Every year, thousandsof makeup products come flooding into the Allure Magazine office. Not unlike the thousands of interns who apply each semester for coveted magazine internships, these mascaras, eye shadows, shampoos and the like are all competing for a spot of prestige at one of the country’s hottest magazines. But in the end, only the best of the best make it. These are the special products that end up making it to Allure’s annual Best of Beauty issue.
It takes a dedicated team of editors and staffers to weed through this maze of products and compile one of the beauty industry’s most valued lists of top products. At the head of that team is Angelique Serrano, Allure Magazine’s beauty editor. Serrano’s job may be fun, exciting and forever dynamic, but it’s a serious and challenging job too. As she explained in an exclusive interview, it takes a lot more than a pretty glint of glitter in a lip gloss to make it to the top of Allure’s list. Serrano and her fellow Allure employees spend months testing products and interviewing experts in the field to find the products that truly go the distance.
It may sound like a daunting task, but Serrano prefers to view it with excitement. After all, she’s living her dream and combining two of her biggest passions: writing and beauty. Before joining the staff of Allure last summer, Serrano worked for Teen People, People Magazine and Latina Magazine, where she was the beauty director. Chrissy’s Beauty School chatted with Serrano about Allure’s Best of Beauty issue, some cheap makeup thrills, and the hottest trends for the holiday season ahead. Here’s what she had to say!
Chrissy’s Beauty School: How did you get started in the beauty industry? Was it something you always saw yourself doing?
Angelique Serrano: I always loved writing, always. I went to school in Plattsburgh and I double majored in communications and print journalism, so I feel like I was always writing. At People Magazine, I worked in the style department and really started getting a feel for fashion and beauty. I continued to edit and work in fashion and beauty when I was at Latina [Magazine] and the more I worked, the more I knew that I loved the beauty industry. So [to be able to] combine the two (writing and the industry), it’s a dream.
CBS: As a beauty editor, you come across a lot of different products. But if you had to pair it down to a few essentials, what would you choose as your must-have beauty products?
AS: I think it depends on the day and what look you want to do. There are days when I can go full on and do a full eye [and] a full lip, and other times when [I do] a little less. But I think for me, mascara, black eyeliner and any sort of lip gloss [are the essentials]. Right now I’m really into a brighter pink lip…but it changes; it depends on your mood. I think that’s what’s great about makeup too: that whatever you’re feeling in the moment, you can create a look for that.
CBS: So true! Makeup is a great form of self-expression. Moving on to Allure’s Best of Beauty issue, you must have come across a few new favorite products while compiling the huge list of products featured in the issue. What were a few you absolutely loved?
AS: We all really fell in love with the TarteLipSurgence™ natural lip tint. It’s [a mix between] a stain [and] a gloss, but it’s in a pencil form. The color stays put, it’s really pretty, and it’s not drying; your lips feel really good in it. And that was something that everyone in the office liked.
We [also] did a section in Best of Beauty called Cheap Thrills and [included a] lip gloss by elf. It’s a hypershine gloss, and they’re a dollar each. They’re these clickable pens full of gloss and for a dollar, the lip gloss is amazing and you can afford to play with the look even more. They’re really great, I love them!
CBS: I loved the Cheap Thrills section! It’s so relevant for college students on a budget. Speaking of cheap thrills, what are some cheap products you love?
AS: I love Rimmel London’s Sexy Curves Mascara. That’s a great mascara, and one that I’ve gone through more than one tube of myself.
CBS: How long does it take to put together the Best of Beauty issue?
AS: It takes a long time; we’re actually testing for months! Thousands of products come in for submission and it takes months…We’re always looking for great products throughout the year, but it’s very concentrated for months.
CBS: So would you say that weeding through all these product submissions is the biggest challenge when compiling this huge list of products?
AS: That’s one of them. It starts getting even more [difficult] when you get to the really great products and you have to go even more in depth to figure out what makes one better than the other. It’s easy to look at something and [say] ‘I don’t like it,’ or find something that’s not so great about it. But when you get to the ones that are really spectacular, going through them and going more in depth and figuring out which one is best [can be really challenging].
CBS: What’s one big lesson you’ve learned so far from your time working in beauty?
AS: I think specifically when you’re working at Allure, the testing [of products] is really extensive. When we compiled Best of Beauty, we were talking to dermatologists, chemists [and] experts in these fields to get really in depth information about these products and the beauty industry itself. So it goes beyond picking up a lipstick and saying ‘Oh I think it’s pretty.’ You know, it’s really [about] getting involved and knowing what the ingredients are and figuring out what makes one product really better than another product. And we do that by a lot of personal research and, again, working with these experts in the field to really get the best information.
CBS: What are some great beauty trends you think collegeiettes™ should test out continuing through the fall and going into the holiday season?
AS: I think right now we’re really seeing a lot of great colors,like plum. It’s really a fun time to play with color: Try a hot pink lip, try wearing a plum eye shadow. We’re seeing a lot of great, great color and even moving into spring that’s true as well. So [a great way to try this trend is by] just taking a chance and maybe going one step stronger in your makeup or trying a lipstick that might be a little bit bolder than you’re used to. It’s makeup, and that’s the great thing about it: if you don’t like it you can take it off; if you like it, you can wear it for two hours and then change your mind after lunch!
CBS: What’s a great, age-appropriate holiday makeup look for collegiettes™?
AS: For the holidays, we actually are seeing a lot of makeup with shimmer and a bit of glitter in it, so really, just experiment with that. And it’s great because it’s the holiday and everyone wants to sparkle a little bit.