Now there’s a face you can trust, are we right? Josie Maran, the foxy model and makeup maven behind Josie Maran cosmetics answered a few of our burning questions about beauty and products. We’re going to run it in two parts. Here’s the first chunk where she tells us about a—gasp—waterproof mascara, and some insider beauty tips. Next up? More modelly secrets, her favorite other natural lines and more.
What are some common booboos you see in makeup application—and how can we fix them?
One thing I see a lot of is eyeshadow mistakes. Blend, baby, blend! Apply your colors and then take a clean eyeshadow brush and go over what you’ve done until it blends together beautifully. Also, curl your lashes. This is such a small step that so many women skip but it makes a huge difference. Curling your lashes really opens up your eyes and pulls a whole look together. I’m actually totally addicted to curling my lashes.
Do lots of models use natural products?
As a model, it’s hard to use natural products because, unless you’re carrying your own kit around, you’re at the mercy of the makeup artist who is doing you for the job. On top of that, there haven’t really been [many] high performance natural makeup products that hold up for photo shoots or runway. However, I do think that models (like everyone else) are becoming more conscious about what they put on their bodies—especially in terms of skin care. In fact, the gorgeous supermodel Brooklyn Decker just gave a shout out to my argan oil saying she can’t live without it! Every day makeup artists have been asking me to help them clean out the toxins from their kits, and we send them healthy high-performing cosmetics from my line to use on their clients.
We bend on waterproof mascara and antiperspirant on occasion. You told us in the past that creating a good mascara was crucial to you—and yours is great—but could natural ever replace truly waterproof?
It is true that a good mascara is like the holy grail. And guess what? My new mascara is natural and water resistant! You can have both! Two ingredients—the organic cerifera wax and the organic beeswax—help keep the mascara on your lashes, while the argan oil conditions and volumizes at the same time. I’m also so proud of the GOGO mascara because of the cause behind it. GOGO stands for Get One, Give One. We’ve teamed up with City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment center, and for every GOGO we sell we are donating one to a patient or survivor of cancer.
If you could offer women one beautifying tip, what would it be?
Use your fingers when applying makeup. Don’t be afraid—the result is natural and clean. And, of course: Smile!
What is your number-one favorite natural ingredient to use in products—other than argan?
Argan Oil IS my favorite natural ingredient! I use Argan Oil in almost all of my products for it’s moisturizing, anti-aging, and nourishing properties.
Stay tuned for part two!
We have a little secret. Maybe not something to bring up at a dinner party or in mixed company, but here among friends? Why not.
Alexandra and I both hate soap.
Aside from certain obvious body parts (the sexytime ones, and our pits), we don’t use the stuff. Basic hygiene, yes? Soaping up our…calves? And elbows? And the small of our backs? Why on earth!
Since we both stopped using soap, we find our skin much softer and naturally balanced, which obviates the need for body lotion. We like this, because it supports one of the central tenets in the book, which is that the fewer products you use, the fewer products you need. And when you’re buying less stuff, you can afford to get things you absolutely love when you do go shopping.
Back to faces for a second. We won’t use soap or anything foaming on our mugs. Our skin needs the natural oils that live on its surface and below. When we strip that with harsh, carcinogen-contaminated chemicals, our skin acts like a moody teenager.
Still, if you wear sunscreen and makeup, and who doesn’t, you obviously have to wash at the end of the day. I use a new Tata Harper cleanser some days, and an Evan Healy milk on others (reviews to come!). In the morning, I gently wipe my face with a clean wash cloth and water. That’s it.
Alexandra has lately been experimenting with honey. When she bothers to wash her face at all, she skews more DYI: a little honey as a cleanser here, coconut oil to remove makeup there. The point for both of us: Our bodies are marvellous! They do all kinds of magic tricks on their own. Let them be, and they work juuuust fine. And no, you won’t stink, we promise.
What about you? Do you use soap?
We, like most people, looooove French women. They’re polished but slightly undone, sexy but sophisticated, they like to eat cheese and drink wine, and they don’t use soap. Needless to say we were excited to read this link-baity New York Times piece about French women’s secrets to aging well. From the Times:
Even the average Frenchwoman … seems to defy the notion that, as one grows older, you either have to disguise that process with Botox, eye-lifts, [and] lip plumpers … or else just give up altogether and let the ravages of time take their toll.
The article has some “secrets” I wholeheartedly endorse. In addition to said soap abstention, I also like the idea of less-is-more makeup, ritualizing self-care, and not underestimating the mood-boosting power of a really hot bra. Which is kind of an awesome message, because it’s something most of us can do without shooting stuff into our foreheads.
I love massaging with lotions and oils, dabbing on special eye creams, doing weekly green tea face masks, preparing home-made scrubs that smell like cookies (mmmm vanilla) and then using them to diligently soften skin in the shower. I doubt I’ll age better than anyone else, but I’ll feel better doing it that way—and I think that’s the point.
What are your rituals?
Omegas omegas omegas. We’ve all heard a zillion times that we should take our omegas every single day, because they’ll make us live forever without cancer and wrinkles and bad moods.
But then we’ll also see attention-grabby headline claiming it’s snake (er, fish) oil, or that it’s too often contaminated with mercury to be safe for daily use. Well, here’s our take:
High-quality omegas are just possibly the single most amazing supplement in the entire world, for a number of reasons.
Bam! They’re an anti-inflammatory superstar, and inflammation, as we explain in the book, is health and beauty enemy number one. Yes, it’s our body’s natural response to bad things—it’s how we fight off infection—but study after study has shown that often, when there’s no infection at all, inflammation is triggered and the body kind of attacks itself.
The result of that ain’t pretty. We’re talking acne and rosacea on the relatively benign end of the spectrum, and rheumatoid arthritis and worse on the other.
That’s the bad news. The good news is, there are tons of delicious ways to get your omegas through your diet—salmon, walnuts, egg yolks, etc.—and you will be rewarded with glowy hydrated skin. As for supplements, we’re partial to fish oil from Nordic Naturals, but if you’re a flax seed kind of gal, that’s cool too. Just make sure they’re freshly ground and organic (duh).
The awesome Jody Villecco from Whole Foods has written another really instructive piece over at GOOD for our No More Dirty Looks series. This one offers a primer on how to read labels, and some advice as to why that’s important.
Get out your loupe, because it’s time to read some labels.
This is by far the hardest thing to do when it comes to choosing personal care products, but it’s also the most instructive, and the most important.
Because of lax cosmetics laws, it can be very hard to know if a product you’re using is as clean and safe as you want it to be. There are laws about ingredient disclosure, however, which means that the list of things listed in your product have to be true. To help you on your way, here are some tips.
Photo (cc) by Flickr user Alternativemeans
