| g l ow
spring beauty
secrets
Notable Nashville makeup artist, Carmen Mabry, shares her secrets to achieving our favorite spring looks. Her secret? Start with the skin.
One of my first loves was art. When I was younger, I loved to draw faces using charcoals. I grew up in a family where most of the women had beautiful skin, but I always battled acne. I vividly remember my mother, aunt and my grandmothers using different products on their skin. I was fascinated by it. I recall them using Ponds Cold Cream, Buf-Pufs and Oil of Olay moisturizer. My granny used a heavy, rich cream by Mary Kay that looked like this gorgeous solid-pink balm—the smell is almost nostalgic for me now. When I was twelve, my mother put me on a skincare regimen of my own and made me wash my face twice a day. Today, after twenty-something years in the beauty industry, I am so grateful for her teaching me the art of properly caring for my skin. Fast-forward six years. At 18 years old, I started as a part-time makeup artist for fun in the summers while also working for a makeup brand called Prescriptives. That summer, I was introduced to the joys of skincare. I learned that makeup only looks as good as the skin underneath it. I realized how important it is to recommend the correct skincare to clients. Prescriptives was very diligent about color-matching the skin, and I had great mentors in the beauty industry to train and critique me, enabling me to better help my clients.
So, what did I learn? It’s all about the base. I began learning the art of making custom foundation powders. By chopping and dicing pigments on a board and blending, I created custom concealers for clients with various skin tones and textures. This catapulted me into other incredible opportunities working for some of the best brands in the industry, including Clarins, Lancome, Christian Dior, Laprarie, CHANEL, BY Terry and Laura Mercier. Since then, I’ve had countless exciting experiences meeting wonderful clients all over the country. I truly love what I do and enjoy helping people feel good about themselves. Education is key—teaching people why it’s important to take good care of their skin and how to apply makeup correctly is vital. Makeup is fun, but true beauty is confidence and embracing what makes you you. Anyone who knows me knows I love a fresh, natural look. These are my go-to products for achieving a natural, fresh spring look.
“Makeup only looks as good as the skin underneath it.” 84 | NASHVILLEEDIT.COM
