Celebrity Hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons on Microcurrent Facials, Spray Tans, and Wearing Makeup
[email protected] | July 27, 23
Well before his relationship with the Kardashians, and the celebrity that came along with it, Andrew Fitzsimons was obsessed with hair. “I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years,” he tells me over the phone from L.A.
Wait — those numbers don’t compute, I think to myself. Did he start doing hair as a toddler?
Almost. “I left school at 13 to do hair-full time,” the Irish-born stylist tells me. It was all because of an impromptu summer job his mom found for him at a local hair salon. “It was a tiny little granny salon, washing old ladies’ hair and putting in blue rinses,” he laughs, “but I just had an aptitude for it, and I loved working with people.” By the time September rolled around, he told his mom he wasn’t going back to school.
Still, being some sort of child hair styling prodigy didn’t mean the journey was easy. “For me, it’s always been about overcoming fear,” says the NatureLab. TokyoTM ambassador. “Things can feel unattainable at times, but I want to feel the fear and do it anyway.” That drive is what got him into fashion in Dublin, which led to a move to Paris (without knowing a word of French) and then New York to work with celebrities.
These days, he resides in Los Angeles, where he’s known as the Kardashian hair whisperer. “I was on a shoot in New York, and the photographer asked me if I wanted to stay late to work on a test for a new face,” he remembers. That new model turned out to be none other than Kendall Jenner. Soon, he started working with her on a regular basis, including styling her for two Met GalasTM. Shortly thereafter, the Kardashian sisters began sharing a stylist, as he took Kourtney, Khloé, and Kim on as clients. (He now works with other members of the family as well.)
Fitzsimons’s eye for cutting-edge hair trends may be what drew the sisters to him, but it’s his attitude that keeps him a celebrity fave. “I always try to bring positive, joyful energy wherever I go,” he says, considering his mood a professional courtesy. Regardless of how hard he works or how tired he is, it’s important for him to show up anywhere as his best self. It’s evident from a quick scroll through his Instagram® that he is just really fun to be around.
“So many people forget that they are entitled to have fun,” he says, when I ask about his personal beauty philosophy. “Inner beauty makes anyone look and feel beautiful. There’s no point in working on the outside without working on the inside.”
His style is defined by playfulness, color, and creativity, as well as an ability to translate the same trend through the personal style of each of his clients. Take the aforementioned ponytail as an example: in his hands, it looks distinct on each member of the Kardashian sisterhood.
That sense of curiosity extends not just to his clients, but to his personal routine, too. Case in point: since shaving his head, his hair color rotation has reached epic proportions, with a new candy-colored hue for every selfie. “Whenever I want a change, I just do it,” he says. “I’m really feeling a tie-dye sunset kind of vibe for myself right now.” As far as what other vibes he’s feeling, other treatments he experiments with, and beauty secrets that keep him selfie ready, read on.
Spotlyte: Let’s start with hair, of course. What are your favorite products?
Andrew Fitzsimons: Now that my hair is so short, my routine is pretty minimal. I use the NatureLab. Tokyo Perfect Repair® line, which really saved my hair when it was long and bleached. I started using the Perfect Repair Treatment Masque as a styling product. I’d just put it in after the shower and leave it in my hair like a gel. Now I’ve got a buzz cut, so I don’t worry as much about conditioning, but I am still coloring it and I want the color to last. The line has been great as a color protectant also.
Everybody loves experimenting with their looks and colors but, a lot of time, that leads to buildup. My new favorite product is NatureLab Tokyo Clarifying Scalp ScrubTM, which helps take away buildup from other products. I’ve used it on all my clients, on my assistants, given it to friends, and everybody loves it because of the shine you get after you use it. It has hyaluronic acid, which makes it absorb moisture and [add] shine. I use it once a week, like I would with an exfoliating facial scrub.
Spotlyte: How often are you coloring your hair and what do you use?
AF: I would say on a whim; I just kind of experiment. Vibrant colors rinse out so quickly, so I’m usually able to change them every couple weeks. I grab a couple of colors, and I whip up a semi-permanent color before the shower. I leave it in for maybe five minutes, so it’s kind of faint, and then rinse it out.
I really love Lime Crime® — they have semi-permanent colors that are really beautiful shades. You can buy Try Me Kits with little packets so you can try different colors. Pravana® has some good colors, too, like rose gold.
