Everyone knows that beauty and fashion go hand in hand. Unfortunately, my beauty knowledge is limited to say the very least. Thankfully, I have my very own personal make-up artist: my roommate Emma Thanhauser. Emma, who is currently a senior French major, has been in charge of make-up for fashion shows, plays and photo-shoots. I’m extremely lucky that I can run to her for help whenever I need any sort of beauty product advice. So what better person to talk to about make-up with?!
Q: Hi Emma! Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into make-up?
A: Hey! I got into make-up during the third grade. Do you remember all those Caboodle make-up boxes that everyone used to have? My sister, who is 2 years older than me, used to get little lip-glosses from drugstores and various places to put inside. Naturally, I started experimenting with them. And then, I was also really into pop music, so I wanted the light pink lip-gloss that Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera had. My sister and I watched Clueless, so of course that was part of it.
Q: What are some of your favorite beauty products?
A: Well, for skin I am devoted to Lancome. I’ve used their Dual Finish powder since freshmen year. It’s the perfect consistency, it smells faintly like roses, it never looks cakey, it has just the right amount of coverage and the applicator that comes with it is very soft. In terms of blush, I don’t think anything will really ever compare to Nars. Their formula is perfect, it has just the right amount of pigment and it’s just universally flattering, especially in the color Orgasm, which made him famous, and Deep Throat [cue awkward cough and smiles]. In terms of other blushes, Benefit is really good. They have little boxed blushes that smell really nice. The color Dandelion is especially nice. The only problem with those is that they only show up on pale skin. However, this makes them extremely difficult to over-apply which is a problem a lot of people run in to.
Q: How do you feel about lipstick?
A: Lipstick is definitely one of the products that you can splurge on. A luxurious lipstick that not only lasts a long time, but also is the perfect color for you, can make you feel more confident.
Q: Is there any specific lipstick brand that holds a special place in your heart?
A: Chanel’s lipsticks are across-the-board amazing. The texture is fantastic, the packaging is sleek and beautiful and sort of retro. You can recognize one of their shades from a million feet away. Honorable mention goes to Hourglass. Their tubes come with awesome mirrors that you can swivel around, and their lipsticks come out opaque and full-color. Also, they are impossible to apply poorly. It’s a liquid lipstick that definitely feels like lipstick. Raven, Riviera and Icon are some of my personal recommendations from the brand.
Q: Are there any products that you don’t need to splurge on?
A: Nail polish! Everyone has moments with different colors that they like. If you like changing up your nail color based on your mood, you don’t need to spend a ton of money doing so. More specifically, Color Club has some really fun holographic nail polishes for spring, including my favorite color Cherubic. Covergirl has a new range of Long-Lasting nail colors with an amazing red, Ever Reddy. Finally, Zoya makes great, inexpensive nail polish that seem to have the perfect formula. In terms of make-up, Covergirl has an eye-shadow trio called Shimmering Sands that’s amazing… it’s powdery, buttery, soft, wonderful. Rimmel also has a fantastic mascara called Glam’ Eyes. Their liquid eyeliner is also great since it has a very flexible brush for high precision.
Q: Are there any smart ways for us to go shopping for make-up?
A: Yes! When you go shopping for make-up, if you see a specific item that you like … do a Google image search of the word swatch and the brand/color of the product. Because there’s a huge beauty community online with tons of blogs that review many products, chances are, someone will have reviewed yours.
Q: Do you change up your routine at all during the winter time?
A: I personally like to change my fragrance during the winter. I currently have a … vial of a Diptyque fragrance L’Eau de L’Eau that I really like. It’s very wintery. Although a lot of people gravitate towards darker colors in the winter, I tend to go for bright bright red. Somehow, the light in the winter with the whiteness of snow and the grey skies calls for a punch of color!
Q: Before we end, do you have any cool tips when applying your make-up? Any tricks of the trade?
A: I think the biggest thing that makes people doubt their makeup happens when people mix powder and cream formula — eye or face make-up. If you apply powdered makeup and then tinted moisturizer or tinted moisturized followed by powdered blush, none of the products are going to work. As a result, a lot of people will think that the product doesn’t work on their skin and ultimately throw out a perfectly good blush or moisturizer.
If you have any make-up questions, feel free to email Emma at [email protected].
Original Author: Eleni Konstantopoulos