Amy Nadine is passionate about makeup, and it can be seen on every face she touches. It’s not just about the end result for Amy, it’s also about what goes into it — the science, the formulas, the product development. In fact, Amy has even developed two lip glosses in conjunction with Mark Cosmetics. As for her celebrity clientele? It’s a who’s who of young Hollywood: From Lauren Conrad, Kate Bosworth and Rachel Bilson to Krysten Ritter and Whitney Port. You can say the girl knows her trends. I asked Amy my 3 favorite beauty-related questions.
INDUSTRY BREAK: After I graduated from the Make-up Designory in 2003, I emailed the top ten makeup agencies asking to be put on their assistants lists. Only two of them responded, but that was enough to get my foot in the door. A year later, Jillian Dempsey started her own boutique agency Bardeen and took a chance by signing me. She was the first person to believe in me and that gave me great confidence to stop assisting so early in my career and stand on my own two feet.
5 MOST COVETED PRODUCTS:
2. Sensai by Kanebo Cream Foundations for Caucasian, Asian, and Latin skin tones and Bobbi Brown Foundation Sticks for African American skin tones. Both companies have the best color shades of everything I’ve ever tried and I’ve learned the most important factor in creating the illusion that you’re not wearing any makeup is when the shade match is perfect and the product literally disappears into your complexion.
3. Josie Maran SPF 40+ with Argan Oil. It doesn’t create a white veil (which can turn your makeup into a geisha face), doubles as a primer, repairs and reverses sun damage, has all natural ingredients (PABA free) and is very light in consistency.
4. CoverGirl Smoky Shadow Blasts in every shade (with Bronze Fire being my favorite). CG is such an innovator in our field and with Pat McGrath developing for them, I can’t wait each quarter to see what they come out with next. Shadow Blasts are the most user-friendly way to create a smoky eye with your fingers and there is nothing like them out there. Truly a brilliant product… and they just expanded the concept this summer with Intense Shadow Blasts that have a built-in primer so after you blend and smudge with your finger, they stay put and last for hours.
5. Tarte LipSurgence Natural Lip Stains. They come in glossy, matte and shimmery shades, have a 6000% moisture increase and they are my favorite more natural-looking alternative to lipstick. Last November, I headed up the makeup department for Life Happens, a film that my client Krysten Ritter co-wrote and Kate Bosworth and Rachel Bilson co-starred in with her. I brought every lip option that you can think of, but after trying everything, all three actresses chose Tarte LipSurgence for their characters. Kate wore Hope, Rachel wore Lucky and Envy, and Krysten wore Enchanted and Lust (there’s even a scene of her re-applying Lust on her big date!)
Lauren Conrad’s Entertainment Weekly cover is my all-time favorite because I love the conceptual design of her being on camera even when she’s sleeping, I love that there’s such a Sixties/Brigitte Bardot feel to it (the inspiration was actually an Esquire magazine cover of her) and I love that along with heavy false lashes on her top lashline, I added a few mini individual flare lashes to her bottom lashline for a little artistic drama.
