With Madonna taking Australia by storm on the final leg of her Rebel Heart world tour, we asked her makeup artist, Gina Brooke (Ambassador for Intraceuticals), all your burning beauty questions. Read below the Q&A with Gina Brooke, who gave RESCU the inside scoop on Madonna’s anti-aging routine and beauty looks over the years.
You’ve been working with an icon for over a decade. How has Madonna’s make up style evolved over the years?
Madonna’s makeup style has evolved over the years in many different looks from her Reinvention tour, which was all about neutral makeup and radiant glowing skin, to Confessions On A Dance Floor, which consisted of diamond false lashes with the focus of accentuating her iconic eyes. As Madonna is in control of how she wishes to look and be perceived, we collaborate on different styles according to her music, feeling and inspirations.
Image credit: News
Talk us through Madonna’s favourite off camera look?
Madonna’s favourite look is Hydrated skin and no makeup, after spending months on tour wearing heavy makeup she prefers to keep it simple.
Talk us through how you create a high voltage glamour look for stage or red carpet for Madonna?
When creating a look for stage or a red carpet event, the look is a collaboration between Madonna, her stylist, makeup and hair artists. We all collaborate on different style references to create a look that’s most flattering and of course memorable. When creating a look for stage, I typically like to apply heavier makeup, add an unexpected element such as custom real gold eye shadow and bespoke lashes to enhance the eyes. Spotlights on stage can be so strong which can have a blowout effect. This is why it’s important to emphasize Madonna’s features. Makeup for red carpet events, I like to accentuate either her eyes or lips and most importantly, highlight the high points of Madonnas bone structure- particularly when the paparazzi flash their camera lights onto her face, it reflects light and creates glowing radiant looking skin.
Does Madonna have style references when you are creating a makeup look for a tour or an event or does she leave it to you as her makeup artist?
Absolutely, we always work with references which can be detailed and extensive. Sometimes it can be stills from a movie or photos from a book or drawings from a particular art book.
Did you work in conjunction with a stylist and hair dresser when creating Madonna’s make up looks for this tour?
When working with Madonna, everything is a collaboration with makeup, hair and stylist team.
What are the five products you can’t live without?
My five products that I can’t live without would have to be:
1-3 Intraceuticals three step Hyaluronic Layering system:
Daily serum, hydration Gel and Binding Cream. (Prepping the skin is essential to flawless makeup)
4. Shu Uemura Ultimate Cleansing Oil (I prefer to mix concealer with a drop of oil to create the perfect canvas for makeup)
5.Kiko Radiant Touch Highlighter (to accentuate the bone structure and luminous glowing skin)
If you could give women three pieces of advice on how to improve their beauty routine, what would it be?
- Change your perceptive on how one view oneself-most people compare themselves to models in magazines who are completely retouched and celebrities who have a team of people to make them look the best they can possibly be… It’s just not realistic and not realistic to compare.
- Enhance your favourite feature whether it be your eyes, skin or lips and own it!
- Always hydrate your skin because hydrated looking skin with always create the appearance of beautiful makeup
If forty is the new 30 and 50 the new 40, what do you think women want from their make up and beauty products now more than ever?
Women want immediate results, use products that are accessible and most importantly, reliable!