There is no quality makeup without good skin preparation. We checked this thesis with Matej Knežević, a young make-up artist who successfully combines preparation and decoration. In doing so, he revealed more little secrets that help us shine in special, but also quite ordinary occasions.
You are already well known on Instagram (@knez_makeup) as a gifted makeup artist with a masterful skill in blending eye shadows, but also as an excellent connoisseur of cosmetic products and care postulates. It is somewhat less known that you look at skin care through the prism of your education. Who is Matthew? What interests does he have in life?
Matej is truly anything but simple. Likewise in the job itself. I am a professional make-up artist and brow designer, and I have been doing make-up for the past 5 years. It's my first love that turned into a real job. Doing this job, I met so many people, energies, faces, women and learned a lot about the industry in which I work, but that same job helped me tremendously in building character and personality that forms me as such today. Formal education made me a medical technician, I'm really grateful that I had the opportunity to educate myself from the medical side and extract from certain areas the interesting things that I apply today in the field of skin care, but also to present proper skin care to my followers.
As much as I love taking care of my skin, I also love talking about skin care, although I always emphasize that I am a skincare enthusiast who, through my social networks, only has the competence to recommend certain products and ingredients for certain skin types and conditions. I never answer questions about the treatment of, for example, chronic inflammatory skin diseases or similar questions that require professional help, but I recommend going to a dermatologist. I have always loved communication and presentation, so it is very clear that social networks and acting through them are my passion. Communication with followers, reviewing products, creating and marketing content, designing posts are just one part of this job where I notice personal growth and progress day by day. This is a job in which, regardless of the fact that it is sometimes very tiring, I enjoy it immensely and I am constantly learning something new.
You perfectly combine skin care and makeup (literally and figuratively). It could even be said that through decorative products, you introduce your clients in detail to the preparation and the importance of a "good foundation". How important is skin care to the makeup look? How is it generally best to prepare it for makeup application?
All my clients are informed about certain important areas of skin care, which are closely related to a flawless makeup look, before they even make an appointment. We make-up artists like to say that skincare is 50% of a perfectly done complexion, and we also consider complexion to be the most important step and part of creating works. Now just imagine how important it is to properly and timely prepare the skin for makeup. First of all, skin that has never been taken care of cannot be so well prepared on the day of makeup that it looks as if it is. However, a lot can be achieved with preparation. Exfoliation is a mandatory step in order to smooth the skin and make it ready for the foundation to adhere easily and well to it . Through this step, we remove dead cells, and very often, dry parts of the skin that are already flaking and sometimes not visible before applying powder and foundation, and which corrective products, especially powder ones, will further emphasize if they are not removed/minimized.
Furthermore, it is very important to tone and hydrate the skin depending on its type and current condition. Namely, if we do not meet the level of hydration needed by the skin before applying the liquid powder, it will withdraw it from the powder during the day when it lacks moisture. This is exactly the moment that clients describe as the appearance of a mask on the face, when the complexion looks dry, and pores, wrinkles and fine lines are further accentuated. For dry skin, I choose something with a richer texture, while for oily or mixed skin, I like moisturizing fluids or gel textures, and they often have a velvety texture that also slightly smoothes the skin's texture.
Very hot and sultry days are coming, and those are also the moments when makeup is on the back burner for most. Can you share with us a trick or some trend to achieve a fresh, even, glowing complexion with minimal brush strokes?
When it comes to the upcoming warm days, we usually all sweat a lot and heavy makeup can only "slip" off the face. These days I like to devote myself to tinted SPFs that can also be reapplied during the day without the skin looking "crowded". BB or CC creams are now experiencing their greatest rise in this period of the year because they are very light and decent, and will even out the complexion and make it fresh. For everyone who has extremely oily skin, I recommend a trick that I personally use during the coming period, which is setting sun protection with a stone powder that has additional covering power . The complexion will look uniform, and the matting can be repeated at any time during the day.
In your work, you often meet brides. For their most important day, they usually opt for treatments in addition to enhanced skincare. From the position of a makeup artist, which products and treatments would be better to avoid, and which to prioritize before such important occasions?
Under pressure, brides very often decide on a series of treatments before the event itself, and all treatments that are invasive such as mechanical facial cleansing, microdermabrasion, dermapen, chemical peels, as well as correction with fillers, and all those treatments and skincare ingredients that are expected after temporary deterioration, such as purging, should be avoided. Skin care should be kept to a minimum, use only products that have never caused the client any reaction before. Dedicate yourself to moisturizing the skin and the evening before the appointment, exfoliate the skin, which already suits her skin from experience.
As for treatments, everything related to deep hydration and skin care is welcome , but with a note that they are not performed right before the date of the event. Most often, clients who have an active inflammation the night before or two try to repair it themselves, that is, squeeze out the pimple. I always emphasize that they should never do this, because it creates a wound/scab that the make-up artist cannot cover.
What should every person with average, balanced skin have in their bathroom?
Every person in their bathroom should have a good and effective cleanser, then a moisturizing cream depending on the type and condition of the skin, and of course - sun protection or SPF, which they will use in their morning routine. The three segments mentioned above (hygiene-care-protection) make up the basic skincare routine, to which the rest of the products are only added depending on the problems we want to work on. And yes, everyone in the bathroom should have a Microexfoliant, because it is something that almost any skin will have perfectly fast results in the form of the most beautiful smoothness and smoothness of the complexion!
What does your ideal morning and evening routine look like (currently)?
Currently, in my morning routine, I clean my skin with a light, non-drying gel, and often just wash with water. Depending on what I used in my evening routine, but also how I feel. Listen to your skin, treat it according to its needs. This is followed by the indispensable vitamin C, before which I restore the skin's pH and additionally moisturize it with a toner. By the time I put the coffee to boil, the vitamin C has been sufficiently absorbed and I finish my morning routine with the application of a high protection factor, SPF. In the evening, I make sure to practice the double cleansing method, during which I almost always use the oil first, and then the cleansing gel. I tone my skin, apply a moisturizing serum and usually use some form of retinoid after absorption. After that, I additionally hydrate and nourish the skin with a richer cream.
Finally, share with us your Olival favorites and the reasons why you love them!
Uhh... Olival has a really wide range of products that delight me time and time again, but if I have to choose the top 4 that have knocked me off my feet, they should be the following. Hydro Toner because it instantly hydrates the skin and makes every makeup look fresh and permanent. Hyaluron Hydrator 4H because it is, without thinking, my favorite hyaluronic acid that amazes me every time with how powerfully and powerfully it hydrates the skin. Professional Face Fluid SPF 30 because it is the best protection available in the drugstore and beyond, it perfectly protects the skin from harmful UVA and UVB radiation, nourishes it because it has my favorite ingredient niacinamide, and it is matte and there is no feeling of heaviness or white marks! And of course, Microexfoliant , because it is simply a basic human need. It works great on irregularities and the first results are visible almost immediately after I wash it off. I adore him!
