Ricky Wilson is high on the pecking order when it comes to makeup artists. He is a Dior Celebrity Makeup Artist, and has collaborated on runways with the designers John Galliano, Vera Wang, and Emanuel Ungaro; he’s painted the faces of A-list talent including Joy Bryant, Emmy Rossum, Leighton Meester, Sharon Stone, and Aisha Tyler. He is one of the most coveted makeup artists in the business, and has achieved some of the most incredible looks in the field. Here, I ask Ricky my three favorite beauty questions.
INDUSTRY BREAK: About 15 years ago, after trying to model, I was hanging out with my friends, few of which were into makeup! As a joke, I asked to do my friend’s eyes, using her makeup, and they actually turned out good, for my first try. That started my makeup practice. With no formal training, my skill was developed through lots of trial and error – lots of error!
After about a year of buying makeup, mainly at drugstores and MAC, I decided to apply for a job with them and got it. I worked for MAC as an artistry trainer in Los Angeles for many years before moving to New York City in 2002, where I met and fell in love with Dior Beauty. I was hired as a national makeup artist, and started to gain lots of exposure to the world of television and celebrity clients. I currently represent Dior Beauty as a Celebrity Makeup Artist in North America, and am represented by the prestigious Cloutier Remix Agency.
5 MOST COVETED PRODUCTS:
1. Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen – It works for so many different things, from shadow base to quick clean-up jobs for shadow fall-out, and correcting lip lines.
2. Diorshow Iconic Mascara – It is the only mascara I have encountered that truly curls. I love to use it as the starting point of my mascara layering and lash applications.
3. Make Up Forever HD Powder – I love this product because it melts into all skin tones if used sparingly, and doesn’t leave the skin with a chalky matte look. I also use it to remove the sheen from lipsticks by tapping it over the lips, using a large shadow brush, and pressing the lips together – the color stays but the shine disappears!
4. Ardell Individual Lashes in Black Medium Length – I love the look of individual lashes because it’s really hard for them to ever look overdone. If I don’t have time to do many, I just pop three or four on to the outer ends of the lashes to create an eye-opening effect.
5. Shadow Shields – These are self-sticking pads that are placed under the eye to catch any falling eyeshadow, liner, or mascara. These save my life so frequently when the client needs me to do a smoky eye in three minutes!
FAVORITE LOOK YOU’VE EVER CREATED: My favorite look that I’ve created was on the actress Joy Bryant for last year’s Met Ball. She was wearing a beautiful Marchesa gown, so I wanted the makeup to be flawless but not boring, so I used a brighter pink lip to pull it together. Using my makeup art to make people feel as beautiful as possible, and feel like themselves, best describes my style.
