Face to Face: Merrell Hollis

Wendy Williams has proven she has what it takes to survive the cutthroat world of daytime TV. Though she's a mess -- most of the time strategically so, after seeing her up close and personal at taping of her show a few weeks ago I can tell you that this woman knows exactly what she's doing -- she's the kind of mess that we want to befriend, if only to take her out to lunch and gossip about all the other messes in Hollywood. Her look matches her personality -- loud, over the top, some have even gone so far as to call her a drag queen, and we agree if by drag you mean a fabulous brand of exaggeration that's worked within an inch of its life.

No queen could look that good without someone ready at all times to makeup (and touch up) her mug. For Wendy, that man is Merrell Hollis. Hollis got his start in makeup at 17 and since then he's worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, especially in the hip hop and rap world. We caught up with him to chat about his first makeup memories, how he (literally) broke into the industry, and working for the outrageous talk show host:

For more info on Merrell, visit his official website. For more on the Wendy Williams show, click here.

-- NOAH MICHELSON

Previously > Blasting Off With Passion Pit

Wendy Williams has proven she has what it takes to survive the cutthroat world of daytime TV. Though she's a mess -- most of the time strategically so, after seeing her up close and personal at taping of her show a few weeks ago I can tell you that this woman knows exactly what she's doing -- she's the kind of mess that we want to befriend, if only to take her out to lunch and gossip about all the other messes in Hollywood. Her look matches her personality -- loud, over the top, some have even gone so far as to call her a drag queen, and we agree if by drag you mean a fabulous brand of exaggeration that's worked within an inch of its life.

No queen could look that good without someone ready at all times to makeup (and touch up) her mug. For Wendy, that man is Merrell Hollis. Hollis got his start in makeup at 17 and since then he's worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, especially in the hip hop and rap world. We caught up with him to chat about his first makeup memories, how he (literally) broke into the industry, and working for the outrageous talk show host:

For more info on Merrell, visit his official website. For more on the Wendy Williams show, click here.

-- NOAH MICHELSON

Previously > Blasting Off With Passion Pit