IMAN

I asked 3 of my fave makeup artists to give me their fave holiday looks and products, and most importantly, life after holiday products for 365 days of the year!  Take a look:

SAM FINE

1. Who are your clients?
I’ve worked with celebrities such as Vanessa Williams, Patti LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Mo’Nique and supermodels Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Chanel Iman… and one of my personal favorites, Iman!

2. What are your 3 all time hall of fame/fave products?
Yves St. Laurent Semi-loose Powder Natural Radiance – Fellow makeup artist Fran Cooper turned me onto this incredibly silky loose powder and I’ve been using it my entire career! It never settles in fine lines or looks heavy!

IMAN Cosmetics Sheer Finish Bronzing Powder in Afterglow - Bronzer and blush all in one? Who could ask for more!

Stila Eyeshadow in Twig – A rich brown shadow with flecks of gold that looks great on everyone from fair to deep complexions.

3. What are your mistake proof tips for holiday festive makeup?
Glitter liquid liner makes eyes sparkle and is one of the easiest products to use! Simply apply a bit to the inner corner of the eye (nearest the nose) to add a touch of holiday sparkle or layer over a dark smoky eye for all out glamour!  My fave is IMAN Luxury Liquid Eyeliner.

Wearing lipstick in rich shades ranging from red to bordeaux look amazing when paired with a clean eye and a defined brow… very old Hollywood!

4. What are your quick makeup fixes that all women need to know?
Apply lip liner in a coordinating shade over the entire mouth before applying lipstick. Not only will this keep lipstick from bleeding, it will last longer while you dance the night away!

Don’t have room for a compact? Simply pack a few blotting tissues in your purse to absorb oil throughout the evening.

If you feel you’ve applied too much foundation, simply take a two-ply tissue, separate, and blot. Not only does this absorb excess foundation, it also allows the skin to show through for a more natural looking, flawless complexion.

5. Are you working anything new that we should know about?
I recently released my first instructional makeup DVD, Fine: The Basics of Beauty available now on Amazon.com! This step-by-step tutorial features three individual makeovers and addresses a myriad of beauty challenges! Check it out!

ASHUNTA

1. Who are your clients?
Some of my clients are Alicia Keys, Keri Hilson, Sharon Stone, Mary J. Blige and Rihanna.

2. What are your 3 all time hall of fame/fave products?
My three all time favorite products are Laura Mercier Perfect Primer, Mary Kay TimeWise Targeted Eye Revitalizer and IMAN Cosmetics Creme To Powder Foundation.

3. What are your mistake proof tips for holiday festive makeup?
Play up lips and try a bold brick red, or deep wine. If you are not used to these colors make sure to use a warm brown lip liner line and fill in the lips then apply lip color. This always works well when wearing bolder colors is new to you because the warm brown lip liner tones down the brightness of red to create a more sultry color. This is a great tip to ease you into the color. For lighter complexions I suggest doing the same with a nude lip liner.

Also for holiday time using a fun eye liner like emerald, blue, or purple only on the lash line with 2 or 3 coats of Mascara is a great way to try a new look. My favorite eye liners are Makeup Forever Aqua Colors because they’re water proof and come in amazing shades. I love Dior Iconic Mascara to achieve full long lashes. When applying mascara wiggle the wand in a fast motion from side to side almost like teasing hair carefully. This insures that every lash is coated evenly.

4. What are your quick makeup fixes that all women need to know?
I always keep a Ziploc baggie with Q-tips inside with eye makeup remover. I let it marinate over night so the makeup remover is really soaked up by the Q-tips. This is great for runny eye makeup or makeup mishap quick fixes on the go – or if you want to change eye makeup from day to night you can easily remove only eye shadow so you can build up eyes or change without the heaviness layering makeup sometimes does.

A lot of women are always surprised when they see that I work on eyes first. It is a great tip because when you focus all the attention on the eyes then you can just clean up any fallen shadow or mascara. It’s easy to get a flawless finish with your foundation afterwards.

