Rage Monthly January 2010 Issue

Check out my Cover and Editorial for Rage Monthly.

Photography: Riker Brothers

Styling: Marcellas Reynolds

Makeup: Anthony Merante for Temptu Pro

Hair: Jeffrey Jagged

Beauty with Bre from ANTM

Last December I did a photo shoot with Bre Scullark from America’s Next Top Model. We had been shooting some beautiful clothing all day and when we were done, decided to do a quick beauty shot.  I stripped off most of her makeup from that day and wanted to go for a clean beauty look. I defined her eyes with a black kohl pencil, sculpted her cheeks with some bronzer and gave her a gorgous fresh lip with some lip balm and a touch of clear lip gloss. The end result was these 4 beautiful images.

Photography: Bonnie Holland

Makeup: Anthony Merante

Hair: Val Hamilton

Top 10 Beauty “Must Haves”

I get asked all the time what my favorite makeup line or products are. The truth is, I can not just pick “one” favorite, I have MANY! So I decided to go through my makeup kit and pick out my favorite products that I just cant live with out. That was not a easy task for a makeup obsessed person like me and I decided to narrow it down to 10 great products. Below is a list of makeup items that I think are “Must Haves” in everyones beauty wardrobe. It doesn’t matter if you are have light or dark skin, these products will flatter any skin tone.

The Beauty Blender: The beauty blender is a non-disposable sponge used to apply your foundation or cream blush with ease. All you have to do is dampen the sponge with some water and apply your foundation in a stippling motion and then set with a translucent powder. It really is that easy! One of the best features of the Beauty Blender is that it is washable and latex free. It is also great for the environment by not using and wasting as many latex sponges. www.beautyblender.net

Make Up For Ever High Definition Powder: Make Up For Ever has come out with a line of products to accommodate the demands of the high definition lens. My favorite product from the line is the High Definition Powder. This 100% mineral silica powder softens the appearance of fine lines and imperfections, sets foundation, and mattifies the skin without changing its shade. Its translucency matches any skin tone from light to dark. The powder is also free of talc and parabens and can be used on even the most sensitive of skins. www.makeupforever.com

Smashbox Artificial Light: Artificial Light from Smashbox is my favorite highlighter at the moment. Luminize your face by blending this oil-free high lighting cream before you apply your foundation to the cheek bones, bridge of nose, forehead and chin and then apply your foundation on top for a natural radiant glow. My favorite shade is “Flash” for Medium skin and “Glow” for darker skin. www.smashbox.com

Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer: The make Up For Ever Lift Concealer is by far the BEST concealer I have used in a long time. It has true staying power and contains tensine which is great for firming the delicate skin around the eyes. Lift Concealer comes in 5 great shades. www.makeupforever.com

Giorgio Armani Blending Blush Duo: The Blending Blush Duo is a genius product with two shades in one compact. The shades can either be used separately or together to sculpt, highlight and add a touch color to the face. Shade 01 is the BEST, it has a nice pink rose shade for the apple of the cheek and a medium sand color for contouring. Shade 03 is really great for darker skin tones. www.giorgioarmanibeauty.com

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion: Primer Potion is an Eye Shadow Primer Base that has a sheer nude color and is perfect for ANY skin tone. Just apply with the wand and smooth on with your finger or brush. Let the primer set up and then apply your favorite eye shadow for a creaseless eye. Urban Decay has also launched a shimmery version of this wonder primer and is called “SIN” www.urbandecay.com

Shiseido Silky Eye Shadow Quad: The eye shadow quad in “Desert Winds” is the perfect eye shadow quad. It has 4 neutral shades to create the perfectly sculpted eye with just a touch of shimmer. Use the lighter shades to highlight, the medium shade for the crease and the darker shade for liner and then blend well. www.shiseido.com

Kevyn Aucoin Eye Pencil Primatif: This is the smoothest pencil I have ever used. Basic Brown and Basic Black are “Must Haves”. This pencil magically glides on the eye to define effortlessly. It also comes with a smudging tip to help blend and give you that smokey look. www.kevynaucoin.com

