I met Makeup icon Charlotte Tilbury (oh, and I moved to Los Angeles)!!!

Wow. In the last week I've turned a year older, did my first official LA red carpet makeup for the Golden Globes, and most importantly met one of the people I look up to the most with my career and aspirations. I ran into Charlotte Tilbury, a very famous makeup artist from London, at a Golden Globes after party. Amidst all the stars I spotted her from across the room and couldn't resist an introduction. Charlotte, along with artists like Val Garland, Kevyn Aucoin, Gregory Arlt, and Ve Neil, is someone who has changed the beauty industry. I say beauty rather than makeup because so many ideas about beauty in general, high end makeup, red carpet looks at work, etc. have been brought forward by these innovative and talented artists. The secret mystique of celebrity beauty has gone from being Hollywood Secret to easily discovered via books, backstage videos, and even youtube videos from artists themselves. A new respect for the makeup artist profession has emerged over the last decade and specifically the last few years. It's one of the most sought after careers these days but it's a job based not only on talent you truly have to be born with, but also creative vision and stellar networking skills, as well as being a generally genuine and true person that your clients love working with.

Charlotte has accomplished every dream I currently have for myself and has even started her own brand of cosmetics that is seriously SMASHING (imagine that in a dreamy Brit accent). I have to say, I'm truly grateful to have been given a mix of talent, luck and ambition that has finally gotten me to Los Angeles where I can really begin my journey.

I met her again at Nordstrom the day after, and I had a chance to get her advice about a lot of things, as well as learn all about her makeup and skincare line she has. She has me obsessed with her "magic cream" and I'm yet to even try it! Her products vill a void in an immensely saturated industry. Her videos are remarkably easy to follow and she's downright fab. Check out her website at www.CharlotteTilbury.com and keep your eyes open, her products may be available near you soon ;)

Step-by Step: At Home Facials!

I just gave myself the best at home facial. I've been working like crazy lately and although a big part of my job is to teach people to take care of their skin, the past couple weeks I've been so exhausted that I fell behind. Buying a ridiculously overpriced mirror that flips to a 10x magnification, I've kind of been dying to see my skin up close and personal! There are so many different types of facials you can do in the comfort of your home, but tonight I wanted to focus on 2 things- blackheads and detoxing. Here's exactly what I used tonight: 1) First I removed makeup with a cleansing oil (MAC Cleanse Off).

2) I used my Clarisonic with Dior's Purifying Cleansing Milk to retain my skin's moisture while battling dirt and oil.

3) To exfoliate inside my pores I used a classic- Clinique Clarifying Lotion #4 on Shishedo cotton.

4) Another classic! Biore Strips (although they really didn't do anything impressive)

5) I spent a good 25 minutes with my extractor and cotton soaked in the Clinique Toner from before leaving my face pretty red but blackhead-free! Because I was already feeling pampered, I used this opportunity to clean up my brows!

6) I applied Dior One Essential Serum to my face, neck and decollete. One Essential is an amazing product that boosts all your other skincare while detoxifying your skin from the environmental damage we encounter on a daily basis.

7) Since I did this facial at night, I chose one of my very favorite skincare products I own- Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair. It's a great detox that has given a noticeable improvement in my skin within the first week of using it.

8) Some nights I wash my face and use only Advanced Night Repair as it is very moisturizing, but tonight I opted for maximum moisture and followed with Creme de La Mer 'The Moisturizing Lotion'

9) Since I have been sick all week my nose was chapped and horrible looking. I have tried everything I could think of and nothing was making a big difference until a coworker recommended pure Shea Butter from L'Occitane. I rubbed it on my nose, lips and under my eyebrows where they were red from tweezing.

10) After everything I did, I decided to take care of my hair while I was at it and used an incredible product from Phyto called 'The Elixer'. The elixer is a once-a-week treatment that purifies your scalp (imagine a clarisonic for your scalp pores) which is often neglected by us all. I'm sleeping with the treatment on and I'll shampoo it out in the morning.

All in all it's pretty late in bed right now but I feel marvelous and can't wait to see my skin in the morning!

Time for Beauty Sleep- Goodnight!

Beauty Stylist Promotion!

Ever since my start at Nordstrom at the beginning of the year I have been ridiculously happy with my job. I have always ran my freelance makeup artistry on the side no matter what career I have had but I was never truly fulfilled until I started doing makeup every day and getting paid to do so. There are several reasons why I love what I do. The fun atmosphere, the competitive nature, the feeling of being valued somewhere, the recognition, I could go on and on. The most important thing though, has always been the clients I meet on a daily basis. The ones that are travelling and stopping through and the ones that come back again and again to work with me. I have been working for what I believe to be one of the very best makeup lines in the world since the first week of February. Even though I'm in love with all of their products I still love other lines as well and always gave my clients a totally unbiased opinion of what they needed. When people ask me what my favorite makeup product is I know they are trusting me to tell them the truth and not push something at them that isn't right or easy enough to use. This has been my philosophy since day one. My kit is full of different product lines because the simple truth is that there is no one line that is best for everyone. This philosophy has unexpectedly taken me to the next level with my career and I have now been placed in a position that I'm a bit intimidated by but that I know I will be great at. I am so happy to say that I am now a Nordstrom Beauty Stylist! So what is a Beauty Stylist and how is it different than what I have been doing? At every Nordstrom store there are now individuals like myself that are not paid to push certain lines. Rather we are paid to be the expert across all lines and act as a personal stylist to evaluate the clients' needs and send the proper products home with them. I pride myself on constantly maintaining a student mentality with every line we carry and  do my best to learn the pro's and con's of each product. If you've worked with me before you know how much of a skincare freak I am. Great makeup has to start with great skin. I wish I could help every woman I know to look better and feel more confident with her skin and makeup.

I officially start later this week and will be doing my best to make my business appointment based. If you or anyone you know in the St. Louis, MO area want some help in the makeup/skincare department or you're a makeup junkie and you want to do an appointment for me to show you my current favorites and new collections feel free to contact me via text at (312-285-5907) or email me at makeupishaute@gmail.com.

This is just the next stop for me down a hopefully long and awesome road. Bring on the adventure!

xx Megan

Me and my clients turned friends Mandi and Julie.