This article originally appeared on InStyle.com.
Watch and learn. That sounds like a drastically uncomplicated, unimaginative way to describe sitting nearly front row at a sneak peek of Mario Dedivanovic’s Master Class, but not even one minute into his demonstration, I had already picked up a game-changing trick to add to my own makeup routine. So, you know, the idiom rings true.
Mind you, when I received the invite for this event, I started freaking out for more that just knowing I’d leave with a better understanding of blending eyeshadow. Dedivanovic is like the makeup artist to the stars, and is also the man who made “contouring like a Kardashian” a thing. In fact, he’s Kim K.W.’s go-to man for all her beauty needs, regularly making appearances on her app in videos, how-tos, and more. Apart from being the King of the Kardashian glam squad, this year Dedivanovic launched a palette (it’s sold-out, so good luck finding it) with Anastasia Beverly Hills, and continued to reign the beauty sphere with his elusive Master Classes. Tickets to his event in Dubai cost almost $1,700.
So to get back to the point, you better bet I secured myself a good seat, recorded the entire thing, took extensive notes, and considered canceling my later plans so I could go home and try out everything he did on stage. Here’s a few tricks and interesting beauty facts I’ll now never be without.
1. Dedivanovic doesn’t use a primer, which should enthrall anyone who wants the most minimal routine possible. He told us he feels as though the primer puts a wall between the makeup and the skin and doesn’t allow it to become one. Instead, he starts off his work with an emollient moisturizer, like Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer ($20; nordstrom.com), which grabs hold of powder and creates a natural look.
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2. After moisturizing the face, Dedivanovic moves onto the body. I wouldn’t usually associate hydrating my arms and décolletage with creating a makeup look, but according to the pro, it’s important to apply a moisturizer to anywhere on the body that will be showing. So if you’re wearing a sleeve-less dress, this will help ensure your arms are luminous and reflecting light. He used Jergen’s Shea Butter Moisturizer ($9; amazon.com) on-stage to give the model moisturized, radiant-looking skin because it absorbs quickly and doesn’t feel greasy afterwards.
3. While the pro is an Instagram sensation with over 2 million followers, he hates Instagram brows, saying they give the face a “mean, witchy” look. To keep the brow looking as soft and natural as possible, he focuses on the outer corners and less on the areas closer to the eye. This will also lift and elongate the face, he explained. First he fills them in with a pencil, tops it with a powder, and sets them with either hairspray and spoolie brush (genius) or a brow gel.
4. He doesn’t use eye primer, which means yet another step I can skip in the morning. The pro explained that a cream, plus a translucent powder, like Laura Mercier’s Loose Translucent Powder ($38; sephora.com) does the same thing.
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5. As if applying a precise, neat line of liner wasn’t hard enough, Dedivanovic dropped a major makeup truth bomb when he told the crowd he usually applies four (!!!) layers of eyeliner. According to the pro, after you apply your liner on top of your shadow, you’ll notice the line isn’t that dark because the shadow starts absorbing it and changes its color. So in order to make a crisp, rich liner, he applies a line of pencil, cream or gel, and the sometimes liquid on top. In our sneak peek, he started off with the Kylie Cosmetics Kyliner in Brown ($26; kyliecosmetics.com).
6. To wash his brushes, he uses baby shampoo with… wait for it… a few drops of tea tree oil to disinfect. I have never been more excited to clean my tools.
7. The pro surprisingly admitted he wasn’t that big of a fan of liquid lipsticks, which surprised me because it’s basically the only thing the Internet wanted to talk about this year. But in order to keep prevent the texture from looking dry and cracked when using them on shoots, he first exfoliates the lips with a scrub and a toothbrush.
8. When it comes to baking, there isn’t a specific time frame you have to follow, which means you don’t need to set aside 30 minutes for this technique. The pro noted that after baking for about 20-30 seconds, your concealer should be set.
9. To prevent harsh lip liner lines, which is something I always struggle with, the pro told me to really work on blending with my finger or a brush. He said often his lip looks only consist of filling the entire lip in with a liner and then a balm, so the magic is in how much pressure you’re applying with the liner and blending it out.
10. As if you needed another reason to love Beautyblender, Dedivanovic used a damp Beautyblender to kneed liquid foundation into the skin, giving the skin a fresh, glowy, luminous appearance and allowing the skin and product to become one.
