After several articles were written referencing Napoleon Perdis, Harpers Bazaar finally (and thankfully) asked the ‘Makeup Master’ for some easy makeup tricks – which were published just in time for the end of year parties. In his interview with Christine Lennon, titled ‘Secrets of a Makeup Master‘, Perdis tells Bazaar what every woman wants to know: How to achieve high cheekbones, fuller lashes, fuller lips and of course, flawless skin. Read the best bits from the interview, below.
Sculpt sky-high cheekbones:
“First, apply foundation like you normally would to create an all over even, matte finish. “It’s very important that you don’t contour naked skin so that you don’t see any harsh lines,” says Perdis. The word contouring sounds complicated but according to Perdis, it is actually just a two-step process of using an angled brush to create a light and dark contrast from the top of the eye socket out toward the hairline going in first with a bronze like shade and then around it with a white powder. For more contrast, Perdis recommends “Use a soft fluffy eye brush to deepen the crease in a window-wiper motion. Next, take a flesh toned matte shade and apply above the crease. This helps to deepen your eyes.”
Create naturally fuller lips:
“First, apply a light, high gloss lip color then use a flesh colored lip pencil to lightly line the outer rim of the cupid’s bow.” (Yes, you read that right: Perdis says gloss first, liner last.) “The skin-colored pencil acts like a Photoshop stick,” he says. “It brings out your natural lip line without using color to create a line—it’s an illusion of contour, like a halo around your mouth.” Plus, you still get the long-wear benefits of classic colored lip liner—the waxy texture prevents gloss from running into lines, crucial when wearing an on-trend oxblood or Bordeaux.
Make lashes look unbelievably long
Unlike huge wands that pick up a ton of mascara every time you put in the tube, Perdis says that if you love the look of a clean, long, highly-defined lash, then a comb brush is essential. “It’s modelled on 1950s and ‘60s mascara: the old brushes, the cake,” he says. “Women then would spit in the cake to build it up, and apply it.” And apply it straight from root to tip—no wiggling. “You want length, thickness —wiggling is for volume—all I’m going to do is just brush it out all the way to the ends. It’s like your building your own faux lash on.”
Fake flawless skin
“Never apply foundation on the forehead—it’s aging and it drips,” says Perdis, who suggests using a smoothing primer with optical diffusers such as his Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Radiance Boosting Primer. And use a super lightweight foundation that you can use all over you face, not have to spot treat. His favorite: his barely tinted Napoleon Perdis Boudoir Mist Spray Foundation. “It’s just a tint but in spray form—not a foundation,” he says. “That’s why it’s okay to have a little get on the forehead—applying a ton of foundation? Forget about all that.”
Next, before you do anything else, apply two coats of mascara. “It’s the road map to the face,” he says. “Once you do that, you don’t need to do a lip or eyes you can just keep it really simple—if you don’t do the mascara right away you might think, ‘I bet I can add a bit more. I bet I can do this’ but once you got your lash on, it’s like your lingerie—you can just put the simplest dress on.”
Interview by Christine Lennon for HarpersBAZAAR.com
Image source: houseoftara.com
