Library: Make-Up Masterclass by Jemma Kidd

Jemma Kidd
Make-Up Masterclass
$24.99

I purchased this book probably around February, and it wasn't until now that I was able to read it thoroughly enough to post a proper review.  Makeup is probably one of my biggest hobbies and I'm always looking forward to learning more.  Be it through trial and error, blogs, YouTube, websites, magazines, or books, I'm always looking for new things to learn and new things to try.  After previewing the selection in my local bookstore, I thought that I would give this book a try.

The intention of this book is to teach the everyday woman how to apply makeup in a way that enhances their natural beauty.  It is meant to be a go-to book, a "beauty bible," if you will.  There were definitely things in this book that I encountered during my 1+ years exposure to the makeup world, but there were plenty of other things of which I had never heard.  I found that the book was very organized and the formatting was consistent throughout while still being able to draw my attention.  The photographs were beautiful and helped to illustrate the author's purpose.

One of the things that I liked about the book was the author's concept of "Skintelligence," which is an understanding of skin and how to keep it healthy.  I consider myself to be someone with oily skin, and there were definitely a handful of helpful tips.  I not only picked up a few pointers about keeping the skin healthy, but also about what types of makeup would be most effective.  In her book, Kidd has different ways of breaking sections up into skin type, skin color, and age.  She also includes how to address specific skin problems, such as scarring, open pores, and redness.  For those of you wondering which colors are best suited for your skin tone, Kidd includes suggestions of colors and color combinations for each skin tone.  There's a section for everyone and I'm confident that a vast majority of people would be able to find a description fitting them.

Another thing that I liked about the book were the Top Ten Tips that were included in almost every section of the book.  I thought that the tips gave a good overview of the previous section and highlighted the most important points into something that was easy to remember.  There were also lots of other tips that I found useful, including a section on when to throw away makeup (it's always difficult to say good-bye, especially for something you spent $14+ on!) and a section on what to do when the seasons change.  I'm not sure if other makeup books have sections on nail care, but this one does and I thought that it was very helpful and a nice addition.

The last thing that the book includes is a collection of looks that the readers can try on their own.  It's not step-by-step per se, but it has very detailed instructions and a few illustrations that I think anyone could follow.  Because this book focuses on enhancing a woman's natural beauty, there aren't really looks that you would find on a runway, for example.  Despite this, I still appreciate the looks and find them very useful.  For example, there are looks for corporate settings, nights out (including a way to spice up daytime looks for the evening), and vacations.

Overall, I thought that this book was a nice read for beauty beginners and makeup enthusiasts alike.  It gives a lot of good advice and I like that it strives to play up a woman's natural beauty.  Although it stresses natural beauty, it does not completely write off playful colors in total favor of neutrals--it just shows what Kidd feels best suits and is appropriate for different skin tones.  I felt that she was very knowledgeable about what she was writing and by the end of it, I thought that I had learned a lot.  I felt that she was not only knowledgeable about skin and color theory, but also about products.

Fellow makeup mavens might know that Jemma Kidd has several lines of cosmetic products.  First impression would be that she would try her best to market her products and her products solely.  However, that is not the case!  I was very surprised when there were mentions of different brands like Clinique, and this continued all throughout the book.  Of course, there are occasional mentions of her products and it is predominantly her products that are featured in the pictures, but I liked that other options were given.  In fact, there is even an index in the back of the book of some brands that Kidd recommends, among these are brands like MAC and L'Oreal.

I hope you found this review helpful!  Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to review the book featured above. I purchased the book reviewed in this blog post and did not receive it for free. I ensure that this is my true and honest opinion.