I am always asked how I get Alicia’s skin to glow. I always buy empty plastic jar containers from Ricky’s or Alcone – both fabulous stores for beauty junkies like me. I am a firm believe of removing products from their packaging to mix and create my own. I love being creative with makeup because it’s like painting so it should be fun. I actually learned this from two people I greatly look up to in beauty; Iman and Pat McGrath. I remember when I became a makeup artist I read Iman’s book, “The Beauty of Color: The Ultimate Beauty Guide for Skin of Color,” and she said she was always mixing things because brands didn’t make colors for her skin-tone. Pat is constantly mixing products to make the perfect shade so it became a trick of mine and it works. One of my biggest tricks to glowing skin is I take Tinted Moisturizer from Mary Kay, 24 Karat Gold Shimmer powder from Jane Iredale and Cover Girl Queen Collection Natural Hue Mineral Bronzer and mix it together to make a perfect flawless base that covers with glow.

5. Are you working anything new that we should know about?
Yes, I am working on a TV show, a book about green beauty, a blog, and a green product line. Plus always busy with my various clients and their projects. It is going to be a busy year and I feel very blessed.

BEAU NELSON

1. Who are your clients?
I have worked with Taylor Momsen, Lindsay Price, Mary J Blige, Lucy Liu, Iman, Blake Lively, Amanda Bynes, Mariah Carey, Kristen Stewart, Zoe Kravitz, Becki Newton, Brooke Shields, and Sienna Miller amongst others.

2. What are your 3 all time hall of fame/fave products?
Yves Saint Laurent Faux Cils Mascara makes lashes thick and dark without clumping. A real classic.

Shu Uemura and IMAN Cosmetics Stick foundations; between these two brands I have any skin tone I would ever need, and they both offer incredibly adjustable coverage, from the sheerest wash of color all the way up to full coverage, but have a satiny finish that never looks like MAKEUP.

Beauté Cosmetics Liqui-Gel Stain for Cheeks and Lips; I designed these as pure pigments suspended in a liquidy-gel base so they are bendable and super long lasting and look great on all skin tones.

3. What are your mistake proof tips for holiday festive makeup?
For daytime activities I think a little extra blush in a muted berry tone is a really pretty way to go, it makes you look like you have been out in the snow for a bit. And for evening a smoky dramatic eye looks amazing with a hint of silver or gold blended over the inner eye corner to light up the look.

4. What are your quick makeup fixes that all women need to know?
Brushes are your best friend! They make applying professional looking makeup a breeze, so make sure you invest in a nice set. That being said, sometimes nothing works better than your fingers, especially with emollient products like concealer and crème blush.

When using concealer under the eye, use your finger in a tapping motion rather than a rubbing one to blend the pigment under the eye, that way you will get the fullest coverage without it looking heavy. Use a small fluffy clean shadow brush to lightly dust loose powder under the eye after applying concealer to set it. This will control the amount of powder you are using making sure it doesn’t look dry or cakey.

For perfect red lips (or any other dark color) I apply a pencil in a lipstick matching shade and fill in the entire lip, I then use a clean lip brush to soften the pencil line very slightly. I use the same brush to apply a matching lip color all over the lip. Sometimes I refine the line further by using a straight edged flat liner brush dipped in makeup remover along the outside of the lip to define the shape even further.

5. Are you working anything new that we should know about?
It’s my goal in 2010 to expand the distribution of my brand Beauté Cosmetics to more locations in the US, so look out for us! Beyond that I’m continuing my work with my amazing clients and will hopefully have even more incredible ladies to work with soon.

Let’s give a big shout for the genius that is Anna Wintour for coming up with this idea. I have never seen the streets of New York from uptown to downtown so crowded and excited. I had every intention to go to as many stores as I possibly could but family duties come first.

