I just spent an hour with Kendall Jenner’s make-up artist—here's what she taught me

Mary Phillips is one of the most influential make-up artists out there right now. She's the genius behind some of the most notable make-up looks of recent years, including Hailey Beiber's most loved make-up looks and Kendall Jenner's red-carpet glam. Her make up tricks (including her famous underpainting tutorial) have become just as popular as the faces she glams. Her success has earned her a staggering 2million Instagram followers.

She's become such a name, in fact, that over 100million people have watched a #maryphillipsmakeup video on TikTok—and her underpainting, contouring technique is still one of the biggest makeup trends of the year. 

So, when I heard that Phillips was planning a trip to the UK to celebrate her long-time client, Kendall Jenner, being announced as the new face of L'Oréal Paris, I knew I had to get some time in with her. Keep scrolling for all of the make-up tips I learned from Mary Phillips when I attended her masterclass (and got the opportunity to sit down with her) earlier this week...

1. Don't set your make-up 

This was my favourite tips. Yes, the Queen of make-up herself says that setting the face isn't as important as you might think. Whether you decide to set foundation or not, "you need to take a couple of minutes to touch up your make-up throughout the day," either way, so you may as well skip on the powder. In fact, layering cream products over setting powder can lead to a cakey, disjointed finish—so if you're planning on touching up, skip the powder. 

Instead, just commit to touching up where needed later in the day without the fear of foundation separating under a setting power.

2. Use two different foundation shades

Turns out, Phillips often uses two different shades of foundation to help give the face dimension. "I use the lighter one on all the higher points, like the tops of the cheekbones, the higher part of the jaw and the middle of the forehead. The darker shade I like to use on the perimeter around the forehead, under the cheekbones, under the jaw and a little bit down the neck, just to ensure the colour matches," Phillips explained during her masterclass. 

3. Layer a little at a time

"It's easier to add more than it is to remove," Phillips explains. Therefore when it comes to applying your base, she recommends applying very thin layers to 'build up' the coverage.

"I can do up to five or six super-thin layers [of foundation] when I'm doing make-up, because I want it to be as thing as possible, but as sculpted as possible as well." Demonstrating her underpainting technique, she applied a thin layer of concealer before adding another light layer of foundation. 

4. Use the three-dot concealer trick

It's easy to quickly pile on a lot of the best concealer, but actually, three dots applied to the right places is all you need.  

"I like to start with the corner of the nose, then right in the front of the eye and then at the end, right below the outer part of the eye," Phillips explains. This technique is designed to 'lift' the face. "It brings out the centre part that we want to highlight. Place the three dots and blend out in an upward motion to really lift everything up."

5. Underpaint for a convincing contour

Remember the underpainting trick I mentioned earlier? It's the best way to contour and sculpt without looking patchy or stripy. It's all about contouring before you apply your foundation. "I highlight [with the three-dot method], [apply] contour and then [apply] foundation," she revealed.

6. Prep is everything for a long-lasting lip

According to Phillips, lip prep is crucial when using a matte lipstick. "I like to really hydrate," says Phillips. "You just want to make sure that the lips start off nice and hydrated because you're not going to be [able to] wipe it off and start over again." She also recommends using a lip scrub or running a dry toothbrush over your lips to exfoliate and get rid of any dry skin which a matte formula could cling to.

7. Overline your lips (but only a little)

If you thought the days of overlining your lips were over, you're not alone. However, Phillips says it's still the best way to achieve a full lip look. The hack? You just have to be subtle and clean up any mess. 

The Phillips trick is to do a tiny bit of overlining to define and lift—applying the liner just slightly over the high points of the lip line. "I always like to soften the line a little bit so it's not too hard, and then if I have to go in with a little bit of concealer on the brush, I'll do that to make the line crisp," she explains.