Oscars Edition: 7 miraculous makeup tips
Ah, Oscars Week. A time full of parties. And open bars. And spas! On Thursday we took refuge at the Vanity Fair Makeup Artist Appreciation Spa Day at the SLS Hotel, which featured Clarisonic facials and pedicures, plus Lancôme makeup touch-ups. We partook in a makeup lesson under the expert care of Darais, national celebrity makeup artist for Lancôme (who could seriously
). He has worked on everyone from Kristen Bell to Pink, and got real about what goes on in celebrity makeup-land.
First up --
1) When do stars start planning their red carpet makeup?
Darais (who went to art school and trained as a painter) sketches sample looks ahead of time. "I've never matched eye shadow to your dress," he says. "I always ask, what color is your jewelry?"
2) Stars prep their lips the night before.
Wonder why lipstick looks so good on stars? Their lips are exfoliated. "You can dab eye cream on your lips the night before," says Darais, or exfoliate with a bit of brown sugar. (If you're in a hurry, just exfoliate gently with "a clean toothbrush and warm water," he says.)
3) Why doesn't anyone ever look tired?
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This is our main beef with celebrities: Their eyes are never bloodshot, their skin never looks dull and their under-eye concealer never cracks. HOW? Youth-activating products like Lancôme Génifique make a big difference, says celeb makeup artist Mickey Williams. "It works perfectly as a primer. If I'm on a shoot and the under-eye starts to get cakey, I go over it with Génifique."
4) How have HD cameras affected professional makeup?
"You can't hide anymore," says Darais, and the key is not to cake it on like the old days -- stars are now wearing carefully blended sheer layers of foundation, bronzer and blush. There's also a new gender divide: Because it's obvious when male actors wear makeup on-screen in HD, "the men spend more time doing facials and skin care, where women rely more on foundation," he says.
5) Seriously, why does celebrity eyeliner never fall?
Stars never have eyeliner falling down their face. Want to know how? First, Darais lines the lower waterline in clay pencil (on me he used Lancôme Le Stylo in Cafe Noir). Then he carefully taps a charcoal powder on top of the waterline. It creates sort of a cement, he says, which can endure anything. "My sister cried at her wedding and it stayed on."
6) What's the latest in lashes?
Instead of eyelash extensions, which "ruin your lashes if you keep doing it over and over," says Darais, he uses individual false lashes on celeb clients. "They are a lot more natural and you just put mascara over the top of it so you can't tell."
7) I want a natural-ish (but not NUDE lip), and lipstick never gives it to me. Help!
The trend right now is matte," he says -- but only for another month. "Spring and summer, high shine is going to be big." For a classic barely-there nude lip, Darais sticks to a waterproof pencil. "My celebrity favorite is Le Lipstique waterproof pencil in Ideal," says Darais, who filled in my lips, dabbed on shine balm and had me blot. For less shine, "you can just put Chapstick over it."
8) Voila!
I asked for a slightly smoky eye, a natural lip and skin that didn't look like I'd woken up at 5 a.m. in a cold sweat. Bingo!
Bonus round: If it's going to rain on Oscars day...AGAIN...
Sigh. "You need to make sure that you're blotting and that you have something that's a little more oil controlling on the center of the face so you don't look like you're melting on the red carpet." Noted.