Customer Reviews

Vogue Make-Up

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is definitely a good book to have in every passionate makeup user's collection. It was my first makeup book (purchased for me for my birthday), and definitely a book for anyone interested in just bettering their own skills, or becoming professionals, but not necessarily for the beginner. This book does cover a lot of things..

From Manicures, to what to look out for in foundations, to makers of good products. It has tips from professionals, steps to getting a certain look (Day, night, natural etc.) It shows you how to pluck your eyebrows, depending on your face shape; how to take care of your skin, and products to do it with; all the tools to get you started; and more...

Though, I don't give it 5 stars for the following reasons (which are in my opinion based on my preferences, but may not matter to some readers):

- I am pure European (Danish/German) so I have very fair skin, blue eyes, and naturally champagne blonde hair. I was looking for something that would give color pallets, tips, (anything) for people with specific ethnicities (though it did have a /small/ page on Asian/African American, that was it) it did not cover my department. Like I said, this matters to few people, but if you are European, like myself, (unless you know what colors are perfect for you) this may not be a good beginner book. (This is also IF you just are looking to do better makeup on yourself)

- Not enough Diagrams. This also, is just me, but I am right-brained: I have to see something to understand it, and there aren't many diagrams in this book. But that doesn't mean there isn't /any/. There is one for eyebrows, some (very few) eye shadow techniques, defining face shape... and I can't think of any others. But it does give good descriptions, so if you don't mind reading how to do something, this is fine.

- Products mentioned/recommended (such as tools, makeup, etc.) tend to be very expensive (Because it IS a Vogue book!). I am in the upper-middle-class myself, so I don't have $100 dollars to spend on a set of 4 makeup brushes (as seen on MAC's/NARS websites: recommended in the book)... hell, if I had that money, someone would be doing my makeup for me! So most of the products mentioned are for people with money, but you can find other makers, they just aren't mentioned (such as: Mabelline, Cover Girl, Loriel etc.) BUT: What I found, I just went to Target, and bought the target brand makeup brushes, and they work just the same, and are very cheap. They are soft (important), and give you the same effects for basically 1/10th of the price (and they last)... (This is, again, unless you want to be professional and show off your expensive products); otherwise, your just paying for the name.

So, its more of a guideline book. Look for the tools, types of products recommended, and you can go out and find the cheaper equivalent (I did..) But, overall, its a very good book.

Like I said, these are just my opinions, but I listed them so people like me could relate.
Here's just a quick summary of whats in the book, in case you wondered:

-Makeup styles through the years.
-Foundation: Application and what to look out for.
-Skin care: Products to, and NOT to, use; and how to keep it healthy (not just face, but neck and hands).
-Eyes: How to, styles, techniques.
-Tricks of the Trade
-Tools of the professionals.
-Blush/Defining/shadowing etc.
-Trouble Skin: why, treatment (how to), and covering it up.
-Eyebrows
-Lips

-Old traditions, and if they work (i.e. ever wonder what the cucumber on the eye was actually for??)
-Manicure/Pedicure...

A lot more...

Hope this helps.

This book seems unique. It tells how to put on make-up in a fun, glamorous way. I consider this to be an intermediate level book on makeup. It's good, but I wish there had been some more pictures on the makeup application sections. There were a lot of tips on health and beauty that I haven't seen in other books. For a beginner who wants to learn the basics of applying makeup, I would recommend Bobby Brown or Sonia Kashuk (their books are better illustrated and explained). But if you want to learn how to look good when going out to a nightclub, or want that "Vogue" type of look, I would recommend this book.

Being what I consider somewhat of a pro when it comes to makeup, I rarely find books that teach me something I don't already know.. Not the case with this one! It's got absolutely everything in it, that beginners as well as the experienced can benefit from. From how to give yourself different types of mani/pedicures to how to achieve "glossy" eyes. It even goes through the history of makeup which in itself is fascinating. It covers all complexions (which is a must in my criteria. The pictures themselves are graphically stunning and very helpful. It doen't have too much name dropping when it comes to products which tends to become annoying. Overall it was a good investment and I recommend it to everyone.

Overall this book offers a lot of useful information. What I like about it is that Cohen has provided advice from many different sources. There is a variety of product suggestions; it doesn't seem like someone trying to sell you on their products alone.

