Desi Inspiration: Interview with MAC Senior Artist Vimi Joshi!

Vimi Joshi MAC Senior Artist Middle East is an inspiration to many makeup artists and makes us desi’s super proud!  She discovered her true passion of makeup while in medical school and had the courage to leave a conventional career path to pursue her dreams as a makeup artist (imagine telling your parents!).  Her career has been incredible, as one of the MAC Senior Artists the Middle East  she’s done makeup for Royalty, Rock Stars, Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities and shows her magic behind the ramp for runway shows.  Vimi is some of the best talent in the industry.

Read our interview with Vimi where she talks about her career, living in Dubai and gives us some makeup recommendations for South Asian skin tones!

1.  We want to know your story, when did you know a career in beauty was for you? How did you grow in your career and make your dreams into a reality? What has been the highlight & biggest challenge of your career?

I started my career in Beauty in 1995 and it was purely by coincidence that I became a makeup artist. I was actually training to become a doctor and begin work in the medical field. I went to a U2 concert that changed my life: my friend was their stylist and we were all backstage when I met their makeup artist. She told me how she travels the world with them doing their makeup. I knew then that I wanted to be a makeup artist. It all sounded very exciting and I was only pursuing a career in the medical field because it was my parents dream, not mine. I went to do a makeup course and my first job was working with Tony Blair who was campaigning to become the prime minister of UK, Within 3 weeks of leaving makeup school I was working at MTV Europe in London. The highlight and the biggest challenge of my life was organizing and designing the looks the iifa awards which is the Bollywood Oscars. We had a team over 30 makeup artist and 300 makeups to do in one day. It was so inspiring.

Vimi Joshi behind the scenes at the IIFA Awards

2. When did you move to Dubai & what brought you to the Middle East?

I moved to Dubai in 2004 before which I lived in Kuwait. I came to the Middle East to work with the Kuwaiti Royal Family and then started working for MAC. I loved living in Kuwait and it is through the Kuwaiti women I learnt Arabic makeup.

3. What are your favorite things about living in Dubai? Do you think living in the Middle East has changed you in any way?

I really like living in Dubai because it’s such a cosmopolitan place. You meet people from all over the world and it teaches you to accept and    respect different cultures, it also teaches you to become compassionate and non judge mental towards people. I have become more spiritual since moving to Dubai and for that I am grateful. 

4. Tell us about your experience working with MAC and what do you think sets MAC apart from other makeup brands?

 Working for MAC has been a life changing experience. I have travelled the world and met the most incredible people. MAC as brand has a philosophy of  “All Ages, All Sexes, All Races” which I totally believe in and it’s a trend setting fashion brand that leads within the market. I also admire the fact that MAC is innovative and its always pushing artistic boundaries.

5. What are some of the differences you see between makeup styles in the UK and in the Middle East? And why do you think this is?

Women in the Middle East adore make up, they enjoy experimenting with colours, textures and makeup styles. The women in the UK prefer their makeup more natural and softer. The reason for this, is that here in the Middle East make up has been inspired by the culture that is rooted deep within their history. In the UK the makeup is inspired by 20th Century fashion.

 7. Having been working as a makeup artist since 1995, how do you think MAC has evolved over the years and do you think the makeup industry has changed since you first begun?

MAC is a very fashion forward brand and it is constantly evolving with times. The makeup industry is also evolving and I believe that technology and textures has a lot to do with this. MAC has an incredible range of products in their “Prep and Prime” and “Mineralize Skin Finish” Range. Women want their skin to look velvety and natural with minimal product.

8. Where do you find inspiration and are there any Makeup Artists out there who inspire you? What do you think sets one makeup artist apart from another?

Life inspires me… I could look at a flower, painting, building, nature and get inspiration. I have so much respect for all makeup artist out there and I really celebrate their creativity and artistic perspective. My make up hero is Val Garland.

9. You do a lot of different type of work. What do you enjoy most about your job? What has been your most favorite makeup job ever?

Each day is a different experience and that’s what I find so inspiring working with MAC. I really enjoy each and every job as it allows me to express my artistry.

