In Conversation with Make-up Artist: Gouri Kapur

Gouri Kapur was kind enough to take out some time for me. Not only is she fiercely talented, but what really exudes her beauty is her kind heart. She is super sweet, generous, and absolutely gorgeous, she sits down to answer some of mine and my wonderful readers' make-up and beauty related questions.

Make-up artist Gouri Kapur, isn't she breathtakingly gorgeous herself?

i♥makeup: What made you choose make-up artistry as a profession?
Gouri: Faces fascinated me … I was an artist and extremely creative mostly every piece of art that I created had a face in it that’s when I decided since faces intrigue me why don’t I get into make up my passion for faces drove me towards this art.

i♥makeup: What are your steps for a flawless face?
Gouri: Firstly essential skin care is good make up as “less is more” works really well on good skin but lets face it we all have a certain amount of flaws we like to conceal hence the first step to creating a flawless face is to get rid of the flaws like pigmentation zit spots and dark circles and create our own canvas to work on.

i♥makeup: I love M.A.C, it's my favorite cosmetics brand, what are your favorite products from that line?
Gouri: M.A.C is a great make up brand with brilliant color pallets I personally love their pigments, their bronzers, their colored eyeliners and lip tints.

i♥makeup: What are your favorite make-up brands?
Gouri: My personal favorites are M.A.C , Bobbi Brown, Chanel and Make-Up Forever.

i♥makeup: Could you give us a few make-up products that suit desi skin tones?
Gouri: Bobbi Brown has great colors to suit some of the desi skin tones and so does M.A.C but unfortunately with foundations, Asians are the most complicated colored people. Sometimes we have two to three tones on our skin and only a one tone foundation does not suit our skin making it look ashy and patchy therefore we customize and train our clients into using colors that complement their skin tones.

i♥makeup: How does make-up help define a woman's personality?
Gouri: “Make up completes you “ it empowers you with the right tips and tricks to look “ you “ it complements your mood and gives you the confidence.

i♥makeup: How would you define true beauty?
Gouri: True beauty to me is a balance of the inner and the outer beauty .

i♥makeup: What is a quick way to change a day look to a special occasion or nighttime face?
Gouri: Deepen the colors for the night, increase your eyeshadow, add the liner, a shimmery blush and gloss or hot bright lips and a little extra mascara and you are ready to take the night on.

i♥makeup: What advice can you offer women on how to best choose the right colors for their face?
Gouri: There are different faces with different shapes and colors but the simplest way to remember any color to complement your skin tone is choose the warm/cool theory – women with olive toned complexions look best in warm colors (yellow based) and women with fairer skin look better in cool (blue based) colors.

i♥makeup: What is the most important make-up tip we all should consider?
Gouri: Its not about how much of make up we use on our skin its about what make up we use on our skin the right colours and application are an extremely essential step hence remember once you identify your make up eg – concealer / foundation you would realize just a bit of it works wonders also never skip your mascara it truly opens your eyes

i♥makeup: What is the best way for a woman to improve her overall beauty?
Gouri: Staying positive for one because that radiates on your body your skin your hair and your face that’s the easiest way to improve your overall beauty. Make an effort to indulge rightly with the right know how on skin , hair and body spend five minutes in the morning and five minutes before bed time to ensure that you stay beautiful throughout. Beauty does not come overnight - it comes over time. Make fitness your mantra. Heard it time and time again but it works - Drink plenty of water

i♥makeup: What are the current make-up trends for 2008?
Gouri: The current trends are all about color, red is back . Colors on your eyes are in vogue in a big way and are a great way to add glamour instantly. Bold colors on your lips look great if you team it with the right attitude.

i♥makeup: What advice do you have for aspiring make-up artists?
Gouri: There are loads of places teaching you make-up but either they have insufficient knowledge or lack of professionalism that get you nowhere. Ensure you have done a thorough check on what you want from the institute- the basic requirements of an aspiring Make-up artist would be that they must be artistically inclined and must possess a well-developed sense of color and form. Imagination, initiative and originality are important qualities. Manual dexterity is essential. Because make-up artists work with people: friendliness, patience and tact are very important qualities they must possess. Make-up artists must also be adaptable to long and irregular working hours.

i♥makeup: How much art is actually involved in make-up application?
Gouri: Being a make-up artist means dealing with all sorts of people...not just the drop dead gorgeous so if you don't know how to create a face for which art is a basic criteria you could land up being a disaster at your job.

i♥makeup: What are some beauty essentials for women on the go?
Gouri: As far as what goes into the bag-the following list contains everything for a woman on the go . You are the best judge of what you need. If something listed just doesn't fit your needs, leave it out-there is no sense putting something in your bag you will never use. Here's what's in my make-up bag:

• Tiny comb/brush
• Concealer
  
• Mirror if u have a clear one with the blusher or compact would suffice
• Compact of translucent powder if u have oily skin: M.A.C Select Sheer Pressed Powder
  
• Cream blush: M.A.C Blushcreme in Brit Wit for the day and M.A.C Blushcreme in Laid Back for the evening.
• Foundation: Chanel Pro Lumiere Professional Finish Make up Fond de Teint
• Moisturizer: The Body Shop, even though it does you no good to put moisturizer on when you already have foundation on your skin, it is a good idea to keep some with you for days when you aren't wearing foundation and your skin will need moisture. It's also great for moisturizing dry hands, and for any other moments when you will need it (it's easier to have it in the bag than to try to remember to put it there on days when you know you will want it). Keep the moisturizer in a tiny plastic container well sealed. Again, try to pick up a sample size that is small enough to carry around in your bag.
• Lipstick pencil: M.A.C Lip Pencil in Hover.
  
