Look for fall is 'goth's sweeter sister,' MAC pro says
By Kari Hulac, STAFF WRITER
FINISHING TOUCHES: Senior MAC artist Victor Cembellin finishes this model's smoky eye before she takes to the runway. (Ray Chavez - Staff)
WHEN MAC senior makeup artist Victor Cembellin was a high school student in Pleasanton he used to fill the corners of his notebooks with doodles of glamorous supermodel eyes.
These days, as one of the makeup giant's top 30 artists across the globe, his canvas is the faces of some of the world's most beautiful and well-known women.
He's about to travel to Korea and Japan for a mini-tour with smash hip-hop star Missy Elliott, for whom he says "anything goes" when it comes to having fun with makeup. But last week Cembellin, who jokes that he pays rent in Alameda but lives at Oakland Airport, was working closer to home doing makeup at the third annual San Francisco Fashion Week, which MAC sponsored this year, giving the still relatively new event a boost of credibility in the industry.
We caught up with the 28-year-old pro backstage at San Francisco designer Erin Mahoney's show to find out what's hot for fall visages.
Cembellin describes a palette that downplays some of MAC's signature neon bright colors and emphasizes a more darkly lined eye (inside the lower lid), with metallicized gray shadows sweeping out to the corner to create a'60s-ish cat's eye retro look. Fake lashes added to the upper lash line and mascara on the lower lashes complete the transformation to bedroom eyes.
"The smoky look is back in," he says. "A smoky eye with a little sheen."
But the look isn't too goth. Think "goth's sweeter sister," Cembellin says. He softens it by dabbing pink blush underneath the model's foundation (porcelain/pale/matte is in) and using a fingertip to dab on multiple layers of berry lipstick.
Her lips look as if she's just been sipping on red wine or sucking on a lollypop. So toss those heavy lip liners in a drawer and make your mouth looked lived-in. Or, go super red for a classic old-school Hollywood feel.
"It's a combination between the sweet and powerful side of a woman," he says.
If you do want some eye color, think moss green rather than lime or midnight blue rather thanan electric shade, keeping the makeup in line with the trendy fall clothing colors that are being shown on the runways and popping up in retail stores.
"Color is more on the back-burner," he says.
As for how the runway gives way to the real world, Cembellin says he and other artists always notice how makeup styles vary regionally sort of like accents do from the South to the Midwest.
"The makeup you see in Pleasanton you won't see in San Francisco," he says. "You'll see different looks in the Marina and in the Tenderloin."
He describes the quintessential California face as eternally tan, bronzed and healthy, although he personally most enjoys creating a rock'n' roll look ala Pamela Anderson.
When he's not roaming the nation and globe doing celebrities' makeup, he works with the Raiderettes and some local TV newscasters. For you football fans, Cembellin's inspiration for the ladies in silver and black this year is high fashion — think Carmen Electra's sexy style — with lots of bronzer since most of the cheerleaders are "super tan" — as well as gold eye shadow, peachy lips and huge fake lashes.
While such high drama is fun on the football field, Cembellin owes his success to a more down-to-earth approach about making women look good. "I think of myself as an interior designer not a construction worker," he says. "I'm not redoing someone's face. I'm pulling out the beauty."
Article from Inside Bay Area.com
By Kari Hulac, STAFF WRITER
These days, as one of the makeup giant's top 30 artists across the globe, his canvas is the faces of some of the world's most beautiful and well-known women.
He's about to travel to Korea and Japan for a mini-tour with smash hip-hop star Missy Elliott, for whom he says "anything goes" when it comes to having fun with makeup. But last week Cembellin, who jokes that he pays rent in Alameda but lives at Oakland Airport, was working closer to home doing makeup at the third annual San Francisco Fashion Week, which MAC sponsored this year, giving the still relatively new event a boost of credibility in the industry.
We caught up with the 28-year-old pro backstage at San Francisco designer Erin Mahoney's show to find out what's hot for fall visages.
Cembellin describes a palette that downplays some of MAC's signature neon bright colors and emphasizes a more darkly lined eye (inside the lower lid), with metallicized gray shadows sweeping out to the corner to create a'60s-ish cat's eye retro look. Fake lashes added to the upper lash line and mascara on the lower lashes complete the transformation to bedroom eyes.
"The smoky look is back in," he says. "A smoky eye with a little sheen."
But the look isn't too goth. Think "goth's sweeter sister," Cembellin says. He softens it by dabbing pink blush underneath the model's foundation (porcelain/pale/matte is in) and using a fingertip to dab on multiple layers of berry lipstick.
Her lips look as if she's just been sipping on red wine or sucking on a lollypop. So toss those heavy lip liners in a drawer and make your mouth looked lived-in. Or, go super red for a classic old-school Hollywood feel.
"It's a combination between the sweet and powerful side of a woman," he says.
If you do want some eye color, think moss green rather than lime or midnight blue rather thanan electric shade, keeping the makeup in line with the trendy fall clothing colors that are being shown on the runways and popping up in retail stores.
"Color is more on the back-burner," he says.
As for how the runway gives way to the real world, Cembellin says he and other artists always notice how makeup styles vary regionally sort of like accents do from the South to the Midwest.
"The makeup you see in Pleasanton you won't see in San Francisco," he says. "You'll see different looks in the Marina and in the Tenderloin."
He describes the quintessential California face as eternally tan, bronzed and healthy, although he personally most enjoys creating a rock'n' roll look ala Pamela Anderson.
When he's not roaming the nation and globe doing celebrities' makeup, he works with the Raiderettes and some local TV newscasters. For you football fans, Cembellin's inspiration for the ladies in silver and black this year is high fashion — think Carmen Electra's sexy style — with lots of bronzer since most of the cheerleaders are "super tan" — as well as gold eye shadow, peachy lips and huge fake lashes.
While such high drama is fun on the football field, Cembellin owes his success to a more down-to-earth approach about making women look good. "I think of myself as an interior designer not a construction worker," he says. "I'm not redoing someone's face. I'm pulling out the beauty."
Article from Inside Bay Area.com
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