Selina Heraz – Professional Make-up Artist Interview
Q: Tell a little about yourself personally and if you attended school or you are a self taught makeup artist?
A: Makeup is my passion and I have loved it for as long as I could remember. I did start out self taught, but decided to go to school to fine tune my makeup skills. I attended school at JE Boutique College of Beauty in El Cajon, Ca. I am a licensed esthetician as well as a certified makeup artist.
Q: Do you think going to school for make-up artistry is important to excel in the business later on?
A: I think it is. Even if you have a natural talent, it does look better if you are certified by a makeup artistry school.
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: Even as a child, I knew I wanted to have a career where I could be creative. I started painting when I was in high school, while at the same time trying new things with my makeup. When it came time to figure out my life’s path, I thought, “why not combine my love for art and painting with makeup and beauty?”.
Q: What is your favorite or most exciting aspect about your job?
A: Seeing the end result. No matter how many shoots or weddings I have done, I always get nervous to see how it looks on film. But at the end, when everyone is seeing the final product and it looks fantastic, its the best feeling.
Q: What surprises you most about working as a makeup artist?
A: Some of the “on location” sites. Cliff climbing at night is not fun. haha
Q: Describe your “Classic Approach to Beauty.” how do you define beauty?
A: I truly think that everyone is beautiful. What’s beautiful to me is not the woman who is wearing a whole lot of makeup, but more so the one who is more subtle. A little goes a long way.
Q: What individual products and brands you’re “addicted” to at the moment and you use on a daily basis?
A: I use so much of every kind of brand. But I am in loooove with this golden green pigment from MAC. It’s just delicious!
Q: What are some of the most basic but effective skin care tips in general that you have, that are really important?
A: Never sleep with makeup on. It gets into your skin and will cause you to break out. Remember to moisturize. Paul Mitchell sells this Awapuhi Moisture Mist, its awesome.
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 most common mistake, I think, is being able to match your foundation to your skin tone. The worst is to have that mask effect. Match the foundation to your neck, not your hand, that way everything will blend together.
Q: What do you think are best/worst trends in the makeup / skin care industry right now?
A: Fake tans. I’m not too big of a fan of fake tans. And the look of a fake tan with a nude lip, it makes your skin look dirty.
Q: Do teenage girls needs to splurge on high-priced makeup products, or are drugstore items are just as satisfactory?
A: Lip gloss, mascara, and lipstick you can get at the drugstore. I find that the more economical brands sometimes work better then high-priced brands. But for eye shadows, I would spend a little but more than a drugstore price. Sometimes the quality is better and it will go onto the skin smoother.
Q: What feature(s) do you love to accentuate and why?
A: I love accentuating the eyes. You can define an entire look with the eyes.
Q: What are your steps for the perfect, flawless, natural look?
A: Use a light foundation, meaning very little liquid foundation or use a tinted moisturizer. Use a non colored powder to remove shine. Either use a light pink or peach blush or just a bronzer on the cheeks and forehead. A light, natural brown is good for eyeshadows with a white shimmer highlight under the eyebrow. Finish with mascara and some tinted gloss, and your done!
Q: What is a really quick way to change a day look to a special occasion or nighttime face?
A: A really easy way is to just change the lip color. If your going all day with a fairly simple, clean, natural look, just apply a rich red lipstick for instant glamour.
Q: What are the differences between applying makeup on models and on real women?
A: For models with photo shoots, you have to actually apply more makeup for highlighting and contour so everything shows up on camera. On real women, you don’t need to worry about that.
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 prefer a creme/gel base. Personally, I have more control over it, and it doesn’t have as much of a tendency to run.
Q: Lip gloss or Lipstick. Which product is best? Why?
A: Lip gloss for everyday wear. No fuss.
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: Urban Decay makes a good one.
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: I think its good for weddings, photo shoots, fashion shows, but not for every day.
Q: What tips and advice do you have for aspiring makeup artists just starting out?
A: Keep at it. Its a lot of work trying to get your name out there, but if you have the passion and the drive, everything will fall into place.
Visit Selina’s MySpace and ModelMayhem profiles.
