makeup Archives - The Beauty Gypsy

Diana Penty spills her beauty secrets

July 11, 2012 By anubha Leave a Comment

Not every model walks straight off her first Bollywood movie into the leagues of super-stardom. It’s a tough path, but 26-year-old Diana Penty is treading it with seemingly effortless ease. Despite the powerful presence of established stars like Saif Khan and Deepika Padukone, this leggy Indian beauty is already arousing much curiosity even before the release of Cocktail, in which she makes her Bollywood debut.

So, who exactly is Diana Penty? And what was she doing till now? Diana actually took the fashion world by a storm with her very first catwalk assignment – the three-city Indo-Italian Festival – when she was just 19-years-old. Since then she has become a hot favourite on and off the ramp, taking to the catwalks of Paris and New York with a rare panache. And as one of fashion’s most wanted faces, she has also bagged several ad campaigns – Maybelline, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Forever 21, Virgin Mobile, Ashish Soni, Sabyasachi, Wendell Rodricks, and Rohit Bal are just some of the names attached to her sparkling portfolio.

Born to a Christian mother and Parsi father, Diana combines her genetic good looks with flawless skin, an innate sense of style and effortless elegance. The Mass Media graduate borders on the ultra-slim side, despite the loads of chocolates and a self-confessed apathy towards rigid workout schedules. Despite the fame and success, she retains her low-maintenance persona, happy with minimal makeup and spending her free hours with a good book. Read on as she spills her secrets on looking good without trying too hard.

What have you learnt about beauty?

Be natural! Your own beauty will shine through. You cannot be someone else.

What’s your favourite feature?

My height (5 ft 10″)!

Favourite make up hues?

For evenings, I like the smokey eye and a hint of neutral lip gloss or lipstick.

What kind of fragrance do you like to wear?

I prefer a light, fresh fragrance.

What’s your haircare ritual?

It’s very simple, really! My hair is naturally straight and dark – and I like to keep it that way. I wash it every 2-3 days and use a volumising shampoo and conditioner. Besides this, I treat my strands to a protein mask once every 3 weeks or so. My hair does get blow-dried a lot but whenever possible, I just leave it to air-dry on its own.

And your skincare regime?

I never use soap – only a gentle face wash followed by a moisturiser. After a shoot or show, I use cleansing milk as a makeup remover, followed by the usual wash-and-moisturise routine.

What’s the best thing about makeup?

It makes you so versatile! You are like flexible clay in the hands of a makeup artist who can mould you into a totally different persona. Personally, I don’t use much makeup except for the evening when I may highlight my eyes, use a light foundation and a neutral lip gloss or lipstick.

A skin care basic?

Face wash and moisturiser are usually enough for everything.

Do you have a keep-fit routine?

I am hardly a role model in this area as there is no such routine in my life! I work out in fits and starts, eat what I want, have a penchant for chocolate and am totally content when curled up on my favourite couch, reading a book!

Do you consider yourself high-maintenance?

I don’t think so!

Filed Under: Beauty, Celebs, Fashion, Makeup, Skincare Tagged With: Beauty, Bollywood, cocktail, diana, diana penty, fashion, India, makeup, meera, mira, model, movie, penty

Get the look: Priyanka Chopra in Teri Meri Kahaani (2012: Radha)

June 29, 2012 By anubha 2 Comments

This is where Priyanka looks most like herself – confident, modern and stylishly put together. The makeup and wardrobe channels key trends for 2012 such as colour blocking, bold prints, pastel shades, metallic basics and big silhouettes.

Start with a luminous finish, medium coverage foundation (layered over a primer) – like Lancome’s Teinte Miracle – and dot on the concealer where needed. Unlike the ’60s look, today skin is supposed to look natural and dewy, so don’t be afraid of letting your true colours show through.
Buff on a setting powder where needed (in particularly shiny areas such as the T-zone). The idea is to look fresh and dewy rather than matter and powdery.
Contour with a peachy-pink blush, liquid highlighter and bronzer.
Shade the eyes with a coppery-pink shadow (such as MAC’s Pink Frost), then line the upper lashes with black liquid liner that extends just to the tip of your eyes. Curl lashes, add a volumising mascara and fill in your brows. If eyes still seem undefined, wet the eye shadow and smudge it onto the lower lash line.
Lips are matte and not very precisely defined – preferably in a natural pink or dusky brown shade.
Hair is important, worn either straight or in long and loose waves, with reddish-blonde and gold highlights to add a sense of edgy drama to the look.

