Whenever I see Melissa Silver's name on a call sheet I know I'm in good hands. I first met the celebrity makeup artist at a beauty event for Maybelline and recently when on set for a shoot with Glamour, I deemed her the 'Queen of Contouring' as she sculpted my skin into perfection. She was my saving grace. Often hired by major mags and even more major public figures (sorry, can't mention names!), one of her funnest gigs is painting the faces of the NYC Rockettes! Here are Melissa's absolute go-to's. You may want to grab some of them...
1. Joanna Vargas Daily Hydrating Cream
I am so lucky to have Joanna take care of my skin, she is truly gifted and has turned my complexion around! She created an amazing, tightly edited line of products and I carry her serums and moisturizer in my kit. Every day I deal with different skin types and being someone with sensitive skin myself, I have to use products I totally trust and that are incredibly effective. Makeup will only look as good as the skin you put it on so my first order of business is taking care of the skin. This moisturizer intensely hydrates and is NOT greasy, leaving the skin perfectly prepped for makeup. Plus its naturally derived scent is soothing and I like to spend a minute really massaging the skin so my subject feels relaxed, which makes everyone more beautiful.
Truly the original highlighter, the one everyone copies but nothing matches its light reflective qualities, fine texture and color corrective pigments. Used under concealer to brighten, as a makeup pick-me-up and you can even use it on top of makeup and it doesn't get cakey. I don't know a makeup artist who doesn't use this, it's a MUST.
3. Lancome Dual Finish Powder Foundation
Sometimes I don't have the time for a full foundation application so this with concealer underneath does the trick for a super fast makeup. It is such a staple - dusted on its own for a soft finish, over foundation for more coverage, used as a touchup mid-day, for color correction, you name it. It stays fresh all day and makes the skin look velvety, plus the shade range is fantastic.
4. Maybelline New York mascaras
I have a variety of Maybelline mascaras in my kit but I tend to use Lash Discovery and the Falsies most often. Lash Discovery is great for a natural look or as a first coat mascara underneath others to really grab every lash, and Falsies gives you massive lashes really quickly. Plus since I replace mascara so often, as everyone should, I love that it's budget-friendly and so readily available.
5. Laura Mercier Naked Lip Pencil
I love so many of her products but this pencil has captured my heart. So many nude pencils are too orange or brown but this is a fleshy-pink that is perfect. Great when you want to correct a lip shape but not see the liner, and also really nice to tone down lips that are naturally darkly pigmented when you don't want anything to alter a lipstick shade.
