By Elizabeth Wheless
Last week, the Latinx Fashion Leadership Council hosted a spring makeup trend class for SMU students. The event featured a presentation and makeup demonstration by Dallas based makeup artist Angeline Jasmin Pedrosa. She was born and raised in New York by Puerto Rican parents and has now made the DFW area her home as a full-time makeup artist. Today, Pedrosa works on photoshoot sets for prominent editorials, such as Italian Vogue, as well as with local brides, models, and everyday individuals.
The event began with a presentation on the intersection of beauty and the corporate world. Pedrosa explained the impact of first impressions, emphasizing how a well-manicured appearance is statistically shown to improve one’s impression with bosses and co-workers. According to Pedrosa, beauty and professional empowerment go hand-in-hand. She then gave an overview of the importance of color theory in makeup, explaining how to match your skin undertone to the shade of your makeup for a flawless look. The presentation then transitioned to discussing spring beauty trends for 2024 that can be achieved within 10 minutes, perfect for a touch-up between classes, interviews, or in between meetings.
Pedrosa walked the audience through the four key facial features to focus on, highlighting tips and trends for each. SMU student, Hayley White, was the lucky audience member chosen to be Pedrosa’s model as she worked her magic step-by-step. The first category covered was blush! She explained that it’s all about achieving “a natural, healthy glow” using peach and light pink shades. It was amazing to watch how even just a touch of blush transforms the face, providing a youthful look. Her next tips were about styling your brows to frame the face and draw attention to the eyes. This spring, natural brows are in, so Pedrosa recommends using a tinted brow gel and brushing the hairs upward with the tip of the spoolie.
The third category focused on skin, with Pedrosa emphasizing that the key to great makeup always starts with good skincare and using the right products for your skin type. Dewy and hydrated skin is all the rage for 2024, as the industry is becoming more wellness conscious. Contrary to popular belief, Pedrosa does not recommend using a foundation or tinted moisturizer with SPF because of how quickly it wears off. Instead she suggests an SPF mist, her personal favorite being the SPF mist by Coola, that can be reapplied throughout the day and used to set your makeup.
The last category was all about lips! For spring 2024, Pedrosa recommends choosing a bold lip to add a vibrancy to the face. She suggested staying away from brown shades, instead gravitating towards pinks and peaches this season. She also prefers to use a creamy lipstick as opposed to matte, as matte lipsticks can quickly create a dehydrated appearance. During the demonstration, the audience also learned the perfect technique to apply lip liner by following the lip’s natural shape, and then how to select the ideal lipstick or gloss to complement the liner.
The event ended with a Q&A, where audience members had some insightful questions for Pedrosa:
Zoe Rodriguez, the president of LxFC, was curious about what product Pedrosa was wanting to buy on her next trip to Sephora. Her answer was Liquid highlighter, specifically the one from Chanel’s beauty line because it’s perfect to wear under foundation for an added glow or as an actual highlighter.
Another student asked about water versus silicon-based makeup products, as she had seen discussions about the topic on TikTok and was interested in learning Pedrosa’s take. She responded by explaining that the most important thing with makeup and skincare is to give your skincare time to soak into your skin before applying any makeup, so it doesn’t affect how the products sits.
The event ended with goodie bags that had full size products generously donated by Fragrance.com, Brownkind, and Nopalera for each attendee to take home. Pedrosa was a wonderful guest and left the audience inspired to work on their makeup techniques to ensure they make flawless first impressions.
