In the third and final part of this interview, Matin discusses becoming Neutrogena Cosmetics’ makeup artist, makeup tips, and his hobbies.
10. Tell me about Neutrogena approaching you to be its makeup artist. Are you also providing creative direction through developing new products and color palettes?
I met some Neutrogena people at a dinner party and we talked shop. Next thing I know, I got a call from them me asking me if I was interested in working with them. It was important for Neutrogena to have a make-up artist who not only understands how to apply cosmetics, but also the science behind them. Because of my science background, it was a perfect fit. I am providing direction on shades, textures and I test drive all the upcoming color products prior to production.
11. Can you share with our readers any advance information about new products from Neutrogena?
As always, Neutrogena will be launching products that are innovative while being both beautiful and beneficial.
12.Women want to know how to apply makeup and look beautiful, so this is probably the part that will interest readers the most:
a. For me (and probably many other women), shading the crease is probably the trickiest part of makeup application. It’s important to me, as I have deep-set eyes. What do you recommend in terms of eye shadow shades, choice of brushes, and application?
If you have deep set eyes, you do not want to “shade” the crease. This will make your eyes look even more deep set. Instead, try a wash of neutral beige (skin color) all over the eyes, then go with a taupe or caramel color and use it lightly on the brow bone to make the brow bone recede. Best is to use a fluffy small eye shadow brush (like laura mercier’s eye color brush) made of sable hair for the wash all over, and a smoother brush (like laura mercier crease brush) made of squirrl hair on the brow bone and under the brow to get a very sheer application of the powder eye shadow.
b. How best to apply foundation? By dotting the cheeks, “stippling,” or other means? Fingertips, sponge, or brush? If you use a sponge, do you moisten it or use it dry?
Use a dampened sponge with oil free foundation. Put the foundation in your palm and press the sponge (egg shape is the best) in to the palm of the hand to absorb the foundation. You should not see the foundation on top of the sponge. Then apply by patting the sponge and moving it quickly starting with flat areas of the face (cheeks) and neck and use very little if at all around the eyes and sides of the nose, smile lines and laugh lines.
For moisturizing, still one can use a damp sponge, or a brush or even fingers
13.Are you planning to write a book on makeup application?
Not yet. I don’t have any new concept for a book on make-up, but a book I will write, just not on make up 😉
14.Your biography states that you enjoy “practicing Calligraphy, studying Islamic and Gothic architecture and shopping for exotic ethnic textiles.” I like textiles, too – especially block-printed textiles from India (see my blog posting Block-printed textiles, http://thestylepage.blogspot.com/2006/08/block-printed-textiles.html) and suzanis from Central Asia. However, I can’t find the bold suzanis online that I see in Domino. What textiles are capturing your attention now?
Well, I have always had a soft spot for suzani and chain stitching. I now have a foundation in Afghanistan called Afghan Hands Inc. (www.afghanhands.org) which is mainly a literacy program but it also employs the women (war widows) to do embroidery. We do bold patterns in wearable scarves and shawls using suzani and chain stitching and using the old traditional flowers on the fabrics but with a more modern color scheme.
Postscript: Matin was a <a href=" 2007 finalist for CNN HeroesCNN Heroesfor his role as a community crusader in starting Afghan Hands.
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Get it while it lasts
Here in the Washington, DC Metro area, where I live, the dominant drugstore chain is CVS. There is only a smattering of Walgreen’s and Rite-Aid stores (including former Eckerd that became Rite-Aid stores after Canada’s Jean Coutu Pharmacy sold Eckerd stores to Rite-Aid). Consequently, I go out of the way to shop at Walgreen’s or Rite-Aid.
I went to Walgreen’s yesterday, and I was startled to see all IsaDora cosmetics sold at 50% discount. I asked the beauty adviser-cum-salesperson if Walgreen’s is no longer going to carry IsaDora, and she told me that IsaDora no longer wanted to ship products to the USA(!)
While I was not initially impressed by IsaDora, I reconsidered after reading Paula Begoun’s glowing review of its eyeshadow quads. I now enjoy IsaDora eyeshadow quads in Antique Gold and Bronzing Plums – and picked up the eye shadow trio in Patina yesterday.
In short, get IsaDora products while you still can!
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The case of the missing videos
Our web page stats have gone through the roof today! And it’s all because of a review I did of the now-defunct Breathe magazine, a yoga-meets-lifestyle magazine, in which I mentioned an article about former hard-partying girl Rielle Hunter who claimed that she found enlightenment. Now Rielle Hunter is a hot news item for making mini-documentaries of Presidential candidate John Edwards that the Edwards campaign apparently doesn’t want to show. For more, see Overlawyered: Rielle Hunter and John Edwards, which has been the referring URL for many visits to The Style Page blog, and follow the links.
Former vice-Presidential candidate Edwards’s campaign is lagging behind the campaigns of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. Until Rielle Hunter came along, no one had brought as much life into his campaign as Ann Coulter!
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Goddessy Rx 14-piece natural brush set
Goddessy is now selling its 14 Piece Brush Set 
Goddessy’s brush set.
The cosmetic brush set is packed in a cosmetics roll ready for travel.
I’m partial to the eye shadow brush which has a flat head but a slant edge – great for contouring. I’m also using combo brow brush/eyelash comb to groom my eyebrows prior to applying tint.
