LimacDesigns

Ashunta Sheriff mastered at the ripe age of nine what most women in their thirties aspire to accomplish - how to successfully apply false eyelashes.  Her mother, a 70’s disco diva with an obsession for makeup, served as the early inspiration for what would bring her to a successful career in the beauty industry.  Raised in New York, Ashunta cultivated a love for the fine arts and expressed her creativity through painting, singing and dancing.  After receiving a college degree in Cultural Anthropology, Ashunta found herself pursuing her passion for makeup.

Ashunta landed a job at MAC and quickly moved from the cosmetics counter to the catwalk when she began working backstage for several fashion shows in 1999.  Next, Ashunta entrenched herself in her career as a makeup maven for Laura Mercier at Henri Bendel.  Through constant referrals, Ashunta became a regular fixture at fashion shows in New York, Paris and London, working backstage where she assisted world renowned makeup artists, Laura Mercier, Vincent Longo, and Charlie Green.  She then worked on an exclusive cosmetics team under her idol, Pat McGrath, to execute the intensely complicated looks created by Ms. McGrath for the fashion houses of Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton.  In December 2006, Ashunta signed on as a national makeup artist for Dior Beauty which she describes as “an inevitable partnership.” Her latest achievement is the creation of NR, No Rules Beauty, an impressive makeup line launching in 2008.

Ashunta caters to a devoted A-list clientele, including Ciara, India.Arie, Rosario Dawson, Usher, and P. Diddy. Most notably, she has worked with Alicia Keys for more than four years, helping to establish her elegant and earthy, yet sophisticated and soulful style and transform her into a red-carpet favorite. Inspired by photography, fashion, art, history and culture - particularly tribalism - Ashunta strives to establish a signature look for her clients while staying on the cusp of beauty and fashion trends.

Throughout her career, she’s worked with top photographers including Patrick Demarchelier, Herb Ritts, Marc Baptiste and Annie Leibowitz, has served as the celebrity special request makeup artist for the films Smokin’ Aces and The Nanny Diaries, and has worked on several advertising campaigns including Nike, L’Oreal, Sean John, Roberto Coin and Proactiv.

Ashunta believes in naturally enhancing a woman’s features, bringing out one’s innate beauty. Her holistic approach to makeup combined with her degree in Cultural Anthropology and admiration for the fine arts has helped shape Ashunta’s iconic style and catapult her name as an industry leader.

Among makeup artists, Scott Barnes’s work is instantly recognizable: fresh, glowing women who exude confidence and usually sport a fierce (faux) tan. He’s the man behind Jennifer Lopez’s iconic look, the creator of Body Bling, and he’s worked on everybody in the biz. Now, in a new book called About Face, Scott reveals his techniques and creates beautiful looks for women of all skin tones, textures, and ages.

To find out what the maestro had to say about getting a great look, just keep reading.

What’s the best makeup look for Spring?
Almost ice-cream pale shades. If you’re going to do eye shadow, it should be soft, and blushes should be really soft, too. It’s a time of rebirth, so I say, “You know what? Let’s look fresh.”

What’s the best way for a woman who has minimal time to incorporate some of your principles into her daily makeup application?

There’s a chapter in the book, with a woman named Linda, that’s about exactly that. I always tell people that at minimum, the easiest way to pull your look together is by curling your eyelashes, then applying a beautiful mascara — I like Cover Girl. Use eye drops to really brighten up your eyes; one of my favorite brands in the world is Naphcon-A because they last up to 12 hours and they’re lubricating, so they don’t dry out your eyes like a Visine does. Then, throw on a lip gloss.

What are your tricks for getting a great eyelash curl?
I take the tips of my eyelash curlers and rub them back and forth between my fingers to make them a little warmer — it makes it easier than when they’re cold. The Shu Uemura eyelash curler is the best curler on the market, because it has a round bumper as opposed to a square bumper, which crimps the lashes instead of curling them.

How do you fake perfect skin?

I’m always a big fan of using cream foundations. They seem to work best for me, and you get the best results from them. You can control the coverage where you need it in case you have some problem areas. It also has a tendency to keep that dewy, fresh look of perfect skin without being too heavy.

The book talks about your great facial relaxation techniques — do you have any other quick pressure points or massage strokes to help women get the Scott Barnes glow?

Underneath your eyes next to your nostrils is a really good one. Especially this time of year with all the dry heat, people tend to be a little more congested there. So pushing there really helps to open it and flush that, which will then take away some puffiness and make your face look a little bit thinner and more relaxed. We hold so much tension in our faces, and that has a tendency to make us look a little bit harder, so you always want to soften.

How did you decide to write About Face?

There’s a quote in the book from Maya Angelou that says “Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily. If a person does not invent herself, she will be invented.” And that’s really the truth. So you have to take control of your own beauty and your own health. That’s what prompted me to write the book, as opposed to beauty for beauty’s sake.