Chanel celebrity makeup artist Kate Lee knows that a well-planned, efficient beauty routine is the key to consistently looking—well—beautiful. With that in mind, we sat down with her at the opening of Chanel’s new fragrance, beauty and sunglass boutique in Vegas to find out exactly what we should do to streamline our spring beauty plan. Unsurprisingly she was chock-full of genius advice. Here, the 5 things Kate—who has worked with everyone from Keira Knightley to Anne Hathaway—thinks you should eject from your beauty routine this season and what to replace them with and why.
Kate Lee, Chanel Celebrity Makeup Artist
Photo: Courtesy
Matte Nudes Have Seen Their Day
"Break away from nude and matte shades and instead choose a neutral, a bright shade and a classic red—then you're covered on every base," she says. "And choose a lipliner that matches your natural lip color instead of your lipstick."
See Ya, Eyebrow Powder!
"Get rid of eyebrow powders and think about purchasing tinted brow gel," says the makeup expert. "Blocked-in eyebrows are so done. What you want is a beautiful brow that’s groomed with a gel. With a gel, you look naturally groomed and show your brow at its full capacity. If there is a major hole, fill it in with a little pencil, but try to think about each individual hair rather than a block shape. Also, tinting eyebrows and eyelashes is a wonderful thing to do going into summer—just put on sunscreen and lip color, and you'll look great without doing anything."
Make Sparkly Bronzers A Thing Of The Past
"Do away with sparkly bronzers—instead opt for a highlighting product and separate bronzer," says Kate. "Separate the two, concentrating on tanning with one product and highlighting with another. Also, the size of a brush is important. For highlighter, use your fingers or a Beautyblender sponge and look for gentle highlights on high points of face. Put on highlighter, then foundation where you need it and bronzer just lightly—not aggressively—on the whole face."
Rethink How You Mattify Your Skin
"If you have oily skin and always use a powder to eliminate it, stop—that’s not the nicest effect at end of day," she says. "Think about combatting shine in a different way. To take care of oil, get a primer, invest in blotting papers—which are good for removing oil and stop oil from building up—and use a powder. But get rid of colored powder and invest in an invisible powder instead, which absorbs oil and shine."
One Concealer Isn't Good Enough
"Forget one concealer—you need two if you want to look fresh and natural," says Kate. "You want one for under the eye and one for blemishes. If you don’t want people to see your concealer, it's best to go with one formulated for under the eye, which will likely be a bit more pink or orange. Then find a concealer that is great for blemishes and that really stays. Also, a new way of brightening the eye is to use pale concealer under your eyebrow, making it a multi-use product—which is always good."
