Fresh Face

Makeup artist Fatima Olive spills beauty-bag secrets every woman can use

Fatima olive has painted the faces of superbeauties Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell; her makeup artistry has appeared in More and Glamour. As the face of Marshall Field’s beauty department and as global makeup artist for Aveda, Olive developed products and cultivated trends. Her inspiration is the beauty of the everywoman. Here, her fall beauty tips.

Red lips aren’t going away. Every woman wants maximum impact for minimum work. A strong lip color will do that. There are so many reds and so many formulations—something for everyone. I’m also seeing teal eyeliner, paired with a bright lip.

Keep it simple. A lighter hand is always better, especially as you age. Err on the side of a little less.

There is a fundamental makeup rule. Light colors makes things larger, and dark makes things less noticeable.

We all have “that drawer.” Even me. It’s full of stuff that you felt pressured to buy but don’t like or don’t use. Toss that stuff, but don’t stop experimenting because of a couple products gone wrong. 

Embrace creamy textures. Tinted moisturizer, cream blush, and cream eyeshadow smooth shadows and look better on the skin. Benefit and MAC make great ones. Use them alone or layer to make the the color stick.

Watch your tone. No matter how pale you are, you need a foundation (or tinted moisturizer) for winter and a darker one for summer.

Good skin comes first. Even expensive cosmetics won’t look good if your skin is a mess. Your skin is the last organ of elimination. Diet, stress management, and proper skin care are necessary checkpoints. Makeup is the icing on the cake.

Use the right tools. It’s the difference between da Vinci using his fingers or paintbrushes to create the “Mona Lisa.” Sonia Kashuk brushes at Target are a great value. Wash them after every use.

Read more of Olive’s tips and tricks and get behind the scenes of her shoots at fatimaolive.com