Recently I've been writing "shot in the dark" e-mails to companies or people within the beauty industry that I really admire. Most recently I wrote to Elke Von Freudenberg. Elke is a celebrity make-up artist and brow guru! According to her website she "has done the makeup and eyebrows of the some of the top models and celebrities. Her work has been seen at The Academy Awards®, The Golden Globes, in numerous magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, Elle, People, In Touch, and Lucky and on the runway collections of Ralph Lauren, Diane Von Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabana to name a few. Her makeup work has been seen on celebrities such as Angelica Huston, Kate Moss, Blythe Danner, Jamie Fox, Alexandra Paul, and many others. Jet setting between both coasts for her private clientele, Elke fast developed a reputation for creating perfect eyebrows, without the wax, with her signature brow shaping service, 'The Model Brow.'"Pretty amazing, huh? After writing to her I got an immediate and warm response from her team. I told them how I'm interested in all things beauty and fashion and they suggested that I pick out a few items from The Brow Collection to review and share with you. I'll let you know what items I picked once they arrive in the mail! I'm hoping to do a YouTube tutorial as well as a blog review.
During our e-mail exchange I decided to ask Elke a few questions and to my surprise, she did not only answer them within 24 hours, but with so much heart and passion.
Here below is our Q&A
1. I've always had a love for make up, fashion, and beauty products, however it was jus
t a hobby until I came across the beauty community on YouTube. I began watching tutorials from other YouTubers last year and since then I've completely changed the goals I have set forth myself in my life and I finally realized my passion, something that I wasn't sure was ever going to happen. How did you get started?
I started in 1982 when I got my Esthetician's license the same month I graduated from high school. I then got into photography makeup and did a lot of photography and runway makeup (Kate Moss, Diane Von Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabana) by working on my portfolio and really working on my technique. It took years until I was able to get an agent and then my makeup career took off. Over 20 years of doing photo shoots, magazine, celebrities and models, I also worked on brows for my private clients as well as my clients on set and then quickly gained a clientele shaping and fixing badly done brows. Within less than a 1 year, I had a full clientele and now after almost 4 years, we're expanding with more brow specialists and locations. We really focus on fixing, aligning and balancing the brows, which takes time and a precise quideline using tweezers, rather than doing a quick 10 minute wax job. There really is a lot more to shaping brows than the beginning, arch and end.
2. There are so many people hoping to be in the industry on so many levels, it's nice to have some insider advice. Do you have any suggestions for people hoping to break through in the industry as make up artists, fashion stylists, or product reviewers?
Bottom line is that you got to be really good at what you do. I can't tell you how many jobs I got because the photographer or the client knew they could save money on retouching because they wouldn't have to photoshop my work. They want to photoshop their work, not yours. And be quick too. There is no 2 hours to do makeup. If it takes that long,they won't hire you again because time really is money. If you are professional, on time, nice to work with (who really wants to work with a diva?) and do a great job, you will stand out over the 80% that don't care.
3. A little bit selfish question here, I admit, but I think it could help a lot of girls. I have very dark brows, but like most girls, have a few spots I wish to fill in. When I fill them in my eyebrows look even more dark and heavy (completely offsetting my natural light brown hair), is there a trick to filling them in without making them look overly dark? I've tried blending it out, but that seems to make my eyebrow, and subsequent shape, a little cloudy.
The trick is to find a brow shadow that is actually a brow shadow, not an eyeshadow. Eye shadows have a lot of undertones in them, that when used in brows you see it. Too much red, orange, gray, green. Same with brow pencils. Brow pencils should be harder to draw on, because it's not a eye liner pencil. Brow pencil shouldn't smudge on. It'll smear and look too fake. Then find a color that's 1-2 shades lighter than your hair. The goal is to blend the color into your brow, not match. If you match, it will always look too dark. Go lighter and it will blend it and look like your brows. Then go over with a spoolie brush to blend in (like you would blend your blush or foundation) and you'll get the perfect color every time. Great brows should make people look at your eyes, not your brows. Also trick: apply your brow shadow first, and then fil in with brow pencil after in areas that need it more. You'll get a more natural look.
4. On YouTube there is a famous video tag amongst the beauty gurus entitled "What's in your bag?". The YouTuber will sit in front of the camera and take out item after item from her purse explaining why it's necessary to carry around four bottles of perfume, nine pens, and other silly things like that. What are three nonessential (i.e. your wallet, keys, cell), but necessary items in your bag that you carry each and every day?
I always carry a small bottle of water, 2/3 shades of lip gloss (I get bored easily and like to change it a few times a day..), and a small notebook to take down ideas for new products, and brow makeup ideas... How fabulous and inspiring were her answers? It's not often you find someone so prominent in the industry that is so incredibly down to earth and sweet. I'm so excited to receive the products in the mail and share them with all of you!
The first product I received was the Brow Fixx in brunette. Let me start off by saying that my brows are awful! They are at least three shades darker than my natural hair color and small as anything! When I fill them in I find that they're even darker! And if I try to blend out, my brows look cloudy and cartoonish. When I try to add length to them it often makes my brows look silly or just my face silly in general. Elke in our Q&A told me how I could go about things differently to achieve a better look and what I was doing wrong. And although her advice is spot on, I felt that the Brow Fixx actually did the exact trick I was looking for! The Brow Fixx can be used after applying brow color to the brows for a finishing touch or it can be used alone. I love using it alone. The product is not intense, it goes easy and it takes 2 seconds to achieve the look that I've been searching for! It also grooms the eyebrow hairs into a proper shape and if you wanted to you could use the product on your lashes. I am really enjoying this product, check out my actual eyebrow to the right!
The second product I tried was Elke's Hi-Light Brow Shadow in Cyber Glow, which is a sparkle yellow gold. By using this as a brow highlight "your eyebrows look sharper, more define, and it brings attention to your eyebrows" (thebrowcollection.com). This product is supposed to "work great to mask growing in brows until that next appointment by creating a shimmer glow to distract from unruly hairs by bouncing light away from brow hairs." I was really skeptical about that, but I've been using the product for a little over a week and I must say that is actually does do what it says its going to do! You can use this as all over eye shadow, face/body highlighter, or just as a brow highlighter. I really like how it works well with my many many shadow combinations (haha) and I really do feel it finishes my look. You can click here to read more about the product and even add it to your collection! Free shipping on all orders over $50!
