Azzurra Passeri – Professional Italian Make-up Artist Interview
Azzurra’s Q&A is highly informative in the areas of beauty and skin care and anyone can see from her photo above that the quality of her work is absolutely fantastic.
And so is her life motto: “Youth is happy, it can see the beauty. Whoever keeps the ability of seeing beauty will never get old.”
Q: What surprises you most about working as a makeup artist?
A: I’m always surprised when I see all possible combinations you can perform by mixing up colours.
Q: Tell a little about yourself personally and if you attended school or you are a self taught makeup artist? Do you think going to school for make-up artistry is important to excel in the business later on?
A: As it is not very easy to be a “self made make up artist”, I attended the “Jole Panzera” make up school in Rome. It is a high specialized and well known school where I learned lots of things which are necessary for my present activity.
Q: Did you always wanted to be an artist, or did you stumble upon your talent by chance? Who or what inspired you to become a makeup artist?
A: I have liked to be a make up artist since I was a girl. As my mother didn’t use lots of make up products, I enjoyed making up my dolls and toys. It was in the period of Carnival that I decided to become a make up artist. I made my grandmother sit on a quite uncomfortable chair and I used all available make up product on her face. The result was awful but I felt it was my destiny to keep on practicing makeup.
Q: What is your favorite or most exciting aspect about your job?
A: What I like best about my job is the beginning, when I see a client ( a woman or a man ) in front of the mirror. I have to examine their personality, tastes and I have to decide how to proceed. It is extremely satisfactory when the client is satisfied at the end of the treatment.
Q: Describe your “Classic Approach to Beauty.” how do you define beauty?
A: Beauty is a natural symbol; it transforms us and upsets us. To be attractive, you don’t have to be young and with beautiful face. There is also the possibility to obtain personal beauty by a proper use of some make up techniques.
Q: What individual products and brands you’re “addicted” to at the moment and you use on a daily basis?
A: My choice depends on the age, personality and circumstances of the client. Skin care tips I usually use depend on skin features but also on the needs of the moment. For a bride make up I would never use the complete makeup cover because of the sweat and shining effect. In that case I usually use Kryolan products. On the contrary, if I have to prepare a make up for a model, I decide to use a covering makeup. In my opinion the best product is stick MAC.
Q: What are some of the most basic but effective skin care tips in general that you have, that are really important?
A: For a perfect skin the most important articles, make up products are cleansers, which must be compatible with the skin. I would suggest to use Marseilles soap which is the cheapest and the most delicate available in the shops.
Q: What is the biggest skin care dont’s?
A: Skin protects our body from the damaging effect of the environment. We should absolutely avoid smoking and excessive sunbathing.
Q: Have you had an extreme, crazy or bad experience with a skin care product or during a makeup session? If so, what happened?
A: Fortunately, I have never had negative experience during my activity. It might be because I only use the MAC or Kryolan professional products.
Q: What do you find to be the most common mistakes women make with makeup? What’s the worst thing a woman can do to her skin?
A: The wrong cleansers and the wrong choice of products – cream foundation which sometimes is not appropriate to a peculiar skin or to a particular type of make up.
Q: What do you think are best/worst trends in the makeup / skin care industry right now?
A: Trends usually change. We can’t say which one is good and which one is bad. It depends on personal taste. According to me, the present trend of “smoky eyes” is good. It stresses the look.
Q: Do teenage girls needs to splurge on high-priced makeup products, or are drugstore items are just as satisfactory?
A: Teenage girls have hormonal and emotional instability which is directly visible on the skin. Their skin is usually mixed, sometimes with acne. In this case they have to use special high quality products advised by a doctor.
Q: What feature(s) do you love to accentuate?
A: If we want to create the makeup, we have to know some important features of the face form, (personality and) the age of the client and also his/her PERSONALITY AND profession. A very young face must be natural; on a person who is 15-30 years old, any makeup can be used; FOR PEOPLE OVER 40, the face needs to appear fresh and bright.
An excessively regular face will be more expressive if we stress some particular features. On the contrary, if the face is too irregular, we should correct it by using an appropriate makeup.
Q: What are your steps for the perfect, flawless, natural look?
A: We want to have a perfect look all day long or even during the night. It is possible to obtain very good results by applying a good hydratant crème followed by a long lasting antilucidant foundation. For the imperfections only a tiny quantity of compact corrector applied with a small brush is needed. To follow, some dust powder should be used to fix the base.
Q: What is a really quick way to change a day look to a special occasion or nighttime face?
A: When the base has been applied we only need a dark eye shadow to stress the look for an important night. The same is true for lip gloss or lipstick. Instead of light colours, we should use the stronger ones for the night makeup.
Q: What are the differences between applying makeup on models and on real women?
A: Every age has its own beauty, that’s why techniques must be different. The face of a young CLIENT needs to be stressed as a whole (the look, the lips). A middle aged client may be more beautiful correcting small imperfections such as a big nose, imperfect skin, high forehead, sunken eyes.
Q: In terms of eyeliner, if you had to choose between a pencil, liquid, or creme/gel based, which one would you choose? Why?
A: I must say I don’t like eyeliner very much even if I sometimes use it. I prefer a good pencil which gives colour to the eyes and makes them natural.
Q: Lip gloss or Lipstick. Which product is best? Why?
A: I really love gloss. It makes lips look so natural and fresh. In my profession I use lipstick. The choice depends on the client’s features and on the “special occasion”.
Q: What should a client consider before deciding to try permanent makeup? What is the difference between permanent and semi-permanent makeup?
A: There are people who like being always perfect so they have to correct their make up several times during the day. The best suggestion in that case is a semi-permanent make up which lasts for about two years. It is not risky if performed in authorized and safe places and by skillful professionals. Negative aspect of the permanent makeup is that it can be changed.
Q: What brand/type of concealer is your favorite for covering up the after effects of a late night out i.e. under-eye circles, blemishes?
A: I would be recommend to wash the face with cold water to cover up under-eye circles. Then apply a compact corrector in a uniform way. Avoid using too much corrector around the eyes, otherwise you will get an awful “panda look”.
Q: How about airbrush spray makeup trend? Are these products better or easier to use than standard sponge or finger application? If yes when would you recommend using them?
A: Airbrush spray is for sure more hygienic because there is no direct contact between a makeup artist and a client, in particular when a client suffers from allergies. However, they are not easy to apply and you need a lot of skill and experience to use it.
Q: What do your clients think of you? What are some individual testimonials?
A: I think I’m a modest person. I can’t praise my personal qualities by myself. I’m always glad by the favorable comments my clients leave for me on my web-site.
Q: Would you share some of your future goals, your life motto, any words of wisdom that get you by in life and professional career?
A: This is the most difficult question. I have so many feature projects. One in particular might be difficult to fulfill because of the difficult economic situation in Italy at the moment. I’m dreaming about my own little beauty-maquillage parlour in Florence with flexible working hours.
Life motto: “Youth is happy, it can see the beauty. Whoever keeps the ability of seeing beauty will never get old.” (F. Kafka).
Q: What tips and advice do you have for aspiring makeup artists just starting out?
A: To become a good makeup artist you need a lot of passion, good will and a desire to create something harmonious. We should not only meet the clients’ request, but (also like) the result should satisfy ourselves as well. We should never forget the smile which is our presentation card.
Visit Azzurra’s homepage at: Azzurra Makeup.