She’s seeing rouge!
Hollywood makeup artist Paula Dorf says a New Jersey distributor is out to ruin her reputation by making products more fit for bargain bins than Bergdorf’s and putting her name all over them.
After Dorf’s company, named after her, went broke, warehouser Jack Sandbach took over and gave her the boot. She says her brand has gone from high-end shops to T.J.Maxx and is now made in China.
Sandbach sends out promotional e-mails signed, “Love, Paula” and has kept her biography and photograph on the company Web site.
“He’s taking over my identity,” Dorf, 66, told The Post. “Everything was taken away from me — my world, my name. I would not represent myself with inexpensive, horrible products.”
Since 1981, Dorf has touched up famous faces including Katie Holmes, Bill Clinton, Stevie Nicks and Barbra Streisand.
In 1995, She launched her own line, known most for her “Transformer” liquid that turns eye shadow into eye liner.
Her beauty tools are beloved by actresses including Jennifer Garner and Debra Messing and used on movie sets. In an episode of “Sex and the City,” Samantha (Kim Cattrall) was spotted carrying a Paula Dorf shopping bag.
But Dorf was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2009 following a poor economy. Bankruptcy documents show the company had $1.5 million in assets but owed more than $3.8 million to creditors.
After her company declared bankruptcy in 2009, Sandbach, president of Packaging Distribution Resources of Sayreville, bought a 51 percent stake for $175,000. He later fired Dorf and began selling what she claims are inferior products.
The makeup maven was introduced to Sandbach, president of Packaging Distribution Resources in Sayreville. At first blush, he seemed ready to save the fading brand and in 2011, snagged a 51 percent stake in the company in exchange for paying $175,000 in new capital investment, court records show.
Still, Dorf says Sandbach’s true colors showed last year when he fired her — then began creating inferior, smelly products in China with new shades she never approved.
“People think I’m still producing the product and are angry with me,” Dorf said. “They say, ‘Why is Paula doing this?’ when I always had a really good reputation in the industry.”
Dorf’s attorney, David Wrobel, sent Sandbach three cease-and-desist letters since November — demanding he remove Dorf’s image and life story from the Web site and manufacture the cosmetics in the United States.
Wrobel said Dorf’s license agreement gives her the right to enforce quality guidelines. Dorf is keeping her powder dry but preparing to file a lawsuit.
“The problem for the company is that Paula Dorf is not only a brand of cosmetics, she is a real person,” Wrobel said. “She’s not Betty Crocker, Ronald McDonald or the Energizer Bunny. None of those characters were real, and certainly none of them signed valid and enforceable license agreements.”
Sandbach’s lawyer, Kurt Olender, said that according to her license agreement, Dorf has no right to dictate how products are manufactured.
Kate Briquelet
“She’s complaining about things she never had right to control,” he said.