Day in the Life of Rosie Jane Johnston

Thinking about becoming a makeup artist to the stars or creating your own perfume line? Meet Rosie Jane Johnston, creator of Leila Lou fragrances and Rosie Jane cosmetics, mother of two, and celebrity makeup artist. Vogue magazine meetings, makeovers for her celeb sister Poppy Montgomery, and a visit David Letterman show—it's all in a day's work for this beauty superwoman. We take a peek at a day in her life.

6.30a.m.: Wake up. I'm staying with my sister in New York City, so this is first time in about two years that I haven’t been woken up by my angel daughters, Leila and Tilly. First things first, I make a very strong cup of coffee on my most favorite purchase ever, the Nespresso machine. Luckily, my sister shares my love of Nespresso too!

6.45 a.m.: Drink my coffee, enjoy some rare time alone, mentally lay out my outfit for the day, and rehearse my meetings.

7.30 a.m.: Take a long shower, brush my teeth, and wash my hair. Once I’m out of the shower I apply Leila Lou Body Lotion (even after all this time it still makes me feel so awake and healthy!) then my other addiction, one of the SKII treatment masks—this thing is amazing!

8.15 a.m.: Do my makeup. I say “makeup” fairly loosely as I actually only wear Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. Then I use concealer around my eyes and nose and a little on my chin. I put Rosie Jane Cheek Gloss on the apples of my cheeks and lips, a light dusting of MAC Cork Eye Shadow all over and beneath my eyes, followed by two really good coats of my new favorite mascara by Giorgio Armani. It does wonders for short lashes and people like me who don’t wear a lot of eye makeup. I then blow-dry my hair.

8.45 a.m.: Get dressed. My outfit doesn’t look quite as good as I pictured it, but still okay. I have two options, so I send iPhone photos to my husband, Chad (back in Los Angeles looking after our girls) and he helps me with the decision!

9.00 a.m.: I’m on the street trying to hail a cab to make it to my first appointment of the day on time. New York cabs are not always there when you need them!

9.10 a.m.: Jump into a cab and off to meet with the beauty writer from Vogue and introduce her to the Leila Lou line. Quick cab application of Rosie Jane Lip Gloss and Leila Lou Fragrance Oil.  I love Vogue, so I'm a bit nervous!

9.30 a.m.: Meet with Vogue—I love them! The writer, Ana Dragovic, couldn’t be sweeter and just happens to like the Leila Lou line. I love her even more now!

10 a.m.: Jump back into a cab and head off to meet with a new store that will be carrying Leila Lou in the city.

10.30 a.m.: Another quick lip gloss application and into the meeting.

11.15 a.m.: Back in a cab. Meeting went so well and I’m so excited to launch the line for Holiday 2011.

11.45 a.m.: Traffic is horrible today. We're doing our first trunk show at Henri Bendel this week, which is very exciting. I arrive at Henri Bendel to check in with our wonderful sales associate and drop off Leila Lou samples to hand out.

12.15 p.m.: Leave Henri Bendel, jump into a cab, and head back to my sister’s apartment. Call my home back in Los Angeles to speak to the little ladies— miss them so much! My mother just flew in from Australia, so everything is under control!

12.45 p.m.: Rush to the elevator. I'm running a bit behind schedule for my next assignment. Get upstairs, throw my bag down, throw off my wedges, peel off my outfit, and change into my favorite jeans, T-shirt, and super-cute leopard-print flats (they're from Steve Madden, and they go with everything). Then I pull my hair back into a ponytail and spritz my face with the amazing Avène Spring Water Spray, which totally freshens up my face and wakes me up. This is the transformation from Rosie Jane Johnston, CEO of Leila Lou By Rosie Jane, to Rosie Jane Johnston, celebrity makeup artist!

1.10 p.m.: Pull out my makeup kit, make sure everything is clean and organized, and set up on the dining room table ready to glam up my client, my gorgeous sister Poppy Montgomery, who is currently starring in CBS’s Unforgettable.

1.45 p.m.: Poppy arrives home. She has an appearance on David Letterman tonight. Very exciting!

1.55 p.m.: Poppy is in my chair ready to go. First I prime her face with Giorgio Armani face primer. This will help her makeup stay in place and also keep the shine down—the lighting on those stages is extreme. Then for the foundation I use a combination of Laura Mercier and Armani. I love both, but one is too matte and one is too shiny, so the combination is perfect. Next the eyes. She is wearing a super-sexy Herve Leger black dress, so I want her eyes to be defined but also golden and quite natural. I use a lot of neutral tones and bronze for a bit of a shimmer. The definition comes from using lots of lashes and some black liner on the top inner rim of her eye. For the cheeks, I dusted Benefit’s blush in Throb on her cheeks and then a dab of Cheek Gloss by Rosie Jane in Marigold.

3 p.m.: Clean up my makeup and pack a small bag of all the makeup that I will need to touch up Poppy before she goes onstage.

3.15 p.m.: The car is here and we are ready to go to Letterman.

3.45 p.m.: Arrive at Letterman. Paparazzi are everywhere and there are so many fans. Poppy signs some autographs and we go inside.

3.55 p.m.: We are escorted to the dressing room and start the final touches. I use a little bit of powder and touch up Poppy’s lips. I use Julie Hewett’s lipstick in Biba and a Spice lip liner from MAC. I slather on Leila Lou Body Lotion mixed with Lorac’s Tantalizer to give her legs, arms, and chest a silky-smooth bronze glow.

4.15 p.m.: Poppy is ready to go and is escorted to the stage. I wish her good luck.

5 p.m.: Watch Poppy from the dressing room. She looks stunning!

5.30 p.m.: Back into the town car to the apartment. Yay!

6.15 p.m.: Arrive home and call my husband to set a time to ichat with the girls.

6.30 p.m.: Wash my face with Avène Cleansing Milk and Toner. I love this brand, it’s just so simple. Change into my sweats, pour myself a glass of wine, and collapse in front of my computer to return e-mails from the afternoon. Only 54, not too bad!

7.30 p.m.: Order dinner. We get chicken and salad, even though I really feel like a burger and fries!

8 p.m.: Have an ichat with my beautiful husband and my little angels.

8.30 p.m.: Dinner arrives. Poppy and I have dinner together and gossip about the day.

10.30 p.m.: Finish e-mails, make my to-do list for tomorrow.

11.30 p.m.: Brush my teeth, change into pajamas, and into bed. Oh my gosh, it feels so good!