I've had a lifelong love affair with makeup. When I was a little girl, I used to take my mother's makeup and paint all of my dolls' faces, and I even painted the dog's face!

I don't believe any lip shade is off-limits, but texture is key. A sheer lipstick in a healthy pink or neutral color looks more polished and grown-up than a super-shiny gloss.

I'm constantly searching for ways to do better because I believe life is an evolution. It's not about reaching an end goal and hanging up your hat...It's about continually growing.

I used the stormy gray and heather brown shadows from the Lilac Rose Eye Palette to create a soft smokey eye for Veronica Beard's Spring 2013 show. The look was dramatic but delicate.

The Lilac Rose Collection isn't just about purple. It features dusty pinks and heather grays, which are more natural shades of purple and are perfect for creating a feminine smoky eye.

As a makeup artist, I learned quickly that the color of your lips affects the way a lipstick looks. If you see your friend wearing a great color, don't assume it will be right for you.

Living Beauty is about creating a new ideal, a new reality, and a new aspiration for yourself. It's a guide filled with knowledge, secrets, and solutions to make you look and feel great

Pretty Powerful symbolises my belief that all women are pretty, and with the right tools, are empowered to a higher level of pretty - it's about being confident and about being who you are

I won't put a product out that I don't 100 percent believe in. All of my products are made from the best ingredients and are made to make a woman feel like herself, only prettier and more confident.

When I interview someone, I know in the first two minutes if I like them or not. I find that if it's easy to talk to someone and I see an openness and honesty and integrity, then I usually hire them.

I'm actually a ridiculously basic person when it comes to make-up, and I pretty much wear the same things I did when I started my company 22 years ago, apart from a few differently textured foundations.

I never in a million years thought I would be the person to go to for self-esteem; that was not my intent. But I happen to love beauty, I love the way people look, and I love making women look beautiful.

I won't usually make plans with people I don't know on Fridays because all I want to do is stick my hair in a ponytail and put on a big sweater, some tights and a pair of sneakers after a week working in the city.

The easiest ways to improve your appearance is with a really good moisturizer that will plump up your skin, a bit of concealer and a creamy blush on your cheek and lip. It's quick and easy and you'll look so much better.

A year after I started college, I had no clue what I wanted to do. My mother said, forget everything else-if it were your birthday today, what would you do? I thought, I would play with makeup at the department store. So she said, do that!

Every business decision I ever made I learned from my grandfather Papa Sam. He moved here from Russia when he was a boy. He worked his way up selling newspapers and ladies' handbags, and eventually, he became Cadillac Sam, one of the biggest car dealers in Chicago.

I have high heels in my bags if I need them for a shoot. But I like sneakers. I like being comfortable. I like to sit on the floor with my team and work. I don't like to sit in fancy chairs. It's really important to the culture of my company that people understand who they're working for.

Work hard but work smart. Always. Every day. Nothing is handed to you and nothing is easy. You're not owed anything... No job or task is too small or beneath you. If you want to get ahead, volunteer to do the things no one else wants to do, and do it better. Be a sponge. Be open and learn.

I used to think that if I didn't have time to do an hour long workout class, there wasn't any point in exercising. But now, I make sure to do a little something every day: a brisk walk for 10 minutes, climbing stairs instead of taking the elevator. Then a few times a week, I do a longer workout.

Over the years I’ve worked with countless women who have inspired me with their stories. Beyond makeup, we’ve talked about life-altering events. Everything from the joy of being a new mom to dealing with homelessness and divorce. With each conversation, these women have shown that when you have the will and the heart, almost anything is possible—and that’s what Pretty Powerful is all about.

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