Patricia Melville, Before

 
Patricia Neville, 51

Doing Her Everyday Routine

It took Patricia 12 minutes to complete her daily makeup routine, starting with a serum, a grayish tinted moisturizer ("Someone gave it to me; it's an experiment"), foundation, blush and bronzer on her chin and neck, concealer under her eyes, eyeliner, eyeshadow, lip balm, and lip plumper.

She blew out her hair with a round brush in an additional 13 minutes, ran her fingers through the front, and done!

The Experts Weigh In
How Mally Roncal, celebrity makeup artist, thought Patricia might have saved time (and looked less made-up): She doubled up on a couple of steps. She applied a tinted moisturizer and a cream foundation, a bronzer and a blush.

The one important thing Mally said Patricia did right: She applied concealer under her eyes and around her nose.

The two things Mally wished Patricia hadn't forgotten to do: Curl her eyelashes and apply mascara.

Why Mally thought Patricia might be getting especially wrinkled around her eyes: She applied eyeshadow by smudging it onto her lids with her fingers instead of a brush, tugging at the delicate skin.

The simplifying step—dismaying to Mally—that Patricia was most proud of: She filled in her brows using the same brush and eyeshadow she used to line her eyes, without even dipping it back into the shadow for more product.

Patrick's explanation for why the sculpting gel Patricia applied to her wet hair didn't give it any hold: She used a lot of it, but only around her face, and didn't work it through from roots to ends.

Robe, Garnet Hill. Sweater, White + Warren.
Patricia Melville, After

 
A New, Simpler—and Quicker—Routine
Mally applied a light concealer under Patricia's eyes and around her nose. Then she applied a cream foundation all over her face to even out her skin tone.

Next, she brushed a matte pinky-peach eyeshadow on Patricia's lids and added a little taupe shadow in the crease to make her lids look more contoured. A pink cream blush on the apples of her cheeks gave Patricia a glow. Mally filled in Patricia's brows with a taupe pencil, and then brushed through a brow-setting gel. Though Patricia usually uses a lip plumper, Mally showed her how to get fuller lips another way.

Patrick thought Patricia's haircut was too heavy on top, so he took out some of the bulk by cutting layers. "All it needed was a good cut; now it will practically fall into a style," he said.

Sweater, Kier+J. Earrings, Annette Ferdinandsen.
Shauntavia Loo, Before

 
Shauntavia Loo, 27

Doing Her Everyday Routine

Shauntavia spent more than 45 minutes on her makeup. ("I would've done more, but I got tired.") after moisturizing thoroughly, she applied foundation, blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, and then curled her lashes. She added mascara and a red lipstick before she started on her hair, which took her almost an hour. She blew it out, used a straightening iron and, later, a curling iron). Finally, she pronounced herself party-ready!

The Experts Weigh In
The step that had Mally really agog: "It took her almost five minutes just to apply moisturizer! She just kept adding more and massaging it in."

What Mally said Shauntavia did half right: She used a light concealer correctly to diminish the dark spots on her face—but it highlighted, rather than hid, her blemishes.

How Shauntavia got creative: She mixed two liquid foundations to get a perfect color match for her complexion.

How she most impressed Mally: After she patted foundation all over her face with a brush, she skillfully contoured her cheekbones with a bronzer.

But she nearly frightened Mally when she pulled out a bright orange blush and began to apply it over the bronzer.

What made Shauntavia's eyes water ferociously: Lining the inner lids, first in gray pencil and then, over that, in gray powder "to keep the pencil line from disappearing." The powder irritated her eyes.

Patrick's time-saving device: "Shauntavia can skip the straightening iron and go right for the curling iron."

Robe, Garnet Hill. Top, Ellen Tracy. Earrings, Miriam Haskell.
Shauntavia Loo, After

 
A New, Simpler—and Quicker—Routine
"Shauntavia can do her makeup much more quickly and still get a dramatic, sexy look," said Mally. After moisturizer, Mally patted a little concealer under Shauntavia's eyes. Then she applied a light veil of powder foundation ("Shauntavia's mix of two foundations worked well, but it's easier to find one that's a close match, and a powder is better if your skin is a little oily like hers"). She used a peachy-gold blush right on the apples of Shauntavia's cheeks to give her a glowy, angelic look—a nice counterpoint to her smoky eyes. On her lips, Mally applied a soft caramel lipcolor, shiny and sheer. "Play up your eyes or your lips, but not both," said Mally. (Get Mally's step-by-step directions to create smoky eyes.)

On Shauntavia's damp hair, Patrick used a volumizing spray, working it through from roots to ends; then, because her hair is very fine, he added a bit of styling product to thicken it. After sectioning it, he blew it dry to seal in the product.

Tank, Roberta Freymann.