Beauty Q & A with John Gustafson

Our make-up, skincare and beauty guru solves all your beauty dilemmas

Dear John

I'm getting married in August and desperately need someone to help me with my makeup on the day. I don't wear much make up at all! I really want something very natural and that'll last the whole day. I live in London but the wedding is in Chester. What would be reasonable to pay for someone to travel and spend the day and whom would you recommend?

Thanks,
Camilla

Camilla,

Boy-o-boy! That will depend a great deal on the qualifications of the makeup artist. It might be worth going up to Chester and spending some time in the cosmetic department. Check out companies that are makeup artist oriented and have a makeup done. If you like the person and the work they do, you could enquire about having them do it on the day. I don't know what a local price would be. I know what I would charge - about £250 for the bride and then an additional £75 for anybody else, i.e. bridesmaids, mums, etc. You would then have to pay the travel if you were having somebody come up from London. The problem you may encounter is, that if they are to travel, they would need to be doing about 4 people to make it worth the time. It is also a very busy wedding season and if you can do the same job nearer home or in London for the same amount of money... Well, you see where that has gone! That is why you might find it better to go back home to Chester (as I am sure you will need to do anyway) and see if you can find somebody locally. You could then expect to pay less for the applications as well. I have a few dates still open that month myself, so you could always ring the Studio and see. The phone is 020 7409 9823. It is always worth a shot!

Have a wonderful day,
John

Dear John

I seem doomed never to be able to wear red lipstick. Every one I've ever tried - and I've tried far too many, changes colour on me and ends up fuchsia. Now fuchsia is a lovely colour, but it isn't red! I've tried putting on primers and foundation on my lips before my lipstick, I've even tried putting on orange lipstick as an undercoat before putting on the red lipstick, but it still turns 'bluer' on. Why is this? Is there a solution? Help? My latest doomed purchase was Mac's Ruby Woo, lovely colour, but not unfortunately red on me. Regarding any recommendations - I suit blue-toned shades best and can't wear anything orangey. Yes I suit fuchsia quite well, but would sometimes just love to be able to wear proper red.
Thanks in advance.

Best regards
Clare

Clare,

The most likely reason for reds always turning blue on you is to do with the acidity of your skin and/or saliva and the way it reacts to the red pigments. But a lot of reds also have a blue-ish stain underneath them to give them more lasting power. If you have already tried the old "foundation as a primer" trick, as well as applying orange under too: you may find the better option is to apply the orange AFTER the red - once it has changed. That is the way I would go about it if a lipstick had changed once I had applied it. The orange is used to adjust and cut the amount of blue that has come out of the original shade...but you won't know THAT until it has happened. Using black to tone it down is also a very good plan. Maybe a combination thereof. However, I would still advise that you always verge on the orange side of any red that you choose. You can do that fairly safe in the knowledge it WILL be turning more blue once you start to wear it. And never buy a red until you try it on and walk around for an hour or so. It is hard for me to suggest a red for you to go look at because I don't know what the base colour of your actual lips are, but if you want to see a glorious clear red, have a gander at Lancôme Colour Fever 120. Because it is a true red, you should be able to see exactly what happens upon application and know for future reference the degree of change that there will be. Once you establish that, you should find it easier to gauge the possibility of wearing a red without too much palaver!

Hope this gives you a green light with red lipsticks,
John

Hi John,

I have got a couple of acne scars on my face and I have bought Wrinkless by Kanebo to 'fill them up'. It seems to do a perfect job, apart from the fact that the colour of this product is white. Do you know of any other similar products out there that are colourless?
Thanks very much,

Ina

Ina,

There are several - Prescriptives Magic Line Filler, Strixaderm No Wrinkles Now, Lauder Perfectionist Deep Line Filler, Becca Line and Pore Corrector, and if you want a flesh tone: Clinique Pore Minimiser. Go into your local and check them out to see which one suits you and the foundation you use the best.

Regards,
John

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