10. East Asians generally have a hard time finding a foundation that matches their skin tone perfectly. Can you share any tips on how East Asians can find the right shade of foundation?

The first thing to bear in mind is to understand the undertone of your skin which could be golden, peach or pink. Most East Asian women have a golden or peachy undertone’s and they want a foundation that is pink. By choosing a foundation that is pink in undertone will actually make your skin appear blue or grey. So, I suggest that you find a foundation that matches your skin tone exactly.

11. In your opinion, what are the most common makeup mistakes women make?

Choosing the wrong color of foundation that does not match their face or body.

12. What are the top 5 lipstick shades from MAC that you think are the most popular and suit Asian skin tones the best?

Please Me, Impassioned, Chatterbox, Vegas Volt and Ruby Woo

13. What is your favorite makeup trend of the season? Which MAC products would you recommend to achieve that look?

Sense and Sensibility: It’s about beautiful skin that looks creamy and velvety. A strong statement red mouth with a rosy flush of blush. I would recommend the below products for this look:

• MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation
• MAC Lip Pencil in Cherry
• MAC Lipstick in Ruby Woo
• MAC Blush in Pink Swoon.

14. Desi’s love Kohl. But for many of us the kohl tends to run. In your expert opinion, how can one avoid their kohl from spreading and becoming raccoon eyes?

The best way to ensure that your kohl stays in place is by setting it with some loose powder under the eye area.

16. Do you have any “go-to” signature looks that work every time?

The good old classic smokey eyes…. Every woman loves this look.

17. In “celeb-land” which celebrities would you love to make over if given the chance?

Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.

18. If you could tell our readers the top 3 most important makeup tips you’ve learned over the years – what would they be?

1. There is nothing more beautiful than inner beauty. Most women focus on what they are not happy with. Celebrate who you are!
2. Hydrate your skin for a radiant glow.
3. Always take time to find the correct shade and undertone of foundation because once your skin looks great, your make up will look great too.

Pre Bridal Skincare — Protect & Nourish!

Remember it’s never too soon to begin a healthy skincare regimen, even months before your wedding. Don’t panic! stress leads to break outs. Relax take a deep breath and read on —with our help, you can become your own skincare expert and your dazzling looks will be guaranteed for your special day!

In the spirit of getting your skin to look its optimal for your big day here are some dermatologist approved natural skin care pointers — Follow and reap great skin as a reward.

# 1 FIRST DO NO HARM — BE GENTLE WHEN YOU WASH AND SCRUB YOUR SKIN

Many people believe that aggressive scrubbing of their skin with a rough towel can help remove waste material and toxins from their skin. Abrasive scrubbing does not promote healthy skin, it actually worsens skin tone and health because it leads to damage of structures in the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. Your skin is well designed to cleanse itself from the inside out if your diet and lifestyle are health promoting. Be gentle when you wash your skin, and pat-dry with a soft towel. If you are using a scrub, do so only once or twice weekly and rub gently and never over scrub. Always moisturize after washing your skin!

# 2 DO NOT USE ANTI-BACTERIAL SOAP

As A Regular Habit Millions of friendly bacteria live on your skin; these bacteria take up room and resources, making it difficult for unfriendly bacteria to establish colonies on your skin. Friendly bacteria in your skin also produce various substances, including fatty acids, peroxides, and bacteriocins that protect your skin against unfriendly bacteria. Regular use of anti-bacterial soap can diminish the strength and quantity of friendly colonies of bacteria in your skin, increasing your risk of experiencing infections, including acne.

#3 MINIMIZE USE OF SOAP AND HOT WATER

Regular use of hot water and almost all types of soap can dry out your sebaceous glands, causing your skin to become dry and unhealthy. Healthy skin requires, regular sebum production to promote resistance against water and microbes. A natural soap and water should be used only when necessary to remove any chemicals, grease, gas, and oil that you are exposed to. It’s best to minimize the length of your showers and baths, and use lukewarm water rather than hot water. Repeated use of hot water showers and baths can cause your skin to become dry and unhealthy.

