I just got off of the phone with the makeup artist who's been responsible for Kate Mara's looks throughout the past nine years, Coleen Campbell-Olwell. Believe it or not, after 13 years of creating red carpet looks, this awards season is still giving her the jitters. The House of Cards actress has Coleen booked today through Sunday for Golden Globes festivities. Of course she'll be wearing different looks, but the key to perfect makeup all boils down to one thing – perfect skin. Here, Coleen dishes how she gives her clients red carpet skin – instantly.
"Everybody's skin is different, but dehydration is one of the biggest and most common challenges when doing red carpet makeup," Coleen explains. "Because my clients are flying a lot and constantly wearing makeup, I need to find products that'll hydrate their skin immediately."
During awards season, about an hour and a half is allotted to hair and makeup. Yes, that's it. So there's no time for fancy tricks. When I asked her about facials she said, "I recommend my clients get a facial a week before a big event, but no closer, because you never know if they're going to breakout or peel afterwards."
All of the real magic happens in her chair. "I didn’t have great skin when I was younger, so I'm very careful about the skincare products I use on my clients and test them out on myself first," she explains. Leaving no room for reactions, her two go-go's are Orlane Super Moitsturizing Light Cream and Absolute Skin Recovery Care Eye Contour. "The creme hydrates instantly without being greasy and I find that most eye creams are too rich, but this eye contour is the perfect consistency and gets rid of puffiness."
Of course, the right products create a great base for makeup application and help make the look last all night, but it's the way Coleen applies them, that takes the whole look up a notch. "I use the slip in the moisturizer to massage the skin working outwards, which helps to pull out any excess fluid in the face and reduce puffiness," she explains. Her regimen is to do three strokes on each side of the forehead, from the side of the nose out to the ear, down the neck and on each side of the chin.
