Mario Dedivanovic: From humble beginnings to makeup artistry stardom

Skincare Anarchy
5 min readFeb 8, 2022

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Mario Dedivanovic is one of the most influential makeup artists and brand founders of this generation. His chic and snatched makeup looks on celebrities is what helped him make a name for himself, these looks are seen on stars like Jennifer Lopez to Priyanka Chopra to his most frequent muse, Kim Kardashian West. Mario’s technique’s and precisely perfect looks have
shot him to stardom within the beauty community. His makeup brand “Makeup by Mario” has had phenomenal success as it is a true reflection of his style of makeup artistry and the ready to use products are a hit amongst beauty consumers.

Mario got his start at seventeen years old, originally from Bronx, New York, he visited a Sephora store in Manhattan, New York, with his mother and fell in love immediately. He comes from immigrant parents and expressed to us in his interview that he instinctively knew that makeup was towards the ‘bottom of the list’, regarding paths he could’ve chosen to spend his life on. Nonetheless, he pursued makeup and applied to work at Sephora, due to his inexperience with makeup, they hired him as a Fragrance Consultant. He says about those days, “From the very first day of working there I was naturally more attracted to makeup artistry.” (Dedivanovic).

He fell in love with the art surrounding makeup and the transformative process it required, he was constantly playing around with makeup and making recommendations to customers while
working there, learning as much about it as he could. “I knew on the first day of working there (Sephora) that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” (Dedivanovic).

Pursuing makeup paid off for Mario, he is now a brand owner of his very own makeup brand (Makeup by Mario) and continues to blow audiences away with his artistry on well known celebrities. Another endeavor of his that has blown consumers out of the water, is his masterclass. “In 2009, Mario launched The Masterclass which became a global phenomenon. This unprecedented education platform has welcomed over 25,000 students to sold-out events in cities across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. Serving as a teacher, role model, and inspiration to makeup artists and beauty lovers around the world,
Mario generously shares the signature techniques he’s mastered over his career working with celebrities, magazines, on the red carpet, and at photoshoots.” (makeupbymario.com). His masterclasses have become a staple to his brand as a person and have taught so many willing listeners about his tips and tricks as well as his personal techniques. “How do I now take this,
and really break it down and simplify it so that the person at home, who’s using the makeup can be faster and smarter about their application, and be able to recreate my signature techniques in less time and make their look more effortless.” (Dedivanovic).

His goal is to teach the everyday person that it’s possible for them to achieve these looks using his steps, by themselves. His artistry style is based on architecture, he says. He finds his approach to be very organic in taking the symmetry of the face and enhancing all the features that will make the
person look snatched yet natural. On our podcast he spoke about his approach and said, “I have a very architectural approach, what gets me super inspired is looking at the symmetry of the face and analyzing the face. How can I perfect this, how can I lift this, how can I lower this, how can I cinch this. That’s the aspect of makeup artistry that I really love…It’s really about balance,
symmetry and the architecture of the face. I attract those types of clients that like that kind of look.” (Dedivanovic). His makeup skill has influenced the beauty space so much because of his clientele and the looks he gives them, he’s a perfectionist in the best way possible.

Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

His most famous and well known muse is Kim Kardashian West. He talks about the importance of highlighting the face’s natural beauty and the best features on someone when doing their makeup. He approaches makeup in an architectural way, meaning he likes to look at someone’s features and use the makeup to make them appear flawless and glamorous without it being too outlandish. “Most celebrities have a signature that they look really good in, so I tend to carry that out. I work to make them look as beautiful as possible. I gauge that by, towards the end of that process, they look in the mirror and they feel ready to go out there.” (Dedivanovic). His technique and style and creativity all speak volumes through his makeup brand and the results of
the makeup he’s done on some of the most influential women in the world.

If you haven’t already, check out his makeup brand at beauty stores near you or at Makeupbymario.com! We loved having Mario on our show, it was an absolute honor to host someone as talented as him and we look forward to seeing what he does in the future.

Sources
Website: “About — MAKEUP BY MARIO.” Makeup by Mario,
https://www.makeupbymario.com/pages/about. Accessed 7 February 2022.
Podcast: Yadav, Ekta. Skincare Anarchy. Podcast. 2022. Anchor, Ekta Y.,
https://anchor.fm/skincareanarchy.

Author: Remy Vidal
Concept By: Ekta Y MD MBA MS and Remy Vidal

Art: Jennifer Rivas, Sarah Hale, Jazmyn Gonzalez

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Skincare Anarchy
Skincare Anarchy

Written by Skincare Anarchy

“THE SKIN AUTHORITY” (CEW) Exclusive look into the beauty industry via interviews with entrepreneurs & industry professionals. https://lnk.bio/skinanarchy