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"I'll never forget my grandmother's reaction when I first explained my job to her. \"You're a beauty editor?\" she asked, bemused. \"Why would anyone listen to you, Eva? You never wear makeup!\" Darlings, here's a secret: Most beauty editors prefer to look like they don't need to wear makeup. Natural beauty is the name of the game\u2014despite the fact that pearly white smiles, perfectly undone waves, and glowing skin that looks amazing sans maquillage are typically the result of Crest Whitestrips, Serge Normant dry shampoo, and an average of five facial products a day.\n\n This is all a rather long-winded way of saying that Beauty Blogger experienced quite the culture shock upon meeting one Nicki Minaj, whose beauty motto is (in her own words): \"Color, color, color. When in doubt, add color. Then, add some more.\"\n\n The occasion for our meeting was an extreme beauty makeover of epic proportions, in celebration of Nicki's Viva Glam campaign for the M.A.C. AIDS Fund. \"The lipstick I created is my new signature\u2014a fresh hot pink. I wanted a shade that would make girls stop to wonder, Would this look good on me? before trying it on\u2014and then fall in love with it,\" explained Nicki. \"My goal is to raise $26 million for HIV/AIDS awareness. Viva Glam is something so much bigger than me.\"\n\n Truth be told, Nicki's can-do attitude extends beyond philanthropy\u2014she likes doing her own makeup as well. \"I DIY'ed myself for a major magazine shoot a few weeks ago,\" she said, shrugging. \"Sometimes a makeup artist will do my makeup, and when they're done I'll think to myself, I know I can look a lot prettier than this. I'm just being honest, you know?\"\n\n And her honest assessment of my makeup situation? \"You have potential. First of all, though, no matter what we put on your face, you have to remember that the secret to beauty is confidence. Promise that no matter what you look like afterward, you're going to own it.\" I promised. Her makeup prescription was intense\u2014Beauty Blogger would print it, except it'd take up about three pages (for the detailed report, check out teenvogue.com/beauty). Suffice it to say, it involved a plethora of colors\u2014neon green, baby pink, electric blue, hot pink, and white, to name a few\u2014that included more than 20 (delicious) M.A.C. products to be used on my face. I was mildly concerned. \"Remember,\" warned Nicki. \"You promised.\"\n\n In a veritable beauty sprint, M.A.C. senior makeup artist Gina Bettelli and I had just under 20 minutes to create a Nicki-approved look. Nineteen minutes and 59 seconds later, we showed the finished product to Nicki. She was\u2014to my extreme satisfaction\u2014 stunned speechless for a second. \"I didn't even recognize you,\" she said. \"Look at all that color! Don't you feel happier already?\" And, dear reader, I did."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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