Makeup: The Art of Beauty

Rating:
Summary: Clearly detailed for beginners
Review: I found this book a delight to follow for a variety of reasons. The artist is definitely skilled and quite creative with her designs and use of color. This makes for a gorgeous array of artistic photographs throughout the book and shall be enjoyed no matter what your reason was for picking this book up.
The level of skills described are more suited for a beginner I think. Still, if you're a pro or thinking of becoming one, she shares lots of tips on getting started, building professional relations with photographers and models, professional makeup, etc. Everyone can benefit from it.
I myself am what one would call a girly-girl. I enjoy makeup and find it very amusing as a pastime, however, I'm most definitely not a pro. I was looking for a book that would give me some pointers and I definitely found what I was looking for here. The instructions on how to create the perfect smoky eye (I could never do it before) alone was worth the price of the book for me. Linda Mason's results on her models are very easy to recreate since her sketches are very simple and so, quite easy to follow. It's refreshing to find an artist that holds no tips or instructions back from her readers and instead chooses to "educate" them wholly. I salute Linda and I truly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: A Special Beauty Book -Recommended!
Review: I would roughly classified the makeup books in the market into 2 types, one features different looks for you to follow (e.g, Kevyn Aucoin & NARS) and one teaches altitude to feel pretty with basic skills (e.g, Bobbi Brown & Sonia Kashuk). This one belongs to none of them. If you are looking for a book which boosts your creativity but yet still teaches a few tricks & technique, this will be the one.

Chap 1: Makeup as Self-discovery - This part is an autobiography of her life as a makeup artist. A fun part to read to know her makeup philosophy. I often find that it is good to understand an artist's philosophy before start reading her book. (e.g, Some people dislike Bobbi's book because they think that the looks are boring. But by reading the introduction, you would know her appreciation for natural beauty and that book is actually for everyday makeup.)

Chap 2: Basics - This part is no basics! There are a few of step-by-step photos but not many. Most important of all it shows the techniques of wearing makeup. E.g, different ways to apply eye shadow, different placement of blush to correct face shapes and some lip color mixing tricks. It doesn't teach you one method as in Bobbi Brown's book. It rather gives you a few ways and let you decide on your own.

Chap 3: Glamourizing Technques: It features some perioud makeup info and some glamourizing techniques. There's a step-by-step guide to smoking eyes, a comprehensive info on contour, putting on false lashes, etc. This part is nice if you want something beyond everyday look. It's quite easy to follow.

Chap 4: Freestyle makeup- Linda Mason is an advocate of freestyle makeup- a style which has no rules at all, you just apply color with your intuition. You may not like every photo in this section, but I think one should always appreciate the creativity in her. This part is truly an art. You must see with your heart but not only your eyes. This chapter is the gallery of her 'art'. At the end of this chapter, she would also tell you what do use in freestyle makeup.

Chap 5 + Chap 6: Professional Makeup & Becoming a Makeup Artist-These 2 parts are particularly for aspiring makeup artists. It tells you some work information, e.g, working on location, how to start out and the makeup kit. Not really everything you need to know, but it is good if you want to see a general picture of the industry.

Generally speaking, I like this book very much. As I have mentioned above, you may not agree with every picture in it. Some pictures are too old fashion in today's eyes, or you just don't like some of the freestyle makeup. However, you can definately see the creativity in Linda Mason towards makeup. She does not conform to any rules, any color spectrum. Her passion for colors matches my makeup philosophy very much, that's also a reason why I like her book so much. Moreover, being an aspiring makeup artist without much basic knowledge, this book gives me some good advices but not premade beauties as in Kevyn Aucoin's or NARS's book. It really encourages creativity. I would recommend people who want to learn about makeup techniques but not looking for premade looks (if you want something to follow, try Kevyn's Making Faces and NARS) and those who really believe in makeup as an art form. However, if you are a professional looking for technical tips, e.g, lighting, or ingredients in makeup, this is not what you are looking for.

