Celebrity makeup artist Bridgett LaDawn Washington is a not-so-hidden gem in Dallas’ beauty industry if you’re paying attention. The Glamour RX founder boasts a lengthy, ever-growing list of top-tiered celebrity faces like that of Angela Bassett, Lynn Whitfield, Sara and Serita Jakes, and Viola Davis to name a few.
We’ve been hot on her heels since experiencing a touch of Glamour RX and Bridgett LaDawn personally at a local makeup mixer, hosted by the shining star earlier this year.
With nearly two decades of professional makeup artistry under her belt, Bridgett LaDawn embarked on a journey with a friend, a chemist, to develop a successful cosmetic brand. The inspiration was birthed from a health crisis that required a lifestyle change – a change that developed her knack for mixing ingredients (cooking). Within a few years of its 2010 launch, Glamour RX grew beyond what Bridgett had imagined or planned for. Ironically, the talented personality decided to take a step back, reevaluate, perfect her business plan, refocus and regroup,
“I’ve been away too long. I know what I did to put myself in that position the first time. I know what ways I would re-do it, if I could do it again. Now is the time. And so, it’s been 2 years since I’ve been in the process of coming back.”
Bridgett through Glamour RX, is pushing to gain notoriety as a brown-girl friendly, health-conscious beauty brand with a mission to “prescribe a Glamour regimen that enhances a woman’s natural beauty and inspires her inner star to shine.”
Glamour RX’s 2017 comeback kicks off this September and we have the scoop. Bridgett cleared her schedule to welcome us in her home for all things beauty, plus a zen-inspired conversation at sunset.
Read on for the dish on Glamour RX’s health benefits; why you should be donning Glamour RX’s mineral powder; the need-to-know secrets of the “magic brush” (an ultimate for your collection); plus, how to complete a natural goddess glow in only 10 minutes!
Inspire N Style: Why was it important to you to have a health conscious brand over a more mainstream brand?
Bridgett LaDawn: “I ate some bad sushi back in 2008 and it caused a condition, basically where I had to detox. I had to detox everything from the products I used to clean the house [and] I had to go natural. Basically, I went to traditional doctors and they were like, ‘We don’t know what’s wrong with you. There is nothing wrong with you,’ they said. And when I went to a holistic doctor, they were like, ‘You know what? You need to detox. You need to get rid of all unnatural products. Eat clean food.’ And I’m like, ‘Unnatural products? I do nothing but work with products.’
So I started that journey of learning what these different chemicals do to our bodies and how they weaken our bodies’ ability to fight. Even something like a bacteria that came from some sushi. So, that’s how I started the natural journey.”
Let’s chat Glamour RX! What’s the most satisfying part of seeing the results of your hard work?
“It’s really the interaction with the women — seeing how the product performs on their skin. Knowing that, I think the most gratifying thing is seeing someones scars actually get healed by the zinc.
One of my reps had been in a car accident and she had really bad scarring because she went through the windshield. After about two years of using the products, her scars, which she had had since her teens (she’s in her thirties)…had been diminished. You couldn’t see them. It went from when I first met her (they were 10 year old scars), where you couldn’t look at her without kind of seeing and being distracted by the scarring; [to] you couldn’t see it. And the only thing that she could equate that to was the formula, the zinc.”
Is it best to use an all-natural cleansing routine along with your products?
“I think it’s best to do that anyway. What I’ve learned on my journey is anything that you can do to cut out chemicals do it, in every area of your life.
How does the formula work with dry skin especially for those who usually stay away from powders? Does Glamour RX provide full coverage without over-drying the skin?
“So, there is silk amino [acid] in the powder that attracts moisture from the air, and that is like huge! That enables the dryer skin to wear [the foundation powder] fuller coverage and not dry the skin out. Now, there are exceptions — I think there are exceptions to every rule. I think that you have some people whose skin is already so dry, wearing a powder or even a liquid matte formula is just not complimentary to their skin. They really do need like a liquid/satin formula.”
So in that case, can a carrier be mixed with it to make it a liquid?
“Ok, now you’re working like I do! I don’t sell that carrier but I do recommend one [by] Marc Jacobs. The coconut water primer and my foundation come together in like this holy matrimony — it’s so beautiful!”
How is it that Glamour RX Mineral foundation powder has so many uses: powder, cream, liquid, concealer, etc.?
“Because it’s pigment and not fillers — that’s what makes it so concentrated, [and] why you only need a little bit. Traditionally when you’re buying makeup, you’re buying a filler.
Think of it like this. It’s almost like in cooking, if you have sugar and you add lots of flour eventually it’s not going to be as sweet. It’s the same thing with makeup. So you have the color and then you can add in this other thing that feels like the color and looks like the color. It has the same type of texture, in a sense, as the color. But it isn’t color, so it dilutes the products.”
As a mother, you know time is of the essence, how does Glamour RX help with time constraints?
“It’s an easy-wear product [and] an all-in-one foundation. You can use it as a concealer. It’s all about the brush you use and the primer. Another thing is that the products are long-wearing so you don’t spend as much time doing touch ups. You can put it on and be confident that you’re still going to look fresh hours later.”
We know that you rave about your “magic brush”. We’ve tried it and we love it! What are the different uses for the magic brush?
“It can be used in anything: wet, dry, cream, concealer powders, concealers in a liquid form, cream eye shadow [and] it can also translate into a blending brush. So anyway that you apply color to the eye, it can do it. It’s a great little blending tool, too. So anywhere that you see an area that you want to blur or soften, that’s the brush for you. The magic brush is good for fine tuning.”
What look can be accomplished with Glamour RX foundation and the magic brush with only 10 minutes to spare?
“I’m still going to say you need a powder brush if you have ten minutes. The magic brush is so small that it will take you too long to do it. Put it like this — with Glamour RX and a fat powder brush, you can get out the door in a minute!
I like to do my eyes first. I’ll use colors on my eyes that transition to my highlight as well, so I can add a little glow to my skin as well as pop the eye. I know it’s really popular for girls to put bright highlights on, but if you’re trying to achieve a more natural, quick [sic] kind of look, you’re going to need something closer to your skin tone, so that your highlight gives that glow, but it’s not too bright.
Magic brush versus a dusting brush. So you use your magic brush to concentrate on the eyes and take your powder brush and lightly dust your blush shade to carve out and contour the eyes. You can use your foundation color as well.
At that point, you put your foundation powder on, and then, from there, highlight your cheeks, throw on a lip gloss, mascara, brow if needed and you’re done!”
What additional tips can you tell us to help create an everyday look that saves on time?
“I think it’s really more about the colors you select as the on-the-go woman. The right shade of highlight serves a multipurpose and becomes this instant glow-all for you. Knowing those shades and having a complimentary foundation shade is very important. Something that looks more like skin versus foundation.
The magic brush I love because you can work under the eye to do your concealing, you can put your eyeshadow on, you can cover spots with it — it’s easy. So essentially you can have an angle brush, a magic brush, and a powder brush that doubles as a blush brush and nothing else, and you’re still going to come up with nice, full face results.”
Shop Glamour RX at www.glamourrx.com and for booking, visit www.bridgettladawn.com. Photos used courtesy of Bridgett LaDawn Washington.
