Over the weekend I stopped into my favorite store in Beverly Hills to get some skin care products. I visited my friend and makeup artist Delbert. He looked at me in a weird way, and said, girlfriend, we need to update your summer makeup!
He was correct. My base color was too dark, eyebrows too dark, and lips were too dark. On top of that my skin was constantly flaking, even though I was using moisturizer.
“Lighten it up for the holidays!” Delbert declared. Okee-dokee, I was ready to lighten up.
First, he took off all the makeup I was wearing (in the store, with everyone looking) and took a good look at my skin.
“It’s dry, and slightly red,” he said. “You need a gentle cleanser and good moisturizer.” (Cha-ching! More money on cosmetics, I thought).
He then cleansed my skin, followed by another cleaner (really? Two cleansers?), a toner, a primer, and sunscreen. My skin was really, really clean, toned, primed, and protected from the sun. What next?
Delbert told me that I needed to lighten up my foundation since I wasn’t in the sun as much. The key to a good foundation he said, was the color. He chose a creamy beige that I would have not chosen because of the pink undertones.
I allowed him to apply it on my face. This time, he used a cool brush that really smoothed the foundation out, giving a natural glow to my face. I loved it. And, it was the perfect color. I now needed the brush.
He then took a larger brush, and whisked on some bronzer on my cheeks, forehead and my cheekbones, giving me a little “just came in from the cold” glow.
Now for the brows. Instead of making the beginning of the brow the focal point, he make the arch of the brow the focal point, by applying a slightly heavier trace of my brow arch. That little trick really changed the look of the brows and added a lift to my face.
He went just a little further, applying a light peachy-pink shadow all over my eyelid, and then accented it with light purple. Sounds weird, but it really worked! He finished my look with a berry stain look on my lips. So pretty.
The whole session took 15 minutes, and really refreshed my look! He took a photo of me and it was one of the best photos I have ever taken.
How much for a beautiful, fresh look? The skincare products were the most expensive, and since I was coming in for them, anyway, they really don’t count.
I had the eye shadow colors at home, the bronzer in a similar color at home, the brushes at home, and the eyebrow color pencil at home. Now I would put them to good use!
What I did buy that I did not plan to buy was the beautiful new foundation, the second cleanser, the primer, and the sunscreen. I used my husband’s credit card. It was around $190. But the lift it gave me was priceless.
Barbara Bishop is President of Santa Monica-based BBPR, Inc. For comments or suggestions, email barbara.bishop@bbprinc.com.
