Celebrity Makeup Artist AJ Crimson Interview | Part 2

Celebrity Makeup Artist AJ Crimson Interview | Part 2
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Photo courtesy of AJ Crimson

What is the biggest beauty mistake you see women make?

Using way too much product. In most products, a little bit goes such a long way. Not only with my product, but just about with every product. Actually that’s two-fold, they’re either using way too much or they’re not using enough. It’s finding that balance. I think that women just need to find that balance between not being afraid of the make-up and putting it on until they’re satisfied. So if you didn’t put enough on or it’s not covering dark circles enough, or your skin is not as perfected or flawless as you need it to be, add a little more. Keep adding it layer by layer, using smaller, thinner layers building up to the level of coverage and perfection that you want.

I’ve seen so many women say ‘oh I don’t wear make-up because it doesn’t match correctly’, they just give up thinking that there’s nothing out there for them. But you can’t really give up either, you are not one color all over, you’ll never be one color all over. And I know sometimes we want to be frugal and just buy one shade, but that doesn’t work. You would never want to put your complexion color under your eyes because you’re just going to make it darker, you’re going to put dark over dark and make it darker. So you need to highlight and open up the center of that face and use warmer shades on the perimeter which kind of gives you that tone, and that’s on every complexion, those are the three mistakes I think women are making. Not giving themselves a chance to get it right, not finding the balance that’s right for them, and being afraid of the overall process.

You’ve worked with so many celebrities, who else would you love to get into your chair?

I think it would be Beyoncé. I feel so inspired by her this year and I want to work with her. I think it would be between her and Jennifer Lopez.

It’s just her skin, the moves, the eyes, everything Beyoncé is doing right now I love it. I’m listening to her album…

Both of those women are just beautiful. They have this mix of beauty, friendliness, and their smiles are just contagious.

I love Jennifer because she’s just such a great businesswoman and she just looks so beautiful doing it. And I love her esthetic. She obviously has coverage but it always looks so effortless, so natural, like her. And that’s the thing about Beyoncé too, she’s not wearing a whole lot. Like why am I wearing lashes, I don’t want to do lashes today. Watching her beauty story change over the years to this place of certainty- you just see who she is. I think that’s so much of what I am about, or what I want the brand to be. She embodies all of it.

When you work with your celebrity clients, what is the process like? Do they come in with a look in mind or is it completely your vision or somewhere in between?

It’s a mix of both. At this point, I’ve gotten to a really great place with all of my clients where they just trust the process. If we have time, I try to consult with them a couple days before, get some ideas about what they’re doing or what they’re wearing, what they have a vision for hair-wise and wardrobe-wise. And a lot of the time, we just decide on the day of, when we’re in the fitting. Or talking to hair and being like: ‘well what do you think?’ because I don’t ever want to have to compete in any way. It should all be a very seamless transaction from hair to make-up to wardrobe. So it’s cool when they have ideas but I think it’s even better when I’m allowed to just go with the flow and create.

Which celebrity have you worked with recently that stands out in your mind? Can you tell us about their beauty routine?

Well I’m thinking about Serayah from Empire right now. We worked together for fashion week months ago and the process for her was interesting because you know for me, I’ve done fashion week for many faces and it’s always about coming up with something new and different. You want that shock, you want that one that’s going to hit all of the blogs and make everybody talk about it. Serayah has really great skin and she’s kind of edgy and daring, so we catered to each one of her looks. Everyday we were able to do something different. What I did leading up to that was, I collected references of things that I saw from editorials of the magazines that I love, or what were trending on Pinterest or Instagram and created a moodboard. I presented those to her, and saw what she gravitated towards; so one day we experimented with a color liner on top, and it was just fabulous, or another day we went for a really great, bold lip. That’s usually how that process goes. I’m more of a creative director, than just a make-up artist.

On the other hand, when I work with Ameriie she comes with a binder of what she’s thinking about for an event so it’s a full style story, from hair, make-up, fashion, to the way she wants to be photographed. You know, I’ve learned so much just from her. It literally is a huge binder with tabs and from periods to eras to styles and colors. With her it’s a bit more detailed.

I’m going to ask you some quick rapid-fire questions to finish up. Just tell me the first thing that comes to mind.

All right, I’m afraid. (Laughs)

Coffee or tea?

Tea

Mascara or eyeliner?

Mascara

If you weren’t a make-up artist, what else would you be doing?

A director.

What’s the one product you can’t live without?

Lipstick.

What are your favorite trends for fall and winter?

Contour! (Laughs) Contour, highlights and bold lips.

What do you do in your spare time, when you’re not doing make-up?

Trying to take a vacation- ha! When I’m not doing make-up, I’m usually on my computer watching Netflix. But I would rather be watching my Netflix on a white-sand beach.

What’s the best way to get your make-up to last all day?

Best way to get your make-up to last all day is to take a (Neutra-Mat)? And press it into the skin with a powder puff- a pink powder puff, an old-school pink powder puff.

What’s the one thing you wish all women knew about beauty?

That you don’t have to cover it all up to look great.

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