Samer Khouzami is well known as a master of makeup transformations and contouring. Photographs of average women being transformed into beauties thanks to his skills has literally flooded the internet and social networks. But Samer is keeping as a secret all the products and techniques he uses. He reveals them only during his few makeup courses, that he makes during a year all over the world.

 

In 2015 Samer posted on social networks a few destinations, where he will go with his Beauty Tour. I was deciding between the Netherlands, Romania and Germany. I could not go to the Netherlands because I had this term already booked by brides, Germany was scheduled to November, so I packed my suitcase and went to Romania in September.

 

You need three things to create a beautiful makeup: Technique, makeup brushes and products. You can partially read the technique from the photos, that Samer is posting on the internet and because he is using his own line of makeup brushes, it was the products, that I was interested in the most. When I was asking another makeup artist during the event, most common answer was: “I want to know what is he using for contouring.” The same question I am now asked by all the people, that know I was at Samer’s masterclass, so I decided to write down a full list of products and few tips, that the Master of Contouring was sharing during his tour.

 

 

Bridal makeup by Samer

Samer’s favourite makeup brands are Anastasia Beverly Hills, Sisley, Shu Uemura, Chanel, MAC, Make Up For Ever, Tom Ford, YSL and Giorgio Armani. In his makeup kit you will find foundations Guerlain Parure Gold, Chanel Perfection Lumiére, Make Up For Ever HD Foundation, or Estee Lauder Maximum Cover Foundation.

He always starts with a thin layer of Fix+ from MAC, so the skin is a little bit sticky. As a medical base he uses Sisley or Shu Uemura according to the skin type. For highlighting he applies Concealer from Anastasia Beverly Hills, for contouring sticks from Tom Ford. He blends the highlighting and contouring together with a little bit of liquid foundation on his brush, in this example the Dolce&Gabana Perfect liquid foundation.

 

Contouring

When all the foundation is done, he uses dry beauty blender to absorb oils left behind from the makeup and skin. To define the intensity of contour and highlight even more, he applies dark powder on contours and light one on the highlights. His favourite powders are Chanel Loose Powder or Compact Powder from Tom Ford. He applies the powder with MAC Powder puff, which he uses also while leaning on the model’s face not to smudge the foundation. First he powders the areas under the eyes, because this is the place, where makeup starts to crease. For highlighting the area under the eyes Laura Mercier The Secret Brightening Powder.

 

Eyes and Eyebrows

As a eyeshadow base he applies Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer. Eyeshadows from brands MAC (shades Twinks, Follie, Embark), Too Faced (Bon Bon, Nougat, Peanut Butter from Chocolate Bar), Makeup Atelier (palette number 5). Gel eyeliner Aqua Black from Make Up For Ever, eye pencil Aqua Black from the same brand. For eyebrows he likes dark brown shade from palette number 5 Makeup Atelier. To color the hair in eyebrow he likes brow gels from Giorgio Armani, MAC or Anastasia Beverly Hills.

 

Lips and cheeks

 To draw the shape of the lips he always uses lipstains and lip brush, never the lip pencil. Lipstains should be waterproof to last long, for exapmle from Giorgio Armani or Anastasia Beverly Hills. Because theese lipstains make the lips very dry, he applies a lipstick on the top. In this case YSL Babydoll kiss and blush. On the apples of the cheeks just a little bit of Nars blush in shade Deepthroat. To enhance the highlighting he added a bit of Laura Mercier Highlighter 01 on the cheeks, above the eyebrows, on the upper lip and on the chin.

Do you like makeup Before&After? Than check the blog post about my work for Miss Face with a full list of products.

 

 

Samer Khouzami makeup brushes

I had the opportunity to reserve basic or advanced set of Samer’s makeup brushes, but because I am quite mistrustful, I skiped untill I could see them and most importantly touch them. But in a moment, when I saw the luxurious black boxes in hands of other course participants, I began to regret. The course have not even finnished and I had to order them and in two weeks I had them finally at home. How are they? Are they good quality made? Full review of Samer Khouzami’s Advanced set of brushes is coming soon :-).

 

Have a nice Monday,

Ariana

A perfect groom and a charming dress require beautiful makeup and hairstyle. In this blog post I am gonna lead you through the whole process of looking for the right makeup and hairstyle suitable for you. While going through dozens of beautiful photos, you should keep in mind these basic criteria:

1. Wedding makeup and hairstyle should be based on your usual style. If you feel good with your hair tied back, I would go for combing your hair up, if you are not used to makeup, I wouldn’t go for dark smokey eyes. Ideally, you should look like yourself enhancing the best of your features.

