There are days when washing your face and rubbing in some moisturiser is enough, and there are days when you need to let out your inner artist, arm yourself with your secret stash of make up and do your thing! What better place to visit to bring you the latest trends in make-up than Sephora, a chain of stores for cosmetics and makeup products. The one in Phoenix Marketcity recently organised an event where Vivek Bali, Chief Operating Officer, Sephora India at Arvind Beauty Brands, Ajoy Sengupta, Regional Trainer for Sephora West and South, were present. So we took the opportunity to pick their brains to find out what’s big in the make-up right now.
Bridal brightness
Sengupta tells it like it is. He has noticed that Indian bridal make-up is pretty much contemporary, specially with younger brides. “I think they’re looking to wear make-up that just makes them feel comfortable (and not as uncomfortable as their mothers might want them to feel),” he snickers, adding, “It’s really about radiant skin, not about too much make-up. You need to use it just where it’s required — to cover up a concern. But it’s most important to keep your skin as radiant as possible.”
He talks about how highlighting the eyes is a big thing for Indian brides. “They are choosing to go for smoky eyes over the more defined black kohl. Golden smoky eyes look pretty and fresh without being overbearing. There are a lot of women I see who are going away from really dark lipstick. I think they equate it to being vampish, although it’s not true, whatever works for you. If you’re focusing on the eyes, then the lips should grab less attention and vice-versa,” says Sengupta.
But going back to the basics, he talks about the importance of a good primer and selecting the correct shade of foundation. “Many people think that if you use a lighter shade of foundation, it will make you look bright. But when photographs are taken and you are exposed to flashy lights, your face will look ashy, and that’s definitely not what you want. Find a suitable shade of foundation for your skin tone; those with neutral or yellow tones must stick to yellow tone foundations,” he suggests.
Keep fresh all day long
Though mantra for looking crisp all day long is cliché, it is the truth – keep it simple. “Please use primers! It makes your make-up last much, much longer. Also, everybody needs to hydrate. It doesn’t matter if you have oily skin or dry skin – we all need to hydrate! People with oily skin believe that they don’t need to use a moisturiser, which is wrong. We all drink water, so we all need to hydrate our skin. For oily skin you can use a light gel or lotion, for dry skin you should use a cream,” explains Sengupta.
Protecting your skin from the sun is as important as hydration. He cannot stress enough on how vital it is to use SPF. “Generally, SPF 50 gives you eight hours of protection. Many women say that SPF makes them sweat – well, we’re in India, it’s hot, you’re going to sweat anyway!” he quips, adding, “Put on your sunscreen 20 minutes before you leave your house. After you apply it, maybe do chores, drink your tea or coffee, whatever, then do your make-up and go out of the house. You should get the look you need without being extra sweaty,” he says.
Deck up for the evening
The look for summer evenings is all about keeping it light and clean. “Pump up the eye area a little. Use a kohl pencil, smudge it around your lash line to build up the smoky look. Stay away from black though. I know Indian women love black, but just try brown for a change. It will enhance your eyes without all the smudging that comes with black. Make sure the product is water proof. Then just apply an intense lip colour. Opt for warmer tones like maroon, red. Get glossy lip colour for a more saturated look,” says Sengupta.
Set for office
Though nude lip colours are in, Sengupta suggests you pick up mauve tones rather than the peachy and pink ones. "Please remember lip balm, pencil, lipstick- use all three to make your lip colour last longer," says he.
For your eyes, he advises. " I would say a nice smoky kohl pencil or liner, and lots of mascara should do the trick. I feel you must use a primer, you don't even have to finish it with liquid foundation, you can just dust your face, with a powder that will matte-fy you for the day"
Off to college
Coloured mascara is what this season is all about. Since young girls tend to be more experimental, college scenes are going to become vividly colourful. “Whether it’s liquid liner in blue, red, or green, you must try something other than black. The same goes for mascara,” he says adding that coloured lashes add oodles of spunk to your entire look.
Bringing the focus to the lips, he says tinted gloss used to be a favourite among young girls, but nowadays everybody’s using lip stains or lustre matte colours. “Preference of lip colours changes, it’s a generation thing I feel. Younger girls prefer glitter and gloss, as they get older satin to matte finish lipsticks becomes their thing. The colours stay the same across the board, the texture changes. Lustre matte is definitely in. It’s a natural matte, not like a powdery dry matte. Some lustre matte lipsticks have avocado oil in them to moisturise the lips,” he says.
