It was the era of the Supermodel — you know, when they all went by their first and last names but certainly didn't need to — think Naomi, Christy, Linda — and claimed they didn't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day.

New York Fashion Week shows were more glamorous (read: they weren't sponsored by Olympus or Mercedes Benz and were held in lofts, clubs, and restaurants instead of tents). And Sam Fine was behind the scenes — at Geoffrey Bean, Fernando Sanchez, Tracy Reese, Todd Oldham, Isaac Mizrahi, etc. — giving the models faces to match their designer looks or rushing from show to show with Naomi and Tyra.

It was the first half of the '90s when Sam Fine both assisted the late Kevyn Aucoin and worked the shows on his own. Those were the good ol' days… that he doesn't really want to go back to.

"It's a fun gig, but I leave it to the young at heart and the ones that really love fashion," he told Stereohyped.

And it's not like being a celebrity makeup artist, which is the the job Sam Fine graduated to when he left the fashion show world, is any less glamorous. Or that much different.

"I came along at a time when models had a name, and it was almost like working with the celebrities," he said. "Working with Tyra and Iman [on jobs like the] current Ebony cover, I still feel like I'm doing fashion shows in a way."

If faces Fine touched during his fashion show era were impressive, consider his current client list: Iman, Vanessa Williams, Veronica Webb, Patti LaBelle, Star Jones, Halle Berry, Laila Ali, Mary J. Blige, Serena Williams, Janet Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Mo'Nique (who shouted out his services when she hosted the BET Awards in June), Tyra, Naomi — the list could go on.

When asked what his favorite type of gig is, he first said working with a model, because their faces are blank canvases, and they allow him to be most creative and artistic. But, on second thought, he decided that the best kind of gig was working with the clients he has had decades-long relationships with. The clients he can call his friends — like Iman, who is not afraid to tell him when she doesn't like something. Or Tyra, who he met 13 years ago when they worked together in Paris. Or Vanessa Williams, whose makeup he's been doing for a more than a decade. When she walks down the red carpet at the Emmy's on September 16th, take a close look at her flawless face. It will have Sam Fine written all over it.

Fine also spends much of his time teaching and is currently working on an instructional DVD. His makeup book, Fine Beauty: Beauty Basics and Beyond for African American Women, is considered an industry classic eight years after it’s release. He's pretty much singularly dedicated to the art of making black women more beautiful, which is a choice that many industry folks, who think that making up white faces is the only route to success, don't understand.

"I realized a long time ago when I was one of 12 assistants that all the black girls came to me for a reason," he said. "There were all of these wonderful beautiful women who were under-served, and I was creating a different market and a different level of respect."

And yet, people still ask him why he chooses to only do black women instead of moving into the white market.

"That's my choice," he said. "I'm a talented makeup artist. I could do anybody, but for me to dedicate my career to beautifying women of color — that's a choice."

As for the brown-skinned non-celebrities of the world, one of Fine's biggest pet peeves is when someone thinks they don't need makeup. To that he asks, do we need haircolor, or a perm, or 10 handbags, or that new pair of shoes?

"I work with the most beautiful women in the world," he said. "Everyone looks better with a curled eyelash and mascara. I'm not asking you to paint for the cheap seats."

Check back for part two tomorrow, when Sam lets us in on the best makeup products for brown skin.

See some of Sam's work below.