# 4 MINIMIZE EXPOSURE TO HEAT

If you’re living in hot climate or are exposed to dry furnace heat during colder months, your skin regularly loses water content, which can cause chronic dryness and itchiness. To combat this type of skin dryness, consider taking the following steps:

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• Reduce exposure to the heat. Wear protective clothes and try to stay cool. Less exposure to heat results in less water loss from your skin, which results in healthier skin.

• Hydrate your skin by taking lukewarm baths, and moisturizing as soon as you get out of the tub while your skin is in a hydrated state. Use the most natural moisturizer that you have access to –olive or coconut oil.

• Take a lukewarm bath or shower only when necessary for cleansing. If you don’t need to bathe or shower every day, then don’t; your skin will be healthier for it. [/fancylist]

# 5 MINIMIZE USE OF MAKEUP, PERFUMES, COLOGNES, SHAVING CREAM, AND OTHER PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS AND COSMETICS THAT CONTAIN TOXIC CHEMICALS

When your skin is bare, just as it is intended to be, it stands its best chance of receiving nourishment, getting cleared of waste products, breathing with your environment, and cleansing from the inside out. This is why children tend to have clear and healthy skin – they don’t regularly burden their skin cells with personal care products and cosmetics that many adults are conditioned to use daily. Ironically, people who regularly burden their skin cells with a number of unnecessary personal care and cosmetic products to look “better” for society tend to look “worse” at a much earlier age than those who don’t bother with such products. And using such products year after year further increases dependence on them.

The truth – and let it be heard loud and clear – is this:

[quote] The less stuff you put on your skin, the healthier and more beautiful it will be in the short and long term.[/quote]

#6 EAT PLENTY OF WATER-RICH FOODS

Healthy skin requires strong and steady blood flow, as your blood circulation brings your skin cells nourishment, and clears away waste products that your skin cells are constantly generating. Eating water-rich foods – mainly fresh vegetables and fruits – is essential to experiencing strong and steady blood flow, as the naturally occurring water, vitamins, minerals, and phyto-nutrients found in these foods promote optimal blood circulation to your skin and throughout your body. Dark green vegetables are arguably the single best food group for promoting healthy skin via healthy blood flow, as no other food group can match the water content and pound-for-pound nutrient density of dark green vegetables. This is why I regularly recommend shooting for one head of romaine lettuce every day.

#7 EAT FOODS RICH IN OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS AND FLAVONOIDS

Both groups of nutrients are great for healthy skin and are strongly associated with healthy blood vessels, which are essential to experiencing optimal blood flow to and from your skin cells. Healthy foods that are naturally rich in omega-3 fatty acids include:

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• Dark green leafy vegetables

• Raw walnuts

• Wild salmon

• Fresh or dried seaweed

• Freshly ground flax seeds

• Freshly ground hemp seeds

• Free-range eggs

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HEALTHY FOODS THAT ARE NATURALLY RICH IN FLAVONOIDS INCLUDE:

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• Lettuce

• Acerola cherries

• Citrus fruits

• Cabbage

• Kale

• Spinach

• Goji beries

• Asparagus

• Lima beans

• Kidney beans

• Raw cacao

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ENSURE ADEQUATE INTAKE OF FOODS RICH IN VITAMIN A, CAROTENOIDS, & HEALTHY FATS

Vitamin A is arguably the single most important micronutrient for healthy skin, as it is needed to maintain the integrity and function of your skin cells. If your overall health is good and you regularly eat foods that are abundant in healthy fats, then chances are good that your body is effectively synthesizing vitamin A from carotenoids found in dark green, yellow, and orange vegetables like spinach, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

If you have any doubt about your body’s ability to synthesize vitamin A from carotenoids, you can eat foods that contain actual vitamin A, such as organic eggs.

Wishing you radiant beautiful skin and the best of life today and in the days to come!

3 Steps to Prevent Kidney Related Diseases

Kidney related diseases affect the lifestyle of a person and there are researchers that claim that most people even do not have any idea that they are suffering from these diseases that lead to a very bad health. So, one need to be very careful to ensure that they try to know all the important steps that would help to prevent kidney related diseases. Let us have a good look at the major steps that needs to be taken to prevent this deadly disease.

