I’ve logged quite a bit of hours this year attending seminars and classes from some great celebrity makeup artist. One of the most memorable was makeup artist AJ Crimson’s Beauty Statements. Mr. Crimson has created looks for artist such as Estelle, Fergie, LeToya Luckett and singer-turned-reality TV star, Brandy. He is also co-creator of the Kissable Couture lip gloss line. The focus of his class was to help participants create affordable looks. Affordable and fabulous, is the dream of every beauty on a budget. So as instructed, I tipped into glass with the beauty products that I use. That means I had two small kits of cosmetics, one more than most of the other attendees had. I was eager to find out how I could streamline my makeup routine.
At the outset of the class Mr. Crimson first asked what we wanted to know. After a few seconds of silence, a few attendees began to offer some suggestions. Contouring. Transitioning eyes from day to night. Covering birth marks. Wearing eye shadow when you don’t have that crease. Achieving the dewey look. Eventually one attendee just summed it all up with one word, “pop”. A few of the things I appreciated about his class was that one, it was affordable. Two, he pretty much covered everything asked. Three, he actually demonstrated different looks on attendees, not a chosen model. So for the attendee concerned about covering marks, he did just that. When I asked about eye shadow, he demonstrated on moi. But when it comes to “affordable”, I was most impressed with the natural look that he demonstrated on one of the attendees. Using just three shades of foundation, he gave her pop, contouring and color. The only word for the transformation was “wow”.
That means, that when you’re on a budget, not having a multitude of products or the latest color is not an obstacle for achieving your best beauty. He used products by various cosmetic lines, so there was no one magic product. It was all about technique. Here’s a few tips on working with foundations to create that “natural” look.
1. Cream and foundation sticks are easier to manipulate.
2. Use more than one shade of foundation. In class, Crimson demonstrates how to make the right selection.
3. You can use a darker color of foundation (stick) on the socket of your eye as shadow.
4. Blend, blend, blend. You should not see where the shades begin or end.
5. When you set with powder it should only be a light dusting.
The above tips are great for practice, but you really need to see Mr. Crimson in action. He offers classes throughout the year in various cities. Check his site for details, here!
