A Sephora Beauty Director Says You’re Doing Your Makeup Wrong
It’s not every day you get to walk into the Sephora building on 5th Avenue in NYC before it opens—security unlocking the doors, employees greeting you by name. It’s definitely not normal to get a one-on-one breakdown of one of the most prominent store locations in the U.S., then head upstairs into the secret glam-meets-content space, where makeup master David Razzano—a storied editorial makeup artist and Sephora Beauty Director—is ready to school you in makeup 101.
No, my breath hitched in my throat as I walked into the room, outfitted in subtle Sephora stripes, with a full glam station, studio lighting, and a set chair—all so I could learn how to do my makeup right after all these years of teaching myself, poring over articles, learning from YouTubers, and scrolling through TikTok. I felt like the little girl visiting New York for the first time, screaming inside me, as the now NYC resident-turned-beauty-editor put on her beauty school cap. It was time to learn how to do things the right way (and by way of an early aughts makeup look, at that).
The objective? Create a John Galliano for Dior 2000s runway–inspired look, while absorbing makeup tips from this editorial look that I could apply to my everyday life. Keep scrolling for the tips and exact products that Razzano recommended, changing my entire makeup strategy for the better. (PS, I saved the most life-altering tip for last.)
Razzano’s Y2K-inspired look on Alyssa Brascia.
1. Prime With Liquid Eye Shadow
According to Razzano, blending several sheer layers of eye shadow is the key to great eye makeup. But first, you have to lay down a good base.
“These are the best products for smoky eyes because you never, ever get fallout,” explains Razzano as he blends the Danessa Myricks Colorfix product in varying shades of light and dark across my lids. Just make sure to focus on one thing at a time, says the makeup artist, as liquid eye shadows can dry very quickly (especially these Colorfix picks) and be set that way for hours.
Razzano’s implements the “undergarment” technique, where he compares cream eye shadow and powder to cotton and sheer fabrics. “Think of this as if I am putting on a tube top and a panty underneath a sheer dress. Everything that you put under the dress affects the result of the outfit,” he explains. The artist places liquid eye shadow where he knows he wants to build intensity, like the coverage of an undergarment, and dusts powder eye shadow on top of the bare skin and dry shadow to add that “sheer” effect, which blends everything seamlessly. “It’s going to give a water-color, airbrushed look,” he explains.
Razzano’s Recommendations
Danessa Myricks Beauty
Colorfix Multi-Use Liquid Pigment
2. Avoid the TikTok How-To Videos
You can learn a lot of great makeup advice on TikTok. Razzano doesn’t deny that. But what you shouldn’t copy and paste is the way the person with a heart-shaped face on TikTok shows you how to contour your cheekbones when you have a round face. “The biggest thing I think people do wrong is follow trends that are set by a particular style of bone structure,” says Razzano. He references the cat eye: It can look too bold on some eye shapes and confuse your facial balance. “You have to know your bone structure and what works best for you,” he explains.
I noticed Razzano learning my bone structure in minutes, thanks to years of honed expertise, placing deep shadow where the pockets of my eye socket could stand it, and adding highlights where the sun naturally hits the high points of my brow bone. This technique can be applied to both face and skin: mimicking the way light hits your skin for an everyday look, and bending or exaggerating that placement with larger or intentionally “off” placement for something more editorial.
3. Halve Your Mascara
Yes, the no-mascara trend is hotter than ever, but Razzano says if you still want to use it, you need to stop applying the wand straight from the tube to your lashes. “The only time I will use a wand full of mascara is when I intentionally want giant, spidery, clumpy lashes,” he explains.
You see, it’s easy for product to get clumped into the bristles of your mascara wand—no matter how great the product itself may be—depending on how long you’ve owned it and how you store it (upright, tossed into a bin, etc.). To fight back against disproportionate clumping, Razzano urges you to wipe off most of the product along the inside of the tube to make sure the bristles are primed for precise, flake-free, thin mascara strokes from the roots to the tips. (Plus, this makes it easier to build upon if you decide you want more volume.)
Razzano’s Recommendations
Makeup by Mario
Master Mascara Volumizing & Lift
4. Stop Trying to Look “Perfect”
What Razzano has noticed among makeup artists and fledgling TikTok MUAs today is that everyone is aiming for perfection in their work, which plays in stark opposition to human design. “Human faces are not perfectly even,” Razzano says. “The moment you start making one side have to match perfectly to the other side, you start seeing the other things that are uneven, which are always uneven.”
Remember 2016 block brows? A shining example. In the pursuit of perfectly symmetrical brows, Razzano says that people would notice the other inequities of their facial shapes—whether it be a curved nose or uneven cheekbones—because of the new symmetry they’re forcing onto their brows (sisters, not twins, remember?). “Once you go down that route, you start seeing imperfection as a bad thing rather than a good thing,” he muses. “It’s like looking into a magnifying mirror and looking at all of the things that nobody else sees—and literally nobody else sees them.”
5. Blush Marriage
Depending on the look, Razzano agrees with what several other makeup artists have said about blush placement: if it looks natural, it should blend into your eye makeup. Think of sweeping the product into the eye shadow to create a blend so seamless that you can’t tell where your blush ends and shadow begins.
“You also need to think about what you want your blush to do for you,” says Razzano. “Sometimes you want blush to add a pop of color, sometimes you want it to sculpt, and each of those things is going to be applied differently.”
If you suffer from blush blindness (accidentally applying too much), Razzano recommends lightly applying powder foundation over the area to diffuse the color. “You can even intentionally apply blush a little heavy and then go over it with a powder foundation, so you’re underpainting,” he says. Razzano explains that the oils within your skin will eventually melt the blush into your complexion, making it look like a natural flush.
Editor Recommendations
Westman Atelier
Baby Cheeks Lip + Cheek Cream Blush Stick
6. TBH, You Don’t Need Primer
If a beauty director at a mega retailer is telling you you don’t need a product that’s been pushed on you by the internet, you know it’s the real deal. “Many years ago, everyone said you had to use a primer, but you don’t need one unless you have a necessary use for it,” he explains. Need your makeup to stay on for a long day? Sure. Do you need your makeup to cover your pores? Maybe. If not, skip this one.
7. Skip the Lip Oil
Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by a lip oil and lip liner combo that vanishes 20 minutes later. Guess what? We all have our hands raised.
“Oil breaks everything down,” Razzano explains. The average beauty lover might appreciate the comforting hydration that their favorite lip oil imparts, but they might not realize that it’s the very thing cannibalizing their color. “Any oil can basically be used as a makeup remover—even the most waterproof product will come off with basic canola cooking oil,” he explains.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you should toss your favorite oil formulas. In fact, they’re great to wear alone as a conditioning treatment. But if you really can’t part with your oil-infused combo (after all, they are so shiny), Razzano recommends using a lip stain before applying your oil to gain a bit more longevity.
The solution? Stick to lip gloss. “A classic gloss will hold the product longer underneath the lipstick, the lip liner, all of it.”
Razzano’s Recommendations
Huda Beauty
Faux Filler Shiny Non-Sticky Lip Gloss
About the Expert
David Razzano is a professional makeup artist and one of the beauty directors for mega-retailer Sephora. In addition to his work at Sephora, Razzano’s work can often be found decorating the pages of editorials, having worked on shoots featuring Christine Quinn, Rina Sawayama, Ice Spice, and more for Paper Magazine, Elle, Rolling Stone, and more.
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