'Just be daring': Local makeup artist offers advice for summer looks

Amber Stemmerman knows makeup. From being a makeup stylist at the Latin Grammys in Las Vegas to helping women throughout the area and in California perfect their look, Stemmerman works to keep her clients looking fresh and up-to-date when it comes to makeup.

A native of Jackson, she travels between the West Coast and Southeast Missouri to attend to her array of clients' needs. Now on the docket: summer makeup.

"You have to start with a good base," Stemmerman said. "If you don't have a good base, you won't have a good face."

She recommends having oil-free products, especially an oil-free moisturizer. With summer temperatures already lending to sweat and excess levels of oil, oil-free products will not add to that shine.

She likes Sanitas skin care and Cetaphil's oil-free moisturizer, which is available at Wal-Mart.

Stock photo

"You also want to have a really nice primer to complement that," she said. "A lot of people think maybe a primer is a waste of money or it's not a good investment, but that's false."

She said pores tend to open up more in summer heat, and a primer will work to fill in those spaces and help create a smooth complexion.

"The primer's going to keep that makeup in place and it's going to prevent your foundation from losing its pigment," she said. "You don't want that to separate because once your foundation separates, it starts looking blotchy and uneven, so primer will help create a shield for that."

She recommends the Stila Aqua Glow Perfecting Primer, available at Sephora.

Stemmerman also likes tinted moisturizer for a more low-maintenance look.

Stock photoA woman applies mascara.

"A tinted moisturizer is nice if you're just out and about in the summer, or you're at the pool or whatever and you feel like you need a little something and you can't just do moisturizer, tinted is nice because your skin needs moisture, obviously when it's in the sun especially, and it'll just help tone your skin and add a little radiance," she said.

She recommends Lancome's tinted moisturizer.

When in need of a foundation, Stemmerman said to stick to products with a silicone base.

"Along with the primer, the silicone is going to act like a barrier between your skin and the humidity. It's going to help prevent the foundation from essentially melting off your face, which nobody's trying to have your face melt off," she said with a laugh.

Giorgio Armani's Luminous Silk foundation is available at Sephora and Covergirl's Trublend Liquid Makeup also works.

Stemmerman said sponges like beauty blenders are a good option to help spread makeup evenly and naturally over the face.

"Get the sponge damp, and then you wring the excess water out ... and it's going to help shear the product out and really apply it in a way that it's not really cakey," she said. "It's a nice, pretty, light layer, so when you do apply it, definitely a damp sponge for sure."

Between steps of the application process, Stemmerman recommends giving the makeup time to set.

"If you're just globbing on all these different liquidy products, your skin's going to not be able to absorb it, so give your skin a little breather in between each step and let it really soak everything in," she said.

Stemmerman said she tries to avoid facial powders because they don't mix well in the heat.

She said cream eyeshadows will cake less and glisten more.

Tarte's Amazonian Clay Cream Eyeshadow and Laura Mercier's Creme Eyeshadow are two of Stemmerman's top picks.

The latter has silicone in it, so it is more likely to lock the product in place.

"We like silicone in the sun, so that's good," she said.

She likes to use more multipurpose shades like corals and pinks that can double as blush in summertime. In almost all cases, Stemmerman suggests cream products over powder because they fair better in the sun over time.

More recent trends like contouring and highlighting present some obstacles during the hotter summer months.

"Highlighting and contouring has been such a huge trend, but in the summer you obviously are super shiny anyways, so you do not want to be highlighted like normal," she said.

Stemmerman recommends keeping highlighter on the cheek bones and to steer clear of highlighting the nose. She also said using a cream product instead of a powder highlighter will work better.

"Making tasteful decisions about your highlighter is so key, I think. I think that's pretty important: Tastefully highlight -- you do not want to look like a disco ball," she said, laughing.

NARS Copacabana Illuminator is a cream highlighter she said is a suitable option.

When it comes to mascara, Stemmerman recommends waterproof products, like Maybelline's New York Define-A-Lash Lengthening Waterproof Mascara.

"If you're blonde, a lot of times I'll recommend just getting your eyelashes tinted," she said. "You can go to a salon or an aesthetician and they can tint them for you so then you don't have to mess with that altogether."

She also mentions lip stains.

"I think they're going to be super big this summer because glosses are sticky, obviously, so when you're in the sun, it's going to be way worse," she said.

Aveda has a tinted lip balm Stemmerman said is available at Belladona Salon & Spa in Cape Girardeau.

"When you're buying a tinted lip balm, you want to make sure it has a really high wax content so it doesn't melt in your bag, or when you put it on your lips it's not super sticky and melts," she said.

Although Stemmerman doesn't suggest using powder makeup, she does recommend using a colorless, translucent powder to help set the makeup and keep it in place.

"So if it does separate, you're not going to have a weird, splotchy mess ... just use it sparingly in your T-zone area," she said.

In more trendy areas, Stemmerman mentions ombre lips with bright pinks and oranges or a neutral red lip.

"Just pretty, fluffy brows, very minimal face makeup and then a pretty, classic red lip," she said. "And a red lip stain if you're outside would be great."

She said she expects the cat-eye liner to fade a bit and has noted a smoky look along the inside of the waterline on the rise, along with glossy eyelids, which have been popular on fashion runways.

"When you look in your makeup drawer, don't see your product as a one-use type of product. ... See your products as multifunctional," Stemmerman said. "Just because it says it's a blush doesn't mean it's a blush. You can use it as an eyeshadow; no one's stopping you. Just be daring."

lyoung@semissourian.com

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