Smashbox Bionic Mascara: The NEW mascara from Smashbox is the first ionic-mascara. This mascara gives you longer, stronger and added volume to your lashes. The specially engineered brush coats every lash with its water-resistent formula for a dramatic and full lash. www.smashbox.com

Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss: This gloss is a sheer and ultra-moisturizing lip gloss that keeps lips soft and naturally plump for hours. Pop is my favorite shade and it is a sheer pale pink. Illume, Candid and Afterglow are also some of my favorite shades in the collection.

www.smashbox.com

Temptu AIRBrush Makeup System

I have been using Temptu Air Brush and Makeup on ALL of my photo shoots in the last few years. I am am excited to announce that this fall Temptu launched its first consumer AIRBrush Makeup System at Sephora.

The Temptu AIRBrush  system allows you to achieve flawless skin with a easy-to-use, mess-proof AIR pod  system that delivers precise, professional results. The foolproof system allows you to snap on and off the various Makeup AIR pods—including foundations, blushes, and more—so you can create luminous looks, without the fuss.

In the comfort of your own home, you can easily achieve long-lasting pro results every day. The innovative TEMPTU AIRbrush Makeup System’s sleek, compact design delivers power and control, giving you steady, precise application that’s completely adjustable and results that are truly flawless.

The Temptu Air Brush Makeup System is available at Sephora ONLY!

Danskin Now with Gabby Reece

Last summer I got to shoot the Danskin Now campaign with Gabby Reece. We shot at a Santa Fe style home in Topanga Canyon on a hot summer day. Russell James was the photographer and Marcia Hamilton did the hair.

Check out the shots at www.danskinnow.com

Modern Mom Website

I am currently writing a weekly beauty column for Brooke Burke’s Modern Mom. Look for me in the expert section at www.modernmom.com

Also, check back soon for NEW and exciting updates to the Anthony Merante Beauty Blog!

Summer Break

Hey guys, I took a little summer break from the beauty blog. Gearing up to post some great NEW makeup tips, new work, products of the week and MORE behind the scenes shots from  photo shoots early next week.

Check back soon!

Los Angeles Magazine Cover

Last month I got to shoot the cover of Los Angeles Magazine with photographer Bonnie Holland. Bonnie called me on the phone giggling and asked me if I would be interested in doing some makeup on feet and legs, I thought this would be a really interesting job. We had some leg and feet models come in and I got to airbrush them a nice golden tan. Los Angeles Magazine “Best Of LA” issue is on news stands NOW!

How to get the look: I used the Temptu Airbrush system and the S/B Foundation to achieve the look we were going for. I first applied a body lotion to the legs and feet and then blotted with a paper towel. I then lightly airbrushed the legs with the Temptu S/B in shades 007 and 008. I then highlighted the legs with the Temptu S/B Champagne Shimmer.

Water Beauty Story

I got to do my first photo shoot with water last week and I was super excited. Ric Frazier is an amazing under water photographer and we have been trying to put together a shoot for months now but our busy schedules kept getting in the way. We shot the beauty story in a shallow pool in his studio downtown on a hot summer day and this is just a sneak peek of our shoot.

I was able to achieve these water proof with the help of Temptu S/B Airbrush Foundation and Make Up For Ever water proof eye liners.

Check back soon for more images from this amazing shoot.

80’s Inspired Shoot

Photographer Gabriel Goldberg approached me with his idea for a shoot. Gabriel sent me some images for inspiration and they were Patrick Nagel paintings.

I was really excited because Patrick’s striking images were everywhere when I was growing up. I can remember back when I was young, my cousin would free hand draw his famous paintings with charcoal and I was always so mesmerized by them. Patrick Nagel’s work has a very dated aesthetic, but at the time, they were really groundbreaking.

We were hoping to get at least 4 shots, but ended up with 8. I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this without my assistant Airica Hartsfield. Thank You.

Check back soon for more images.