by Archana Subramaniam by CNB
Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: THURSDAY, March 4, 1993 TAG: 9303030202 SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ARTIST BRINGS MAKEUP MAGIC TO TOWN
Leonard Engelman has been a favored makeup artist in Hollywood for nearly 30 years. He was one of the first people Cher thanked when she accepted her Academy Award for "Moonstruck." And more famous faces than you can shake a blush brush at credit their good looks - or in the case of special effects, their bad looks - to his creativity.On Monday, Engelman will be in Roanoke promoting his TaUT skin care and color products line and working his magic on local mugs.
"My philosophy is that a woman doesn't need a lot of cosmetics so long as she has the right ones," Engelman said by phone from his Woodland Hills, Calif., office. "I believe in keeping makeup simply beautiful."
He sees the skin as a new canvas. Before applying color, it should be prepared. This consists of daily cleansing with a Ph-balanced product formulated to skin type; moisturizing, even if the skin is oily; and toning. He also recommends using a toning, tightening facial masque three times a week.
It's not as complicated as it sounds, Engelman assures.
"People do a lot of it already as part of their basic hygiene. It really doesn't take a lot of extra time," he said.
After applying the correct shade of foundation, Engelman said all most women really need are a little blush under the cheekbones; an eye-sculpting shadows trio in colors found in and around the eye area; a brow-control product to lift and manicure the brows; mascara; lipstick and translucent powder.
"For a woman who doesn't want to spend a lot of time or who doesn't know how to make herself up, those things could give a really nice look," he said.
He's big on contouring to reduce fullness under the jaw and create a stronger jawline.
He also favors concealer sticks, especially to lift the eye by erasing the dark line where upper and lower lids meet or to brighten the eyes by erasing the dark spot between eyes and nose.
He suggests using a shade as close as possible to natural skin tone - something that seems more commonly said than done.
"People put foundation on their hand or on the inside of their arm. But that's one of the lightest parts of the body," Engelman said. "Store lights are often fluorescent and overhead, which gives you skull lighting and turns you sort of greenish. So you might want to walk over to a window or even go outside to check the color. But put it where it will be used. Try it on your face."
He gives the same advice for eye shadow, blush and lipstick.
One of his color lines, "Moonstruck," was inspired by Cher's makeup in the film of the same name. But the purple-toned palette seems to fly in the face of pale-face fashion forecasts for spring.
Engelman's not worried about it. He thinks there will be a trend toward paler, more pastel and natural shades of makeup, but he doesn't think the darker shades will totally disappear.
"I don't think the '70s will totally take over the '90s," he said. "I think looks happen according to other situations in society."
He believes the thinner, more manicured brows now coming into vogue are really a result of the droop occurring in the natural brow lines of aging baby boomers.
"They need that lift, that contouring to give a younger look," he said.
Paler faces, he said, are coming in because people generally are staying out of the sun and being more conscientious about applying sun blocks. He said that men as well as women are paying more attention to their skin and noted that increasing numbers of men are using skin-care products.
As for which colors to wear, Engelman said, "I believe that your makeup colors depend on your outfit, your natural coloring and how you feel that day. If you're wearing purples, your lipstick and blush might tend toward mauve. If you're wearing browns, you might go toward oranges or more natural browner tones. Or with intense colors, you might wear a bright red."
The most important thing about makeup, he believes, is to be comfortable in it.
"If I take someone who wears a great deal of makeup and do just a little bit, she'll feel nude. But if she normally doesn't wear much or any and I give her a full makeup, she'll feel like a painted lady," he said.
Engelman's products will be sold through health-foods store, which makes the cosmetics sort of "kosher," he says, because the natural foods industry imposes numerous regulations on their ingredients.
On Monday, Engelman will demonstrate a full makeup application on one person. But he'll also walk around the audience doing makeup quick fixes, showing simple repairs for common problems and answering questions.
"People can learn a lot about what to do themselves, rather than just watching," he said.
"It's real easy to keep doing the same makeup that you did in high school or college," Engelman said. "But we change in our concepts and everything else, and makeup should reflect that."