• Lipstick: M.A.C Lipstick in Soft Lust. The easy application one like a pot or a the one with a brush - if you are used to tubes then a lip brush applicator to go with it.
• Powder blush: Chanel Powder Blush in Fantasia. This is crucial so you can always touch up with color. Remember, use the cream in the morning and touch up during the day with powder. Also remember that you can put some over your eyebrows, on your chin, the tip of your nose, and on your neck for an added glow.
• Blush brush: M.A.C 129 Blush Brush
  
• Eye shadow: Gouri uses her blush as her eye shadow, Chanel Powder Blush in Fantasia. A earthy neutral shade is wonderful to open up the eyes or the blush could be doubled up as an eyeshadow.
  
• Mascara: M.A.C Zoom Lash in Zoomblack or M.A.C Pro Lash in Coal Black
  
• Eyebrow pencil: Make Up For Ever Eye Brow Enhancers in Brown Black. This pencil is great for touching up your eyebrows and is terrific for drawing a line in your lower lid, in the corners of your eyes, and for touching up your eye liner.
• Eye liner: M.A.C Fluidline and M.A.C 266 Small Angle Brush. Use this to touch up your eye liner or add it on for a sudden evening out.
• Tweezers: Stray hairs in your eyebrows or upper lip
  
• Band-Aid: I carry just one for emergencies.
• Atomizer of perfume: Versace Bright Crystal Perfume. This is wonderful for a pick-me-up scent.
• Saline solution: Visine Eye Drops. A small bottle of commercial saline solution does wonders for tired eyes at any time of the day. It soothes safely, and makes your eyes sparkle.
  

That's it. It may sound like a lot of things, but gather them around, put them into that little bag, and you'll be delighted and surprised at how easily they fit and how efficiently the whole combination of items works.

i♥makeup: What's the worst thing a woman can do to her face?
Gouri: Not taking care of it as mentioned beauty does not come overnight it’s a process hence learn the systematic approach to it don’t wait till the last minute – you got a problem consult a specialist immediately – and please do not follow or use things blindly .

i♥makeup: What do you think are best/worst trends in the beauty industry right now?
Gouri: The best trends in vogue are the “COLORS” earlier there was a dearth of it and we had to create it, now with many make up brands coming in, life and make up just gets easier.

i♥makeup: What make-up magazines/websites do you read regularly, for inspiration?
Gouri: Anything I get my hands on, as you never know what could be your inspiration

Shobhna: Before and After, the transformation is beautiful
Make-up by: Gouri Kapur

i♥makeup reader, An Indian's Make-up Musings: Which would be the best concealer for a lightweight - almost nothing kind of feeling, yet capable of hiding the dark circles and not settling on the creases?
Gouri: Since I run an institute we customize the concealer as per the skin tone after studying the skin type and texture as professional concealers are very different from the ones available readily in the market.

i♥makeup reader, An Indian's Make-up Musings: How does one match lipsticks with eye shadows?
Gouri: Light lips with dark eyes and vice versa is fine but what do you wear with colors like rust brown and such, which are not that dark, but definitely not light. Rust brown is a great earthy colour for wheatish skin tones it complements gold and red very well for example, team up a rust eyeshadow with red lips or peachy orange glossy lips if you not a bold colored person. Similarly rust lips with gold eyeshadow or a dual gold and rust eyeshadow would look great and add more zing .

i♥makeup reader, An Indian's Make-up Musings: Do you have any "secret" make up tip to achieve the flawless - no makeup look for this spring on a person who has less than flawless face?
Gouri: All my secrets are revealed in my simplified make-up workshop for 2 days. As the right products teamed with the right application is the secret to a well done up – flawless looking face.

i♥makeup reader: What is the best bronzer for this summer? -
Gouri: I personally like M.A.C Gold Refined Bronzer as it goes with most of the skin tones and comes as a pressed powder, therefore it's great for any season

i♥makeup reader: Is black liner still in?
Gouri: Retro is in vogue in a big way and liner plays a great role in achieving that 'Audrey Hepburn Look'.

i♥makeup reader: If you had to recommend a tinted moisturizer what would it be?
Gouri: I prefer creating it myself with a blend of moisturizer and a touch of foundation to give a sheer, clean and fresh look.

Gouri Kapur is a freelance makeup artist and a grooming consultant and has worked in all areas of the fashion and entertainment industry and now runs her grooming institute where she teaches professional make up to aspiring make up artists and also transforms people empowering them with knowledge and how to stay gorgeous.