J. Lo's Glow

That flowing hair, that gorgeous face, that toned body—but it’s her skin that is the real attention grabber. JLo simply glows. How does she get that luminescent look? Other than that fact that her skin is in amazing shape, a foundation mixed with a liquid highlighter will give you that “glow from within.” But a powder that has light reflective pigment in it will definitely give an airbrushed quality, too. It’s the illusion of perfect looking skin.



After you apply your foundation, set it with a loose powder like Prescriptives Magic Liquid Powder ($35), which is meant to diffuse the light, making your skin look flawless. Lines, wrinkles, and pores are less visible. You don’t have to worry about this powder looking too cakey because it’s actually 70 percent water. Even if perfect skin is just an illusion, it’s great that everyone can get a little bit of J. Lo’s glow.

No Sweat

Walking the red carpet in the hot L.A. sun is not just a challenge for celebrities; makeup artists need to focus on sweat-proof makeup for the heat, humidity, and scrutiny of all those flashbulbs! Greasy skin does not look pretty in pictures or in real life. If you want to have skin as smooth and satiny matte as your favorite celeb, then a good product to have on hand before you apply your foundation is a mattifying gel. Origins Zero Oil ($10) has been around for more than 10 years, blotting out unwanted oil on celebrities everywhere. Apply it under or over makeup to instantly matte out any shiny areas on your skin like in your t-zone. Put it all over if you know you are going to be out in the heat, and have a tendency to glisten.

Know Your Best Feature

Stars are used to makeup artists and stylists determining how to make them look the best they possibly can. In the beginning of practically any interview with a celebrity, the reporter inevitably describes the celebrity’s beauty with or (usually) without makeup. A writer once described Salma Hayek’s skin as “having no pores”. Well, that’s just crazy!


Stars do have a way of finding their best features with the help of a good a makeup artist. They understand that flaws can be deflected by focusing on other better features. For example, if someone has thin lips, then they can play up the eyes, and take the focus away from their lips. Or, show off killer cheekbones with a highlighting powder dusted along them to make them pop. Take a look at your face in the mirror. What do you like best about your features? What do you want to highlight and showoff? Don’t be afraid to say what you think is beautiful about you and use it to your advantage!

Tan Skin All Year Long

Trying to evenly apply self-tanner to the entire body is difficut. It’s practically impossible to reach and blend areas on your back. You inevitably end up missing a spot and have a glaring, white splotch - a sure give away that you have incorrectly self-tanned yourself.



Take a hint from celebrities: have someone help you apply the self tanner. Mariah Carey even had her own personal professional self–tanner, Jennifer Phillips, with her for her most recent tour. Don't have a friend to blend for you? There is an easier way to achieve this golden goddess look at home. Use a self-tanner mist. Fusion Beauty’s Glow Fusion AirGlow ($175) is a self tanning product that helps evenly and quickly apply a tan. The bonus: you don’t have to rub it in, and it dries instantly for a streak-free, long lasting tan.

Celebrity Skin Wellness

Celebrities can afford to have top estheticians and dermatologists tending to their skin. Anyone with the right skin care routine can have a beautiful complexion. You have to remember that any makeup is only going to look as good as your skin does. Makeup on top of skin that isn't cared for correctly is going to fall into pores, lines, and build up on dry skin.



Get your skin in peak condition by using the right cleanser for your skin type. Cleanse twice a day. Moisturizer containing an SPF for day will help protect your skin for the future. To get rid of dead skin cells and maintain a clearer, brighter complexion, you need to exfoliate. This will help you prep your skin for your makeup. Exfoliate no more than three times a week because any more than that just strips away your skin. If you can see a skincare specialist like Hollywood’s Best Kept Secret, Kate Somerville, do it. She has a world-renowned “medi-skin” clinic in Los Angeles, and takes time to analyze each client's unique skin care needs in the hopes of achieving “total skin wellness.”

Looking Fresh After Flying

How do celebs look so fresh after flying? In order to jet set like a pro, there are a few easy essentials you need to carry with you.



You need to moisturize while on the flight, so bring your daily moisturizer, preferably one without an SPF this time, because you are going to be reapplying it at least twice. Drink a lot of water, which will keep you from getting dehydrated. The only real makeup you should start with when you get on the flight is mascara. Then, right before you get off the plane, tap a little cream blush on the cheeks and blend it with your fingers. Take a foundation stick and use it to quickly cover up uneven skin around the nose area and under the eyes. Lastly, swipe on a coat of rosy lip gloss, and you are ready to de-board!

Freebies, Freebies, Freebies

Most celebrities get a truck load of makeup products through their publicists and handlers. In one of the many interviews that they do for beauty magazines, if a celebrity speaks well of a product that they use, it can translate into big dollars for the company mentioned. Plus, sometimes a certain celebrity is the face of a cosmetics line and is contractually obligated to only use or talk about specific products. Overall, cosmetics companies are dying to get their stuff into the hands of celebs. Everyone loves getting things for free, so take their recommendations with a grain of salt. Because, unlike a celebrity, most of the makeup you will need isn’t going to be free, and just because a celebrity mentions it, doesn’t mean it’s going to be a great product or they have even tried it.

Eyelash Extensions

Many celebrities are going a step further than plain old false lashes and signing up for eyelash extensions. In the same way that hair extensions are a temporary way to give your hair extra length and fullness, eyelash extensions do the same thing for skimpy lashes. They feel more natural than false lashes and last longer, too. The average wear time for lash extensions is 4-6 weeks, with the cost ranging between $250-$500.



The process can take up to two hours. The results are impressive though, and you won’t even need to use mascara because the lashes will be dark enough on their own. To take care of them, try not to wash them for at least two days so that they can adhere correctly, and avoid rubbing them.

The True Cost of Hair & Makeup

Having hair and makeup professionals at your beck and call is not cheap. Wouldn’t everyone love to have someone artfully apply their makeup each morning? But alas, only people with unlimited means can afford to have help on hand to keep them beautiful at all times. So what does a makeup artist cost a celebrity?



Makeup artists and other style makers are usually represented by an agent who gets them work with celebrity clients. The Wall Group is a popular agency that has a pool of talented artists, including famous makeup artist for Dior, Patti Dubroff. Art & Commerce also represents a number of prominent makeup artists, like Gucci Westman Neville (Lancôme’s artistic director) and Tom Pecheaux (creative director of Shiseido). More established makeup artists can earn quite a high rate starting at around $1000 a day, and going up depending on who they are working on. When travel is involved, that gets taken care of by the celebrities or the studios.