Macron’s personal makeup artist, “Natacha M.” put in two claims for payment, one for €10 000 and another for €16 000, for doing his makeup during his travels and ahead of press conferences, according to the report.
The Elysée Palace told BFMTV: “We called in a contractor as a matter of urgency.” The news has angered the French state, Le Point noted.
But Macron’s makeup bill would be “significantly reduced” in future, Le Point reported, adding that the amount spent was less than for François Hollande’s hairdresser, surprisingly. The Hollande coiffeur cost almost €10 000 per month.
Hollande, spent €30 000 per quarter on makeup, including the salary of a makeup artist. In addition, Hollande paid his hairdresser a gross salary of almost €10 000 a month.
Nicolas Sarkozy only spent slightly less on his makeup than Macron, some €8 000 per month.
Natacha M, 40, was already making up the former Minister of Economy as a candidate, the magazine said.
The news of Macron’s massive beauty budget comes as his popularity is falling, according to opinion polls. Only 37 percent of voters approve of the job Macron is doing, down from a high of 57 percent after his election in May.
It gives a new meaning to putting “lipstick on a pig”, a rhetorical expression, used to convey the message that making superficial or cosmetic changes is a futile attempt to disguise the true nature of a product.