makeup artist

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It's been a long time coming (almost three years in fact!) but finally L’Oréal Paris Makeup Director and best-selling author Rae Morris' brush collab with Crown Brush is about to hit the Australian market. Before embarking on her whirlwind trip to New York Fashion Week, we were lucky enough to catch up with Rae, who gave us the lowdown on what we can expect from her range of brushes and a few hints and tips for applying makeup correctly.

BellaSugar: How did you come to be involved in collaborating with Crown Brush for the Rae Morris Brush Range?
Rae Morris: Crown Brush approached me to do brushes with them and to be really honest, I wasn’t a makeup artist that wanted to start making products or create a brand, so they asked me what would it take, so I said "the brushes I use are like $400 a brush, and if they aren't as good as they are, if not better, then I'm not interested." So I thought they wouldn’t come back — and then they did. I tried to put it off because I was so busy. And they still came back and asked what it would take. And I said (off the top of my head) "I want them to be $35, the handles have to be recycled bamboo and they've gotta be animal-cruelty free," and they agreed to all of that. With my own brushes I had shaved them into a particular shape to make them the perfect point, so I thought there's nothing like them on the market, I won't compete with anybody, they’ll be the best brushes and if they sell, great, if not, I'll use them myself. And that's how it was all born.

Keep reading for more on the Rae Morris' Brush Range and her makeup tips . . .

When Miranda Kerr comes home, it's Aussie makeup artist Allison Boyle that she calls upon to to give her that gorgeous glow. And with Miranda recently in Sydney to promote her Kora Organics beauty line, as well as walk in the David Jones Spring/Summer parade, we asked Allison to share her trade secrets for looking as effortlessly elegant as Miranda at home.

What do celebrities like Natalie Imbruglia and Miranda ask for when they work with you? Luminous is a key word so sheer foundation is a must. You want the skin to look natural and not heavily made-up. They both have amazing eyes so we make them a feature with a few coats of mascara and even a few lashes. Lining inside the eye can be a great effect as well, use a black pencil for evening. Nude pencil (instead of white) for day can really make the eyes wide awake or we go with a bronze-brown for a sexy daytime look. Use bronzer to contour cheeks and give a healthy glow and add a pop of peach or soft pink on the cheek. Miranda also loves a red stain on her lip, which looks amazing in Winter or Summer with a light tan.

Read the full interview now!

It's been a big few years for makeup artist Leslie Graham. Not only has she made up some of the biggest names in the biz (Tyra Banks and Jamie-Lee Curtis to name a few) she was also responsible for the makeup looks for the vampires on The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Eclipse, Sucker Punch and Tron: Legacy with pal and mentor Rosalina Da Silva. We were lucky enough to catch up with Leslie to talk vampires and the inspiration behind her favourite beauty looks.

BellaSugar: You created some of the looks for the vampires in New Moon and Eclipse — who did you look after and what were the key products you used to create their looks?

Leslie Graham: For New Moon I was brought in to be a personal makeup artist for actor Jamie Campbell Bower, who played the role of Caius (one of the leaders of the Voluturi). For Eclipse I did the makeup for all of the Wolfpack [Alex Meraz, Julia Jones and Chaske Spencer], Jodelle Ferland and some of the newborn vampires. On set I would take care of Dakota and the other Volturi. We did a lot of air-brushing using MAC Micronized Airbrushed Formula to give the "onion" skin tone. It has a little silicone in it, which works to keep the makeup in place as we were often working in the woods and in the rain — vampires in the rain can be quite difficult!

Read more for Leslie's makeup tips . . .