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Finds from The Container Store
I can go nuts at The Container Store buying cute things for storage and organization. I’m compulsive about buying things to better organize my activities, as though the mere act of buying will make me better organized – ha! I recently went on a shopping spree at The Container Store, and the picture above shows only some of what I bought.
At upper left is the To-Do pad from WhoMi. This colorful collection of note pads are spiral-bound together and there is a color-coded pad for each shop, call, and do.
At upper right is the Memo Pocket from Moleskine, best known for its notebooks. The Memo Pocket is actually a mini Accordion file folder that can fit in your handbag. It’s great for sorting and organizing receipts, coupons, and other scraps of paper.
At lower left and lower right are Post-It note pads from Russell+Hazel. The Memo Notes at lower left feature a vertical bar on the left side where you can circle the month and day. Alas, the type is itty-bitty, and the orange and pink make it even more difficult to read. The Chicklet Notes are tiny (3/4″ x 1″) Post-It note pads. The pack consists of eight pads, two of each in pink, blue, green, and orange. Many people think that Russell+Hazel is overpriced, but dang, their products are so cute!
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What gives?
For me, sitting around at the hair salon is an opportunity for me to catch up on magazines. I was waiting as my husband got his hair cut, and picked up the current issue of Allure, with Britney Spears on the cover. It was surreal. The photo spread, which featured a topless Spears (with her breasts discreetly covered by her hands or arms), was accompanied by Judith Newman’s article about her unsuccessful efforts to get an interview with Spears. Then, there was Editor-in-chief Linda Wells’s tortured (and ultimately lame) justification for putting Spears on the cover. What gives?
Just go to the Allure web site – it’s all about boosting magazine sales.
PS I didn’t watch MTV’s Video Music Awards, but by all accounts, Spears’ headliner performance was a disaster. While Kanye West’s insistence that he should have been headliner is proof of his overweaning ego, he was probably right when he said that MTV “exploited” Spears for TV ratings.
Does this woman (Spears) have anything else to offer than exposing her body? Are Allure and MTV so deficient in imagination that they must exploit this woman’s tabloid-worthy escapades and problems to promote themselves?
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A lousy mascara, a so-so mascara, and a great mascara
Bésame is a boutique cosmetics line that replicates vintage cosmetic containers from the 30s and 40s – its reproductions are more authentic than Body & Soul
Curiously, the Bésame Sculpture Lash Mascara in Plum doesn’t smear, but like the one in Black, it doesn’t build up volume.
The find is L’Oreal HIP’s High Drama Volumizing Mascara in Ultimate Bronze Black, part of its limited edition collection in orangey shades. It really makes eyelashes appear thick, and doesn’t smear. At $9.99 a tube, it’s a great mascara at a much more comfortable price point than Bésame’s Sculpture Lash Mascara.
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Two consumer items for cosmetics users
Cosmetics Products Get a Makeover – A new international standard provides guidelines for the detection and identification of candida albicans, which can contaminate cosmetics while in production. Yes, candida, the nasty little fungus responsible for yeast infections. However, there is no reason for alarm: most cosmetics are safe to use.
FDA Proposes New Rule for Sunscreen Products – The Food and Drug Administration (U.S.) has proposed rules for rating UVA in a sunscreen and labeling sunscreens. SPF covers protection from UVB rays only. In addition, the FDA proposes this warning label on sunscreens:”UV exposure from the sun increases the risk of skin cancer, premature skin aging, and other skin damage. It is important to decrease UV exposure by limiting time in the sun, wearing protective clothing, and using a sunscreen.“
The FDA is accepting comments on the proposed rules until November 26, 2007. You may submit comments to FDA referencing Docket No. 1978N-0038.
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Removing Eye Makeup: More Important than You Think!
Soon after I publshed a criticism on the fallacy of keeping mascara and eyeliner on overnight, Paula Begoun noted, “a basic remedy for puffy, irritated, crepey skin around the eyes was being sure to remove every last trace of eye makeup before you go to bed” and recommended using an eye makeup remover in addition to a water-soluble cleanser.
Artificial tears – a must in your makeup kit
On a related issue, I recently had some inflammation along the lower eyelid. I quit wearing eye makeup on the lower lid, applied artificial tears(not eye drops formulated with steroids) and an eye ointment
, and began washing my hands more thoroughly. I use hand sanitizers like Purell
only sparingly, as I take seriously the fact that bacteria and microbes will mutate into more resistant strains in response to antiseptics.
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Selling Radical Chic to Teens
was a term coined by author Tom Wolfe to describe the soiree in which the late Leonard Bernstein hosted members of the Black Panther militant group. More recently, several retailers that market to teenage girls have been selling scarves resembling keffiyehs. The keffiyeh has been traditionally worn by men in the Middle East, and was particularly associated with the late Yassir Arafat, who wore the keffiyeh to cover his bald pate.
There has been an uproar over selling keffiyehs, as many people associate the keffiyeh with terrorism.
Below is an example from Urban Outfitters:
 |
| An ironic name for this scarf |
This type of “radical chic” is reflected in T-shirts carrying the image of Che Guevara; even the perfumeur Le Labo has used Che’s image to portray its fragrance line as “revolutionary.” (hat tip: Beauty Addict)
Cold Cream 'n' Roses 
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