Fashion's Night Out - photo: courtesy of wireimage.com

I started first doing homework with my daughter and then preparing dinner for her and then it was time for mommy to get ready for a shopping night out. My friend and makeup artist Sam Fine met me at home and hooked me up with a good face and I put on an Alexander McQueen jacket with leggings and over-the-knee boots! I found in my storage a 1980’s Thierry Mugler over the knee boots… very S&M! That is why I never give away my accessories because they never go out of fashion or at least the trends keep on coming back. Accessories are those extras that keep on giving.

We started with Barneys as the idea was we will hit one mega department store and we chose this… it was a complete mayhem but in a good way…. people were actually shopping! I saw boys actually buying girls jackets… talk about androgynous! Then we were off to Dolce and Gabbana to pay a visit to my friend Megan who is the pr but then realized when we got to the store that she was at D&G in Soho so we ran back in the car and we were off to Dior and on our way there we passed Bergdorf Goodman and there were lines outside… my goodness, you would think they were giving clothes away and the streets looked like a fashion show. Fashion turn to the right… Fashion turn to the left… Fa Fa Fa Fa Fashion…… everyone was dressed to the hilt… killers!

Dior was a little bit civilized but every hip hop artists and wanabees were in there and I am sure paying full retail. My friend the photographer Arthur Elgort set up a make shift studio and we took pictures together… let me give you a bit of history here… Arthur was the first photographer who shot me for a magazine and it was for Vogue on my third day in New York way back in 1975! We laughed about that! Dorothy, we are not in 1975 anymore.

Sam insisted we stop by Prada on our way to Soho and so we did and we just missed the book signing of Grace Coddington, Creative Director of Vogue … don’t miss her great “acting” performance in The September Issue documentary that is in theaters now.

I was getting pooped and, girl, my bunions were killing me but we had one more stop at my dear friend Rachel Roy’s pop up store you definitely have to check out her new line Rachel Rachel Roy (very affordable and very downtown chic) exclusively at Macy’s.

Well, Spring Street in New York is a mess even on a good day and tonight it was a lot of a mess. It took us forever to get there but it was worth it as she was shocked to see me that I made the effort and said that she owes me till eternity… You are my witness in case she forgets that promise! It was worth it but was way overcrowded. Lots of beautiful black girls including Estelle ( she is collaborating with Rachel on a jewelry line) who was ensconced in a corner but I never made it to her as I was famished so we were off to Indochine where we met up with Tyson Beckford and his beautiful Australian girlfriend, my closest friend Bethann Hardison, Eric Sartore of Betsey Johnson and a sleuth of rotating friends. Tonight was a huge success and I only wished that they had made the whole week Fashion’s Week Out and allocated one day to Madison Avenue stores, next to 5th Avenue stores day because I felt we lost a lot of time in traffic traveling from one end to the other.

Came home very late, barely got out of my clothes and committed a beauty sin that I haven’t done since my Studio 54 days…I went to bed without taking my makeup off! Bad, bad very bad girl. I am sure to regret this! Pray for me!

BEAUTY AND HSN

I shot in New York city the new ad and video campaign for HSN for IMAN Global Chic and of course the usual suspects of my glam team where with me… Sam Fine/makeup and Oscar James and a sleuth of Video Camera crew. Check the behind the scene video on the home page to give you a glimpse of the philosophy behind my line and don’t forget to watch me on HSN on Sept 27th.

Wearing Herve Leger with Sam Fine

BEAUTY AND FAVE RESTAURANT

My fave restaurant in New York is Norwood. It is a private club/restaurant on 14th street. It is housed in a glorious brownstone that is so chic and private and the food is delicious. It is over 5 floors in a spectacular landmark townhouse. Beside the restaurant it has lounge bars, screening room, private dining room and to top it all a walled garden. Love It!!

At Norwood

BEAUTY AND THE WIGS

I have been loving these great wigs that I have been trying out the past 6 months and I am just loving them. It gives my hair a break and it can take me from drab to glam in an instant. They are light and easy to manage as you don’t need a hairdresser to groom your locks daily. No self respecting fashionista leaves the house with a hair extension or a wig these days so why should you… So, you are dying to know where can you get these wigs from? Stay Tuned!