For over 20 years now, Los Angeles, California, native Gregory Arlt has been with cosmetic brand MAC, where he is director for makeup artistry.
A red-carpet expert, Gregory works with some of the most famous faces in the world including Gwen Stefani, Liza Minnelli, Dita Von Teese, Minnie Driver, Kim Cattrall, Katy Perry, Fran Drescher, Alicia Keys, Cher, Victoria Beckham, Mandy Moore, Cindy Crawford, Sienna Miller and Mary J. Blige.
He has traveled the globe for fashion week, designing makeup looks for Oscar de la Renta, Alexander McQueen and Chloe. His work has been featured in Vogue, Allure, Elle, Glamour and Bazaar.
Arlt isn’t just limited to makeup; he is a great public speaker and keeps his audience entertained with his humor and charisma. He recently found visited the Philippines and showed us the creative possibilities of makeup and why he is head over heels with MAC.
“I consider myself a beauty exorcist,” he said. “Instead of piling makeup on the face, I bring out a woman’s beauty, respecting her features, bone structure, coloring and most importantly, her personality.”
‘Moonlit glow’
My creative influences are… things that catch my eye on the street; images in museums and art galleries; pictures from National Geographic magazines; architecture; the way light reflects on a wall; the detail of an object. Any image that strikes me as exciting goes into my mental storage unit and comes out in my work.
My most important tool… is one’s imagination.
My favorite personality to work with… is Dita Von Teese, because she is the quintessential pinup girl, a MAC girl and has a great sense of humor. And we just really get along well.
My most admired makeup artists are… Kevyn Aucoin, Way Bandy, Joanne Gair and all of the amazing talents at MAC.
A key beauty look this year is… a moonlit glow. If before it was a lot of “sunlight glow,” now it’s moonlit glow—a lot of opalescent shimmer and beautiful highlights on the skin. Think dewy, gorgeous skin. I love using MAC Shroom eye color. It’s an ivory bone shade. You can use it as a highlighter in the inner and under the eye. It gives you that luminosity. Gwen Stafani loves this, so I always use it on her.
Lip colors to use for spring are… orange-reds and fuchsias. A colored lip is very in-trend for spring. I love using MAC Candy Yum-Yum. It’s a bright statement lip in fuchsia, a gorgeous pop of color in the lips.
A spring makeup trend to try is… The “new” day glow using a lot of blush. Try using MAC “Stay Pretty” Long Wear Blush. The new way to applying it is on the apples of the cheeks and brush out toward the temples, positioning the brush upwards. Wear it with a neutral eye and coral lip, so you keep makeup to a minimum for a fresh, healthy glow.
A trend carried over from last year is… clean makeup with structured eyebrows. We update it with a play of liners. You can smudge it or use pronounced lines. Try contoured lines on top of the eye and a smokey at the bottom. Try using MAC Black Jack Fluid Line on top and MAC Carbon Eye Shadow at the bottom. I then use waterproof mascara—MAC Zoom Lash Mascara—in Waterfast. It’s a generous mascara, so I just put a little to pump up the lash. I like it because it gives this very feathery effect.
My current favorite MAC products are… The Face and Body Foundation. You can do anything with them, from the most sheer beauty makeup to altering the color of the body. I also love the Prolong Wear Foundation, which is perfect for the humid weather in the Philippines.
My favorite part of the body is… the skin. It’s the canvas, and the barometer for the rest of the made-up face’s success.
Tips
“Try something new,” said Arlt. “Makeup is all based on individual style and preference. Adapt a trend to your liking. It doesn’t have to be exactly what you have seen in a magazine, but there can be a nod to the trend while still feeling comfortable wearing it. If you’re a brown eyeliner girl, try black or navy to switch it up. Or if you line only the top lids, try the bottom one day.”
Choice of liners
Women don’t have to be limited to just one brand either; all makeup brands carry liners, so you can go with a price range that suits your budget.
Bobbi Brown has released a dual-ended Smokey Eye Kajal Liner (P1,450) which is perfect for the smoky-eye effect. It is richly pigmented, super-blendable and it can even be used along the inner rim of the eye.
This creamy, color-true formula paired with the built-in smudger delivers intense definition, whether your look is neatly blended and sophisticated for day, or totally smudged and sexy for night.
You can also try L’Oreal Paris Superliner (P595) for something in the lower range. Gelmatic is the first-ever gel pencil to create intense vivid colors.
Because of its gel technology, the formula was built for long wear, smudge-proof and waterproof, giving that super intense and bold result. Available in six colors (brown, black, gold, silver, blue and turbo).
