Circle of Women, The Magic

The Power of Glam

I always liked to glam up my mother and my sister and use them as models. It’s still something I love to do, and I recently convinced friend and journalist, Mariève, to model some glamour looks for the camera, and the blog. Beauty is all around, and it’s more than a certain look to a face: beauty is about it’s personality.

In my days as beauty editor, I would bump into Mariève at different events throughout the year. And each time, it would be a pleasure to talk with her. She’s one of those women that is as beautiful on the inside, as she is on the outside. I’ve always thought that this journalist missed out on a career as a model– well, she did pose for Canadian designer, Rad Hourani, when she was in college!

Being half French-Canadian and half Japanese blessed her with stunning features. And she has it all: great skin, cheekbones, lips, eyes, brows. Sky is the limit, right? Not if you want a modern glam look! I’ve always thought that it’s better to enhance the features of a face than to overpower them with a lot of makeup (i.e. black shadow). I wanted the looks to be wearable outside of a photo shoot. And of course: her freckles… Which I had no intention to cover up!  And in retrospect, it’s her beautiful freckles that keep these classic looks from being stale. I used as little coverage as I could get away with to showcase her great skin on which she uses a lot of Asian skincare!

Cesar Ochoa-Ewa Bilinska

Look 01-I started the makeup session with a red/gold smoky eye. It’s a modern look that is stunning, especially on medium to deep skin tones. These colours look rich and highlight the natural glow of the complexion, without the darkness of a true smoky. I used the Pantone Marsala palette, which is amazing! (Sephora: it’s not to late to re-edit). For the lid, I used a redder gold on Mariève that I depotted from a limited edition palette. But don’t worry:  you can easily find these kinds of shades. I lined the eyes with a black liner pencil. For the lips I used a beautiful reddish-brown shade by Shiseido, the Lacquer Rouge formula in  RD616. The dress is by Valerie Dumaine.

Cesar Ochoa-Ewa Bilinska

Look 02– Part Bollywood, part disco, but all Solid Gold. I continued building on the first look by deepening the crease of the eyes with a shadow by Make Up For Ever in S-616, and I added Stila Magnificent Metals, it’s an intense metallic foil that manages to always look fabulous rather than tacky! I used a gold shimmer lipstick by M.A.C (limited edition) on the center of the lip, but you can pat on some eyeshadow to achieve the same effect. I got the vintage gold jumper from Era Vintage Wear.

Cesar Ochoa-Ewa Bilinska

Look 03– A double classic of French chic! Marieve’s face can definitely carry an eye and a lip, and if you can get away with it, you should do it too! I chose a true red, courtesy of YSL Rouge Volupte Shine, it’s shiny, silky texture means you won’t need gloss, nor have to worry about gloppy lips. On the eyes I went for a black smoky. I used a M.A.C Velux Pearlfusion in Blueluxe. I love how shimmer lifts the darkness of a smoky look. I’m not a fan of shimmer during the day, but for evening makeup, it always looks right. I smudged the liner on the top lash line with the dark-blue/black shadow of the palette, and applied some into the outer crease. I like to use very black shades with blue undertones for these kinds of looks, especially with red lips. Vintage D&G trench. The earring is Mariève’s own, which she bought in Japan.

Cesar Ochoa-Ewa Bilinska

Look 04– This is a personal favorite: the Bardot! Lots of black on the eyes and big, wild hair. I wiped off a lot of the shadow from the lid from the previous look and I lined her eyes for a 60s /90s graphic cat-eye using my trusty Sephora Waterproof Gel Eyeliner. For the perfect beige lips, I reached for M.A.C Siss; I just love this shade… And for lip liner, a classic from the 90s : Medium by Kevyn Aucoin, you can buy it off the Barneys website, or just splurge on your next visit to a big U.S. city. Top is by Valerie Dumaine.

For base makeup I used M.A.C Studio Conceal and Correct Palette in Medium, Lancôme Effacernes concealer, and a Limited edition M.A.C Extra Dimension blush called Pleasure Model. For light contouring, I used a cream color base in Root by M.A.C. For brows, I used Anastasia Brow Wiz in Concrete. CoverGirl Bombshell mascara. And no, I didn’t have to use bronzer as she just came back from a winter vacation with a wonderful glow! I curled the hair with a 1 1/2 in barrel and applied a lot of Redken Diamond Oil (silicone free!).

Photography: Cesar Ochoa