2. You should also consider your partner. If he does not like you wearing makeup, I would use soft makeup in natural tones. If he likes your hair curly, I would go for lush curls or eventually half-up hairstyle.

3. Your makeup and hairstyle should be timeless so that you will like yourself in a year as well as twenty. Versatile makeup includes soft smoky eye shadows in natural brown, beige and plum tones, or an eye liner and soft eyeshadows. Romantic waves, volume updos and elegant buns are always timeless.

4. Your hairstyle should match your face shape and your dress. If your forehead is small or conversely high, try to comb your hair in bangs. Pronounced jaws require locks of hair on the sides. Ample dresses perfectly match with fancy updos and buns, romantic embroidered dresses look great with curls and half-down hairstyle.

5. As soon as you make decision about your makeup and hairstyle, it is time to look for the right pictures. You can browse through the magazines or the internet. You can also get inspired by some celebrity who has similar looks as you. For example, if you have blond hair and blue eyes, you can type in Google Reese Witherspoon, etc.

6. I personally recommend Pinterest webpage that works as an online information board where you can pin your pictures. You will create your own wedding collage for inspiration where you can store pictures of interesting dresses, accessories, wedding decoration, makeup and hairstyle or whatever has caught your eyes. You can then send the link to your makeup artist, hairstylist, the florist, the decorator, the photographer or wedding guests so that they can get the style of your wedding in a moment.

You can have a look at such information board here: https://cz.pinterest.com/arianabeautycom/weddingsvatba/

The most frequented question, that I am being asked is: “What product do you use for…?” So I decided to write down a full list of products, that I haved applied on the girls from Miss Face Czech Republic.

I have done the makeup for semifinalists and finalists and with their approval, I took their photo without and with my makeup. The contestants were supposed to have an identical makeup: Smokey eyes, creamy lips and contouring of the face. So with just a few exceptions I was applying the same products, only different shades.

Complexion

We started later in the afternoon, so all the girls have done their usual morning routine and used a daily moisturizer. I cleaned their face with micellar water and sprayed it with Fix+ from MAC. Unless the skin is dry or dehydrated, I do not use moisturizer or serum, I start directly with makeup base. For oily skin I like YSL Matt Touche, for dry skin, or dry parts I use Sisley Radiant Immediate Lift.

Makeup

I start my contouring with choosing two shades of liquid foundation, right now I am using Skin foundation from Bobbi Brown. I apply dark shade on contours, light one on parts, where I want the highlight. I will blend both shades and then add the brightening concealer Helena Rubinstein Magic Concealer, which I apply under the eyes as well. It has a creamy texture and does not sink immediately into the skin, so I can blend it properly.

I will enhance my contouring again with two shades of powder: light shade for highlighting, dark one for contouring. I really love Chanel powders, Vitalumière or Natural Finish Loose Powder.

Contouring

At last I enhanced my contouring and highlighting with matt and shiny shades from Anastasia Beverly Hills Contouring Book. On cheeks I applied just a little peachy Blush from Chanel.

 

Eyebrows

If I need to create the eyebrow in places, where it does not grow I always use some sticky product first. I like pencils Le Crayon Poudre from Lancôme or sticky shade from Brow Zings palette from Benefit. Than I apply eyebrow powders from Anastasia Beverly Hills. For shaping the eyebrow hair I use small mascaras Gimme Brow from Benefit.

Eyes and Lips

To prevent the eyeshadow from creasing I always apply some eyeshadow base. I use MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot all over the eyelid. If I want to enhance the eyes more I apply dark and light Eyeliner Gel from Makeup Atelier Paris and with blend them together. I am using combination of eyeshadows from MAC, Make Up For Ever and Too Faced. From mascaras I like Hypnôse from Lancôme. For lips I used lip pencil in colour of the lips, I draw the shape of the lips and shade them.

From lipsticks I love YSL Rouge Volupté, cheaper version of it is a creamy lipstick from Inglot, which I like to use for photoshoots.

I took all the photos with my mobile phone, sometimes it was a bit cloudy, so the makeup was a little more “radiant” in reality.

I am preparing an article, where I want to describe my signature makeup, what products are my favourite and why I use them 🙂 Please write down in the comments what would you like to know and I will focus my article on it.

 

Have a nice day,

Ariana