Celebrity makeup artist realizes dream with collection
During a recent virtual news conference to announce the release of his first Makeup by Mario collection, celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic got visibly emotional.
The emotions, Dedivanovic explained, weren't due to fear or apprehension, but rather an overwhelming sense of disbelief that his own makeup collection had actually come to fruition. Exactly as he dreamed it would.
“This is all sort of very overwhelming for me and exciting for me in the sense that I have been dreaming of this for literally 20 years,” the New York-based artist explained.
“I invested everything that I have into this. I didn't take on investors. And, so, if this doesn't work out, I'm going back to my parents' house,” he added, with a tear-tinged laugh. “I've put my life and my soul into this.”
Twenty years ago, Dedivanovic started his journey into makeup artistry while working at a Sephora store. In between assisting shoppers with foundation swatches and lipstick selections, he dreamed about one day having his own line of cosmetics on display on the beauty retailer's shelves.
“I used to manifest into those Sephora gondolas when I was cleaning them that I would one day have that,” Dedivanovic says.
Working his way in the industry the “old-school” way — which is to say, by getting his brushes dirty and without the help of any social-media hype — Dedivanovic honed his skills for two decades, all the while imagining that he would, one day, oversee the creation of his own beauty brand.
“There we no shortcuts,” Dedivanovic says of his work experience. “You had to slowly climb those steps to get there.”
Working with Hollywood celebrities including Kate Bosworth, Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek and Gabrielle Union — Dedivanovic is widely credited with kicking off the contouring craze through his work with his muse, Kim Kardashian West. Today, his online following numbers nearly eight million on Instagram alone. Dedivanovic also offers spots in his makeup class, The Masterclass, which sees auditoriums full of makeup artists and aficionados eager to learn the master artist's tips-and-tricks.
To date, he's taught more than 25,000 students in the program.
Even with these successes, the 21-piece, limited edition makeup collection will undoubtedly be a crowning achievement on Dedivanovic's career.
“It almost still doesn't feel real,”
he says. “I think, when I go into the store and see that Makeup by Mario gondola, that's when it will become very real to me.”
Priced from $18-$64, the Makeup by Mario products are available exclusively in Sephora Canada stores and online at sephora.ca, as well as makeupbymario.com.