Kay Montano Takes Us Inside Her Makeup Bag

Kay Montano has many strings to her bow. The makeup artist began her career at just 16 years old, working behind-the-scenes on fashion shoots with some of the world’s biggest models and photographers (including the likes of Helmet Newton, Steven Meisel, Bruce Weber and Mario Testino). From there, she made her way to Hollywood’s red carpet – with an impressive client roster spanning Julianne Moore, Jennifer Connelly, Rachel Weisz, Kirsten Dunst and Charlize Theron – collecting collaborations with Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton and Calvin Klein along the way.

Montano is now one of the most-requested A-list MUAs (and a Chanel beauty ambassador, to boot), with an impressive following on social media – and she still loves what she does. ‘Makeup is like a magic wand that improves what I’ve got, lessens what I don’t. It’s an accessible ritual for getting ready to face the day,’ she tells C&TH. ‘I still genuinely enjoy the impact that makeup has on myself – and, via my job, the impact it has on others. Being able to make myself feel better within themselves, while earning a living, is something I am so very grateful for.’

Below, Kay Montano takes us through her makeup bag, the products she can’t live without and her beauty philosophy.

What’s Inside My Makeup Bag? With Kay Montano

Let’s start with the bag itself – describe it for us.

I’m currently using a washable, cotton bag that’s decked out in a lion print.

What’s your pre-makeup beauty ritual?

Due to changes in weather, environment and health, I don’t have a rigid ritual. I adapt my pre-makeup skin prep to what my skin needs – is it dehydrated and need more serum? Does my skin look dull and need exfoliating? Is my skin so dry that I add more oil to my moisturiser? This tends to guide my routine.

Let’s break down your makeup routine – prep?

A few things: I like to use Rapid Lash Eyelash Enhancing Serum, Skinceuticals H.A. Intensifier Multi-Glycan, Keats The Moisturising Cream, Wilder Botanics Phyto Radiance Day Oil and Lush Lip Service lip balm.

Tools?

When putting makeup on myself, the only ‘tools’ I use besides my fingertips are my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Face Brush (it’s double-ended so I use one side for blush, the smaller end to contour) and my Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler. Both of these items – along with concealer and lip liner – are the items that really make me feel set for the day.

Face?

Firstly, I warm the high points of my face with Merit Bronze Balm in Clay, then neutralise the redness around my nose with Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick in VII. To brighten my eyes I use Chanel’s Colour Correcteur in Pêche to brighten the dull tone, then lighten the dark circles with Victoria Beckham by Augustinus Bader’s The Concealer Pen in M1.

For blush, I dab the bigger end of my Hourglass brush onto Rhode’s Pocket Blush in Juice Box, applying it high onto my cheeks (smiling helps get the application in the right place) and use the other (smaller) end of the brush to contour my cheekbones with Westman Atelier’s Face Trace Contour Stick in Truffle. As I’ve got older, the socket lines of my eyes have lost shape so I also use the Contour Stick to put the depth and shape back to my eyes using a slim eyeshadow brush.

Eyes?

My absolute favourite eye pencils are Lisa Eldridge’s Seamless Glide Eye Pencils because they have the two elements every makeup artist wants in an eye pencil: dense pigment, and, unlike ‘longwear’ eye pencils, highly blendable, giving your eyes a sensual smoulder. My daily go-to is Ground Coffee, but I also use the warmer Burnt Umber, or Cinder Smoke if I’m out at night and want a smoky eye.

After this, I curl my lashes with Kevyn Aucoin’s Eyelash Curler, and use 19/99’s Lash Tint Mascara in Black – it has a tiny brush which I love, as I find most brushes far too large these days.

Eyebrows?

I shape and fill my eyebrows with Chanel’s Defining Longwear Eyebrow Pencil in Brun Profond, brush them up and set with Elf’s Brow Laminating Gel.

Lips?

I never wear lipstick; I prefer instead (after applying Lush Lip Service) to line my lips with a mix of Chanel’s Longwear Lip Pencil in Beige Rose, and Jane Iredale’s Nutmeg Lipliner. I finish off by painting the edges with Lipcote from Boots so that my lipliner stays on for hours.

Kay Montano and Kate Moss

One product you always carry in your handbag?

I love having shaped lips and curled up lashes – so I always carry Jane Iredale’s Lip Liner in Nutmeg in my handbag in case I lose my lip line, and my Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler to keep my eyes looking perky.

What’s the most luxurious thing in your makeup bag?

The most luxurious item to use in my kit is my Lisa Eldridge Seamless Glide Eye Pencil in Black Coffee. It’s so smoulderingly dark and chocolatey to apply.

What about the hero product you can’t live without, and have used for years?

I’ve been using Lipcote since I was a teenager. Also, eyelash curlers, under-eye concealer and lip liner are coming with me to that desert island.

Tell us about a beauty trend you love…

Having grown up amidst the incredible street style of the music-based subculture of the 80s, and fashion shoots from age 16, I’m not particularly influenced by industry-led trends. My job was always to create an original and modern makeup look, which along with the hairdresser, stylist, photographer and model, could make a little black dress look completely different to the way it did last season. Clothes don’t change, the elements around them (how they’re put together and worn) do. An essential part of my role as a fashion makeup artist was aiming to provide something imaginative that achieved this.

We naturally pick things up aesthetically by osmosis, and creatives are mining the cultural ether by living and absorbing it. We were making influential imagery, rather than being led by it.

And one you can’t wait to see fall out of fashion?

I’m looking forward to seeing young faces that are less heavily contoured and covered with powder foundation. In the UK, the trend for wearing over-sized, densely-solid, stick-on black false lashes adds to an almost clone-like look – especially when applied alongside overfilled, ‘duck-shaped’ lips that are usually topped off with the hard-lined, extreme shapes of microblading.

But if I was 16 now, who knows what I’d be up to. Experimentation is part of going from child to adult.

What’s something you did beauty-wise in your youth that you’d never do again?

I’d never pluck my eyebrows into thinness ever again, or use powder foundation.

The best piece of beauty advice you’ve been given?

I’ve never remembered (or never listened to) any piece of beauty advice to be honest. I’ve always been a voracious consumer of information and have also learned a lot from my own mistakes.

What’s your beauty philosophy?

I’ll steal my beauty philosophy from a quote attributed to Oscar Wilde: ‘Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.’

What item do you think should be in every makeup bag?

Everyone deserves a good under-eye concealer. No other makeup will make you look better unless your under-eyes are brightened. And don’t forget: curling your eyelashes can truly make the difference between looking half asleep and bright-eyed.

More From Kay

Keep up with Kay Montano on Instagram at @kaymontano.