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Make Up By Mario brand review: does Kim Kardashian’s makeup artists line live up to the hype?

 (Make Up By Mario)
(Make Up By Mario)

Mario Dedivanovic is one of the most instantly recognisable makeup artists in the world.

With a legion of 8.8 million Instagram followers, you may know him best as Make Up By Mario or as Kim Kardashian’s trusted makeup artist - and now he has lent his two decades of experience in the beauty game to an eponymous makeup label.

Mario is a trailblazer and a spearhead of global, viral trends. The New York-born artist began his career at the fragrance counter in Sephora and has gone from strength to strength since, now boasting an enviable little black book of A-list clientele. He launched The Masterclass to teach people around the world and share his tips and tricks - so perhaps it’s only natural now that he has created a brand inspired by these techniques and his signature style - a soft blended, textured aesthetic.

These are premium products that are designed to be universal for all skin tones. From the inception in 2017, Mario has perfected the formulas to ensure quality as well as that each and every product has a multipurpose twist and are easy to use. You’ll find double-ended liners and blush sticks as well as palettes with many purposes - be it eye shadow, brows, highlighter and complexion.

We tested out the hero products in the range to see if the Make Up By Mario collection lived up to the hype.

Master Mattes™ Eyeshadow Palette

This is considered by Mario to be the hero product in the range and was the first that he worked on. It takes its inspiration from human skin tones where all the shades can be used by every skin tone in different ways. This also makes for a hugely timeless palette that surpasses trends. Use the top row for highlighting, brightening, setting the base or in the crease of your eye, while deeper hues create definition or can be used for contouring. They are designed to be mixed too and blend together seamlessly. The formula melts into skin and when paired with primer, will last as long as you need. The shades aren’t overly pigmented and this was the intention so you don’t need to be careful about how much you use - they are extremely buildable. Shade 6 and 11 can be used on brows, while the darkest shade is great for creating a smokey eye look.

 (Make Up By Mario)
(Make Up By Mario)

£41 | Cult Beauty

Master Metals™ Eyeshadow Palette and Master Metal Manipulator™

It feels like Mario is really flexing his makeup expertise with this palette. It’s a truly unique set of shades to help you create the post-lockdown drama that you’re looking for. It takes inspiration from natural metals in the earth with loose metal pigments contained in the formula. You’ll notice there’s an empty part of the tray and that’s where the Metal Manipular comes in. To create an even more intense, long-lasting look, add the formula into the tray. Then dip your brush in the liquid and then the shadow for a great full coverage look.

If you want to forgo this step, you can use the product dry but it’s worth using your finger over a brush to maximise the colour pay off. Get creative and mix the shades together - for example adding bronze to the gold makes for a deeper, copper-like hue. The Metal Manipulator sets the product in place - Mario even suggests popping it on your lipstick as a seal before you wear your mask.

 (Make Up By Mario)
(Make Up By Mario)

£41 for palette | Cult Beauty

£12 | Cult Beauty

Master Metallics™ Eyeshadow Palette

If you thought you’d heard everything about weird and wonderful beauty products, think again. This hugely innovative palette is made up of the colours of human cells. Mario took a microscopic look at the human body and designed these shades so that they would flatter all skin tones. It really doesn’t get much more inclusive than this.

The shades have a great colour pay off and a creamy texture. They offer a lovely sparkle that is more buildable as you layer. For a more intense look, use your finger and dab the shades on. Like the Master Mattes, this is also designed to be mix and matched and blended so you can really customise your look ,but the intention here is for a quick swipe of colour.

 (Make Up By Mario)
(Make Up By Mario)

£41 | Cult Beauty

Master Pigment Pro™ Pencil Super Black

Mario was inspired by his sister to create this product as she always struggled to create even-looking wings (it’s not easy being the sibling of one of the best makeup artists in the world!). On one end, you’ll find the pencil, while the other is a flat brush. This is to help you nail Mario’s signature technique where instead of drawing the flick, he blends it out to make it more symmetrical. The pencil glides on the eye with a pigmented pay off. Using his technique, you need to draw right to the corner of the eye and then drag the brush upwards underneath the liner to create the wing. The brush does the hard part. Also apply under the eye to really make them pop and show off the intense colour of the product.

 (Make Up By Mario)
(Make Up By Mario)

£19 | Cult Beauty

Master Mattes™ Liquid Liner Super Black

After Mario found that liquid liners kept losing their definition, he crafted this product where the tip should stay pointy and not break or bend. The beauty of this liner is its versatility - you can create extremely thin lines or go thick and graphic. It’s a highly pigmented formula so you shouldn’t need to draw over again and again, but it dries matte. It’s particularly great for false lashes to hide that telltale strip line. If you do make a mistake, it takes a couple of minutes for the product to really set in so you can remove any mishaps with ease but after that it really doesn’t budge and is also water-resistant.

 (Make Up By Mario)
(Make Up By Mario)

£19 | Cult Beauty

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