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What do you mean by "Beauty Is an Adventure"?
For me, the adventure is trekking out to the far and distant corners of the world for inspiration. It's about seeing beauty in undiscovered territories, in landscapes, and in natural environments that slowly reveal themselves, whether under a setting Serengeti sun or arising from coral beneath lush Polynesian pools. In these destinations, I see gorgeous colors for makeup palettes. I know that when I'm a long way from Kilimanjaro I can re-create the adventure with vibrant color.
Makeup is also an adventure into beautifying yourself-delving into your makeup bag, and finding just the right products to create that perfect finishing touch. Applying makeup before taking yourself out into the world is an adventure as well, a new discovery, a journey of your own.
While "Beauty Is An Adventure," makeup application shouldn't be. So I've made the process really simple. Of the thousands of shades that I've found in nature, I've captured the beautiful ones, and then I've edited these and created the foolproof Destination Eye Palette that blend together harmoniously to offer effortless results.
How does traveling around the world inspire you to make beauty products?
My exquisite formulations are all inspired by exotic destinations that I visit. Sometimes I'm inspired by the colors of a gorgeous landscape, like the Serengeti Plain or Mt. Kilimanjaro, and other times I'm in awe of big beautiful tropical flowers, or delicate water lilies, which I'll research to see if they contain a skin-care benefit that I can blend into a formulation.
One flower extract that I love is from orchids. The orchid is the universal flower of beauty. It grows on every continent and in all the places I love. But what gives orchids their incredibly long lifespan is their natural antioxidants, which I've tapped for many of our moisture-boosting products. I also use water lily and water iris extracts, two intensely hydrating skin-calmers, as well as beautiful hibiscus, which improves skin tone and moisturizes with natural alpha hydroxy acids, proteins, and vitamins.
Why are you so drawn to water?
I'm from the driest state, on the driest continent in the world (Australia), so from a very early age I've been conscious of water as resource and inspired by its beauty. It's astounding how water immediately conjures a feeling of tranquility and peacefulness whether I'm visiting the Great Barrier Reef, the Indian Ocean, or the South Pacific Islands. I love the way water turns from turquoise and teal to deep-sea navy. Water is nourishment for the soul and the skin, which is one reason why I love working with marine ingredients and the anti-aging properties of seaweed as they offer wonderful elements of hydration. Water is an incredibly important theme for me in my work and in my life.
What does Microquatic mean?
Microquatic™ Luxury Skin Care is a carefully designed range of luxury makeup and skin-care products that are vital to maintaining vibrant, youthful-looking skin. What makes them so advanced is our powerful blend of proprietary anti-aging ingredients, calming marine extracts, and hydrating flower derivatives from nature. This signature blend, along with an innovative microemulsion skin-care technology, delivers ingredients so they are easily absorbed by your skin. This is the core of Sue Devitt Beauty.
Why does your makeup have skin-care ingredients in it?
I identified a niche in the market that had not yet been explored. While makeup artist brands changed the landscape of the cosmetic industry by offering the right shades to consumers, they had done little to raise the bar in terms of formulations that benefit or improve the quality of the skin. As I have a background as a makeup artist as well as a formulator, I can work closely with our private group of chemists to formulate makeup that has the most exquisite colors and terrific skin-care benefits. My decision to add skin-care ingredients to makeup was also a holistic decision. I prefer to cover skin with beautifying pigments that will improve the skin's health and quality. That's something that all women deserve and should have access to.
Since there are anti-aging ingredients in your makeup, do I need to use anti-aging skin-care products?
Yes, you do. I believe that makeup should be as beneficial as possible for the skin, which is why I've added anti-aging ingredients to our shadows, foundations, and concealers that have all-day contact with your face. However, you're not meant to sleep in your makeup. During the night is the time that our skin renews itself, so it's the perfect time to cleanse and replenish with nourishing skin-care products. Sue Devitt Beauty skin-care makeup and anti-aging Microquatic™ products provide a complete, round-the-clock treatment for the skin; one shouldn't replace the other.
Is your mineral makeup really hydrating? How?
Many women find mineral makeup to be very drying. Environmental influences are already so damaging that we need to take every precaution to protect our skin. As a makeup artist who's worked with thousands of women, I've found mineral-based powders to be a challenge because they don't offer the skin any moisture and therefore can't offer a hydrated, clean, consistent finish. That's a side effect of the typical manufacturing process: When a powder is pressed into makeup, the water is pressed out. However, my introduction of hydrating marine minerals offers powders that can contain moisture. I formulated these with moisture-boosting marine minerals, as well as hyaluronic acid, which acts like a sponge and draws water from the air, as well as collagen-repairing ceramides and antioxidant vitamin C. Water-based marine minerals penetrate the skin, where they hydrate and firm. This is a totally different approach to traditional mineral makeup ingredients which come from the ground, and sit atop the skin, potentially drying it out or settling into fine lines.
I'm new to Sue Devitt Beauty. What are the best products to start with?
I recommend these essentials as an introduction to the line:
1. The Microquatic™ Oxygen Infusion Masque, because it does two great things to create healthy skin: The self-activating foaming experience draws out impurity from the skin while infusing it with oxygen, which plumps fine lines, creates firmness, and leaves your skin with an amazing natural glow.
2. Either 70% Triple Seaweed Gel Foundation or the SpaComplexion™ Hydrating Marine Minerals Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15, which provide beautiful, even coverage and infuse the skin with beneficial skin-care ingredients. The SPF protects the skin from harmful ultra-violet rays. Both products are very nourishing and hydrating.
3. At least one Hydrating Marine Minerals Destination Eye Palette. The gorgeous color palettes are inspired by destinations I've visited around the world, and the mineral-based shadows are infused with hydrating ingredients, which is really special and important for long-wear and skin health. Each one contains four specifically designed shades that work together for the ease of creating a complete eye look.
4. The Eye Intensifier Pencil, which comes in 13 gorgeous colors, is the perfect product to create a "quick eye" and to enhance your own natural eye tone. But it's also the trick I use on the red carpet to make eyes really standout. Also important, they're smudge-proof and water-resistant, thanks to Nylon-12, an innovative ingredient that only we use.
What is your stance on natural and organic beauty?
As a professional makeup artist with a very demanding clientele, I've found that right now purely natural or purely organic products don't perform as well as a blend of these ingredients with traditional ones. I love natural and organic products, especially for light coverage. However, I image and prepare clients for the Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival so I've created professional level, red-carpet-ready formulations that hold up and look great upon close inspection. Because of this, I've set the bar high for all of the Sue Devitt Beauty products. As better performing options become available in the organic field the line will reflect this.
Is Sue Devitt Beauty involved with a philanthropic cause?
We support Africa Foundation (www.africafoundation.org), whose efforts have helped to build 160 schools throughout Africa, help communities establish their own gardens and provide better access to drinking water.
For a glimpse of the villages in Tanzania that I've worked with, see my "Beauty Adventures" – Sunset on the Serengeti. We donate a percentage of sales from the Sunset on the Serengeti Destination Eye Palette to the Africa Foundation.
We also support Coral Reef initiatives, particularly for the South Pacific region (CRISP), an organization that helps protect and sustain fragile coral reefs, marine life, and the communities that depend upon them.
"The generosity of nature creates inspiration for beauty. We can follow its example in creating beauty through generosity."
–Sue Devitt
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