Gayathri Menon, a freelance make-up artist and image consultant based in Singapore, says fine make-up is an art. “Each face is different. Each skin colour and tone is different. Facial features are different. So what works on one person will not work on another. It is a fascinating thing,” she says. Born and brought up in Kochi, Gayathri started her career as a designer and then moved into garment production and later to fashion styling. She has also worked as a stylist for SS Music in Chennai.
But make-up was her personal interest, she says. She pursued it professionally, completing make-up workshops by international make-up artist Julie Begin. She also armed herself with an advanced make-up course from Pivot Point School of Hair and Beauty, and a course in professional wardrobe styling from the Australian College of Professional Styling.
Gayathri had conducted a workshop at the designer store A Dot in Kochi recently. Excerpts from an interview.
What does looking good mean to you?
Everybody deserves to look good. It is about personal grooming, which includes the face, hair, body and wardrobe. My ambition is to see more women putting in the effort to look good. I have had older women tell me that their whole lives have been centred around their jobs or families that they rarely found time to take care of themselves.
Good looks come at a cost, right?
Looking good on a budget is not as easy as it may seem. There are so many products in the market that range from moderately-priced to high-end. The challenge is to identify and pick out what suits you best. You have to experiment, mix and match and create a look for yourself. However, caring for yourself does not have to mean spending time and money in the beauty salon. You can do facials and scrubs at home using natural stuff.
Can you elaborate?
For a face pack, for instance, you can use chandan powder. A lot of women underestimate the importance of exfoliation. At least once a week, you have to exfoliate using natural scrubs, the recipes for which are found aplenty online. Avoid using soap on the face as it strips the face of oil and accelerates ageing. Once you have crossed 30, the use of an under-eye cream is a must. There is no need to buy some expensive, branded product. You could very well do with coconut oil or olive oil. Just dab it around the eye and massage in a circular motion every night before going to bed. Massage your neck as well.
What is the most important part of make-up?
I would say it is the foundation. Finding the right shade that matches your skin is the biggest challenge. Eighty per cent of the women get it wrong the first time. Once you have got it right, the first and the most crucial part is taken care of.
Lips?
The older you get, go lighter on the lips. Women in their 40s-50s in India generally tend to use a lot of maroons and browns. It just tends to make the whole look heavy. You don’t have to be loud. The minimal make-up look brightens up the face.
How do you conduct your workshops?
My workshops are very hands-on. I take my clients through the whole step-by-step process right from holding a brush to contouring. Many women have approached me saying, ‘Teach me how to use make-up.’ For someone who is not used to wearing make-up, doing it the first time can seem a bit overwhelming. But with practise, that will go away. I help my clients understand what they can do themselves—for instance, how to shift from a work look to an evening look in just a few quick steps.
What is trending now?
Good skin, for sure. Glowing skin is very in. So drink lots of water. Bright lips and not very heavy eyes are the latest fads. Just as any other industry, one has to keep updating oneself on new looks, because they keep changing.