Exercise daily

It is important for you to make sure that you try to get some good exercises daily. You need to do it for 30 to 45 minutes in order to keep your body under good control. This would also help you to reduce your blood pressure thereby resulting in the prevention of kidney diseases. You also need to make sure that you do not to over-exercise as this would only lead to negative effects to your health.

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  Control blood sugar levels

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If you are a diabetic, then you are more prone to kidney failure. So, you have to go for a regular check up that would help you to ensure that both the kidneys are properly functioning. It is possible to prevent kidney diseases if you are able to identify the problem in the initial stages. So by consulting a good doctor and by taking medicines regularly, it would help you to control the blood sugar levels.

• Control your blood pressure

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People suffering from high blood pressure are prone to get heart attack and paralysis. So, you have to make sure that proper steps are taken to control your blood pressure by following a healthy lifestyle. For this, proper diet is also very important and this would help in getting rid of kidney related diseases.

Papad Chat Recipe

Papad Chat Recipe

Try this “Papad Chat recipe” given here – otherwise try this recipe with any of the mentioned items- Idli, Dosa, Puri, Chapathi pieces, bread pieces, boiled Sweetcorn kernels, plain biscuit pieces, Plain wafer pieces, potato wafle pieces, etc.

			Calorie count	:
Type	:	Vegetarian	Serving Size	:	4
Course	:	Appetizer	Preparation Time	:	15 Min

Ingredients for Papad Chat Recipe

No	Ingredient Name	Quantity	Measuring Type
1	Onion	1
2	Capsicum	2	Teaspoon
3	Carrot	2	Teaspoon
4	Chat masala	1	Teaspoon
5	Lemon juice	1	Teaspoon
6	Salt	1/4	Teaspoon
7	Coriander leaves
8	Papads	5 to 6
9	Tomato	1
10	Green chiliy	1
11	Sweet chili sauce	2	Tablespoon
12	Tomato ketchup	1	Tablespoon
13	Plain sev	3	Tablespoon

Cooking Instructions

1. Microwave the 5 or 6 Papads(placing them in a circle) for 1 to 1 1/2 min on high.
2. Take them out and crush them(after 5 mins time) into small pieces.
3. Add this to the Microwave bowl with all other ingredients and mix them well.
4. Microwave this on high for 2-3 mins and take the bowl out.

Serving Instructions

You can Serve this Papad Chat hot with extra Sweet Tomato Sauce separately at tea-time.

5 Ways for Best Eye Exercise

In order to improve your vision, it is very important to make sure that you get the best eye exercise done. If good attempts are made then it would help you to get the best results and that too within a very short period of time. You need to make sure that you try to get some good time to perform the exercises daily in order to keep your eyes away from any sort of problem.

Palming:

This involves placing both your hands over your eyes with the help of your palm covering your eyes. You should not try to put much pressure on your eyeballs to ensure that you blink freely. You should close your eyes for 60 seconds that would provide the ultimate relaxation to your mind.

Thumb exercise:

This exercise is done by extending the thumb of your right and then positioning in front of your eyes. You then need to take a deep breath focusing on an object for about 10 feet away. By performing this exercise for two-three minutes it helps in strengthening your eye muscles leading to better vision.

Eye movement:

This exercise helps a lot in improving your peripheral vision. You need to keep your head fixed and then move your eyes in different directions from left to right, up and below, and clockwise and counter-clockwise motion. By performing this for 2-3 minutes everyday, it would help in experiencing the best improvement.

Blinking eyes:

This can also help to provide improvement to your vision. You need to blink your eyes for 2 minutes at an interval of 4-5 minutes. This helps in increasing the span of attention considerably.

Figure 8 tracing:

Here you need to make an imagination of figure 8 lying on its side for about 10 feet in front of you.  You need to trace your eyes to the figure 8 slowly from right to left and again repeat it from left to right. This too helps in improving the flexibility of your eyes muscles.

Hairstyling

Pumpkin and watermelon