All about retro and classics

beauty interview

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for beauty looks and this year’s winter makeup trends are a return to form. Face-beats are back and better than ever, so we're leaning into the festive, colourful, and fun vibes of the holiday season.

 Celebrity makeup artist Beenish Parvez breaks down the biggest and boldest trends for winter. From coloured ’80s eyes and eyeliners to bright cheeks and loud lipstick, your new winter beauty look awaits!

This week You! talks to Karachi-based makeup and hair expert Beenish Parvez to talk about winter makeup essentials and the up-coming ’70s/’80s eye makeup trend…

You! According to Marie Claire, ’70s and ’80s style coloured eye makeup is going to be in this winter, what’s your spin on that?

Beenish Parvez: It’s been over a decade since we have been playing with nudes or browns or no makeup look but this winter is all about ’70s and ’80s coloured eye makeup which is really exciting for me. It’s been a long time we haven’t delved into colours so it’s going to be wonderful! If you talk about lips, it is nothing like going with pale or nude lips with bright coloured eyes; cherry reds, orange, fuchsias, and purples will do the trick. Also, double shade eye makeup is also going to be big. With the ’70s and ’80s eye look, major emphasise is going to be on heavy eyelash mascaras along with lower lash mascara with white pencil, coloured eyeliners, and darker outer corner.

You! How can we create fresh-faced/natural makeup look for winters?

BP: Firstly, you must give time to prepping up your skin in winters before doing anything. For instance, in daytime, make sure to apply to moisturiser, sunblock and a moisturising primer. People often get confused and go for matte primers in winters resulting their makeup becoming flaky. Also, make sure to use every product that is moisturising at the same time (your foundations, BB Creams, primers everything!) because in winters your makeup absorbs all the moisture and makes your skin dry if you don’t use moisturising products to give your face a fresh look. Even when it comes to your blush and lip products, use a cream blush along with a tinted lip balm because mostly people don’t feel like putting on lots of lipsticks for a fresh look in winters.

You! Soap brows are going to be huge this season, suggest some affordable soap brow kits or any hacks to apply actual soap/gel on the brows?

BP: Some of the commonly used soap brow kits are from Guerlain, Benefit’s Brow Zings Eyebrow Shaping Kit and L’Oréal Paris Brow Artist Genius Kit. However, the best one is Soap & Glory’s Archery DIY Brow Bar which is 4 in 1 shaping, perfecting, highlighting and taming kit.

Hack: If you don’t want to spend on brands and make your own DIY soap brow kit, use an eyebrow spoolie, and swipe it on a Pears soap bar to brush your eyebrows and style them with natural strokes.

You! How can you make a classic red lip feel fresh and cool for winter?

BP: It is true that a classic red pout is all we want when it comes to a fresh winter look. However, with a coloured eyeliner or shimmery eyes for a night out, we can surely play with other colours such as fuchsia pink, plum and coral pinks. Moreover, it is not necessary to go with bright colours only when it comes to winter lips, there are numerous nudes that go perfectly.

You! What products do you use to moisturise your skin in winter?

BP: When it comes to winter moisturising products, there are a few things people should know. First, we do switch products when the weather shifts. As I said earlier, in winter you need to have moisturising products while in summers, you are using oil free ones. Let’s take the example of a sunscreen, many think they don’t need it in winters. You do need sunscreens in winters but the moisturising one so that it doesn’t make your skin dry. Also, a good moisturiser or moisturising serums are very common these days. You can surf for some pocket-friendly serums with good reviews and include them in your routine. Moreover, hydrating facial mists are a way to go these days. There are plenty you can get your hands on. Apart from this, your facewash needs to change in winters, a suitable night cream with essential oils is very necessary in winters which help a lot in rejuvenation and keeping your skin healthy in the rough weather.

You! What is your biggest beauty indulgence?

BP: My skin regime! There is no such concept like flawless skin, so I need products necessary for my face as they help a lot in keeping up with a healthy skin. Also, I never miss my facials or treatments and follow a good morning/night skin care routine with products suitable for my skin.

You! Do you have a beauty look that you will never attempt?

BP: I think thin brows and cakey foundation is something I would never go for. That makes me look like another person.

You! What is your go-to holiday look?

BP: A clean face with little sunblock, along with my BB Cream or tinted moisturising foundation. For my cheeks and lips, I go for a tinted lip balm that I would also apply on my cheeks with a little mascara and eyebrow touch-up.

You! Do you have any beauty icons?

BP: It is a long list of women that have inspired me with their beauty looks namely Farrah Fawcett, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and J. Lo from the current beauty icons.

You! Your makeup bag consists of:

BP: A mascara, an eyebrow pencil and spoolie, a nice lipstick and a tinted moisturiser.

You! Best home remedies for making a moisturising face mask:

BP: I don’t believe in applying anything from your kitchen without knowing your skin but one thing I swear by is aloe vera gel.

You! Best home remedies for making a moisturising hair mask.

BP: Again, I would say not to go for any homemade hair masks if you have chemically treated hair because any natural ingredient might react to your hair differently. For instance, if you have highlights, the ingredient might make it yellow or if you have Keratin, it can wear it off. However, if your hair is chemical free, you can apply banana and honey hair mask by mashing a banana and mixing honey in it or you can also apply strawberry and mayonnaise on your hair and keep it for few minutes and wash. Other things such as tea work wonders to your hair!

You! Let’s talk winter hairstyles. What are winter hits and misses in terms of hair dos?

BP: You will be glad to know that shaggy layers, curly and curtain bangs are back! Straight hair is going to be totally out of fashion this winter. To pull off a bang, you can either tie up a ponytail or make a bun with it. If you don’t want to tie up your hair, leave it messy but do not straighten them.

You! What beauty advice would you give your 16-year-old self?

BP: Ha-ha! I must confess that when 16, I was pretty much exploring myself as a hairdresser and was literally trying every trend I could spot! Also, I regret applying a lot of base and makeup. I literally see the pictures of that time and think I would have looked better if I didn’t do that. Rest was completely fine. I wouldn’t say I want to change anything since I was somebody who was very fashion forward in terms of makeup, hair or styling and I still cherish that!