Six Questions with . . .Sonia Corley, makeup artist


S Sonia Diane Corley has the best makeup on Facebook. I'm in awe of women who can look natural and made up at the same time. It's an art. Corley, one heck of a makeup artist, is someone you should know to get that fresh look for your night on the town or that special day. 
          1. Your make up always looks amazing. How did you get into being a makeup artist?

I never really considered myself a makeup artist. I really just only did myself and a few friends if they asked me to. I guess I have always loved makeup and I can remember playing with my mother's green eye shadow and red lipstick when I was a little girl. My first lipstick was the green mood changing lipstick from Sally's and I remember taking my allowance money to purchase drug store liquid foundation when I was a senior in high school. I dove head first into makeup after i cut all of my hair off and went natural in 1996; because I didn’t want to look like a "little boy." My first professional experience was when I met these two beautiful sisters by the name of Shawny Thompson and Catina Thompson-Catherine. They are the founding members of Classy Curves. They had the faith in me to do their makeup application in one of their photo shoots when I was just a rookie in the business. With them having the faith in me to do their makeup in their photo shoot gave me the confidence to apply at MAC to become a makeup artist. Well, when I went there with application in hand the assistant manager kind of looked at me like i was crazy. I had no portfolio nor a resume and after I got shot down I was extremely discouraged. About three weeks after that I was at a MAC event at one of the counters and was bored out of my mind. The girls who work at the counter was extremely busy and I decided to help out by talking to some of the customers (running my mouth is what I do best LOL!) I got noticed by one of MAC’s Senior Regional Managers and the following week i got a call from the counter manager to apply for the job. Well, I almost didn’t take it if it wasn’t for my Sean Payton and my Greg Williams..LOL..my sister Benita Corley and Tiffany Wilson. They yelled at me in the worse way after I almost shot the job down. To this day, I owe them much gratitude because without them I wouldn’t be doing something I love today.

2.      2. What are the products that you think every woman should keep on hand?

 Basic products are moisturizer for your skin type, mascara, eye liner, tinted moisturizer and pressed or loose powder.    
  
3. How do you know when enough product is enough?
 .

Usually when I’m doing a makeup application, I usually investigate the look she is trying to achieve. If she explains to me that she doesn’t want to look like a clown and doesn’t want too much color I usually keep it simple and stick to neutrals on the eyes cheeks and lips. I apply a light foundation and a very natural look pressed powder. I’m not over the top with my makeup applications because i know i like to look as close to natural as possible. Usually when I’m doing it on myself it is usually to my satisfaction. I think one of the worse mistakes I can make on myself is applying too much blush.

4. What are your favorite products?

WOW! Are you ready for my top 1000 LOL! Believe it or not it is not eye shadow. My favorite products are blush. Blush makes you appear happy to other people and it makes your face come alive. MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish Natural pressed powder; this product is ultra-natural looking and makes your skin appear to look like you don’t have on any makeup at all. It is soft it gives a radiance and it warms your skin up and gives it a soft glow. MAC’s cherry and chestnut lip pencils because I’m addicted to red lipstick. MAC’s fix + (fix plus) because it is holy water in a bottle. Fix plus sets powder makeup, calms down any itchiness that the skin may have, it calms down my oily skin, and it wakes the skin up. Each one of these products, I keep in my makeup bag in my purse. They are a must.

  5. Your eye makeup is flawless, what is your technique?

With anything practice makes perfect. You can’t make a perfect meal without practicing. I had the basics down because back in the 90's all I had was the instructions on the back of drug store eye shadow. I guess it was trial and error at first. When we got our MAC counter here, I would stalk the counter and ask the girls questions about how to apply eye shadow, reference books and magazines. But when I started viewing You Tube videos is when I got better with my technique. Also I use MAC's paints or paint pots as a base/primer. It acts as gesso or primer before you put paint like for example on a wall. If you don’t prime the wall then the paint will slip and fall the same goes for eye shadow. Without a paint pot my eye shadow wouldn’t look so pretty and last long.

 6. What cleansers do you use and what is your routine for keeping your skin smooth?

I have very acne prone and oily skin. My skin underneath the makeup isn’t so smooth. I only use Clean and Clear's antibacterial face wash morning and night and I use prescribed acne medication to keep my skin acne free.  I [also] use Aquaphor healing ointment to coat my face at night. It makes my face very smooth in the morning. If I use anything other kind of wash then it can be over drying or over hydrating and cause me to have breakouts.  Before I start with my foundation application, I use a MAC primer called Face Protect SPF 50 before I apply my tinted moisturizer and pressed powder.

Side Note: everyone skin is different and may require a different routine* so please see a skin care specialist to analyze your skin to see what products are best for your skin type.

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