I started writing this blog because having worked as a freelance makeup artist for many years I am constantly being asked for advice about products and application techniques. Not only by the models, celebrities and power players that I work with on an everyday basis, but by women who are less publicly visible – professionals to stay-at-home moms – who want to appear more attractive and pulled-together without a lot of fuss. How do I achieve a particular look? How do I get rid of puffy eyes, soften up the lines, treat and hide the blemishes? What is the best lipstick shade for my complexion?
Many years back, when I began to do work for popular fashion magazines, I was puzzled to see that the products they claimed I had used for their editorials were credited “incorrectly”. The fact was that I didn’t use any of the products that were listed on the credit pages – I didn’t even own them. I didn’t think much of it until my mother telephoned me one day: “I liked the lipstick you used on the XYZ Magazine cover, but I went out and bought it and it just doesn’t look the same on me.”
As I eventually came to realize, many magazines credit the products of their major advertisers in their editorials regardless of what the makeup artist actually used. Now, some people would call this good business, but I can’t help feeling that there is a need for a beauty forum where advertisers do not sway editorial opinions.
Fashion magazines feed our fantasies. I wouldn’t want to live in a world without them. But perhaps they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Celebrities and models are just like you and me in many ways. They have cellulite, wrinkles and the occasional pimple. One can’t underestimate the effects that a world-class hair and makeup team, a brilliant wardrobe stylist, fantastic lighting, and a little retouching can do for a person’s public image. In fact, for me there is nothing more gratifying about my job than making someone feel gorgeous and confident whether they are appearing in a magazine editorial or walking the red carpet. I hope that by being straightforward with beauty advice, I can help bring some of the knowledge that I have gleaned over the years to anyone that has an interest in presenting a more polished image of themselves.
What women in the “real world” should consider (and by no means am I excluding my celebrity clientele here) is that beauty is a matter of perception and attitude. Exploit what is unique about yourself – your curvaceous figure, lovely hair, beautiful eyes, sensuous lips. Learn how to capitalize on your strengths rather than mimicking the Barbie doll appearances of many of today’s media darlings with their excesses of plastic surgery, mountains of hair extensions and in many cases, sadly undernourished physiques. I happen to have great admiration for the actresses Helen Mirren, Edie Falco, Mozhan Marno and Zhang Ziyi, the musician Beth Ditto, and iconic women in business, philanthropy and politics like Michelle Obama, Micheline Calmy-Rey, and Zainab Salbi – tremendously accomplished women who are ravishing and sexy because they manage to retain a powerful sense of self despite being exposed to the scrutiny that being in the public eye invites.
While there is no substitute for a simple, effective beauty routine and keeping healthy through sensible diet and exercise – indeed, they are essential to looking great – give yourselves a break from time to time. Be kind to yourself. Nothing looks worse than someone who’s trying too hard. After all, the most alluring woman in the room is the one that feels comfortable in her own skin.