Pati Dubroff Seminar Part 2: Makeup Tips

A top celebrity makeup artist, Pati has worked with an impressive group of gorgeous women. Eva Mendes, Megan Fox, Drew Barrymore, Kirsten Dunst, Emma Watson, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Biel, Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow—Pati's star-studded client list goes on and on. Here, Pati Dubroff reveals her makeup secrets in her professional makeup seminar.

makeup secrets Pati Dubroff

1. Clarins Instant Smooth is like putty—it fills in large pores and fine lines. I also put this on top of foundation, before powdering, and give it to my clients so they can touch up their makeup and mattify without putting on too much powder.

2. Brushes are worth the investment. I like the ones from a Japanese company called Hakuhoko because they're really soft. People are really grateful when they have nice feeling brushes on their skin.

3. I use Suqqu foundation, which I buy in London or Japan. I love it because it's full body and has a lot of hold—it stays for hours, but you can keep working it. But unfortunately, it's made of petroleum and silicone.

4. I use Cle de Peau concealer for blemishes and Kanebo concealer under the eyes. I like that it's a warmer tone than YSL's Touch Éclat. If someone has a deeper pocket or pads under the eyes, you can't just put a lighter concealer on top. You need to draw a half moon of light under the pocket to hide it.

5. I love Kevyn Aucoin cream blush. My three desert island products are cream blush, lip balm, and mascara—because you can turn it into eyeliner. I'll layer power over cream blush to help it stay put and be more long-wearing.

6. When I worked at the YSL counter, I learned how to do the YSL '80s eye and I still use that technique. You take an eye pencil and draw a banana, then you blend and put eye shadow over the lid to contour.

7. When we start to age, we lose definition in the eye. There's less contour in the eyesocket. Instead of using an eye pencil to draw the banana, now I like to use Smashbox Cream Eyeliner in Putty. It's a matte taupe shade, but not waterproof—those liners get stuck and don't move. If you contour with something totally matte, you're recreating a shadow and adding definition to the eye. You're recreating the shadow of the eye socket. I apply the cream eyeliner with a domed brush.

8. For eye shadows, I like the Dior palettes and Burberry shadows, like Antique Rose. Even with a smoky eye, you need a little sparkle of light somewhere.

9. For mascara, I like Cle de Peau's or Diorshow.

10. I recently discovered that a fan brush is a nice way to put on powder blush. you can just feather it on and it's much lighter than applying with a regular blush brush. I like to contour with blush and pops of light, not brown stripey things.

11. I used to use lip gloss and then I realized that too much gloss makes people look like strippers. So now I hold back on gloss and tend to use more sheer balms. I like the tinted balms from Clark's Botanicals and Clinique's Chubby Sticks.

12. I always like to finish a face by touching it. It warms up the makeup and makes it look like it belongs there.

13. For inspiration, I prefer to look at photography books over magazines.