BEAUTY BULLETIN FEAT. SHAMAIN AKBAR FARUQUE

We’re thrilled to bring you our newest feature, The beauty Bulletin!

Girls, we know how hard it is to get everything right, from clothes to accessories tomakeup, so we thought it’s best to learn the tips and tricks from the pros. We’re super excited to have the uber talented and celebrated makeup guru, shamain Akbar Faruque, be the first person to feature. Here we go:

-What’s your daily makeup regime?

Start with cleansing, then moisturizing. Apply a very sheer coverage foundation to even out skin tone for a very natural finish. Finish it off with a nice soft pink blush and nude lipstick.

-Favourite makeup brand? 

There’s too many!

Must have summer product?

Chanel Les Beiges, soft matte bronzer. Perfect for the summer.

-Skin care tips: 

Always cleanse your face of makeup and use an excellent sunblock and moisturizer.

-Which moisturizer and sunblock do you recommend?

I’ve used many but I believe the ones with natural ingredients are the best. So, I would recommend L’occitane, Clarins and La Mer.

-One makeup technique everyone should know: 

Applying mascara the correct way. Always curl your lashes with an eyelash curler first -Shu Uemura has the best one. Start from the base and work your way to the tips of your lashes in a see-saw motion.

–Favorite makeup trend?

Flushed cheeks and nude lips

-Makeup faux pas:

Obvious contouring. It has to be extremely subtle.

-Your secret technique:

Great blending. We treat every client as an individual and personalize each look vs. having a generic look on every bride.

-Why do you only do bridal makeup and not fashion shoots?

Bridal makeup is my forte and I’m really very busy doing it all the time. Each makeup for me is different. Usually people do fashion shoots to explore their creativity but I’m perhaps the only one who does that with bridal makeup. In the earlier years of my career i did a lot of fashion shoots and created many trends. I’m willing to do it now too provided I have time.

-What’s your favorite bridal makeup to date?

That is an impossible question to answer. I’ve been working for 25 years and i absolutely love how each and every one of my bride looks when they are all ready to go. The bride and I have to feel one hundred percent satisfied to let them go. Once i start i cant stop- there is just so much magic to create and thats probably the reason why i spend such a long time on each bride.

-Any client horror stories?

Hahaha since ours is a bridal salon there’s a lot of pressure but we tend to handle it very well. Luckily most of our brides are very polite and happy, despite the stress.

-What made you want to join this field?

I guess I was always destined to do this. I started doing makeovers at a really young age as i was always super into makeup. I did my first bridal makeup on a cousin at the age of sixteen and it turned out really well. However, I started off with designing clothes and did it quite successfully tillmakeup completely took over everything else. My clients for the clothes would ask to get theirmakeup done by me and because I would do themakeup for our photoshoots other bigger designers started approaching me. My cousin, Tony really encouraged me to channel my talent and thats when shamain started.

-How has the social media impacted your career?

Social media hasn’t made my career. I’ve been working from a time when these things were non-existent but being a part of it now helps me share my work immediately and be more accessible to my clients. So, i would say more than having impacted my career its made it a lot easier for my clients to see all the work we do and stay updated with whats going on at shamain. I also feel like if social media existed from when i began my career I would have been able to keep track of all the work I have done in the fashion industry.

-You take inspiration from:

I am inspired by all things beautiful hahah! Nature, vintage pieces, anything well-made, walking through my favorite museums, latest trends and success stories.