Tips from Celebrity Makeup Artists

Celebrity Makeup Artists Spill Their Secrets
by Kelly Bryant (Subscribe to Kelly Bryant's posts)
Posted Mar 2nd 2011 at 5:05PM
via www.stylelist.com


This year, The Makeup Show, a veritable beauty bonanza, and the Oscars descended upon Los Angeles on the same weekend. While both events reveled in glamour and special effects, the talented folks who actually create red-carpet beauty looks were the celebrities at the former, instead of those who appear on the silver screen.

Since we've always longed for our own personal beauty dream team, like those the A-listers are so fortunate to have, StyleList went in search of the next best thing -- their secret weapons and techniques. Lucky for us, several were happy to oblige:

Pati Dubroff
Star clients: Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Bosworth
Conceal it: "Under-eye concealer should be a very fine layer and it shouldn't be too light because it's going to make the bags stick out more," explains Dubroff. "If there are bags, you put the concealer just under the bag so that it's trying to flatten that area and take away the deep shadow only, but not on the puffy part. Usually the ones that are in the sticks, like YSL Touche Éclat or By Terry's concealer -- those are the best for the eye area. Never use a cream concealer for the eye area because it's just too dense. Those are for the nose and blemishes."
Beauty must-haves: Dubroff's top item is a foundation by a Japanese line that, of course, isn't available in the States, but she offers up her other favorite go-to items: "The under-eye brush from By Terry; Clarins Instant Smooth because it mattifies and fills in any pore and line; a great mascara because that's going to open your eye; Kevyn Aucoin or Clarins cream blush for health and flush; I love Clark's Botanicals for lip balm and I also love Korres Lip Butter."



James Vincent
Star clients: Paz de la Huerta, Joan Jett
Red-carpet philosophy: "With a celebrity, you need to make them look their best and you need to keep them in their comfort zone as far as keeping them recognizable on the red carpet," explains Vincent. "Joan Jett is actually a great example. Joan Jett's eye is copied in fashion shoots all over the world. I did three fashion shows where they used 'Bad Reputation' as one of the songs. It's just about getting that balance and making it work but making them feel the most beautiful they can be."
Beauty must-haves: "My go-to products that work for celebrities or even women on the go are the Make Up For Ever HD Elixir. It minimizes pores and makes makeup look beautiful. Embryolisse Lait-crème -- I fought to get them into the country. It's really one of those miracle creams, one of those cult products that every makeup artist has in their kit. Stila shadows are very easy for every woman to wear. The smudge pot shadow that they do is great as liner, as mascara in a pinch and it's great for the brow. Obsessive Compulsive Lip Tar -- it's your lip and your cheek color. I love it for a woman who doesn't have a lot of time. YSL Touche Éclat -- I probably use it in every application. Also the Skin Enhancer from Kevyn Aucoin and their lash curler."



Kristofer Buckle
Star clients: Renée Zellweger, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez
Red lip perfected: "I use NARS Jungle Red lip liner," says Buckle. "I love that red. It's a good texture so you get a nice sharp edge. Red is so tricky because it can be messy and it can bleed. I use a product called LipSense and the color I have used on Christina (Aguilera) is called Blu-Red. It's literally like car paint. It's liquid so you apply it with a wand and it goes on like paint and it doesn't have any drag to it, so it creates this perfectly gorgeous doll mouth. It dries completely with no moisture to it and then you apply a topcoat with just moisture. It doesn't move."
Beauty must-haves: "I pretty much put a lash on every single person who sits in the chair for me," he says. "There's not an option. Someone's getting an individual lash or a band lash. There's some sort of lash getting on somebody. As far as a go-to product, something that I put on everyone would be the Three Custom Color concealers. I love Laura Mercier's Translucent Loose Powder, Eight Hour Cream by Elizabeth Arden, and before I even start painting, I use Decleor moisturizer."




Billy B
Star clients: Lady Gaga, Pink, Beyoncé
Cheap and chic: "I don't think you have to spend a lot of money on lip gloss," says Billy B. "I think that lip gloss is like fragrance, it's really personal to a woman. I don't think you have to spend a lot of money on mascara. I love L'Oréal Voluminous Mascara in Blackest Black and any of the lip balms that come in a pot, not menthol, just the regular ones, because for certain jobs I want more of a satin finish on camera, not a high shine, so that's how I do that. I like Embryolisse moisturizer, but I also like Eucerin. I'm a huge fan of Eucerin for body shine -- it's really, really good. And baby oil gel -- I'm a huge fan of baby oil gel, not the oil, the gel.
Beauty must-haves: "My eyelash curler from my line -- I have a whole line of brushes, MAC Studio Fix Powder in the compact, L'Oréal Voluminous Mascara in Blackest Black, MAC Smolder Pencil and I never go anywhere without lashes. I don't necessarily use them on every job, but I would never go on a job without them. I'm all about the drugstore brand. I can even tell you which ones. They're the Ardell numbers 53, 110 and 45.

For a glimpse at the beauty looks from that other glamorous event that happened in Hollywood this weekend, a little party called the Oscars, read up on this year's red-carpet beauty trends.