Rating:
Summary: A Special Beauty Book -Recommended!
Review: I would roughly classified the makeup books in the market into 2 types, one features different looks for you to follow (e.g, Kevyn Aucoin & NARS) and one teaches altitude to feel pretty with basic skills (e.g, Bobbi Brown & Sonia Kashuk). This one belongs to none of them. If you are looking for a book which boosts your creativity but yet still teaches a few tricks & technique, this will be the one.

Chap 1: Makeup as Self-discovery - This part is an autobiography of her life as a makeup artist. A fun part to read to know her makeup philosophy. I often find that it is good to understand an artist's philosophy before start reading her book. (e.g, Some people dislike Bobbi's book because they think that the looks are boring. But by reading the introduction, you would know her appreciation for natural beauty and that book is actually for everyday makeup.)

Chap 2: Basics - This part is no basics! There are a few of step-by-step photos but not many. Most important of all it shows the techniques of wearing makeup. E.g, different ways to apply eye shadow, different placement of blush to correct face shapes and some lip color mixing tricks. It doesn't teach you one method as in Bobbi Brown's book. It rather gives you a few ways and let you decide on your own.

Chap 3: Glamourizing Technques: It features some perioud makeup info and some glamourizing techniques. There's a step-by-step guide to smoking eyes, a comprehensive info on contour, putting on false lashes, etc. This part is nice if you want something beyond everyday look. It's quite easy to follow.

Chap 4: Freestyle makeup- Linda Mason is an advocate of freestyle makeup- a style which has no rules at all, you just apply color with your intuition. You may not like every photo in this section, but I think one should always appreciate the creativity in her. This part is truly an art. You must see with your heart but not only your eyes. This chapter is the gallery of her 'art'. At the end of this chapter, she would also tell you what do use in freestyle makeup.

Chap 5 + Chap 6: Professional Makeup & Becoming a Makeup Artist-These 2 parts are particularly for aspiring makeup artists. It tells you some work information, e.g, working on location, how to start out and the makeup kit. Not really everything you need to know, but it is good if you want to see a general picture of the industry.

Generally speaking, I like this book very much. As I have mentioned above, you may not agree with every picture in it. Some pictures are too old fashion in today's eyes, or you just don't like some of the freestyle makeup. However, you can definately see the creativity in Linda Mason towards makeup. She does not conform to any rules, any color spectrum. Her passion for colors matches my makeup philosophy very much, that's also a reason why I like her book so much. Moreover, being an aspiring makeup artist without much basic knowledge, this book gives me some good advices but not premade beauties as in Kevyn Aucoin's or NARS's book. It really encourages creativity. I would recommend people who want to learn about makeup techniques but not looking for premade looks (if you want something to follow, try Kevyn's Making Faces and NARS) and those who really believe in makeup as an art form. However, if you are a professional looking for technical tips, e.g, lighting, or ingredients in makeup, this is not what you are looking for.

Rating:
Summary: yes!
Review: The author is extremely generous with information and with her spirit. I love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Dated
Review: This book is absolutely dated. I was dissappointed by it. I realized the best part of it was the section on professional stage and photography makeup. The rest of it I found to show looks that are completely fake and obvious (such as contouring and applying blush in one diagonal stripe below the cheekbone), very eighties!!! If you are looking for a book on makeup which you can use to create everyday and special occassion (but natural) looks, this one is not for you. I much rather reccomend the Bobbi Brown or Sonia Kashuk.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This book is great, but I expected a little bit more detail; I wanted more guidance, yet its approach is more do-it-yourself. It is divided into approximately six sections, if I remember correctly, and one of them is about experimental make-up
(free style). I wasn't too interested in that , but other than that, the book is a good source to have, with plenty of illustrations and anecdotes. I like the section on what a basic kit should contain, the section on choosing base color, and the attention given to the strongest trends and styles of the 20th Century in the chapter on "glamourizing" the basics.It also has some info (not a great amount, but something) for aspiring make-up artists, and it contains some info on websites and schools at the end. I liked the personal approach, as well.