Review: Scott Barnes - About Face

A little while back I bought Scott Barne's book About Face: Amazing transformations using the secrets of the top celebrity make-up artist.

You can buy it from the Book Depository for £14.38 with free shipping.

Without a shadow of a doubt, its obvious that a lot of work has gone into making this book. I first came across Scott Barnes through You tube and some of the videos he has on there. I liked his style so I wanted to see what he had to say.

He works through a series of transformations and opens up the book by talking about The Power of Beauty. Inspiration in some aspects and it shows you the more personal side of Scott in a way.

The man is big on creating "a glow". You can see it in his work and he went as far as to create a product called "Body Bling" to help all kinds of women get that "glow". He's responsible for J-Lo's infamous glow and he has the skills to prove it.

The photographs in the book are quite detailed and the man is all about contouring. But the end results speak for themselves. There is definitely a point to contouring. The change it can bring about is amazing. And I'm not talking about no camera tricks here either.

 
He explains the looks he does in sections, explaining the kind of tool and action he used to create the look. I do have to say however that sometimes the explanation doesn't always correlate with the picture in hand but you do get a good feel for what he's doing.

The transformations are littered with tips that are genuinely helpful for both the regular consumer and make-up artist. There was one however that did get me. He's talking about applying liquid liner and he says, "If you mess up your liquid eyeliner...simply grab a Q-tip, lick it and wipe away the liner. Saliva is the fastest (and cheapest) make-up corrector on the market." Now I don't know about you, but I honestly don't think any of my clients would be happy with me using my saliva to correct a smudged eye liner mistake. Health and Safety would have my toosh. Other than that his tips are cool.

He includes a section on tools, essentials and prepping the canvas as well as further information on making your make-up work best for you. It's a pretty  in depth book and I think many people would be happy with it.

What I liked:

1. The transformations are pretty awesome. Granted there is good photography and styling involved, they are pretty awesome. Many transformations too.

2. The dude knows how to work with differing skin tones. He's a well rounded artist and it's nice to see his skill spread across different ages and races. Awesomeness!

3. He has several skills. He uses air brushing as well as traditional brushes. Has some totally random practices but he's made it his own and I love that.

4. It's a not a fluffy book. You can tell he's genuinely sharing his knowledge. The man ain't afraid to tell us what he knows.

5. He's relaxed about brows. This is not to say he ignores them, no. He just knows how to work them. I love the brows I work on to be very VERY groomed but Scott has shown me that bushy brows can work it too. Biggest eye opener for me by a mile....

What I wasn't too keen on:

1. The "After" pictures: I genuinely believe that Scott is a talented make-up artist however I would love to see the after pictures without photoshopping. Now I hold my hands up and say, I am not 100% sure that the after pictures are photoshopped but some look blatantly so. I could be wrong. I'm not trying to slate the guy. My issue is not so much with photoshop but sometimes I think we should have all three. The before, the natural after and the photoshop after. It shows the artist's true skill as well as what the person REALLY looks like. I feel that photoshop can lift a person's expectations more than it needs to be. It's ok to keep it real.

2. The explanation sections are written in long paragraphs. Because the book is so visual I feel like it could have benefited from being more like a list than paragraphs. Maybe I'm just a lazy reader. But it really made you concentrate a whole lot more and you even spending more time deciphering than understanding.

So overall, I like the book. It's worth having in my make-up book library. The man has a lot to share and I'm happy I get to learn from it.

Learning never ends.

I love to read. I never used to and I'm sure my mother thanks God everyday that I do now. I think when I was younger it was only because I didn't like studying unless I liked the topic. I was picky like that!

Anyhoo I got 2 lovely books to add to my growing library. Maybe I shouldn't say growing because there's plenty in it already but I've had my eye on these two for an age.

These two books encompass 2 things I like love a lot. Make-up and Jewellery. The first book is Scott Barnes make-up how to book called About Face and second book is Mastering Beadwork by Carol Huber Cypher. I've had a quick look in book and now I'm reading the bead work book in depth now. I can't wait to try the projects in it! I'm thinking of making myself some shoulder-duster earrings. Exciting times. I love Scott Barnes and the work he does. I read a little something in his book that led me to believe that this dude could be a Christian as well. It's nice to see other believes doing what you strive for without being shady about it.

Of course I shall be doing indepth reviews of the two in no time!

It's Friday people! OH HAPPY DAY!

Stay Blessed!

xxx