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Some may think that makeups primary function is to hide, disguise or alter ones appearance; however, a skilled make-up artist knows that it also has the ability to bring out the beauty that already lies within. One such artist whose work truly defines this is Margaret Kimura. To define her as simply a makeup artist would be misleading. With over twenty years of experience in the entertainment and fashion world, Margaret is also a teacher, a business woman, an author, and a beauty guru. Her immense talents and strong background in the industry is perfectly framed by her desire to share her knowledge of beauty with the world. More importantly, she is a mentor with the desire to see her students achieve their goals. This can be easily seen by one piece of advice she shared, Work on your true, ultimate, hearts desire and then you will manifest your dreams.

Margaret Kimura was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Being of a Japanese heritage seemed at first a stumbling block. In her insightful book, Asian Beauty, she reveals, Beauty is a subjective notion at best, but that doesnt seem to matter when youre an Asian-American teenager growing up in Southern California, where beauty is synonymous with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Finding out where I fit into the beauty equation twenty years ago was difficult and painful at best. Yet from this conflict, she pushed on and taught herself about the world of cosmetics. Ive never set limits for myself. Im self-taught, so Ive always made my own rules instead of following someone elses. Maybe its because I had to deal with issues of beauty when I was a teenager, and so I learned very early how to bring out the best in everyone I work with.

Since her father was a music producer, and her mother a television commercial producer, Margaret was raised steeped in the entertainment world. She first began working with makeup while most other girls her age were still playing with dolls. Margaret and her friends fell in love with the fashion industry, hoping one day to work as models or photographers. At the tender age of 12, they began copying fashion editorials, recreating the photographs they saw in magazines. Eventually, her close friend started working for the Wilhemna Agency as a model, and Margaret was the one who helped her shoot, style and put together her portfolio. Wilhemna, impressed with the shots, began sending over models to be shot by Kimura, unaware of her young age. After graduating from high school at 15, she saved up her money and moved to Milan with a close family friend as her guardian. In Europe, she honed her craft under the tutelage of professionals, which caused her to form the opinion that the best way to learn is to be, taught by mentors, not instructors. You cant learn makeup from a textbook. These teachers inspired her to, go way beyond [her] craft. Kimura takes this notion even further, by advising, Become a role model and be an example. Be the person you want everyone to be.

For ten years she worked in fashion, spending time in Paris, Tokyo and New York and then returned home to Hollywood, where she used her skills in film, videos, commercials and fashion print. Some of her clientele have included such celebrities as, Audrey Hepburn, Lisa Ling, Tom Hanks, Andie MacDowell, Snoop Dogg, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, and many others. Apart from this illustrious work, she also has obtained much success in the business world, working in marketing for a number of diverse companies as an image consultant. This modern-day Renaissance woman has also developed makeup lines for Estee Lauder and iNouvi. Recently, she has started her own make-up line called Margaret Kimura Cosmetics and is the founder of the MKC Beauty Academy of Hollywood. Her first book Asian Beauty, is a guide aimed specifically at women of Asian and mixed ethnicities. She felt that there was a high need for Asian women to learn about their beauty and have more examples to follow. When it comes to her career goals and achievements, she is most proud of, the fact that I have been doing this for 27 years. I can mentor people. My greatest achievement is that I am a teacher.

Like every makeup artist, Margaret has her own unique and individual style. When asked what sets her apart from other artists, she answered, I think it is the fact that I focus on innovative style. I dont think there is a right or wrong way to do makeup. Known best for her use of the Shadows & Light Technique, she uses lighter tones to bring out ones best features and darker tones to downplay others. Kimura has been noted to say I know how to cover up flaws, but not who they are. She also emphasizes on the importance of blending, a skill which is most definitely one of the reasons she has such a high male clientele. Though she has the talent to work in every area of the makeup industry she claims her application style comes from her print background, which is her first passion. There are many different elements to makeup. One is the creative aspect, which I see as an art form that I feel allows me to be very three dimensional with my creativity. It allows me to transform a pre-existing canvas.

The beauty and fashion industries can sometimes be touted as superficial and shallow. However, an artist of the likes of Margaret Kimura brings intelligence, honesty and reality into it. Her perceptions on society, beauty, and life are all outlooks I can relate to and connect with. For all her endeavours, she has already achieved her goal of leaving a positive mark in the beauty world. I chose to write this paper on her for those very reasons. In my telephone interview with her, I was able to ask what advice she would give to aspiring makeup artists. Her reply was, Believe in yourself, have faith in yourself, strive. Do not let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. Feel your passion and never, ever believe there is a cap to where you can take this. The sky is the limit.