Mario Dedivanovic's Blog: How I got started in makeup

Sorry it’s taken me a while to write this post. I started in makeup when I was 17 years old. Right after high school I got a job working at Sephora in NYC as a fragrance consultant. I had never thought a day in my life of becoming a makeup artist. At work, women would always come up to me and ask for help with colors, etc and I never said no, LOL. I just jumped right in and gave them my opinion. It wasn’t long before I was getting booked to do people’s makeup for events and weddings. It sort came naturally for me. I remember doing my first “make over” at Sephora. I wasn’t even nervous at all. I loved every minute of it and I loved how it made the woman feel so beautiful. I was hooked. Working at Sephora was really good for me because I learned about so many different products and got to work with alot of different skin tones, etc.

After a few months, I began to freelance with different lines like Lorac, Giorgio Armani and GIELLA. Working at Giella was priceless because it’s a completely custom blend line of makeup and i REALLY learned color and texture there. I would have to custom blend everything from scratch and create all of my own colors, etc. Simultaneously, I was testing with photographers and building my portfolio. I tested as much as I could and learned alot from these tests. Each time, I got better and better by looking at my mistakes from the previous shoots. I then began to assist other makeup artists on shoots as much as I could. I really recommend assisting, as you learn alot of tricks of the trade and it prepares you for bigger jobs as they come along. My last couple of years assisting was amazing. I was able to work on sets with the top photographers in the world working on major fashion and cosmetic campaigns and for major fashion magazines. I never forgot about my own career though - I always continued to work and build my book even when assisting. I even assisted while I was represented by my 2nd agent so it’s never too late to assist!

Just don’t forget that it’s very hard work and you have to be smart and dedicated. I spend endless hours in the library and online researching makeup and fashion, learning the different looks of the periods and the work of other legends and icons in the industry. I worked for free as well for years but trust me, it pays off in the end. Good luck to you all ;)