I have to admit that I have had the hardest time writing a post about Joe Blasco Ultamattes. I must have gone through about seven drafts before the final one. The reason being I can't put into words what I feel about this pro product, well, more pro than any of the other ones I have used because this is really a movie industry product.
Ultamattes and the UEM Brush
They have probably been a well kept secret to the general public probably because they can be misinterpreted easily by the makeup novice but to the movie makeup gurus who use these, these Ultamattes rock!
So what exactly are these? Ultamattes were created by Mr. Blasco himself. They are highly pigmented, 85% of it is pigment, cream color products for the eye area. You are probably thinking they are like any of the cream brands from the theatrical lines, the usual greasepaints. No, they aren't greasy and nothing comes close to these Ultamattes. They are creams that are used as eyeshadow, eyeliner (tightlining and waterlining), and eyebrow filler. They are waterproof, sweat proof, cry proof, and flake proof yet blend easily. They work on regular skin or for special fx on foam rubber and latex. They will not crack, crumble, or dry out; thus making these move with the skin without looking dry or tight on the eyelid. They are great on mature eyelids, one of the many reasons why my mother is a big fan.
There are eight colors available to the general public.
- Warm Light-a peach color that can be used as a brow bone highlighter, highlighter, or concealer for blue/purple on porcelain to light skin tones.
- Taupe-not really the color in a fashion sense. More of a neutral medium soft brown, the perfect crease color of the eyelid on porcelain to medium skin tones.
- Medium Gray Brown-no ashy tones in this one. More of an amber based medium brown. Great crease color for people with amber or peach undertones.
- Eddie Leonard-a medium to medium dark brown with a red tinge. Great for redheads who haven't found that right "brown" eyeliner. Also a great crease color of the eyelid for light to medium skin tones.
- Gray Violet-muted dark violet.
- Dark Gray-a clear medium to dark gray with no warmth yet no blue in it.
- Midnight Brown-an espresso brown. Great eyeliner color. For dark skin tones the contour color on the eyelid.
- Black-self explanatory black color. Great eyeliner color for drama or smoky eyes. Mix this with Midnight Brown and it makes the perfect crease color for very dark skin tones.
Each pan (26mm) is housed in a screw top or flip top container. They can be used alone or mixed by scooping some out with a spatula and mixing onto a stainless steel palette. These are hard creams that will never dry out and can be put into a palette unlike gel liners that have to be kept in a tightly capped container. You are probably thinking which Ultamatte(s) to own. Taupe, Eddie Leonard, Midnight Brown, and Black are the must haves! These are the colors that actually look like the shadow contours of the eyelid. With these colors you can use them alone or under powder eyeshadow to define your eyes. And, don't forget these as eyebrow colors, they will never look dry or powdery like brow powders.
Like I mentioned, these are movie industry makeup products and for the makeup novice will take some practice to use. These aren't the usual products where one just dips a finger and applies onto the eyes. (If you did this, you will probably be blending the stuff all the way down to your chin because of the high pigment content.) A good brush is needed and this is where the UEM brush comes in.
I thought my Cinema Secrets Filbert #2 was the magical versatile brush. Maybe, it is but another one is the UEM brush -Ultamatte Eye Magic ($19USD).
The brush comes in the standard length and the travel length. (Picture gives the details and measurements.) At first, it looks like the standard slanted eyebrow brush which it isn't. This is a brush made for detail work. First, it is made from kolinsky sable, therefore making it the ultimate hair to work with the Ultamatte creams. Second, the tip is thinned out to allow the thinnest and most detailed line to be drawn. Third, it is firm yet, at the same time, soft enough for the delicate eye area. Fourth, the ferrule is tightly crimped and the glue is immune to solvents which allows dipping into brush cleaner and alcohol without any worry of damage or hair fall out. The brush can be used to draw brow hairs, eyeshadow, eyelining (tightlining and waterlining), or used in special fx for drawing wrinkles and blood veins. In the next post I will show you how to use the UEM brush and the Ultamattes.
Ultamatte Ingredients
Ultamatte Ingredients: Petrolatum, dioctyl adipate, octyl stearate, carnauba wax, octyl palmitate, iron oxides, titanium dioxide, beeswax, corn oil, talc, butyl paraben, polyethelene glycol, tocopherol acetate, ascorbyl palmitate, citric acid, ascorbic acid. May contain: ultramarine blue, silica, chromium hydroxide green.
*UEM Brush - PR Sample.
