Celebrity makeup artist Melanie Inglessis creates some seriously smokin’ hot looks on the red carpet. Find out her red carpet secrets, and how to create the ultimate smokey eye below.
Original interview below by Michelle Villett for www.http://beautyeditor.ca/
Melanie Inglessis and Lea Michele. Images courtesy of Instagram
If there’s one celebrity makeup artist these days whose work I find most exciting, it’s gotta be Melanie Inglessis. If you’ve been around here for a while, I’m sure you’re well familiar with her—she’s the go-to makeup artist of the stunning Olivia Wilde, who is almost always my favourite red carpet beauty risk-taker. Other famous faces she’s painted include Kate Hudson, Lea Michele, Rachel Weisz, Gwen Stefani and Miley Cyrus.
Born in Montreal, raised in Paris and educated at the London College of Fashion, Melanie began her career working for Shu Uemura, MAC and Smashbox. Today, she travels to Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles and beyond, working with her celeb clientele; you can also spot her makeup looks in the pages of ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar and Tatler.
How would you describe your approach to makeup?
I’m well known for [the way I do] skin. I’m not really heavy-handed; I like to keep a light, glowing, breathing skin, with maybe just a hint of a rock ‘n’ roll eye or a hit of lip. I do like to make a statement. But I’m mostly known for skin and for smoky eyes.
My makeup philosophy is I’m really trying not to have my client be overshadowed by the makeup. I’m empowering them to walk the red carpet feeling sexy, confident and good in their skin. So it’s just a matter of finding the right balance to make a statement with the makeup, but still respecting and understanding the client—what she is and how she represents herself on the red carpet. Makeup is not only makeup; there’s more behind it. You have to understand that to empower them and to bring out their best features.
“Olivia, she is my friend and she trusts me. Often I have a vision or I want to accentuate a certain feature, and it’s perfection. We have a lot of fun”.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Well, 99, maybe 100 percent of the time, my inspiration comes from the outfit because that’s what they choose first. Then, once we know the outfit, it becomes a collaboration between the hair and makeup, the stylist and how [my client] feels. With editorial, it’s different, but the starting point of the look for red carpet is always the outfit.
What’s your favourite look to create on your clients?
I do love a smoky eye. The first time I worked with Rachel Weisz, she said, “You are the queen of smoky eyes.” But I need to change it up a little bit—sexy, rock ‘n’ roll is good but you don’t want too much smoky eye. I like dewy skin and smoky eyes.
Do you have any tips for those of us trying to master a smoky eye at home?
The average woman can definitely do them. I always advise to use a soft, creamy pencil. I think cream-based eyeshadows are way easier to work with than powders, and now they come in big fat pencils. So get a big, soft pencil and what I recommend to women is to just try it—roughly put it near the lashes, and then blend, blend, blend with the warmth of your ring finger. Smudge it and do the same underneath the eye. Try not to go over the crease, or too far out or up; keep it safe within the rim of your eyes. Maybe start with an earth tone, like brown or gold. Keep it to one colour, an earthy colour. When you feel like you’ve got the hang of it and know how to do the shape, then experiment with other colours, like greys and burgundies.
Check out Melanie's How-to video for the ultimate smoky eye here.
Behind the scenes with actress Lea Michele and celebrity makeup artist Melanie Inglessis as she got Lea ready for the 2014 Kids Choice Awards! Thanks to Melanie for including Intraceuticals in her beauty prep. Lea had the Opulence Facial Treatment and she looked glowing, flirty and fabulous!
The Opulence Facial Teatment: Opulence Brightening Cleanser, Hydratation Gel and Brightening Serum.
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