Decoding Kim Kardashian Hair and Makeup Secrets
By Sanchita
I had real fun decoding the Kylie Jenner Makeup Tips, so after going through several teaching sessions, YouTube tutorials, interviews and Instagram posts of Mario Dedivanovic (Kim Kadarshian’s favorite makeup artist) I was so determined to do this post on Decoding Kim Kardashian Hair and Makeup Secrets.
Kim Kardarshian is famous for her contour, nude lips, smokey eyes and the list go on and on. No doubt we love every bit of her makeup and her luscious hair styles. So, want to know the secret tips behind her flawless outlook. I am sure the tips and tricks will simply amaze you. So let’s explore the details.
Makeup before hair – Yes, do you makeup first and then the hair. This is because the hair spray might leave behind its residue on the face which will make the application of the foundation slight difficult. Also, if you are going for a bouncy curly look, you have to back comb and tug it so that it stays away from the face while applying makeup. All in all, do your makeup first and then go for the hairstyle.
Skip the primer – When possible makeup brand came out with their version of primer and beauty bloggers vouching for the primer which ‘apparently’ helps smoothening the foundation and keeps it in place, Kim’s MUA Mario Dedivanovic says primer is totally optional and there is no harm at all in skipping it. He says so because loading too many products one after another will only make you oily, especially in humid weather. So next time you decide to splurge of the expensive primer, just don’t.
Emollient moisturizer – An emollient moisturizer is one which hydrates your skin, smoothens out your pores and provides a nice base to your foundation. This is why you don’t need a primer separately. Too many products will do more harm than any good and therefore to minimize the buildup of products between the skin and foundation, simply use a moisturizer. Kim Kardashian’s favorite moisturizer is Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream which acts both as primer and moisturizer. Therefore, invest in a good moisturizer instead of too many products.
Beauty blender – From Kim Kardashian, Mario Dedivanovic, Kylie Jenner and all the possible celebrities and their MUAs have vouched for the goodness of Beauty Blender. Well, sadly Beauty Blender isn’t easily available in India (there’s also a lot of speculations about fake Beauty Blender sold online) and even if you badly want to have it, you have to pay a huge amount for a sponge. Therefore, the cheapest solution was given by Bhumika, the PAC’s Beauty Blender (a very similar one) which is efficient as well.
Master handling the puff – Kim’s MUA Mario Dedivanovic states that it is important to hold the powder puff while application. Put two fingers into the loop on the outer side and slightly press over the desired area. In general we always use the powder brush for baking and applying translucent powder, but Mario states that puffs are lot better in efficiency. It helps the powder to adhere well to the makeup, blurs out the pores and prevents the cakey application to a large extent.
Strong brow game – Brow game is something we all agree with. It defines the eye makeup and gives a neat and clean appearance to the makeup look. Well, to make this game stronger, Mario uses two colors to define the eye brows. Use a lighter color in the inner corners while a darker one on the outer portions. This will create a pretty strong ombre effect and brings out an appealing look.
There’s nothing called too many eyeliners – Mario applies more than four layers of eyeliners on Kim. He states that it will give your eyes a “beautiful definition and look more expensive”. Well, we got the trick. He first applies an eye pencil as the base, then another eyeliner, followed by the liquid liner and finishes off with gel or crème liner! Phew! That’s a lot. I once tried that at home and I was really astonished to see the beautiful effect it creates. If you are a deep kohled or dark eyes lover, you have to try this out.
Bake the dark circles – Baking is easy-peasy and all you have to do is apply concealer/color corrector/foundation and simply dab powder and let it sit for around 10 mins or so to let the natural heat from your body set the powder. After that simply dust off the excess. Baking is generally done on the areas we highlight i.e. under the eyes, chin, forehead, etc. Mario uses the baking technique mainly for covering the dark circles. This works excellent and does a double duty of highlighting as well as concealing.
Contouring isn’t everything – When I first read this one from Mario, I was like ‘What!’ This particular statement coming from Kim’s MUA whose middle name is ‘contour’ is surely a big deal. Well, he believes that contouring isn’t everything and you can still look equally photogenic without it. The extreme contouring videos we see from YouTube and Instagram aren’t essential for makeup. Nevertheless, if you want do this, there is no harm in making the features sharp.
Double highlighter – Mario stresses on the fact that to have that flawless look, highlighter is the key. Yes, of course blush, contour and everything else is there but highlighter is something that gives you the neat look. He applies double layer of highlighter on Kim. Firstly, he applies a brightening yellow powder like Ben Nye Banana and then some shimmery or frosty powder ones to add that ultra-strobing effect. And then finishes off with golden for that warm glow.
Stunning eye lashes – Kim uses a nice voluminous mascara on the natural eyelashes first after curling them. Then she uses individual falsies (longer on the outer portion, shorter on the inner one) and finishes of with another coat of mascara to adhere the falsies to the natural lashes. God! No wonder her smoky eye is so flawless.
Makeup removal – This is a very common tip vouched every now and then and Kim also swears by it religiously. It is so important to remove every trace of makeup when you are going to hit the bed. Residual makeup has some nasty side effects like pimples, infection, allergies, discoloration, pigmentation and the list is totally endless. Use a good cleanser or baby oil to wipe off every layer of makeup from face, eyes and also lips and wash off with a mild face wash or whatever suits you best.
Stop shampooing everyday – While you have heard it that to keep our hair clean you have shampoo every day, Kim says don’t. Regular shampooing will ruin the hair and strip off the natural oils. She prefers a blowout on the first day while on day two she goes for messy buns, curls and waves. On day three, when the hair starts to get flat due to the natural oil of the scalp, she straightens the hair and tries out sleek hair styles. In this way, the straightening doesn’t damage the hair as well. On day four it is ok to wash the hair. Kim uses Moroccanoil and Carol’s Daughter Monoi Hair Mask to make the hair soft.
Skincare – According to her, skin care is the primary step where you actually have to work hard. No amount of cosmetics will save you if your skin behaves badly. This is why regular skin care routines, clean up, healthy diet and lots of water is required.
Makeup brushes – the last tip from her MUA is the cleaning of makeup brushes, which is another important hygienic requirement for makeup. Mario uses Tea Tree oil to soak the brushes and then washes in a concoction of water and baby shampoo. Baby shampoos are gentle and hence doesn’t make the bristles rough while tea tree oil ensures that every layer of residual makeup is removed and also it is anti-bacterial.
Editor’s Note: Those were some very nice tips Sanchita. I skip primer majority of the days and shampoo every 2-3 days, so following some here 😀 And beauty blender indeed gives a beautiful effect. I am definitely trying layering the eyeliner and light and dark shade for eyebrows.
Did you like Kim Kardashian’s makeup secrets? Do you follow these? Know of any, you would like to add? Do let us know in the comments below.
P.S: Images from Google.