Ruts

One thing that I try to avoid is a makeup rut. When you get stuck doing the same thing over and over again, you sometimes cant see that a look has started wearing you. I avoid this every season by purchasing one new item of makeup and designing a look around it for myself. Last season it was Smashbox Muse Blush Rush, a peachy coral blush that was warm and bright at the same time. So for that look, I layered on the mascara, put on a peachy lip stain and let the cheeks be the focus. For spring, I dyed my hair Red so I am making my makeup all about making sure my face doesn't wash out: Operation Bold Lashline: Armani Maestro Liquid Liner and L'oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black.
At work, as a Makeup Artist, it is even more important that I don't get stuck in a rut. At SVU we work so fast that we don't have a lot of time for makeup changes so most characters maintain the same makeup look throughout the show. This can turn pretty boring, however, when you do the same people's makeup the same way every day 9 months a year. So I like to joke (sort-of) with my actresses that I have had a "vision" about their makeup and so we should try something new. I have never had anyone say "no, no, lets stick with the same old thing" and its good for me because it forces me to see them in a fresh way.
The truth is that as I am falling asleep at night, I am often thinking of how I could tweak something, refine something, or incorporate a technique or product to improve the makeup. That's why I am only sort-of joking when I tell them I have had a vision - no need to have people worry that I am obsessed. Although I suppose the cat's out of the bag now. And I am lucky that i get to work on so many faces multiple times. Recently I changed Stephanie March's (ADA Alex Cabot) makeup from a very polished and conservative look that I realized was getting lost behind her glasses to a makeup that didn't contour her lid at all but instead concentrated all the oomph on making her eyes pop with a single pale shell shimmer as the only thing on her lid and a fierce lashline. She sparkled. And it came to me just before my heavy lids overpowered my "vision" and I drifted off to beauty sleep.

Tales from the Trenches: cop lips

So, one thing that I always have to take into consideration besides "does it look fabulous up close and under the lights" is "does it look fabulous (or fabulously gory and real) once the film stock is processed and color corrected?" For years on SVU, we were using a particular film stock that pops bright colors - especially pinks and reds - and makes them look fluorescent. Which makes fake blood look vivacious but sometimes can be tricky if an actor or actress has particularly rosy lips. Mariska naturally has the color lip that people buy lip stains to achieve. However, since she plays a detective on the beat, its not necessarily in character for Benson to have taken the time to paint her lips that stunning shade of vibrant burgundy-rose. Instead, we use nude (or as we say: "nudie") lipstick to make it look like she has no lipstick on at all. After 10 years of searching, the perfect lip combo for her is MAC Whirl lip pencil - the exact color of her lip - to define them, and either Shu Uemura BG934 or Cle Du Peau 121 Extra Silky lipsticks which have the perfect "nudie-ness" and moisture for natural, film stock/cop appropriate lips.