Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro (33 page)

1
Choose a stick foundation or concealer stick the exact shade matching your skin tone.

2
With a concealer brush, dab the product on the spot only. Wipe it away from the surrounding areas. Layer a second coat on if needed.

3
Dust a bit of skin-tone-correct powder directly on top of the spot.

AGELESS BEAUTY

Beauty is about looking and feeling great. That means beauty depends in part on taking care of the body: drinking lots of water, eating healthy foods, using sunscreen, and getting plenty of exercise.

Good beauty routines
begin with good skincare. Pamper the skin, and experiment with rich, hydrating moisturizers.

Under-eye darkness often deepens with age.
Use a rich under-eye cream overnight and a lighter cream for day to hydrate and smooth the area. Use a pink or peach-toned corrector followed by a yellow-toned concealer and foundation. Lighten the upper lid with a light eye shadow.

Using moisturizers can reduce
the appearance of wrinkles. Tinted balms and moisture-rich foundations help soften lines and wrinkles and don’t settle into them. Match the foundation exactly to the skin tone.

Skin loses elasticity over time.
Using a cream with retinoids that stimulates collagen production helps to give skin a firmer look.

Yellow-toned foundation or tinted moisturizer will tone down
ruddy skin and rosacea. Bronzer helps counteract redness as well. Strong facial scrubs often aggravate ruddiness. Rosacea can be treated topically; ask your doctor.

Brown spots can be removed
with laser resurfacing performed by a dermatologist or covered with the lightest pink or peach corrector and yellow-toned foundation that is set with powder.

Color will make you look pretty and fresher.
Experiment.

Eye contour gives droopy eyelids a lift —
the contour shadow needs to look blended and natural.

Sometimes adding a gel bronzer
gives a nice boost (aka a fake tan) for a healthy look.

Smooth skin is prettier
than too-tight skin.

Eyeliner is great
for bringing the eyes out and making them look awake.

Crepey eyes:
Make sure you moisturize at night, and stick to formulas that are not too dry.

MAKEUP DURING PREGNANCY

For many women, pregnancy is a time when their bodies do not feel like their own. Hormones and physical changes caused by pregnancy create some special needs. Skin often changes during pregnancy, dark patches appear on the skin (sometimes called the “mask of pregnancy”), and some women become extremely sensitive to fragrances.

Adjust any skincare regimen for pregnancy-related changes,
either by adding more moisture to combat dryness or switching to oil-free formulas if skin has become oilier.

Use sunscreen!
Pregnancy hormones often leave the skin sensitive and more vulnerable to the sun. The vigilant use of sunscreen will help minimize the appearance of hyperpigmentation.

To cover hyperpigmentation,
apply a corrective concealer to the area using a concealer brush. Apply foundation over the entire face, using a light touch to avoid wiping away the concealer. Use the fingers to press additional foundation into areas where needed, and then set it with powder.

For those days when there is no natural glow,
fake it with a pretty shade of blush, or use a light touch of bronzer over the face.

For added glow,
pat face balm over makeup or on a bare face.

Learn the quick on-the-go makeup routine
and promise yourself you will do it (most days) and prepare a palette that is customized for you. Make sure you choose colors that don’t need to be blended.

Minimum steps
are concealer and blush.

BAD-DAY BEAUTY

Everyone, even the most gorgeous model, has the occasional bad day. These are the days when eyes look puffy, skin appears sallow, breakouts seem overly obvious, and nothing seems to help. There are many solutions to improve these situations.

Add moisture.
When skin is dehydrated, it looks older and less alive. Drink plenty of water. Use a rich moisturizer to help temporarily plump up skin, making it look softer and younger.

Skip the full makeup application.
Avoid the urge to apply makeup in an attempt to banish the bad-day issues. Use just a bit of concealer, a tinted moisturizer, and a pinky blush.

Curl lashes to open up eyes
and make them look more awake. Do not follow with lots of eye makeup. Dark liner and shadows can make tired eyes look even more tired. Stick to light shades on the lids, and use mascara just on the top lashes.

Fake a tan.
To enliven sallow-looking skin, apply a light coat of self-tanner, bronzing powder, or gel. Follow with a pinky blush.

Don’t compensate for paleness with too much color.
A sheer pink blush will warm up the skin without looking fake. A bit of moisturizer patted onto the skin over blush will make the skin look great.

Add sheer, glossy lip color to perk up
a tired-looking mouth. The best shades match your natural lip color or add just a hint of rose or pink.

Dark eyeglass frames
really come in handy on some days.

Cover bruises
with a blemish stick or foundation stick.

Cover discolored scars with a blemish stick,
and then apply foundation over the area to blend in with skin tone.

Ease a sunburn with a cool shower
and cold compresses. Any redness still remaining can be helped with a light application of foundation or tinted moisturizer. Avoid red-colored lips. Instead, try a bronze or brown-based lip color.

Bobbi’s Best Friends

Black eyeliner

Bright pink blush

Cheek glow (balms)

Bright pink scarf

Ray-Bans

PART II:
ARTISTRY

Chapter 9

ARTISTRY

What it takes to be a professional:

this chapter is all about learning to see, formulating your style, listening, collaborating, and finding inspiration.

ARTISTRY

Professional makeup artistry is a field for those who love makeup.
Makeup artists must be obsessed with both the art and business of it, and they cannot be afraid of hard work.
Makeup artists must learn to see in order to evaluate their choices and techniques. They must be open to learning and growing in their craft. Successful professionals in the field of makeup should be excellent teachers and communicators.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SEEING

The most important quality of a good makeup artist is the ability to observe. You can learn a lot about makeup and style just by observing. Look at the faces and styles of women on the street, actresses, and friends. Study women in magazines, old photos, paintings, and movies. Chances are you will begin to see some patterns emerge as to what you like. They will help you formulate your own signature style as a makeup artist. I studied photographs to discover the many ways light creates color on the skin. I love good light and brightness under the eyes, with a smooth complexion.

While your style is evolving, you can expect some trial and error. Hair color, cuts, bright lipstick, beige lipstick? Go for it. Try new things until you arrive at a look you love. You’ll know you have found the right look when you feel comfortable and confident in yourself and your appearance. It’s an evolution, and it’s up to you to find the way.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING

Just as you have to train your eye in order to become a successful makeup artist, you also have to train your ear. Effective listening is an essential skill for all makeup artists. While it is important to have a vision and to develop your own style, a makeup artist cannot be a dictator. Your job is to take other people’s ideas and visions into consideration and to collaborate with them. If the project is a photo shoot, the photographer, editor, and stylist all have input. Even though the model has no say, I believe she should feel good about the way she looks. For fashion shows, the designer usually has a vision, and it becomes your job to realize it. In theater, makeup artists collaborate with the costume designer and sometimes the wig designer to realize the director’s vision.

When the subject is an actress, you have to please her and usually others, including her agent, stylist, and photographer, which is not always easy. One time I was doing Tina Turner’s makeup and she requested a sexy look, which I had to balance with the photographer and stylist’s request that she have a more natural, no-makeup look. And then there was the actress who insisted on black-winged eye-liner that just wasn’t pretty. Or the singer who wanted her foundation five shades lighter than her beautiful ebony skin. Just remember that in the end it is a collaboration, and if you listen well, everyone can be happy.