Recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Makeup Artist of the Year 2020, Mehak Oberoi’s work portfolio boasts of some of the biggest names in Bollywood. Working her magic on our February digital cover star Alaya F, Mehak says, “I like to keep the skin natural for editorial shoots so that the texture of the skin shines through. Alaya’s skin is stunning as it is, so for her, less is more.” A flawless base, gorgeous kohl-lined eyes with metallic inner corner accents and nude lips— Alaya’s look is perfect for a night out. We got in touch with Mehak to spill details and break down the look for us:
Breaking Down Alaya F’s Cover Makeup Look
Mehak Oberoi: The most vital part of doing makeup for me is prepping the skin well because it makes the makeup look beautiful on the skin. I like to incorporate a lot of face rollers, face masks and massagers in the skin prep. For Alaya, I started with a cold compress followed by the vitamin enriched face base from Bobbi Brown and then I went ahead with either a face roller or a massager followed by the Smashbox primer water to prep the skin and lastly an illuminating balm from Bobbi Brown in the shade pink glow to give the skin a very natural glow which is perfect for editorial shoots, not necessarily for film shoots.
Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water
Bobbi Brown Extra Illuminating Moisture Balm
For foundation, we used the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in the shade Punjab and for concealer, we used a little bit of the NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer in the shade Tiramisu. We kept the skin extremely sheer by using less product. For eyes, we used a bronzer from Bobbi Brown in the shade Golden Light to enhance the natural shape of the eyes and then went ahead with a lot of black kohl on the top and lower lash line to open up the eyes furthermore.
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation
NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer
Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder
We then used a metallic liquid shadow from Forever 52 on the inner corner of the eyes followed by a lash curler to curl the lashes and give them a lift to make the eyes pop. Lastly, we went in with lots of mascara to enhance the eyes, I used the Smashbox Super Fan mascara.
Daily Life Forever52 Chrome Liquid Eyeshadow
Smashbox Super Fan Mascara
Alaya loves to contour her face so we did a cream as well as a powder contour for her. For blush, I mixed two shades from Bobbi Brown in the shade Santa Barbara and Pretty Pink with lots of glow to brighten up the face. For lips, we kept it very sheer with a lip liner from Bobbi Brown in the shade nude and a lip gloss from Bobbi Brown in the shade sweet talk.
Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder – Santa Barbara
Bobbi Brown Blush
Bobbi Brown Lip Pencil – Nude
Bobbi Brown Crushed Oil-Infused Gloss – Sweet Talk
A Makeup Trend That’s Going To Be Big In 2022?
MO: I think a lot of glitter use is coming in today’s time because a lot of people are influenced by Y2K fashion and beauty trends and I personally also love using glitter.
Where Do You Go For Makeup Inspiration?
MO: I just try to dig into the lives of various creative people nationally and internationally and look for inspiration accordingly. I love researching various fashion gurus to gain inspiration, I also watch a lot of documentaries and continue learning.
Top 3 Favourite Products?
MO: Lip & cheek tint, concealer and lash curler
Read about 8 Indian Celebrity Makeup Artists You Need To Follow