Also see:

Get the Look: Priyanka Chopra in Teri Meri Kahaani (1960: Rukhsar)

Get the Look: Priyanka Chopra in Teri Meri Kahaani (1910: Aradhana)

Filed Under: Beauty, Celebs, Eyes, Fashion Tagged With: Beauty, Bollywood, fashion, get the look, India, makeup, manish malhotra, mickey contractor, priyanka chopra, teri meri kahaani, teri meri kahani

Get the Look: Priyanka Chopra in Teri Meri Kahaani (1960: Rukhsar)

June 28, 2012 By anubha 2 Comments

In the space of half a century, India had changed almost beyond recognition. Teri Meri Kahaani looks at the first half of the 1960s, which was the era of non-conformity, rebellion and youth. It was also the era of colours for Bollywood, with black & white movies getting rapidly phased out. Films – especially those anchored by Mumtaz, Saira Banu, Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore, Dev Anand and Shashi Kapoor – were a major influence on fashion and Bollywood actresses were the sexiest ever!

Hence, it is fitting that Priyanka consulted Saira Banu to get the part right, while Manish turned to Asha Parekh. The first aspect they discovered: there was a certain properness about the 60s in India, tehzeeb (manners) were important, the clothes were sharp and formal. This was the time of the stylish short kameez with churidaar pyjamas and fitted saris in shimmering, sparkling hues. Add to this the beehives, the Sharmila Tagore hair, the winged tip cat’s eye makeup and what you had were young, stylish, women who were contemporary and yet retained a uniquely Indian charisma.

On the makeup front, the deep red lips of the ’40s and ’50s were no longer fashionable. With the addition of titanium to their lipsticks, Max Factor were bringing out pastel pearly-pink shades. These soon caught on with young girls who initially wore the colours because they were acceptable to parents but the trend stuck and spread. Instead, big, dramatic eyes became the ultimate fashion ploy: winged liner was everywhere (just as it is now, in the summer of 2012!) and mascara became a vital component; preferably so thickly applied that the lashes clumped together in spikes.

Creating the vintage look starts with a full coverage foundation – like Makeup Forever’s HD formulation. Put a primer underneath and use concealers where needed, especially in the under-eye area.
Use a finishing powder over your foundation to set and ensure it stays matte – MAC’s Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder does a great job.
Then comes the wing tip ‘Cat’s Eye’. For this you will need an angled makeup brush (like MAC #266) and a gel liner or a liquid liner – I can personally vouch for Makeup Forever’s Aqua Black Waterproof Cream Eye Shadow.
Start by figuring out where you want the wing tip to end on the outer corner of your eye. Use the end of your eyebrow as a guide for placement: the end of the tip should be in line with the end of your eyebrow.
Draw a line from the inner corner of your eye to the end of the tip, and fill in the space with the liner, getting right to the base of your lashes. In creating this line, you can either follow the shape of your eye, in which case the “wing” may be more pronounced, or you can take your liner in a fairly straight line to meet the tip. In this case, the line will be more dramatic. [Tip: Use a pencil to sketch out the line – they are more forgiving. When you are happy, with the shape, trace over it with the liquid liner or the gel liner.]
Ideally, leave the bottom lash bare. However, if that makes you seem washed out, just smudge a charcoal eye shadow close to the lash line.
Add two coats of black mascara on curled lashes.
Bring out a dusky pink blush for your cheeks.
Finish off with a nude or baby pink lipstick. I like MAC’s Hug Me and Chanels’ Rouge Allure in Confidentielle for this look.

Coming up next: 2012 – Priyanka Chopra as Radha in UK

Also see: Priyanka Chopra as Aradhana in Sargoda, a village near Lahore in undivided India

Priyanka Chopra as Radha in UK

Filed Under: Beauty, Celebs, Eyes, Fashion, Makeup Tagged With: Beauty, Bollywood, fashion, get the look, India, makeup, manish malhotra, mickey contractor, priyanka chopra, teri meri kahaani, teri meri kahani

Get the Look: Priyanka Chopra in Teri Meri Kahaani (1910: Aradhana)

June 27, 2012 By anubha 2 Comments

Though the cacophony of cultures, countries and eras means there is not much space left to tell an actual story, Teri Meri Kahaani still worked for me as a visual feast whose three distinctly different courses were brought together by one theme: Priyanka Chopra’s gorgeous looks through the span of a century. The lady has blossomed in the hands of Mickey Contractor and Manish Malhotra through every frame and I have been receiving tonnes of mails on how to recreate the various looks. So, here goes Part 1 of how to get Priyanka Chopra’s looks in Teri Meri Kahaani:

1910: Aradhana in Sargoda, a village near Lahore in undivided India

To put things in perspective, this was the peak of the Indian freedom struggle and commercially available makeup was non-existent. As the daughter of a freedom fighter, it was even more unlikely that Aradhana would be heavily made up. Hence, the more natural look with an increased emphasis on clothes makes this the perfect get-up for those looking to offset uber-bright clothes with a nude-ish face or channel “pure” Indian aesthetics that are completely uncoloured by any other culture.

