The Summer Beauty trends this year have been 3 things: Bright, Bold and Colorful and whether its eyes, lips, or nails its seems the more electric and neon the better! If you haven’t had the chance to experiment with the colors of Summer you’ll want to quickly take advantage of the bold and bright makeup selection offered by Mary Kay.

A Beauty Loft was lucky enough to try out some of the great products featured by Mary Kay this year and conduct an exclusive interview with Celebrity Makeup Artist Virginia Linzee. She shares with us her makeup bag secrets and step-by-step looks you can try out today!

Virginia Linzee, celebrity makeup artist, credits her skill in makeup artistry to her previous experiences as a painter.  In addition to her New York City celebrity clientele, Virginia has created the looks for top fashion shows, including Alexander Wang, Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta and Anna Sui. She has also kept the faces of some of today’s top recording artists, including Cobra Starship and Drake, ready for the stage. Virginia enjoys working in Print/Editorial, Advertising, Runway, Television, and Film. Virginia has an exceptional ability to interpret individual personalities and ideas. With color-blocking, citrus hues and fuller brows taking the spotlight, Virginia offers her tips for perfect summertime eyes.

• For a Bold Color-Blocked Look: Transform everyday cat eyes with color-blocked patterns in bright citrus colors

• Brush Mary Kay Eye Primer only on the eyelid to help intensify the color payoff
• Follow with Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color in Lime on the inner half of the lid and brush out to the iris
• Apply Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color in Truffle in a blocked cat eye, beginning at the iris and fanning upward and out toward the outer part of the eyelid, making this section as thick as the entire lid
• Curl lashes and apply Mary Kay Lash Primer, beginning at the root and brushing to the tip of the lashes. Finish off with Mary Kay Lash Love Waterproof Mascara in I ♥ Black

• For a Dazzling, Winged Style:Emphasize eyes with gorgeous shimmer and dramatic winged-liner
  

  Lash Primer

  o   Begin with Mary Kay Eye Primer and follow with Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color in Golden Vanilla across the entire lid

  o   To highlight the eyes, tap a bit of Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color in Gold Coast on the center of the lid above the iris and to the inner corner of the eye

  o   Wing the outer corner of the top and bottom lid with Mary Kay Eyeliner in Bronze, blending Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color in Truffle on top to slightly smudge and soften

  o   Apply Mary Kay Lash Primer to the top and bottom lashes, then add three coats of Mary Kay Lash Love Waterproof Mascara in I ♥ Black

Complement these stand-out looks with bold brows by applying Mary Kay Brow Gel and combing upward to help provide fullness and keep them in place. Fill in any sparse areas with Mary Kay Lash & Brow Building Serum.

Lash Love Mascara

(*I fell in love with Mary Kay’s Lash Love Mascara as my eyelashes have never looked longer.)

ABeautyLoft: What’s in your makeup bag and which is your go-to Mary Kay product?

Virginia: My professional makeup bag has every product under the sun, but here’s what I keep in my personal makeup bag:

Mary Kay’s Tinted Moisturizer Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 20, because I like to keep my skin looking healthy but not heavy

Mary Kay’s Facial Highlighting Pen, it brightens under my eyes, cheekbones and brow bone. I dot a little bit on my chin and down the bridge of my nose for a little extra coverage and highlight

Clear Brow Gel

Every day I contour my cheekbones, temples and jaw line with a bit of bronzer. It warms up my pale face as well

Sometimes I throw on a bit of cream cheek color on the apples of my cheeks if I want more pop.

NouriShine Lip Gloss

I use Mary Kay’s Deep Brown Eyeliner and smudge a bit around my eyes to really bring them out

I pile on Mary Kay’s Lash Love Mascara in Black

I can’t live without Clear Brow Gel to keep my full brows groomed and intact.

Mary Kay’s NouriShine Plus Lip Glosses are my go-to Mary Kay product. They have my favorite texture of any gloss. They’re soft, not sticky. They look and feel great! My favorite colors that I keep in my personal bag are Pink Parfait, Rock ‘N’ Red, Cafe Au Lait and Au Natural.

ABeautyLoft: And which is most popular amongst your celebrity clientele?

Facial Highlighting Pen

Virginia:     Having good skin and eyes that pop tends to be most important among my celebrity clients. I love using the Mary Kay Time-Wise Luminous Wear Foundations. It gives just enough coverage for television and Red Carpet appearances, but still looks fresh enough for everyday wear.

Women are always concerned with the wrinkles under their eyes, so I use the Mary Kay Facial Highlighting Pen to conceal. It doesn’t settle in the creases and brightens the face!

I keep to a cream cheek on most of my celebrity clients because it looks more like flushed natural skin than blush that’s brushed on the face. I adore Mary Kay’s Cream Blush in Cranberry and use it on a lot of my celebs because it goes with most skin tones.

For eyes that pop, a little Mary Kay Liquid Eyeliner goes a long way. Many of the actresses I work with like a strong liner, especially for television. Lashes seem to be everyone’s main concern so I always use a false lash first and then coat the real lashes with Mary Kay Lash Love Mascara.

ABeautyLoft: What is the hottest summer makeup trend this year?  Favorite Colors? What are the step-by-step instructions for getting this look?

Virginia:       The hottest summer makeup trend is a Bright Lip. Any color with Red, Fuchsia, or Red-Orange Tones will do. Look for a bold color that compliments your skin tone. My favorite color is Mary Kay NouriShine Plus Lip Gloss in Rock ‘N’ Red. It’s the perfect on-trend red. It is what we’ve seen on runways like Marc by Marc and Michael Kors. Red lips are hot for summer and we see the trend continuing into fall. It’s all about a bright red though, not a dark red. Wear it with glowing bronzed skin for summer and a little mascara for a fresh look that’s completely on-trend and classic.

You’ll want look back at summer vacation photos ten years from now and think that you still look good rather than think “oh that’s so 2012,” even though it is. This look is easy to pull off:

·         Start with a tinted moisturizer or light foundation

·         Conceal where needed

·         Use a translucent powder in the t-zone

Apricot Twist Cream Shadow

·         Use a powder bronzer that is not too orange and a soft blush/contouring brush to contour cheekbones and brush up onto apples, brush and blend into the hairline, blend a tiny bit on the nose and eye crease and contour under jaw line, blending down the neck. Don’t forget a bit on the décolletage and in the ridge of the collarbone!

Use a frosty highlight cream (the Mary Kay Cream Eye Color in Beach Blonde for pale skin or Apricot Twist for darker skin). Blend a bit on the high cheekbone plane, down the bridge of the nose, in the bow of the lip, a bit in the center of the chin, in the center and inner corners of eyelids, and on the clavicle bone. This gives your skin the glow that you find on the runway. Make sure it’s well blended and suble.

·         Curl lashes and apply as much or as little Mascara as your heart desires. Concentrate on the top lashes.

·         Apply your bright lip color of choice! Mary Kay’s NouriShine Plus Lip Gloss in Rock ‘N’ Red is the perfect choice for everyone!

THANKS so much for all the great tips Virginia, don’t forget to visit MaryKay.com to pick up all the latest products mentioned here!