Makeup Artists - Rants and Raves

Go to Fabulous over Forty and check out the nice work Roddy Gregg from Dior did on Kari's eyes. Doesn't she look great?

Is there a woman on earth who hasn't let a makeup artist "do" her face? The results for me have ranged from ridiculous to sublime. I don't know where they get some of those "artists," but the vast majority of them can't do my makeup any better than I can!

My favorite sublime creative artists, as you probably know by now if you have been following my blog, are Loyd Cassler, at Saks in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Tim Quinn (seen above) - both representing Armani Beauty. They use makeup to spotlight our good features and "de-emphasize" our not-as-good features (even with the right amount of self-esteem, you gotta admit that most of us have at least one feature we don't appreciate). Not only can these guys make you look great, they also teach as they go. Loyd taught me the art of mixing colors on the brush, and the results have been very pleasing. Tim gives you tips (see his videos on the Armani Beauty Web site) that you can use every day. Artists like them make the experience a blast!

Now for the rant. Most makeup artists, even some of the national ones, can't see. They use a paint-by-numbers approach to every customer, meaning you get a formula that may not work for you. I had a recent experience at a Chanel counter that led me to rush home and wash my face. The woman did my eyes. She was using products with shimmer, which I love, but they have to be placed in the right place. I told her that shimmer didn't look good when placed over the crepiness on the inside crease. Her response as she blindly put shimmer there, "Oh no, you must use it here for the look." I had the look alright, and it was scary.

Even the tried-and-true test - see if you like the artist's makeup before you let her touch your face - doesn't always work. Sometimes, they can do themselves just fine, but will leave you looking like a Vegas showgirl.

I called this a rant because there's no real way to predict results. You take your chances unless you've been tipped off to a good artist, as Kari did in her post, or you go to someone who comes highly recommended. I'll share that there was a night after Loyd did my makeup when I didn't want to wash my face! Wish I had a picture of that day.