Interview With A Makeup Artist 1

January 3, 2009

If ever you find yourself in or near Prince Edward Island, Canada, make sure your eyebrows have grown out and you bring your whole makeup bag with you.

Position of PEI in Canada (dark dot in the East) linked to Wikipedia page.

You can pay a visit to makeup artist extraordinaire, Jenepher Reynolds. She’ll give you the most perfect eyebrow shape and color for your face, talk to you about your hair color, suggest what makeup to keep and what to turf, and create any look you request on your face (everyday, monochromatic, makeup for photos, evening, whatever you can dream up).

Search her name on this site and you’ll see several articles where her products or advice are mentioned. She brings experience from retail, the modeling world, and the field of makeup for cosmetic surgery. A 42 year old woman herself, she understands how the face and skin change over the years. She gets that you’re busy, don’t have an unlimited budget, and want to look polished, not painted.

Jenepher Reynolds

Her approach is definitely understated and highly customized to the woman she is working with. We all have our insecurities, our preferences, and our openness to change. Though she works with her own line of makeup, there is no upsell here. In fact, she’s used products she knows I own over and over in different ways. A matte brown powder can be an eyeshadow, a liner, a contour, a bronzer, or used to tone down a too-vibrant blush.

It was my privilege entirely that Jenepher found some time to speak with me in July of last summer.

1. You’ve worked at the Elizabeth Arden, Versace, Guerlain counters in various cities. Why did you leave a retail environment?

JR: For various reasons. The single biggest reason was that women doubted your advice because they thought you were always trying to make a sale. No matter your level of skill or sincerity, it was hard to break through that wall of suspicion that you were just in it for the commission. The truth of the matter is that most department store makeup artists, or salespeople, take pride in giving correct advice.

Second, I left department stores because I wanted to work in freelance makeup doing commercials, print ads, etc.

Third, there was an intimidating atmosphere, an aura of inapproachability and status with the prestige of some of those labels. This wasn’t in keeping with my personal feeling that makeup doesn’t place some people above others. Expensive makeup isn’t necessarily better. Makeup is about helping you feel good no matter who you are or how much money you have or pretend to have. I wasn’t comfortable with a sales technique of intimidating people into purchasing product.

PEI beach.

2. What are the biggest obstacles encountered by women over 40 being who would like to be comfortable with makeup?

JR: There are two.

The last time many women enjoyed makeup, had time to play and experiment, and learned what suited them was in high school. As time passed, they got busy and continued using the same products and techniques because they worked back then. But colors have evolved. Application techniques have progressed. And a woman’s face at 40 is different than at 20 – not better, not worse, just different. Those colors and applications that worked 20 years ago are not flattering any more, or at least not as becoming as other options might be.

Beach sunset

3. And the second reason?

JR: Plain old fear. Women don’t want to look silly so staying with the familiar is at least safe. They’re not sure how to find the colors that suit them best now, given changes with hair color and style and skin color and texture.

What you need is someone who will see you objectively, see you as you look today. How you used to look isn’t relevant. Even women who have adapted their makeup to their changing face can have difficulty letting go of a rut they got comfortable with.

The solution for both situations is solved by seeing a makeup artist. For many women, accepting the suggestions of an artist, a stranger who is seeing them for the first time, is very difficult. They really have strong convictions that they need that dark lipliner or dusty rose blush. It’s the job of the makeup artist to evaluate the woman’s degree of comfort with change and with her appearance.

Get recommendations for makeup artists from women you trust, just as you do for hair stylists, and then let them do their work. You don’t fix your own toilet, and you don’t stand there questioning the repairman’s every move while he’s doing it. You’re paying professionals to take their advice, not your advice, right? Go with an open mind. Don’t wash off the makeup till a friend has seen it, a friend that you trust for ruthless, honest feedback.

PEI North shore.

4. What are the biggest makeup mistakes you see?

JR: Rings around the eyes [heavy eyeliner]. Rings around the mouth [heavy lipliner]. Shimmer on skin that can’t take it. Foundation colors chosen by holding the bottle against your face at the drugstore. “Dusty rose” blush on every face. Beyond those, it varies by individual.

PEI sunset

5. What are the most important changes you suggest for mature faces?

JR: There are two guidelines to keep in mind because they apply to almost every woman over 40 years old. The first key to attractive makeup is keeping the color deposit light. Literally using a light touch will result in softer color deposition. Avoiding products that are not too heavily pigmented and colors that are not dark or matte for that skin tone are important too. A heavy-handed application will show in the final result.

The second principle is using smudged definition of features. Distinct, obvious lines look harsh. Given that the soft appearance of youth is lost with age, hard lines are too noticeable and can be aging. Softened lines are youthful and forgiving of changes in skin texture.

Waves

You may have found some things you recognize in yourself already. You’ll find more in the second half.

Since you’re in PEI having a gorgeous makeup application, be sure to visit the amazing beaches! Miles of white and red sand, warmer water than anywhere North of Virginia, and sunsets you’ll never forget … the gentle natural beauty of this spectacular place is completely accessible to anyone.

Jenepher can be contacted privately at on the AboutFace site. If you have questions or personal beauty challenges that we can all learn from, please post them in the comments so Jenepher can address them there.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Makeup