Hi again! I hope you had a chance to check out Part 1 of my The Makeup Show Dallas experience! But I am going to tell you a secret… I have saved my favorite parts for last.

I previously referenced my adoration for Director of Education of The Makeup Show and celebrity makeup artist extraordinaire James Vincent. He was the “face” of the event and introduced all of the keynote speakers while also interjecting his own stories and experiences. I was super pumped to hear his own seminar on contouring. He describes his own makeup artistry style as “uptown glamour with a downtown edge.” You can see his work reflected on people like Joan Jett, Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine), Lady Gaga, and even the cast of Sex and the City. He also referenced a shoot for Vera Wang and working on various Fashion Week shows. I guess what I’m trying to say is that he knows what he’s doing.

He immediately cracked me up when he got up there and said, “Contouring… makes me angry. Everyone is trying to keep up with those Kardashians by drawing brown stripes on their faces.” I referenced that in my last blog and it’s still making me laugh because it’s SO TRUE. I follow SO many Instagram makeup gals and contouring is just The Thing right now but there are so many makeup artists who think it is completely overdone.

James Vincent looks at contouring as a true artist would. He says, “Contouring is creating structure by looking at light and shadow.” He feels strongly that makeup should look NATURAL and that no two faces are the same. You can’t just watch how Kim K does her makeup and mimic it– you have to see where the light naturally hits and work from there. As for bronzer, he thinks it’s completely overdone and has been “abused and mistreated by our makeup community.” Bronzer should only be used where the sun hits the face– not all over the face. On his model, he used a Sun Gel from Stila that is actually $10 on the Stila site right now. He used a very light touch and she looked radiant and lovely.

He also let us in on a beauty tip I have NEVER heard before that would help give a bride that beautiful rosy glow on her big day… fake blood from a costume shop. I KNOW. Who would have thought? Mind. Blown. But he kept mentioning how skin should look fresh and natural and how a cosmetic blush should really mimic how blood rushes to the face. And I guess what’s more natural than real… fake blood?

The name that kept coming up over and over again in each of the seminars and keynotes is Kevyn Aucoin. I’ll get a little personal here as Kevyn Aucoin is one of my very favorite makeup artists of all time. When I was in high school, I begged my mom to buy me his books, Making Faces and Face Forward. In my opinion, he’s definitely one of the greatest makeup artists of our time. While I always loved makeup and skincare products growing up, reading his books inspired me to understand that there is a true art behind makeup and the people that applied the makeup were actual artists. I don’t think I ever really understood that before and I have just always admired Kevyn. What was really interesting to me is that James Vincent and Charlie Green both had the opportunity to work with him and I loved hearing their stories and references.

Like James Vincent, Charlie Green is another one of the most influential artists in the makeup industry for over 20 years. You might know her work if you’ve ever seen a Victoria’s Secret model as she created their bombshell, sexy, girl-next-door look. She also helped create their line of beauty products. She counts people like Martha Stewart, Angelina Jolie, Penelope Cruz, Gisele Bunchen and Heidi Klum as clients. As James asked Charlie about her career, she mentioned that she considered Kevyn Aucoin to be her mentor. She discussed how gracious and humble he always was– he always referred to his assistants as “his team.” She says she tries to bring that same mentality to all of the sets she works on as well.

Charlie actually went to school for architecture which is where she learned shape, form and structure which definitely helps her in the makeup world. She got her first makeup job in a Culture Club video! She believes that music and fashion are so intertwined and has always been inspired by all the glam rockers, punk rockers and metal bands. (She and James have that in common– I’m always seeing his musical inspirations on Instagram!)

I got to watch Charlie work on a model and it was so neat. We asked her to show us a “Victoria’s Secret” fresh, glowy face, and we were able to ask questions while she worked. You should also know that she is British, so she has this adorable accent. She’s also so funny because while I’m such a product junkie, it was like she just knew what products she wanted but barely bothered to know what brands they were. Like, someone asked her what how she applies mascara and she was like, “I start with that long silver tube. I think it’s from Maybelline.” She also likes another one from Maybelline in the “yellow and purple tube.” She kept effortlessly using products and making the model look so great but we had to keep asking her what she was using. A few of her favorites:

Having the opportunity to hear from these legendary artists was the biggest honor to me so I couldn’t wait to share their stories with you! I still have SO MANY MORE PICTURES and things to share with you but we are going to get back with our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. I’m going to write a MUS Bonus post this weekend that’s full of more pictures and stories about the weekend.

xo,
Lauren

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