OMC: What beauty mistakes do women make?

Billy B: Eyebrows! If you don't know (and most don't) how to shape your eyebrows, this is what I tell women: if you don't have the money to get them done every month, go and get them done once. Then you can see the shape they're supposed to be and you can do them yourself. When your brows grow back in, or if they start getting out of whack again, you can go once every three months, or twice a year. It's the single most drastic thing that can change a woman's face.

Makeup is supposed to be fun! You can wash it off; it's not permanent! The goal is not to cover your skin up but to have pretty skin. Makeup it supposed to accentuate. It's used to highlight features you have or you can completely erase them and start over. It's like two extremes. That's the beauty of it. It shouldn't be intimidating. I'm not big on rules -- If you're 50, and want to wear cobalt blue eyeshadow, have at it, but learn how to use it.

OMC: Where do you find inspiration for your looks?

Billy B: Because I am self-taught, the way I taught myself was solely on inspiration. I never had anyone show me how to do anything. The way I learned how to do makeup was looking at people like on the subway -- what looked good, what didn't look good, why did it look good? I would practice and learn from my own mistakes.

Then I stopped buying magazines. It was liberating for me because then you find your own inspiration. I'm a huge collector and love going to flea markets and thrift stores and iconic movies from every era. Part of the job of being a really good makeup artist is knowing iconic women in history. I'm intrigued by that stuff; it's my job. I mean, if a photographer makes an obscure reference to an actress then you have to know who it is.

OMC: What are the trends in makeup this fall?

Billy B: Trends are created from a cosmetic point of view. They're created by cosmetic companies to make consumers believe they're hip if they do a certain thing. In general, I don't really believe in trends. I believe that trends don't work for everybody, and they don't make sense for everyone to follow them.

What I always say is that your personal style is how you look best. Practice that look every day. If there's a trend you like, take part of that trend and introduce that into your basic wardrobe and incorporate it. You find what works for you, what time you have and what aspect of your face needs help.

Trends on the runway: I don't know who predicts them or how that happens. It's weird and it's tricky for me -- I don't know how that works. I do what's right for the job, the person's face and I think that's how a real person should look -- what works for them.

What's your personal style?

Billy B: I don't think I have any personal style (laughs). I just saw a saying recently and thought, "That's me." It said: "You either have incredibly personal style of how you look or a concrete personal style in the way you live." It's the way I live for me. I wear jeans and T-shirts and I could care less if it's Gucci or Old Navy. I have both. I buy what I like. I'm not driven by labels by any means.

OMC: What was your favorite look you've ever done for an event, fashion show, etc.?

Billy B: David and Blond Philippe. They were just inspiring. The show was inspired by "Legend"-it's an early Tom Cruise movie, it's about fantasy. I rented it and it's just this wild, fantastic fairy tale. It was incredibly fun to do. I love what I do, and the more, the better. I can do beautiful, natural makeup-but it's fun to do a challenge and just paint.

OMC: What are the best and the worst things about working with celebrities?

Billy B: The best thing is when you really respect their work. When you're really lucky enough to work with someone who is really talented.

The worst thing is the people around them. Their publicist, their manager. (A celebrity is) a woman just like you that happens to be in an extraordinary situation. They're just people doing their job, but it's in front of the world. The people around them are the ones that are nuts. It's like this machine around them. That's the hardest part.

I'll give you an example. (Sometimes) you go to go work with someone you've never worked with before, and you get a three-page e-mail that says, "Don't address them any other way than this, do not smoke, do not look at them, cover your tattoos up if you have them." And you get there, and the first thing (the celebrity will) ask is, "Do you smoke? Let's go out and smoke."

There's this ridiculousness created around them (by these people), who are nobodies. That's the worst part of the job.

OMC: You are opening a salon with Syd Curry, who's also appearing in Milwaukee Fashion Week. When is that opening?

Billy B: It will be called the Billy B Beauty and Syd Curry salon. It's in Aberdeen, Miss. (Where Billy B grew up). It's the first and only flagship store for Billy B Beauty.

It's almost finished, but we're not sure when it's opening. I think it will officially be open in December.

Everyone thinks what I do is so glamorous because I work with celebrities but it's just a job. It's a great job, just the same.

Isn't it ironic? Not to get all Oprah on you, but I had to leave (Mississippi) and I was running from who I was and found all this success and fame -- and you realize: you're the same person. So, you can go home and celebrate your success.