“When we were doing research, the most interesting thing was the look of 1910, specially around Lahore, the Punjab-Pakistan border. Over there the ladies would dress up with the dupattas on their heads, very delicate jewellery and a lot of phulkari, so Manish Malhotra made sure that the clothes were very authentic and colours were very Indian and very bright at the same time,” says Priyanka, explaining the vivid jewel-tones and gorgeous embroidery that she sports during this segment.

Too much colour, however, was frowned upon on the makeup front. The height of fashion would be a pinch of vermillion rubbed in to the cheeks and lips, rice powder to dust the nose and the kohl to define the eyes. Thankfully, we have better options today, so to recreate Priyanka’s ‘Aradhana’:

Dot a primer all over the face and blend for perfect application.
Layer on a foundation that makes you look slightly paler – skin that was untouched by the sun was considered a mark of wealth.
Rouge the apples of your cheeks with a very soft, dusky pink colour that looks as if you are blushing naturally; use a makeup sponge to blend away any hard edges.
If you need to contour, bring in a non-shimmery liquid highlighter (Lancome Eclat Miracle) and just the slightest hint of a matte bronzer (Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder).
Exaggerate eye brows with a brow pencil that’s a notch darker than your original brow colour – during the 1910s, brows looked more natural, even bushy. Fill in with feather-soft strokes for an application that does not appear harsh or unnatural.
Define your eyes by smudging a black pencil on both top and bottom lash lines; do not leave any space between the product and your lashes. Drag a smudging brush gently over the edges of your eyeliner to create a sooty (not smoky) effect – you are aiming to bring your eyes out but not overpower them.
Darken lashes with the blackest black mascara you can find – like Dior’s Diorshow Black Out Mascara.
Smudge on a nude-pink lip pencil with your fingers, avoiding any well defined lines.
Finally, you might want to sit outside to let your hair dry naturally (though I am sure Priyanka’s saw a fair bit of the straightening iron).

Also see:

1960 – Priyanka Chopra as Rukhsar in Mumbai

2012 – Priyanka Chopra as Radha in UK

Filed Under: Beauty, Celebs, Eyes, Fashion, Jewels, Makeup Tagged With: Beauty, Bollywood, fashion, get the look, India, makeup, manish malhotra, mickey contractor, priyanka chopra, teri meri kahaani, teri meri kahani

Chanel’s Bombay Express Makeup Collection 2012

June 7, 2012 By anubha Leave a Comment

India is clearly taking fashion and beauty centre-stage this season, especially with Chanel’s Bombay Express summer 2012 makeup collection, which is based on the couture house’s pre-fall catwalk collection. Inspired by the sights and delights of Indian festivals, the makeup is replete with the mesmerising beauty of gold and charcoal pigments that are perfect for adding a seductive glow to all skin tones. Prepare to make heads turn!

Poudre Compacte in Route des Indes de Chanel

This is the show stopper – a shimmering, lightweight powder that features fine light-reflecting pigments to create a ‘halo-like’ glow and give the complexion a fabulously flawless finish. It can be used over makeup or on bare skin and goes on super-easily with the help of a fluffy brush. I will clearly have to buy two of these: one to use, another to store as the paisley pattern is just too gorgeous to spoil!

Le Vernis in Diwali

This metallic gold nail polish, which Peter Philips (Chanel’s Creative Director of Makeup), describes as “a homage to the celebration of light that takes place in India”, is luminously glossy, making it the perfect choice for glam summer evenings. As an added bonus, the innovative formula not only promises a rich, long lasting colour but also strengthens and moisturises the nails with every application.

Illusion d’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Nirvana

Sultry, kohl-rimmed eyes have long been a staple of Indian makeup and Peter Philips gives them a modern touch with an intensely pigmented, super-shimmering gel-textured eye shadow titled Nirvana. A little bit of the long lasting charcoal black shade will go a long, long way so start off with a gentle touch, building up the intensity as you go along. For a subtle look, use it to line the eyes; for more drama, cover the entire eyelid.

Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Brume d’Or

This dusty pink blush is flecked with very fine gold luminescence to create a youthful vibe. It has a silky texture and offers buildable coverage, making it perfect for every mood – right from natural to dramatic.

Rouge Coco Shine in Empreinte

A look with such dramatic eyes needs a nude lipstick – and Peter Philips comes through with Empreinte, which gives a natural pink-hued shine that complements all skin tones.

Filed Under: Beauty, Eyes, Fashion, Jewels, Makeup, Royalty Tagged With: Beauty, Blush, Bombay, Brume, Chanel, Diwali, Empreinte, eye shadow, Illusion d’Ombre Long-Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Nirvana, India, Le Vernis Nail Colour in Diwali, Lipstick, makeup, Nail Polish, Nirvana, Paris-Bombay, powder, Route de Indes, Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Ebene