MAC Hollywood Makeup Artist Gregory Arlt Makeup Tips

Just to give a quick background on Gregory Arlt, he is the Director of Makeup Artistry for MAC Cosmetics based in Los Angeles. He has been with MAC for over 20 years. Gregory is known to be a red carpet expert. He works with some of the famous faces around the globe, such as Gwen Stefani, Dita Von Teese, Liza Minnelli, Kim Cattrall, Katy Perry, Alicia Keys, Cher, Victoria Beckham, Mandy Moore, Cindy Crawford, Minnie Driver, Fran Drescher, Sienna Miller, Anne Heche, and Mary J. Blige to name a few. He appears regularly as a beauty expert on TV shows such as “Access Hollywood”, “Entertainment Tonight”, “Extra”, “CNN”, “E! Entertainment Television” and “The Style Network”. He can also be found backstage during Milan, Paris, and New York fashion week designing makeup looks for Oscar de la Renta, Alexander McQueen, and Chloe among many more.

With Gregory Arlt’s background, need I say more?! 😀 This is why when I was invited to attend Gregory Arlt’s Master Class during his visit here in Manila, I didn’t think twice. I cleared my Saturday to be a student. 😀 As your insider, I’ll be sharing everything I’ve learned too. And if you think you know a lot about makeup, think twice. Gregory just shared A LOT of wonderful makeup tips! Read on.

Gregory Arlt said, “I consider myself a beauty exorcist. Instead of piling makeup on the face, I bring out a woman’s beauty, respecting her features, bone structure, coloring, and most importantly, her personality.”

• Gregory started with the talk on skincare. “Prep-ing” the face is one step that a lot of ladies forget. Some tend to skip this because of our humid weather here in the Philippines. But it’s one step that could greatly help in making your makeup last. He suggested using Marine Bright Softening Lotion after cleansing the face. It can literally make the skin soft. He then used Fix +, a vitamin mist good for both oily or dehydrated skin. And his red carpet secret weapon is Prep and Prime to keep the makeup all day. It helps minimize pores and reduce the appearance of fine lines.

• He then applied MAC Lip Conditioner on the model’s lips. It is important to start with this, especially if you have dry lips. The moisturizer settles in while you do the rest of your makeup.

• On choosing foundation, the rule of thumb is it has to match the skin tone. Also, treat foundation like skincare. If you have oily skin, choose a foundation for oily skin. If you have dry skin, go for a hydrating foundation. Gregory used MAC Mineralize Compact Foundation, which he said is good for all skin types. He used MAC 187 brush, which is like a cordless airbrush because of the flawless finish it can create. Well, I have to attest to that as I have one too! 😀 In applying foundation, he started by applying on the center of the face, then blending it out.

• For concealers, choose one that is exactly your shade. To cancel out purplish undereye, choose a peach-based concealer. For MAC, peach-based concealers start with “NW”. When applying concealer on your own, put your chin down while facing the mirror. Also remember that less is more. Tap the brush when blending. Do not “brush”.

• To set foundation and concealer, Gregory applied MAC Mineralize Skin Natural Powder. He said that this helps improve the skin in time. Also, it does not build up on skin since it’s mineral. For areas that need more coverage, dab the powder brush. You can use eyeshadow brush on the undereye to set concealer and on hard to reach areas.

• Then, use MAC Fix + again to set the makeup. If you used too much makeup, this also helps to set in the makeup.

• When applying blush, don’t forget to smile. For those with round face, bring the blush up. For narrow face, apply blush on the apples of the cheeks. Gregory used the shade Margin, a peachy coral blush which looks fresh and sun-kissed.

• Next, brush up eyebrows in case any powder gets on the hair strands. He used eyeshadow in Espresso to fill in the brows. Use short feathery strokes.

• When applying eye makeup, do it with your eyes open. Don’t squint. Look onto the mirror with your chin up or push your head back. Also, use only one side of the eyeshadow brush. Using two sides of the brush can cause fall outs, while using the tip of the brush can ruin the hair. He applied the eyeshadow shade Rice Paper on the browbone as highlighter. He then used the eyeshadow shade All That Glitters all over the lid.  Lastly, he used the shade Wedge on the outer corner and just blended by swiping the brush back and forth along the crease. He used MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush, which he calls the idiot-proof brush. For those with smaller eyes, he suggest MAC 217, which I also use. Using MAC 275 brush, he again used Wedge on the lower lash line.

• Mascara is like the icing on the cake. Gregory used MAC False Eyelashes Extreme Black. If your mascara accidentally gets on any part of your face, dip a q-tip on moisturizer to easily remove the mascara. If you wish to apply another coat of mascara, wait for it to dry before applying the second coat.

• For the lips, get a tissue and put on top of the lips. Pat thumb to remove excess moisturizer. Don’t wipe the tissue as this will just make the lips dry and flake.

• Apply foundation on the lips. This step is perfect if you have dark lips and you want to use a light shade of lipstick. Brush on a little powder on top to set foundation. He then applied Oak Lip Pencil, which he also used on Katty Perry’s Fireworks. Just apply lipstick on top.

• Now, what if the event has dark lighting, for example in a bar? Gregory Arlt suggests to go deeper on makeup or go sparkly. He used Dazzle Light eyeshadow, which is like Rice Paper but more sparkly, on the highest point of the brow bone. This was also applied on the center of the lid to make eyes look rounder. For a deeper crease, he applied Cork eyeshadow on the outer corner of the eyes and blended it along the crease.

• He then used MAC Fluidline Gel Eye Liner in Blacktrack to draw a cat eye. His tip is to rest the eyeliner brush and just follow the shape of the eye. Then, add a little flick at the end. For those who use MAC gel eyeliner but has dried out already, you can use MAC Fix+ to revive it.

• He applied false lashes on the model too. Number 36 lashes is his favorite. He uses it on Dita Von Teese and on Katy Perry. He then applied mascara after.

• Red carpet look is all about being fresh and natural. His secret is to apply Rice Paper eyeshadow on the upper cheek bone.

Remember, if you want the focus on the gown, go for minimal makeup. Oh, and one last secret he revealed, Dita Von Teese’s favorite red lipstick is Russian Red! 😀

Whew, I know that’s a lot of information! I told you, when I said I’ll be your insider, I really meant it. Hope you enjoyed Gregory Arlt’s makeup tips as much as I did. I hope you get to try them out to master the art of makeup! LOL! 😀

Again, thank you so much Gregory Arlt for being so kind to share all these tips. Of course, thank you to MAC Philippines for the invite! 😀

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