Makeup artist for the stars Lori Taylor Davis has seen countless makeup trends come and go. Photo / Getty Images
Makeup artist for the stars Lori Taylor Davis has seen countless makeup trends come and go. Photo / Getty Images
She’s made up some of Hollywood’s most famous faces, from Whitney Houston to Sandra Bullock and even Bruno Mars.
With 30 years of experience as a celebrity makeup artist, Lori Taylor Davis has seen beauty trends come and go. And in 2023, it feels like makeup fads are succeeding each other on Instagram and TikTok more quickly than ever, from Hailey Bieber’s “latte makeup” to “blueberry milk nails” a la Sofia Richie.
But the Los Angeles-based Davis says there’s nothing really new under the sun.
“A lot of the trends we see nowadays are really just kind of off-takes on the things that we’ve been doing in the makeup space forever,” she tells the Herald amid a flying visit to Auckland.
Lori Taylor Davis has worked with some of Hollywood's most famous faces.
“Latte makeup, strawberry makeup - that’s really just those neutrally brown tones, and really just that flush of pink all over. They’re less trends and more iconic makeup applications with a new kind of twist on them. All of it’s really just the same, and that’s not a bad thing.”
But it can be exhausting to keep up with the trends, which is why Davis notes that it’s important to find your own signature makeup look that works for you.
“It doesn’t have to be something you see on TikTok. There’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t feel like you have to follow the trends.”
In 2023, makeup products that incorporate ingredients you’d usually find in your skincare are having a moment - and it’s one trend Davis is a fan of.
She’s worked with Smashbox as their global professional lead artist for 20 years, and now the brand has released its new Always On Skin Balancing Foundation, which includes ingredients like hyaluronic acid and adaptogens to adjust to your skin type.
Davis stresses products like this shouldn’t take the place of your skincare routine. “It’s not in place of your skincare regimen, by no means. But isn’t it nice that you have the added benefit of that bridge where makeup and skincare meet?”
“Maybe we’re going into a softer makeup season where it’s a lot less about putting 10 or more products on the face now that we’ve treated our skin so wonderfully over the last few years.”
When it comes to makeup, Davis has seen it all. Here she shares some of the most common beauty mistakes she sees people making - and what to do instead.
Skipping skincare
Davis often finds when she sets out to do a client’s makeup, it’s obvious they’ve been neglecting their skin.
“One thing I see sometimes as a makeup artist is this - people aren’t really taking the time to really care for their skin and really take the time to layer on products that [their] skin is craving,” she says.
That doesn’t have to mean slathering on countless serums, oils and moisturisers, but it’s important to have a skincare regimen, even if you don’t do it every day.
“Add things like serums that are lightweight, really paying attention to areas of our face that are having a moment - things that our skin is really calling for,” Davis says.
It's important not to skip skincare when it comes to your beauty routine. Photo / Getty Images
Reaching for the wrong products
It’s tempting to think you need to layer on full-coverage products every day, but that’s not always the case. Davis often sees people “using a foundation that’s too full-coverage when you don’t really need it”.
We also sometimes make the mistake of expecting too much from products that are only designed to do so much, she adds, such as concealer.
When it comes to face makeup, a good base will help you get more out of your products.
“Primer is really important step. If you incorporate something like a primer into your makeup routine, you will be amazed at how it changes everything,” Davis adds.
Fifty shades of foundation
If you too have been personally victimised by the name of your foundation shade (it’s usually something along the lines of Ghostly Victorian Child for me), then you might occasionally be tempted to choose a different shade than the one that’s true to your skin. But you can’t fool the professionals.
“A lot of us tend to want to choose a tone that is the colour we aspire to be,” Davis says. “We aspire to be sometimes a little warmer. And I’m like, ‘That’s not really your colour. That is not your shade’.
“You’re not just looking at the colour of your face, you’re looking at the colour of your neck, your chest and your shoulders. That’s the area you’re considering when you’re picking a foundation shade.”
So even if it’s trendy to look bronzed and glowy, as if you’re fresh from the beaches of Fiji, don’t be tempted to fake it.
It's tempting to go for a different shade of makeup than your natural colour. Photo / Getty Images
Overdoing it
When it comes to makeup, less really is more, according to Davis.
“Sometimes when I’m doing my clients and I show them how minimally I will apply makeup and how gorgeous it looks and how long-wearing it can look, they’re really surprised,” she says.
“I always equate a really great makeup application to a hair blow-out. You know when you get your hair blown out, you’re like, ‘Yeah, yeah, let my hair stylist do that’.”
“And literally, it’s just two or three things that are different from what you do. Beautiful makeup that is just kind of ‘you’, that lasts a long time, that enhances, is that same kind of thing. It’s just knowing the steps and knowing how much not to use.”
Rushing it
“We’re all in a very big hurry nowadays, and I get that,” Davis says.
“It’s like, I have five minutes to get dressed, two minutes can only be done on makeup. It’s easier to cover everything up than it is to take the time to really enhance.”
But spending a little extra time in front of the mirror is a chance to fit some ‘me’ time into your day.
“I have one client that to her, it’s that moment that she spends in the quiet time of her day. And then when she comes out of it, she’s like, ‘I feel like I have a superhero costume on’,” Davis shares.
“And I was like, ‘You do’. Because once you feel like you can present yourself in a way that’s bulletproof, that will last all day, [and] you know that when you go home at night, you’re like, ‘I still look great’, and you don’t even have to look in the mirror all day - there’s no better feeling.”