I did however find a few contradictions in the book. For example, on one page it will suggest a woman at a certain age refrain from using glitter eyeshadows, and then two pages later, it says to use shimmer for mature lids. Might be kind of confusing for someone who is not familiar with eyeshadow textures.

Another thing I think was kind of bad was when she described someone with a oblong face shape as having a "horse face". When you are writing a book to help people improve their look, and use a negative term to describe a body part, it kind of defeats the purpose. Anyone who works with the public within the beauty industry knows that-or I hope they do!

As with any beauty book, take it with a grain of salt and use what works for you.

this book is great! i've bought many many makeup books (including kevin aucoin, vincent longo, bobbi brown just to name a few) but this book is THE only book to tell me what i wanted to know. it is not a basic makeup book, thank goodness. i'm an aspiring makeup artist and i know the basics, i wanted to learn more about fashion makeup and glitter and jewels and different types of base makeup (dewy, matte)...yeah, all that stuff, and this book has it all! i am finally content with a makeup book. a lot of other books give you some photos but dont tell you exactly how to achieve that glam look, or how to get that glossy eye shadow but this book does. i love it! i can't stress enough how great this book is. it covers everything! even body makeup!! i didnt even get to that part yet but i'll write another review on that. lol. after reading what i did, i was not left feeling...unfullfilled i guess you can say like i was with all the other books. i think i can stop looking, this book has it all, even hair styles. this book is a must have. thank you so much to Juliet Cohen for writing this.

This book is great for a beginner. While reading I found a lot of tips I already knew, and it made me feel good that I was doing my make up right as this was my first makeup book). Maybe 5-10% was a new stuff for me, plus they mention some products I would like to try (with very good reviews online). There`s a lack of images that would show a different techniques and before and after photos. Reading a page how to get a desired look was quite boring. But I guess might be helpful if I would like to achieve a desired make up thanks to those step by step instructions. The only annoying thing was repeating of some tips for 2-3 times, plus a few contradictions mentioned in the other review. I would be happy with this book, but then I got "Making faces" and it`s way more fun to read.

VOGUE MAKE-UP aims to be a one stop shop for all thinks beauty related. Everything from basic skincare, to pedicures are covered, along with helpful quotes from respected make-up artists and tutorials to help inspire you.



Juliet is a former magazine editor and contributes to the beauty section for various publications, including Vogue. And in all honestly this book reads like she has just stapled a bunch of her articles together, added a bunch of photos in with them and called it a day. As you can see below, she does cover a lot of subjects, but she just skims over everything and it's all basic information that most people will already know. There are quotes from various celebrated make-up artists throughout the book, but these have just been taken from their own books and interviews - Juliet hasn't actually been actively researching or anything like that.

But by far the worst aspect to this book is the make-up tutorials. Most of the time she crams two looks on the the same page and adds one photo on the opposite page, I suspect she's picked a picture at random - none of the tutorials ever seem to match the photo. The tutorials are nothing but vague step by steps and all steps are unillustrated, which is very unhelpful. And maybe I'm not taking in the information, but there only seems to be three different looks that are repeated over and over.

Good points? The photos are stunning and a large portion of them are unairbrushed [ though I think ALL of the photos in this type of book should remain unaltered] . And the layout of the book makes it easy to put it down partway through and get back into it easily at a later date.



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What's inside?
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Twenty first century beauty
From the ancient Egyptians using 'genital extracts' as wrinkle cream to how the holistic lifestyle will shape near-future beauty trends...
There are some tidbits there are new to me; People were having face lifts in England and France in the 1920's, before plastic surgery became popular in America for example.

I found this segment very interesting and would have liked it to be longer as it's the only part of the book that really interested me.


