Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
Born and raised in Marin County, CA (but have lived in several places during my career: London, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco). I studied at the Institute of Studio Makeup LTD in Hollywood and Arnold Beauty College in Dublin, CA. The husband and wife team who inspired me to be a hair stylist were Trevor and Chris Sorbie in London. I currently work between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
How did you first become interested in makeup, and what led you to become a makeup artist?
I became interested in hair first. I grew up as a professional dancer and met a celebrity hairstylist and his wife who really inspired me. I was mesmerized by their work and paid close attention when they worked on the models' and dancers' hair. I was in college and trying to find a niche and decided to try going to cosmetology school at night. After receiving my cosmetology license I moved to Los Angeles to study makeup for the camera. My first job was in small low budget movies doing special effects. After a couple years with 20+ hour workdays and sleep deprivation, I decided movies weren't for me and I went into advertising and fashion hair and makeup with a relatively normal workday at 10 hours a day, which is what I currently do now. I love special effects and I feel fortunate to know the skill and incorporate some effect work into my beauty and advertising work from time to time.
What are your favorite beauty products?
What are your top 3 makeup tips?
1) Your skin should look like skin, not a mask. Choose foundation best suited to your skin type and texture. Just because a new product that's out has a lot of buzz doesn't mean its right for you -- make sure it will be right for you before investing in it. Ask the salespeople for a sample to take home and try. Buying the correct foundation texture is important. Some foundations are grainy, some are too sheer, some change colors on skin. Try to choose a foundation that is not too matte, yet is long wearing so you don't have to worry about your makeup moving around midday. Also be sure to choose a color that matches your neck and chest.
2) Line the upper eye rim (waterline) of your lashline. Lining the interior of your lashline creates fuller looking lashes and really makes eyes stand out.
3) Make sure to highlight and shadow with foundation. This was something that was taught to me in makeup school 20 years ago. At the time I thought it was a technique that was old fashioned, but I find myself currently using sheer foundations 2-3 shades darker for the shading (under cheekbones, at temples, sides of nose) and 2-3 shades lighter for the highlights (bridge of nose, cheekbones, inner eye) to give a face dimension and look flawless.
What is the most rewarding part of what you do?
The most rewarding part of what I do is seeing a finished result in a magazine, billboard or on television, or hearing from a client how they love how they look.
Being a makeup artist must be fun -- but what do you do in your spare time?
I absolutely love my career. I can't imagine doing anything else. Every day I wake up excited to see what the new adventure is and create happy clients. When I am not on a shoot I am playing with my two rescue dogs, Bobo and Little Dog. I was a foster to dogs and ended up adopting these two cuties from an organization called Love and Second Chances, where they take animals from Taiwan who are in danger and bring them to the United States. Also, my partner owns a winery that I have become very involved in called Valley of the Moon, located in Glen Ellen, CA.
Loved this interview, fascinating tips!
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