HEALTHY AND EASY MAKEUP ROUTINE WITH MAKEUP ARTIST ANDREA CALLEROS

I envy women for all sorts of reasons: their fitness, flexibility, height, sense of fashion and their ability to be funny. Andrea was not the exception. But I envied something I rarely do: her makeup. Granted, my makeup skills are way below average: I mostly apply it with my fingers, I have two brushes that I use for everything and my day and night look is almost identical. But Andrea inspired me, her look was fresh, timeless and natural. I wasn’t surprised when she told me she was a makeup artist. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did!

Tell me about yourself, why are you so passionate about makeup?

I love makeup because it’s not only a way to gain confidence in yourself, but also a way to express who you are. I like that makeup is so versatile, and the way you do your makeup says a lot about who you are.

Makeup is like playing dress up. If you want to portray yourself as feminine, you makeup can reflect that, or if you’re going to a rock show, and you wear dark lipstick and bold eyes, you portray yourself as a totally different person.

What’s the 1 thing we can do to improve our skin care routine to make our makeup look better?

First, make sure to wash your face properly to prevent blemishes.

Exfoliating is important, because makeup tends to accentuate if you have flaky skin or if you have visible pores.

The most important part is to hydrate your skin before applying makeup. Let the moisturizer sit in, so that your skin absorbs it, then apply sun block, and then your primer. There are many different types of primers, some are to hydrate, some to protect your skin, others to keep your skin matte, or to help out with redness. Primer helps your makeup stay put and also treats your skin before you put on makeup.

Do you think makeup should cover imperfections or enhance our already beautiful and healthy skin?

It can do both. Makeup can cover imperfections like blemishes, the bags under our eyes, or redness. We also need to think about what we consider flaws, because many times what we consider a flaw, may not be one. For example, freckles, they’re very pretty, but a lot of people feel self-conscious about them.

We’ve created very unrealistic expectations about how we’re supposed to look. Sometimes we want to look like a photo-shopped mannequin after we do our makeup. Ultimately it’s all about our own perception of beauty.

What makeup routine would you recommend if I want a day-to-night look?

For a natural day look I recommend BB cream, which is a foundation that’s lighter in consistency, it hydrates the skin and has sun protector. You can also add blush and highlight (it comes in powder, liquid or cream form) which is a shimmery makeup that you apply in areas where the light is supposed to hit your face—like the tip of the nose, cheekbones and chin. For the eyes, I would go with neutral eye shadows (browns and pinks), mascara and fill-in the eyebrows.

For a night look I would add bronzer around the forehead and the hollows of the cheeks, which will give the opposite effect of the highlight, creating more of a contrast. You can also add eyeliner and a bold lip color, any crazy color you can think of, looks perfect for a night look.

This routine is perfect for a day-to-night look when you want to go have drinks after work and you just have to add few more things and you’re ready!

What should we look for in a makeup brand to make sure it doesn’t affect our skin?

Avoid Sodium Lauryl Sulphate—because it’s linked to cystic acne and oil imbalances of the face.

Look for paraben-free makeup and one that has no petroleum distillates (usually found in mascara).

Also, look for retinol-free products. Retinol is known as an anti-aging ingredient, but if you expose it to sunlight it breaks down, it becomes unstable and damages your skin. If you’re going to use retinol, use it at night.

Look for organic product brands and products with a short ingredient list, the shorter the list, the less chemicals added to them.

If someone has sensitive or dry skin what makeup ingredients should they avoid? What if someone has oily or acne prone skin?

For sensitive or oily skin I would recommend fragrance and alcohol free products, which irritate and dehydrate the skin, and the skin over-compensates when it’s out of balance

.For sensitive skin avoid essential oils as an ingredient in makeup, which are usually found in lip products. They can irritate sensitive skin and cause allergies. You can also test them on your arm before applying.

For sensitive or oily skin avoid mineral oil because it clogs the pores and look for plant oils (usually found in foundations, cream eye shadows and lip products). You can also look for foundation specific for oily skin.

Tell me about your upcoming YouTube channel project.

I want to teach women how to do their makeup from the beginning. A lot of people don’t know the basics about makeup application.

For example, a common mistake I see people make is that they don’t wet their Beauty Blender before using it. Wetting it makes it softer and easy to use. Also, when applying foundation or primer with the Beauty Blender you’re supposed to bounce it, not drag it across your face.

Another common mistake is how we blend our eye shadow. For example, when we want a smokey-eye look we directly apply the dark color, but what we’re supposed to do is to have transition shades—which are similar shades of lighter colors, and apply those first.

I want to help people know the basics. It makes a huge difference when you learn how to apply your makeup correctly. If you apply your foundation correctly it’s going to enhance how the blush, contour and highlight looks.

When can people find you?

You can find me on Instagram here.