BY KENDALL MORGAN - Ask a typical makeup artist what products she can’t live without, and you'll get a short list that probably includes Maybelline Great Lash, Benefit's Benetint, and whatever new lipsticks are in their own line. Ask Charlie Green that question, however, and you’ll get a very different answer.

"My imagination," she says. "It really is my imagination. I drift off into some space when I go to work. They say, 'What are you going to do?” and I never know how to answer them. It doesn't matter what I use; there's nothing I can't live without. I could be on a desert island and use a bit of charcoal and food coloring - it's imagination that takes it there." Which is why this British import is the artist every model would like to be marooned with.

But, unfortunately, aspiring Survivor types will have to step aside - Charlie is likely to be booked, touching up famous faces such as Milla Jovovich, Adriana Lima, Devon Aoki, Angelina Jolie, Penelope Cruz, and Pamela Anderson. Green's handiwork can be seen in recent ads for Victoria's Secret, Banana Republic, Miss Sixty, and Cover Girl, and in editorial stories shot by renowned photographers such as Ruven Afanador and Ellen von Unwerth.

"It's very serendipitous that I tend to get booked with people who are coming from the same place as I am," she says. "I don't know what would happen if I went to a job and found a dry Belgian photographer with tragic 16-year-old models. I'd do it though, because I'd be there. But I don't get that kind of work. Most of the people I work with I'd love to work with again."

Charlie has become a favorite of many models because of her mix of professionalism and whimsy. No wonder she draws comparisons between what she does and "finger- painting when you were a kid."

"I see [makeup] as an opportunity for people to explore a side of their personality they don't expose on a daily basis," she explains. "Some people's fantasy is to be a winsome little girl; others want to be more sultry. I think all people want to bring out a daredevil side. I roll with the person's personality that day. I tend to work with people on a frequent basis - I get to know their likes and dislikes and can introduce new characters along the way."

This she does by asking the model or actress such basic questions as what her favorite book or movie is, where she went on holiday, or simply questions about her background. She honed this individualistic approach in her early days in London over a decade ago. Back then, Green was working in fashion in public relations and marketing and design and just sort of "ambled into makeup."

"I got asked to do makeup on a shoot one time. I was a punk rocker and the music industry really influenced me," she recalls. This in turn led to work in the music biz with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Adam Ant, and Bryan Ferry. "It was a moment of bubblegum pop - it was fabulous. We did amazing music videos and fabulous photo shoots."

When she decided makeup was really the career for her, it was off to Paris for editorial work where "they work you very hard but you end up with an amazing book. Paris is where I grew up a bit. We went to Conde Nast and started working with David LaChapelle and Michael Thompson. I was daydreaming of working with Ellen von Unwerth. I started working on major fashion shows as well, which was amazing. I worked with Linda Cantello and Kevyn Aucoin on shows like Vivienne Westwood and Chloe."

CHARLIE QUIZ   Five favorite beauties of the '80s: "Patti Hansen, Iman, Christie Brinkley, Talisa Soto, Debbie Harry." Five favorite beauties of the '90s: "Tatjana Patitz, Amber Valletta, Kate Moss, Kristen McMenamy, Alek Wek." Five favorite beauties of today: "Isabelli Fontana, Karolina Kurkova, Fanni Bostrom, Devon Aoki, and Omahyra." Photographers she'd love to work with: "I would LOVE to work with Helmut Newton. I just think he's got such a sensuality in pictures and there's a tiny bit of the dark side that comes through. I'd love to be part of the Helmut Newton experience. And (French art photographers) Pierre et Gilles- how amazing are they?" Influenced by: "The life and times of artist Andy Warhol. And by Topolino. He's a French makeup artist and his work is just incredibly creative. What he does is totally mad. He breaks all the rules."

As her U.S. bookings increased, the time came for Charlie to move to New York City, where she relocated four years ago. And yes, her dream of working with Ellen von Unwerth came true. Charlie's strengths lie in her ability to "read" what photographers want and translate that into makeup. For Ms. Von Unwerth, it's a "fabulous, playful energy." Mr. Afanador's work conjures up a "melancholic side - [the models] are tragic heroines." And Russell James's sensual pictures have her concentrating on "the texture and quality of the skin." Needless to say, no one is going to reduce what she does by requesting 'red lips and black eyes."

"I'm lucky at this stage. Because I've been doing makeup so long, people trust me," she says. "They know I'm going to respect their boundaries and do the most cohesive look possible. Some days it's not about the makeup at all, it's about the hair and the simplicity of the skin."

And some days, it's just about rolling with the punches and turning a potential disaster into a success. "I've gone on shoots where we've been flown down to the Caribbean to do a story on flower prints and the whole concept is to be airy and floaty. We get there and it's pouring with rain so instead we do an amazing story with a rain-soaked girl with clinging clothes. Sometimes if the rug's pulled out from under you, it's a good thing. It can be exciting to work like that."

A big advocate of going with - rather than against - the flow, Charlie notes that the same makeup job will look different on different girls. 'It's weird because you can never replicate the same thing - the elements are constantly changing. It's exciting to take what you have and make something from that moment."