Pro Makeup: Salon Secrets of the Professionals [Spiral-bound]

I was waiting for this book to come out and while I'm not let down I'm not entirely pleased either. What I really love about this book is that its quite helpful for those looking to become makeup artists, all the tips are geared towards putting makeup on a variety of people including yourself. The book presentation is perfect, instead of being a paperback book which you might have to hold open if you want to follow along, it is a hardback spiral book that is easy to keep open. The pages are durable and easy to turn. Not that this is important but it was a nice touch. The author also used real people, not perfectly airbrushed young pro models, this made it more realistic to the reader.

The book begins with tools and tips to aid you narrow down what it is you need in a makeup kit. The breakdown of tools needed was quick and to the point It still gave you all the information to allow you to get what you need not what they tell you to get. Next it goes into foundation and picking the correct shade and type for your skin, also a quick how to on skin care tips.

The author really broke down the different facial shapes and how to apply blush the right way as well as how to contour the face. She also had tips of applying eyeshadow to all different eyeshapes to flatter them in the best way possible. Lips was quite basic, there wasn't too much information on it besides using lipliner and differences between day and night time lip looks.

Now for the disappointing part of the book, skin color and tone. When it came to lighter skin tones, she had about 5 different types like ivory, fair, golden and caramel. What is interesting is that they were all very similar in color then suddenly it jumps to dark and there is nothing in between. A person who is the color Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Liya Kebede, or around that area was completely left out of the book. This was saddening, it was as if that tone doesn't exist and dark simply implies anyone with a deep skin tone. She does mention that dark includes a wide range of shades but I guess she felt she didn't need to show them.

Her makeup applications were at times poorly executed, the blush applied on almost every person looked spotty. The section on false eyelashes was a joke, a model had on a full set of lashes and they were crooked and not completely attached. And honestly some of the eyeshadow applications were of poor execution as well.

Overall the book is good in terms of giving information for those who want to become makeup artists and to those who just want to learn to apply makeup better.

I looked through it in the book store after I saw the pictures I put it back down. There are much better makeup books on the market with the same information and better photos. It just looked very amateur. I was not impressed with the makeup work, it looked very sloppy. the organization was I think the only good thing about it. Save your money people.

edit to add: How did this person write three books with such poorly applied makeup?

I bought this book for my daughter and her 2 friends as gifts. The book was really useful to them as they were just beginning to use makeup. The book was very easy to follow and had examples and techniques for many occasions/levels of makeup application. I loved it because it showed each of the girls how to apply the makeup where they looked beautiful and didn't appear overloaded with product. When I compliment my daughter on her makeup now, most of the time she says she found out how to do it from the book. I've now read it and it has taught me more about application techniques, face types, occasion makeup, brush descriptions, etc. There's a lot of great information for beginners and those using makeup for years. Really smart purchase. Will seriously consider the same book for my younger daughter's friends as gifts.