We love catching up with makeup maven Margina Dennis! Dennis is a celebrated makeup guru; touching all realms of the industry, from consulting giant beauty brands like Mehron and Temptu, to beautifying top celebrities such as Tom Brady, Jane Lynch and Tracy Morgan. Her work has been featured in publications such as Teen Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, and L’Officiel Homme. Join us as Margina gives us the inside scoop on how she stays motivated, her take on the makeup industry today, and what she loves (and hates) about being a makeup pro!
With over 15 years of experience in the industry, how do you keep yourself inspired and motivated?
Motivation and inspiration come in many different forms. I like not only looking at art, but also at nature, architecture, and life and seeing the body in things. I also like to find different ways to use my makeup products to create different results. This is an old image, but I actually mixed coffee grounds and baby oil to create the essence of dirt on the model's face.
What makeup trend (past or present) do you wish would make a comeback? What makeup trend do you hope will disappear?
I feel like we are already starting to see a shift with makeup. For a few years now, we've been into a heavy almost drag look with consumer makeup. Lately, there have been celebrities talking about embracing a more natural look. Fashion has already been doing it. I think we will settle into a middle ground with it, which would be nice.
Makeup Tip: What is your “secret sauce” for dewy skin?
Ah, if I told you my secrets for "secret sauce" I'd have to kill you (JUST KIDDING) !!! :-) But I do have an arsenal of products that I like to have on hand in order to be able to create dewy skin.
What is your makeup style? What do you have the most fun creating, beauty, editorials, advertising or motion?
A lot of the work I get hired to do is very clean, which is some of the hardest work to do, and make look effortless. But like many others, I do enjoy the opportunities, I get to be creative.
Who is your favorite beauty Icon, past and present?
I've been obsessed with Marilyn Monroe since I was a young girl. She was really complex, and I believe that she was so much different than her public persona she created.
What are your top 3 loves and hates about this profession?
- I love that you need to continue to grow because of the ever changing technology with motion and print. It is very important to keep up on it so that you understand how your work will look.
- I don't like how some people discount what we do because they think it is easy. A good makeup artist just makes it look like it is easy but it really isn't!
- That every day is different. Yesterday I was on location shooting a campaign for a major design house; tomorrow, I'm working on getting an executive ready for an important meeting.
What have you been up to this last year? Got anything exciting planned for Margina Dennis Makeup and grooming?
I've been up to quite a bit, and one of the things I've been doing is providing quality education to upcoming artists and those who are looking to challenge themselves and evolve to the next level. That's how www.beautybeautebeauti.com came about. Not only am I doing live, hands-on workshops, but I'm also looking to provide business and technical based webinars for those who don't have access or don't know where to go for that information; learning what goes into rates, running a makeup business, and negotiating are some of the many things I plan on doing. I have a hands-on workshop August 28th in NYC and in Chicago October 16th & 17th, and hope CRC will let me come and have some fun in Dallas soon!
Photo: J Petska
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