Make-up artist for TLC’s hit show, What Not to Wear, that has millions of weekly viewers
Work seen in popular magazines: Vogue, Elle, O, Essence, Glamour, etc.; Clients include Maybelline, Sephora, Clairol, Avon, Bath and Body Works, and more
Co-created a natural line of cosmetics called “Sally Hansen Natural Beauty inspired by Carmindy” available in drugstores nationwide
Guest bio
Carmindy: Enhancing Natural Beauty
By Heather Salon
The 700 Club
CBN.com
– GET POSITIVELY BEAUTIFUL
Carmindy has worked hard to establish herself as a top fashion make-up artist. An important message she wants to get out to women, along with being the theme and title of her new book, is - Get Positively Beautiful. This means women need to embrace themselves first and then enhance what they have with makeup.
There is nothing more beautiful than self-confidence and the beauty that comes from within. Only two percent of women find themselves beautiful. People are too flaw focused and they don’t focus on the positives. Makeup should not be used to cover flaws or to make them something they’re not. Women should not try to reach someone else’s idea of beauty, because women are already beautiful. Women need to focus on their best features and stop being fixated on their flaws. Women should give each other “contagious compliments.” One positive compliment can make their day. Women need to stop corrosive comparisons with each other.
Also, women often tend to say harsh words to ourselves – we need to be better to ourselves and say positive things. Women need to find a “feature focus” – or what their best feature is. If they need help learning what that is, they can ask a family member or friend. Then, that’s where makeup comes in, which is the philosophy that Carmindy is known for: “Using the right products in the right places to enhance natural beauty.” Women should celebrate and be confident in their own unique beauty.
BEAUTY ON A BUDGET
Carmindy says you can get high quality beauty products at drugstore prices. Sometimes, you can even find some of the best skin care ingredients in your own kitchen.
An economical exfoliator can be made at home by using Cetaphil soap and a handful of sugar. After you’ve soaped up your face, take a handful of sugar, rub it in, and then rinse.
Also, you can take pure coconut oil and put it around your eyes for a cost effective eye treatment.
An inexpensive facial toner can be made by filling a sink full of water, pouring in one cup of apple cider vinegar, and splashing it on your face.
Spa treatments are very expensive and they use natural ingredients like bananas, coconut oil and other natural ingredients – you can do similar treatments that cost less at home.
When it comes to makeup, Carmindy has tried every brand and every product that is out in the market. Here are her products that won’t break your budget:
INEXPENSIVE
Your Skin Makeup-$12.95
Luminizing Face Primer-$9.95
Natural Powder Blush-$10.95
Color Comfort Lip Color-$9.95
Natural Shine Lip Gloss-$7.95
Instant Definition Eye Shadow Palette-$7.95
Lift And Define Mascara-$7.95
Total Cost: $67.65
EXPENSIVE
Era Face Spray on Foundation – $55.00
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer - $36.00
MAC Fleur Power Satin Powder Blush – $18.00
Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Effects Lipstick – $19.50
Bourjois Effet 3D Lip Gloss – $14.50
Mally Citychick Eye Kit – $40.00
Benefit Bad Gal Waterproof Mascara - $19.00
Total Cost: $202.00
Carmindy shares a few more quick makeup tips:
For eyes, opposites attract. Choosing opposing makeup colors for your eye color makes eyes “pop.”
For lips, the best universally flattering lip tone is rose, because it is the closest to natural lip color.
Champagne is the best highlighter for under the brow.
The best blush color is usually rosy pink because this is the most natural for most people, and it is best to apply blush on apples of the cheeks.
FINDING BEAUTY ALL HER OWN
Carmindy was raised in Southern California. Her own beauty journey was not as glamorous as one might think. She was confident and had very supportive parents, but when she was about 10 or 11, other kids pointed out her failings. She was chubby, had braces, a bad perm and freckles.
When Carmindy was in junior high, she experimented with makeup and ended up putting it on thick to overcompensate for her “flaws." She says that she didn’t do a very good job. In hindsight, Carmindy realized that though it seems that she was only disguising her flaws, she was doing something entirely – erasing her true self and extinguishing the “bright, shiny light” she used to feel as a little girl.
She started doing makeup professionally 15 years ago — it's the only job she has ever wanted and the only one she has ever had! She started learning about techniques and seeing features differently. She started seeing beauty in many others. She also started seeing her own beauty. Gradually, she started shutting out all of the negative voices and started listening to her inner voice instead. Carmindy retrained her mind on what she though about her looks. If she caught herself saying something that was self-critical, instead she would say something positive and inspiring.
During this time, she overcompensated the other way and stopped wearing makeup to help her re-create her self-image. She learned new makeup techniques and practiced them on herself. If her techniques looked like a mask, she would not use these techniques on anyone else. Carmindy learned to polish her own natural beauty and did the same with her clients. She noticed that if she played up their best features – using the right products in the right places - her clients looked better than when she gave them the full makeup application.
Later, she moved to Milan, Italy, to further her career, and then to South Beach Miami and finally to New York, where she lives with her husband, Javier.
Carmindy loves traveling to exotic places to practice her art on what she calls "new and inspiring people." Some of these people have included Cindy Crawford, Isabella Rossellini, Heidi Klum, Bjork, Molly Shannon, Ricki Lake and Christie Brinkley, to name a few. Her work can be seen in the editorial pages of magazines such as, Elle, Vogue, GQ, Essence, Details, Marie Claire and InStyle.
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