10 Minutes With Actress Emma Roberts and Celebrity Makeup Artist Amy Oresman

Hey, love. I attempted a product review with some face shots this afternoon, but to be honest, I just wasn’t feelin’ it. Instead I thought you might enjoy this phone interview I recently did with actress and Neutrogena spokesperson Emma Roberts and celebrity makeup artist Amy Oresman.

You might recognize Emma from the TV show Unfabulous or the movies It’s Kind of a Funny Story and Celeste & Jesse Forever. Oh, yeah, she’s also Julia Roberts’ niece!

And makeup artist Amy Oresman has beautified a bunch of big name stars like Heidi Klum, Madonna and Victoria Beckham.

Both gals were sweet as pie and had some interesting beauty tips to share. I hope you enjoy.

KAREN: So, Emma, your everyday makeup routine — what’s it like? Are you a beauty minimalist, or do you like to go all out?

EMMA: I really feel like less is more. I feel like, day to day, I want to look like myself, and I want to feel like myself, and not do too much, or worry all day long about fixing my makeup, because that’s, like, the worst feeling. And especially because it’s summer, I like to keep it light.

I use Healthy Lengths Mascara. It’s amazing! You can wear it all day without having to worry about it flaking.

And I use the Moisture Smooth Color Sticks. Those are great because they’re really moisturizing but also give you a little bit of color, and it looks totally natural. That’s kind of my thing. [SIDE NOTE: Emma’s favorite shade is Sweet Watermelon; she carries it around in her purse.]

Of course, SPF. Other than that, I’m pretty simple.

KAREN: What beauty products do you absolutely love, like, you’d totally freak out if they were discontinued?

EMMA: I hate it when things are discontinued! That’s the worst!

Um…Healthy Lengths Mascara. I’d be really upset if they ever discontinued it. I use it in black, and brown, and it’s amazing.

I always have a red nail polish on my nails, so if they ever discontinued the red nail polish I wear from OPI I’d be really upset.

KAREN:Do you remember the color?

EMMA: I don’t. I’m the worst [laughs]. But I need red nail polish. I love it.

KAREN: Me too. It’s classic! You can never go wrong with red.

EMMA: Now I’m looking at my nails and thinking I need to get them done. The red’s chipping off!

KAREN: What’s the biggest beauty mistake you’ve ever made?

EMMA: When I was trying to learn how to do a winged eye, there are some pretty bad pictures where I thought it looked really even and great, and it did not [laughs].

KAREN: I know what you mean. I’ve actually found a really good tip! I take a picture of myself with my phone, and then I check my eyeliner in the pic.

EMMA: Oh, my gawd! That’s a great idea! I’m going to do that.

KAREN: So what’s the best beauty advice you’ve ever heard or given?

EMMA: Amy [Oresman] is always really great, like whenever she does my makeup, she highlights my cheekbones and stuff like that, and I think that’s really important for red carpet. Like, to really bring out your features, where your cheekbones are, and highlighting your nose and everything like that. I think it brings a great look together. But that’s for red carpet, though.

KAREN: How about for everyday? What’s the best beauty advice you’ve ever heard?

EMMA: I guess to always use sunscreen on your face. Even if it’s just an SPF 20 or something because it’s really important. And also, I’m so pale that if I don’t put on SPF my nose starts getting red, and I get really freaked out by it, so I’m always with an SPF.

KAREN: You’ve had a lot of success in your career. What advice can you give to aspiring actors and actresses?

EMMA: I would say to just really find your confidence and keep that with you, because for me, the rejection is probably one of the hardest things. But once you get past that, and you start to find what you’re good at and find what you love, and you start getting things, like, it really is a great feeling. But you just have to kind of get over that rejection and be able to handle that in the beginning, because it’ll happen to everyone. You just have to kind of get over that. And once you do, I feel like everyone can see your confidence, and that’s a big part, I think, of doing well in meetings and auditions.

KAREN: What are some things people who are struggling with rejection can do? Any tips?

EMMA: For me, I’ve always tried to focus on what’s next, as opposed to dwelling on what I didn’t get. What can I go out for next, or what is something that will inspire me next? I think that it’s important to keep looking ahead.

KAREN: Amy, do you have any secret makeup tips or tricks?

AMY: I just want to add to what Emma said about highlighting. One of the tips that I use for highlighting that I don’t think a lot of people know about is that I don’t actually highlight with highlighter. I highlight with optical diffuser. And often, I’ll use a primer as a highlighter.

The Shine Control primer, I use on the cheeks. It basically illuminates the skin, reflecting light, as opposed to looking frosty or shiny. So it’s a really great way to use your primer as the last thing on your makeup, and use it around the cheekbones, on the bridge of the nose, on the lip, and it gives a gorgeous highlight that won’t leave your skin greasy.

KAREN: Interesting! So you put the primer on top of your powder products??

AMY: Exactly, it’s the very last thing. The very last thing you do is you take a little bit on your finger, you touch it in a half moon around your eyes and the bridge of the nose. Because these products have optical diffusers, so they’re going to reflect light without being shiny or sparkly, so it’s a really gorgeous way to set off your bone structure without looking like a disco ball.

Shine Control Primer’s made with rice protein, which is what you really want to look for in primers, because clay can really dry your skin. The rice protein absorbs oil, so it allows that beautiful reflection to happen.

Thank you, Emma and Amy, for the fantastic tips and for spending time with me and MBB!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen