Talking About On-the-Go Beauty with Celebrity Makeup Artist Robin Black
Celebrity makeup artist Robin Black keeps her glam on while racking up those frequent flyer miles. She jets back and forth between LA and New York several times a month. She frequently goes to Europe and, whenever she can swing it, escapes to the tropics.
Robin’s artistry has been shown in all the major fashion magazines and on runways in the U.S. and abroad. (View her latest work on her blog, Beauty is Boring.) I caught up with her in Chicago while she was on a promotional tour for Clarins, one of her pet product lines. She’d been flying all day but still looked fresh and vibrant.
Here, she shares her advice for on-the-go beauty and skin care:
Robin Black: I prefer to pack lightly, so I generally take a small beauty bag on the plane filled with little sample sizes of moisturizer, eye cream, lip balm, cleansing wipes, hand cream and other inflight necessities. Then I stow a men’s dopp kit (I find them more practical than traditional makeup bags) with the rest of my travel-size products in my luggage.
Because I often have to get off a long flight and go straight into the studio, I have a set of tricks for looking more presentable. For shorter flights (or when there are about five hours left on longer flights), I mix the Clarins Golden Glow Booster with a heavy night moisturizer and apply it all over my face, neck and decollete. When the plane is about 30 minutes from landing, I blot it off, and my skin is left with a very subtle sun-kissed glow. Some well-blended tinted moisturizer, a dab of concealer, a quick lash curl, a single coat of Clarins Be Long Mascara and a rose-tinted lip balm complete the illusion that I have actually slept.
For red-eye flights, I exchange the lip balm for a bright orange-red lipstick (Dior’s Ara Red is a favorite) and make sure I have a pair of over-sized sunglasses ready.
All the Write Places: What is your best-kept beauty secret?
RB: Avoid mirrors, especially the magnifying ones. Everyone has days where they don’t feel attractive, and I make it a point not to judge myself. One of the easiest ways to do that is not to spend time gazing in the mirror, worrying about the latest wrinkle or spot. If I get on with my life, I am far too busy to care about something so silly.
ATWP: What is the biggest beauty mistake you see women making?
RB: The beauty mistake that always makes me cringe is the extreme misuse of foundation. Foundation is not meant to turn your face into a blank canvas. It is meant to subtly even out your skin tone, and then concealer should be used with a very light hand to cover any blemishes.
ATWP: If you were on the space shuttle to Mars and would not be coming back to Earth, what one makeup product would you be sure to take with you?
RB: I would absolutely volunteer for a Mars trip! As for makeup, lipstick seems like it would be a disaster inside a space helmet, so I’d opt for a long-wearing black liquid eyeliner.
Contact Robin Black at: hello@beautyisboring.com.
