travellingtoworkwithherwhenshe
wasunwell.“I’llneverforgetthat
moment.I toldhertobuya bottle
ofwaterandshesaidnobecauseshe
didn’thavethemoney.That’swhen
I knewI hadtobecomesuccessful,
becauseI wantedtochangeherlife.”
Everymorning,hewouldwatch
hisoldersisterdohermake-up.
Captivated,heappliedfora jobat
beautyretailgiantSephora.Therehe
immersedhimselfintheworldof
make-upartistry,visitingthelibrary
afterworktoresearchhisfavourite
artist,KevynAucoin.Hekepthis
new-foundhobbya secretfromhis
traditionallymindedfamily,butthey
foundoutaftertheydiscovereda
hiddenshoeboxfilledwithmake-up
Asherfansbecameincreasingly
obsessedwithheraesthetic,
Kardashianstartedsharingherglam
transformationsonsocialmediaand
Dedivanovic’sstarascended.“Afterwe
uploadedthatfirstYouTubevideoin
2009,I cameoutofthesubwayand
I hadhundredsofFacebookmessages
frompeopleaskingmequestions.”
That’swhentheideaforthe
masterclasswasbornandhehosted
hisfirstworkshopthesameyearwith
just 16 attendees.Tenyearslaterand
hismasterclassesarea phenomenon,
takinghimtoEurope,Asia,
AustraliaandtheMiddle
East.Kardashianherself
hasevenmadeguest
appearances.
Asa beautyeditor,
I getmyfacepainted
professionallya lot,and
I hateit everytime.I’ve
perfectedthe“Ohmygod,
I loveit”reaction,while
staringatmyreflectionand
wonderingwhyI looklikeMadEye
Moodymid-PolyjuicePotion
transformation.It’snotthatthose
peoplearen’ttalented,byanymeans,“Myinstinct
andintuition
arepartof
mysuccess”and brushes. “My sister found it and
showed it to my mum. When I came
home that day they were freaking out
and staged an intervention. I broke
down and told them that I’m a
make-up artist and this is what I do.”
Their initial disapproval only
motivated him more, and after
building a portfolio he quit his retail
job and went freelance. “I told myself,
‘This is it. You have no other option.
You can’t go back, you have to make
it work.’” After establishing a small
roster of celebrity clients and
socialites including Natasha
Bedingfield, Dedivanovic’s
photographer friend called
in a favour and asked him
to do make-up the next day
for a little-known reality
star called Kim Kardashian,
who had just filmed season
one of Keeping Up With
The Kardashians. “I did the
make-up I normally do and
she said it was the first time
she looked how she wanted to look.”
Dedivanovic became Kardashian’s
go-to make-up artist and the pair
were soon inseparable.102 ·^ COSMOPOLITAN
Mario on
stage at his
masterclass