Makeup Artist Corner: Q&A With Michael DeVellis

The adorable Michael DeVellis, founder of The Powder Group and The Artist Summit Miami and Chicago, took some time to chat with Makeup Junkie about the relaunch of On Makeup Magazine Fall/Winter 2009. If you're a makeup artist, On Makeup Magazine is a must-have resource. Even if you're just a makeup lover, this magazine is full of the latest in beauty and features stunning editorials. One of our favourite sections is Kit Focus - see what all the beauty experts are using in their kits!

Makeup Junkie: What is On Makeup Magazine?

Michael DeVellis: On Makeup Magazine is a unique kind of trade publication for the professional makeup industry. We focus on makeup, makeup artists and makeup artistry. The art of makeup and the perspective of the artist is the primary focal point. Everything from tv and film to beauty and fashion is covered even special FX! But we don't get into hard-core FX like aliens and gore - that's just not who we are. We like to say we are "Monster-Free"!

MJ: What is the story behind the magazine?

DeVellis: I've been fortunate enough to be in the pro-makeup industry for nearly 16 years and one of the things i always thought was missing was a magazine for the pro-community that was focused on the art of makeup. When I launched The Powder Group 6 years ago, the magazine was something i knew i wanted to produce. There are so many gorgeous fashion magazines with amazing beauty and editorial makeup, but nothing for the pro makeup artist or focusing on makeup exclusively. There are salon magazines that focus on hair, and one or two other publications that are focused on makeup but they take a more film/fx direction and are not driven by the aesthetic beauty that is intrinsic in makeup artistry. That is our focus.

MJ: What is the creative process behind publishing the magazine every season?

DeVellis: We try to allow the most creative freedom possible to the artists, writers and photographers who work with us. They are given the opportunity to create their ultimate beauty story or interview, within a few parameters. When we are determining what the next issue will look like, we look at the artists who we have relationships and see what they are working on, and how we can work that into the issue. We also look at new productions in TV, film and theater, and see what looks interesting to take on a broad array of perspectives on makeup. We try to maintain some type of overall energy to each issue, but there is no "theme" that we stick to. We want to be sure that we are always coming across as fresh and new and try to throw new ways of thinking about beauty and makeup into each issue.

MJ: How many people work on each issue of On Makeup Magazine?

DeVellis: It may be surprising that there are so few people behind putting the magazine out but there really are only a few of us working on it. It has been a pretty intense learning curve given that 18 months ago I didn't know what an FTP site was and now I design and set up pretty much every page of the magazine myself. James Vincent, our Director of Artistry, manages most of the photo-shoots for our product features as well as special features like Beauty Queen - along with a thousand other things he does for the magazine! He is amazing. We work with an amazing (and very patient!) technical graphic designer, Theresa Petruso, who does some of the set-up, and all the tech-stuff to make sure the files are okay to print and uploads everything. Kelly Hushin is our copy editor - and is amazing and fast and always very kind about the fact that we give her no notice on things and she gets it all done so quickly! Then we have a team that help make sure everything gets out to the subscribers, retailers and schools. Plus of course the dozens of writers, makeup artists and photographers who contribute to each issue.

MJ: What have been some of your favourite features?


DeVellis: There have been so many favorites in our short time publishing. I think that one of my all-time favorites was the James Vincent Barbarella beauty story. James is such an amazing artist and we decided that we would go outside of our normal format for this story. He really created an amazing visual piece, with the most gorgeous makeup I think we have ever featured. I also love our Reality Check feature - where we talk to people on the street and ask them each the same question, like "what lipstick are you wearing?" From a personal standpoint though I think that our Icon and Giving features are really special as we look at beauty and makeup from the perspective of creating something more than pretty faces and giving back to the community and the world at large.

MJ: What do you want people to take away after reading On Makeup Magazine?

DeVellis: I hope that our reader is inspired to look at makeup and makeup artistry in a different way than they might expect. We have tried to create a resource for artists to not only learn about makeup technique and new products, but to explore other paths within makeup artistry.

MJ: What's next for On Makeup Magazine?

DeVellis: Well our next big project - The Artist Summit Miami and Chicago - is a big deal for On Makeup Magazine on a lot of levels. We are doing a really cool opportunity for anyone attending the Career Night on the Saturday of The Artist Summit, where we will choose one artist in each city to have a photo story featured in the next issue of On Makeup Magazine. We are really excited about that.


We also will be doing a special, additional Summer issue in 2010 called On Styling Magazine that will approach the art of hair styling in the same way as we work with makeup for On Makeup Magazine. You are the first to hear about this!

MJ: Where can people buy On Makeup Magazine?
DeVellis: Well since we are now publishing only two issues a year, we have moved away from retailing the issues in stores, but they can be picked up online at thepowdergroup.com on our SHOP page. We also offer four-issue subscriptions globally, so it can get delivered right to your door. The Fall issue just arrived at our office and our next issue comes out early next year so new subscribers would want to purchase an issue online. Past issues are always available online as well.

www.thepowdergroup.com