete makeup and brush portfolio. There are over twenty brushes designed to encompass every imaginable makeup need. Paula’s most popular brushes include the Perfect Brow Brush, Perfect Foundation Brush and her unique Sweep Away Clean-Up Stick that works well to correct most any minor makeup mishap.

Paula’s complete makeup line includes all the usual essentials for eyes, lips and face. The line has a broad color palate for eyes, and lips. Facial foundation colors are also available for light, medium and tan skin shades. The makeup colors are well chosen and the actual quality of the formulations is high. Paula Dorf Lip Color has also been received very well in the competitive lipstick niche.

Paula Dorf Cosmetics are designed and/or selected by Paula and Co. but, as is the norm today in the cosmetics industry, are manufactured by others. The majority of Paula Dorf products are manufactured in the eastern United States and some are made in Germany. Most of the packaging is domestic with some coming from overseas.

Paula Dorf product packaging puts forth a consistent image for the brand. The color scheme consists primarily of black and silver outer boxes with black containers and product dispensers. The interesting trademark ‘pd’ double circle logo is ubiquitous on the products and provides a pleasant packaging accent. The breadth of the Paula Dorf product offering is quite wide with many color offerings within each of the numerous product types. This helps promote the exact ‘right’ product for more individuals but can make selecting the best product challenging without expert guidance and color charts.

Paula Dorf and her product offering have one of the most extensive celebrity followings in the cosmetics industry. From Paula Abdul to Billy Joel, Tony Bennett to Robert Plant, Sly Stallone to Barbra Streisand, The Bangles to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paula has worked on them all… and then some. Complementing her large roster of celebrity clients, Paula Dorf has great mainstream PR. Her products are mentioned in leading magazines essentially every month. Paula Dorf products are available at Henri Bendel, Macy’s and numerous high-end spas and makeup studios.

Paula Dorf Cosmetics is a competent and innovative makeup line. The product offering has experienced a growth in popularity consistent with the company’s significant increase in PR and distribution during the past five years. While the current economic downturn has been difficult for all luxury goods manufacturers, Paula Dorf has a loyal customer base and growing general market awareness that should serve the brand well in coming years.