I love the transformative power of make up, the fun you can have with colour and expressing yourself. I see the way my 4 year old girls play with their crayons and the way their little faces light up and for me I feel the same about colour cosmetics. I love the beauty industry because you get to meet the most creative and exciting people like make up artists, who are at the top of their game like Eli Wakamatsu. Born and raised in Japan, Eli came to London in the 80s and has worked with celebrities such as Thandie Newton, Zadie Smith, Kiera Knightley, Mary J Blige and brands such as Prada, Miu Miu and Net-a-Porter. Here, Eli shares her favourite 5 products for deeper skin tones.
Photographed by HIROSHI KUTOMI for ID, beauty story edited by Eli titled ‘IDENTITY’
Photographed by SEAN ELLIS for US VOGUE
Bobbi brown BBU Palette, £200, www.bobbibrown.co.uk
“This palette allows me to mix up just about any skin shades and texture. It’s especially
good for darker skin tones because of the nice coverage which allows me to bring and create shapes well
by using highlight shades and lowlight shades”.
Mac Studio Finish Fix Skin Corrector, £12.50 each, www.maccosmetics.co.uk
“I have a quad palette of this corrector in the colours ‘Pure Orange’ ‘Deep Brown’ ‘Ochre’ ‘Terracotta’.
These can be used as a contour and under eye concealer and as a colour corrector, which allows me to create
just the shades I need without becoming heavy handed”.
IMAN Luxury Blushing Powder in Freesia, www.imancosmetics.com
“This is my cult item, which I can’t work without! I use this matt deep aubergine colour
along cheekbone or the crease of eyelids as a contour.
Nars, Powder blush in Taj Mahal, £23, www.narscosmetics.co.uk
“I add this when I need a little brightness onto the apple of the cheeks”.
Becca, Nude Lip Liner Pencil in Biscotti, £18, www.spacenk.com
” I use this to shape by filling in and outlining lips. The dark colour shapes inside the lip line and the beige colour applied on the outer bow helps
to create definition”.
represented by www.emmadaviesagency.com
