"All the bright young things go to Paul," reports the Financial Times.

"Rarely mentioned, scarcely seen, the Manhattan society girls’ secret weapon is Paul Podlucky, hairdresser, makeup artist and occasional personal shopper," writes Plum Sykes in Vogue.

Whether they visit him — and his three Boston terriers — in the privacy of his apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, or he goes to their place nearby, Paul’s client list is a who’s who of the best-dressed in the world. Aerin Lauder, Marina Rust Connor, Brooke de Ocampo, Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Tory Burch, Trish McEvoy, Diane Sawyer, Deeda Blair and Lee Radziwill, to name just a few. In a typical week he may see upward of some 60 style-blazing women who "love not going to a salon. They don’t necessarily want other people watching them having their hair colored or cut," Paul says.

He is that rare artist who is acclaimed for both his hair and his makeup talent. In addition to caring for his clients, Paul has worked closely with Aerin Lauder consulting for the brand Estee Lauder. Paul’s hair and makeup work for magazines includes a recent Town & Country cover of the photographer and author Kelly Klein, and he was the hair and makeup artist for "Bright Young Things," an insider’s view of America’s new generation of style setters photographed by Jonathan Becker and produced by Brooke de Ocampo.

Prior to opening his business in his East 67th Street apartment in 2001, Paul’s career was primarily editorial and advertising focused, rather than focused on private clients, working with such noted photographers as Jurgen Teller, David Seidner, Bruce Weber, Irving Penn and Richard Avedon.

For over two decades his hair and makeup has been seen in Vogue U.S. as well as Italian, French, and British Vogue; Harper’s Bazaar, and Town & Country. Most recently, Paul has been taking his own photographs, doing the hair, the makeup and the wardrobe styling for a book of fashion portraits. 

Arriving in Manhattan at age 15 from his native Buffalo, Paul worked and studied with such beauty industry legends as Vidal Sassoon, John Sahag and Kevin Aucoin, and was a National Educator for Aveeda, an early supporter of the company’s founder Horst Rechelbacher.

"In the New York party scene, where everyone is scrutinizing how everyone else looks, Paul’s clients enjoy themselves more than anyone else because they are secure in the knowledge that they look perfect," Plum Sykes wrote in Vogue.

Ultimately, what is most chic is confidence, and instilling it is one of Paul’s main goals. "You don’t want to be fussing and worrying about your hair and makeup, ever. When you leave the house, you should be like Marlene Dietrich, never looking at your hair and makeup again. All she ever carried with her was her lipstick," Paul says.

"Keep it simple. Less is more," is Paul’s philosophy, gleaned from his years of helping and observing his fashionable clientele. "Restraint and refusal — of anything too trendy.  If you have a strong eye, do a soft mouth. If you have a strong mouth, do a soft eye. If you have a big party dress, then balance it with natural hair and makeup. The goal always is to look not like I did it, but you did it yourself, as if you were really great at getting ready without anyone’s help."