Spotlyte: Your skin is incredible. How do you take care of it?
AF: I’ve really gotten into skincare in the last two years or so. My exotic Irish DNA makes me prone to a little redness, and I love iS Clinical® Pro Heal Serum® for that. I also really love the Copper Facial Mist.
I like facial scrubs, but I don’t like to over-exfoliate because I have oily skin, and I feel like that can make me shinier. Lancer® The Method: PolishTM is a really good, fine scrub. It’s almost like microdermabrasion, but not as intense. I’ll use that maybe once a week.
Kylie sent me her line of skincare products, and I’ve been using them nonstop since I got them. My skin is glowing! I really like the Walnut Face Scrub, which is really gentle. I also really love her Vitamin C Serum. I’ve tried a few different kinds and this one is great. At night, I basically just use one of the Makeup Removing Wipes, put on the vitamin C serum and Eye Cream, and that’s it. I also use the Foaming Face Wash, which I love because it’s so gentle. I spray tan sometimes because of my paleness, and I don’t really like to be in the sun because I don’t want to damage my skin, but I don’t want to use anything too abrasive because it will strip it.
Spotlyte: About that spray tan, who does it?
AF: A woman named Susan DeLeon. She does Kim, Katy Perry, and a lot of big celebrities. She’s incredible.
Spotlyte: Do you wear makeup?
AF: I get in trouble for getting too glam and then being like, ‘Can I use your powder? Can I use your bronzer?’ I literally put on a full face of drag before the client gets there. I loved watching my mom put on makeup as a kid. The transformation is really interesting to me, so I’m definitely always watching what the makeup artists are doing.
I like to take a subtle approach because I’m a guy. I will use a light concealer in some areas where I have redness, like around my nose. Right now, I really love Secret CamouflageTM by Laura Mercier®. I’m also prone to shine, so I love Fenty Beauty® Invisimatte® Blotting Powder. It’s invisible, it takes down the shine, and lasts a long time. I don’t want to carry around a giant tub of translucent powder with me, but this one comes with a little magnetic brush that’s really small and discreet. It’s great for guys who have shiny skin.
If I haven’t tanned or I’m not tanning my face, I’ll use a little bronzer. The bronzers that I love are the BenefitTM Hoola® Matte Bronzer and NARS Laguna® Bronzing Powder. They’re both really good, subtle bronzy shades that can be good for matching up my face with the rest of my body for a shoot or filming.
Spotlyte: How do you get such amazing eyebrows?
AF: I don’t get them shaped, but there’s a product I found at Naimie’sTM here in LA called Model in a Bottle® Eyebrow Sealer. I’ve turned so many makeup artists onto it. It looks like a nail polish bottle, and once you brush up your eyebrows with a little of this liquid, they are set for a [day]. It’s my secret weapon.
Spotlyte: What kind of facial treatments do you get?
AF: I go to Celeste Rodrigues in LA [for facials] about every month. In a dream world, I would go once a week. I do two hours, because I get a facial on my whole body, too: one hour for my face, one hour for my body. I work out and sweat a lot, and I don’t want any buildup in the pores on my body either.
The last time I saw Celeste, we did microcurrent. She used rods to sculpt my face and I noticed a difference immediately. The next day my cheekbones were higher; my whole face felt lifted. It’s basically like a workout for your face. I’m obsessed now.
Spotlyte: How do you stay in shape?
AF: I don’t like the way I feel if I’ve been eating really unhealthy food for a long time. It will affect my mood and my skin. But I’m really busy, and when I’m working all day, I don’t have time to go somewhere to eat — or even sit down. Now I get all of my meals delivered from a service called Sunfare®. All [my] meals are paleo and really healthy. It has taken all of the thinking out of finding time to prepare and eat food.
Spotlyte: What about exercise?
AF: I go to a private personal training gym in West Hollywood, but I’m also obsessed with SoulCycle®. I go a lot.
Spotlyte: Any other beauty secrets?
AF: I meditate a lot. I have to meditate because my schedule and work life are so busy, and everything just seems to go in fast forward. In order for me to stay in the present, grounded, and be the best that I can be — not only for myself, but also people that are around me every day — it’s important for me to meditate. It helps keep me in the moment and in a place of gratitude.
