REGINA PIPIA
Beauty Therapist of Makeup
Birmingham
reginapipia@icloud.com
“Makeup should be simple — it should only enhance your beauty and give you a great polished look.”
Like many girls, Regina Pipia started to become interested in makeup after graduating high school. Unlike others, she was serious about it.
Her first real job was working in the cosmetics department at Henri Bendel in New York City. “I fell in love with brands from all over the world, that I couldn’t even pronounce,” she says. “Now I correct other people when they pronounce names wrong!”
Pipia is a self-taught makeup artist — “I call myself a Beauty Therapist of Makeup,” she says — honing and heightening her skills at a makeup academy for special effect in California. While attending school, she worked at Barneys in Beverly Hills — that’s when her passion for makeup and beauty products really became focused.
Returning home to Michigan, Pipia was a much-sought-after makeup artist for more than 20 years at the now-shuttered Ruby’s Balm, a beauty boutique in West Bloomfield.
“I had a range of clients,” she says, “from 13-year-olds to sophisticated women who wanted to feel good about themselves, even if they were just buying a lipstick.
“I love working with women, not against women,” Pipia says. Case in point: Her philosophy is that every woman should do her makeup and invest in herself to whatever degree makes her comfortable. “I like to compare it to clothing — if you are comfortable with a t-shirt and jeans during the day, you can simplify your makeup routine while making a huge difference by using a simple tinted moisturizer and blush,” she says. “But I will never say no to helping someone with glam makeup! I really do love all kinds of makeup, and don’t discriminate. I can spend hours at Target, Sephora, Ulta — you name it. And I personally love the art of sitting down to get ready for a night out and putting on makeup. There’s something about it that is soothing to me.”
Here, Pipia gives us her pro perspective on the basics — with a cherry on top — plus her current favorite product picks.
1 “I like to simplify skin care and makeup. I’m not a skincare expert, but I do know what works. No matter what time of year it is, I always use a vitamin C serum. My two favorite companies are SkinCeuticals (I use their C E Ferulic serum, which lightens lines, firms skin and brightens your complexion) and La Roche-Posay (I like their Vitamin C12 Serum). As long as you have a good moisturizer and a sunscreen over it that is pretty much all you need in the morning, in my opinion.”
2 “Some of my favorite moisturizers are Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre multi-function moisturizer as a moisturizer, a cleanser or a beauty mask — or just anything to smooth the canvas on which to apply your makeup. La Roche-Posay Toleriane is a great moisturizer with SPF 30 and also provides hydration. It’s a light non- greasy lotion, great for all textures and skin types.”
3 “If you are intimidated by brushes, the best investment you can make is a starter kit of the Morphie brushes, like the Best of Blends 8-Piece Face & Eye Brush Set. They’ve come a long way and they are so affordable. To be honest, I think they work better than most high-end brushes.”
4 “I love all kinds of foundations, but my favorite for year-round is the Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Foundation, a medium-coverage clean foundation infused with proprietary fermented arnica that helps reduce redness and helps even skin tone. If I want to thin it out, I’ll use a hyaluronic-acid serum, which gives a great glow and moisture boost, especially for in-between summer and fall. I like to use the La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum on my clients.
If you find a great concealer, sometimes you don’t even need foundation. Currently, I’m really into Natasha Denona’s Hy-Glam Concealer. It’s a great concealer that can be used all over the face and can pretty much cover everything.”
5 “Eyeshadows. I love the Makeup By Mario Master Mattes Eyeshadow Palette: The Neutrals — it’s a staple. They are matte shadows, but you can always add a bit of shimmer: I like to use the Patrick Ta Beauty Major Dimension Eye Illusion Eyeshadow Duos for a little pop.”
6 “I love working with creams for blush, especially as our skin gets dry and the weather changes. It’s really easy to use and you can always throw a little bit of color on your lips as well. My favorite go-to is the Natasha Denona Hy-Blush Cloudy Cream Cheek Duo — it comes with a shimmer cream and a matte cream, with lots of colors to choose from.”
7 “I also love a good bronzer, which can also be used as blush or just an all-around pick me up to give yourself a little bit of color. The best bronzer that is a cult favorite is the Nars Laguna Bronzing Powder or the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer.”
8 “To set your makeup, my two favorite brands are the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder or the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder. Depending on your skin type, the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray is a really good go-to and so is the One/Size by Patrick Starrr Powder Melt Glass Setting Spray. If you’re a little bit on the oilier side, One/Size also makes a matte setting spray.”
9 “For lipsticks, you gotta go with what’s comfortable. Charlotte Tilbury has duo lip liners, called Lip Cheat Lip Liners, that are soft and buttery — you get two complementary colors in lip pencil on each end. I also like using NYX Lip Lingerie XXL Matte Liquid Lipstick, which stays on really well. And if you like gloss, right now, I’m really into Ole Henriksen Pout Preserve Peptide Lip Treatment — it’s hydrating, has peptides in it and works great as a gloss.”