SKIN

Skin types; Basic information on dry skin, oily skin, combination skin and sensitive skin. There are are a few sentences under each skin type telling what kind of make-up is best for each type - Fairly basic information that most people will already know.
Fun fact: With my dry skin I'm informed that "I'm a walking advertisement for old mother time", which caused me to instantly grab a mirror and inspect my face in growing horror.
Skincare; General cleaning, toning and moisturizing advice.
Miracles in a jar; Which at ingredients to look out for and what do those buzz-words mean?
Sun skin; Caring for your skin in the sun and fake tanning..
Ski skin; Says it all really.
Jet lag skin; Tips to avoid scaring airport staff :p
Problem skin; Tips on improving skin's appearance.
We're still in the skin section for the following...
Diet; Inner health = outer beauty
Face shapes; Basic information and sketches on the 5 different face shapes. Juliet tells us that the long face shape is also known as 'horse'. That cheered Mum up.
Tricks of the trade: How to..
* Slim a wide nose
* Create a full mouth
* Minimize the forehead
* Open hooded eyes
* Hide a receding chin
Skin tone; Waste of space is all I can say - I bought this for make-up inspiration, nothing else. It's a 1 page essay on how we're all beautiful. No useful information on foundation choices etc.


TOOLS OF THE TRADE

The full monty; The staples in a make-up artists kit.
Secret weapon; How to find a professional make-up artist [I assume for weddings etc rather than for popping to Tesco looking your best].
Editing your make-up shelf; De-junking your stash.


FOUNDATION

Choosing a foundation; Never choose a foundation dark enough to look like a suntan... Gee, thank for that.
Foundation textures; Explains what matt, gel, light-reflecting etc formulas are.
Application; What is the best tool to use.
Concealer & Powder; Guess she didn't know where else she could have put these limited entries.
Bases
* Holiday base
* Everyday base
* Evening base
* Dewy base


EYES

We begin with another pointless essay and 'do you know', along with some helpful tips on looking fresh eyed when you're far from fresh. My favourite? "When all else fails, pretend you work in fashion or film, and wear your sunglasses inside"...
Eyebrows; All about how brows define our face shape and the how to and different options for shaping yours.
Eye Lashes; More waffle about nothing, a small non-entry on false lashes and a few basic mascara care tips [don't pump the wand up and down].
Shadow; Don't be afraid of colour is the gist of the opening to this segment. The different textures shadow is available in [cream, powder etc] is explained.
Make-up looks
* Natural eyes
* Neutral eyes
* Smoky eyes
* Glossy eyes
* Shimmery eyes
Optical illusions; How to...
* Lift droopy eyes
* Look bright eyed
* Instant eye job
* Come to bed eyes
* Change your face shape


LIPS

Technology; About non-transfer lipsticks, products containing water molecules, dry liposomes, antioxidants, SPFs and the advantages to each.
Natural born fillers: Discuss the different options of lip plumper's available.
Lipstick; Explains the different kinds of lip colour out there [Glosses, stains, matt lipstick etc].
Application techniques; General hints and tips, plus a few no-nos; Avoid matching lip colour to your outfit, for example.
Lipliners; All about liner [d'oh], lip shapes and cheating a fuller/thinner mouth [or as I call it, the 'Porn Star' look].
Make-up looks:
* The rosebud mouth
* Classic red
* Matt lips
* Stained lips
* The Paris pout


CHEEKS

Textures; Exploring powders, creams, stains etc
Colour matching; The best colours for your skintone
Application tips
Bronzers, shimmers, multipurpose and dewy tints; A brief outline on each different product.
Make-up looks
* The Audrey
* The Marilyn
* Naturally beautiful
* Shimmer
* Too hot to handle
* The bright spark
* Smoky and smoldering
* Dewy-faced


BODY AND HAIR

Body skincare - Basic info
Body make-up; Piercings, tattoos, henna and body jewels.
Hair make-up; hair dyes and glitter spray, accessories and extensions


MANICURES AND PEDICURES

Basic handcare tips
Tools of the trade
Polish textures; Traditional lacquer, fast drying, polish pens and peel off polishes [Do they even make those anymore? I remember I had a silver L'Oreal one, but that was over 10 years ago].
How to...
* The perfect manicure
* The perfect polish
* The natural manicure
Most girls fake it; A outline of the different fake nails available
Glorious feet; Hints and tips on basic footcare.
How to...
* Classic red
* Beach feet
* Mehndi feet

absolutely loving the book...there are so many tips and advices...the author including many points of view and tips from other professional make-up artists as well....definitely recommended for readers who wants to experiment and for beginners in doing makeup.

First of all, I never received this item. And when I tried to contact the seller (2x) they never got back to me.

Yes, this is the book that i've not regreted spending money. Good photos, approchable language, nice tips and realy complete guide if you like to start has a make-up professional. Well done!!!