Vincent Longo Makeover

Vincent Longo on the right

Z's always been my makeup guru; I've gotten so many great recommendations from her that I still use to this day, from Bobbi Brown's shimmer brick to Nars blush.  She has a talent for finding products and also applying them; she always looks radiant and flawless.  It's probably as much, if not more, due to her naturally perfect skin as the makeup, unfortunately we all can't be blessed with skin like hers, but at least the makeup we can buy. She's been a fan of Vincent Longo products recently and wore his waterproof liquid shadow to dinner during one of her last visits in July and it looked amazing: natural, yet dewy and illuminated. Ever since then, I've been meaning to try Vincent Longo products for myself; just hadn't gotten around to it.  When I saw that Vincent Longo himself was going to be at the Bloomingdales in Santa Monica Place for consultations and makeovers, I immediately went over to check it out.  He spent a good amount of time with me, picking out complementary colors and applying the makeup. One of his other makeup artists started and finished everything off, but under his guidance.  I really liked the look that he created for me; I usually go for a dark smoky eye for going out, but he created a more sophisticated look for me.  It was still slightly smoky, particularly around the outer corners and even along the lower lash line, which I don't normally do, but with a little bit of a shimmer and irridescence that not only softened the look but also highlighted and brightened the look.  Part of the reason why it looked so good was his technique of applying the makeup, he blended everything really well, even the eye liner, and built up color layer by layer.  I doubt that I will be able to recreate it at home, but I bought some of my favorite product just to try: Duo Eye Pencil in Rich Topaz Aura Chic, Wet / Dry Diamond Eye Shadow in Capucine, Liquid Shadow - Waterproof in Bronze Shadow.  I also really liked the Wet / Dry Diamond Eye Shadow in Dawn Flesh for highlighting, but I have something similar already from MAC.  The pigments and consistency of his products are really nice; it blends nicely together for a dramatic yet natural look, and the color lasts a long time, still looking fresh several hours after application.

Wet / Dry Diamond Eye Shadow in Capucine

Liquid Shadow in Bronze Shell

Duo Eye Pencil in Rich Topaz and Aura Chic

My trip to Vincent Longo capped off a full day of beauty product education.  I went with S. to Newport Beach for her wedding preview (wedding is this weekend!) with Nicole Deanne, who was the makeup artist for my wedding.  I was so happy I worked with Nicole; I really think she's the best bridal makeup artist I've ever seen; her makeup just looks so flawless in pictures.  When I hired her, she was just starting her own business, but now she's one of the most sought after makeup artists and often does shoots for bridal magazines.  S. looked beautiful; she's going to be one amazing bride!  Some of the products that she used on S. that we all really like included: M.A.C. Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark, M.A.C. Penultimate Eye Liner, a highlighter from M.A.C. that I need to get the name of, Maybelline Waterproof Full 'N Soft Mascara (she also likes CoverGirl Waterproof Lash BlastCoverGirl Lash Blast Waterproof Mascara - Black).  I love the foundation that she uses, called Your Name, but it's only sold to professional makeup artists.