Sharontina Brightman is a style and beauty blogger at TheRunwayTimes.com, a place where she gets to tell a story through her eye for style and her love for red lipstick.
The recent graduate of Temple University’s Fox School of Business adores all things business, branding, beauty and fashion, and this week, Sharontina took some time out of her busy schedule to chat with us at SPICE. See our Q and A with her, below;
SPICE: What does beauty mean to you?
To me, beauty is almost like an emotion; it is evoked, embodied, felt, interpreted, appreciated and created. Beauty is how I describe things that make me feel happy, powerful and comforted.
What is your day-to-day beauty routine?
Most mornings I’m rushing and have maybe 5-10 minutes for all makeup application, so I usually apply a little concealer underneath my eyes to get rid of the dark circles. I use a pressed powder foundation to attain that ‘natural’ look without having too much coverage, black liner to create my cat-eye look, mascara, a little blush and a bold lip – always.
Do you have a signature look?
My signature beauty look is definitely a natural makeup look (as far as the face and eye makeup goes), paired with a bold red lip; I absolutely love and am obsessed with red lipstick! Also, I can’t forget the ‘cat-eye’ – I love to create a nicely defined winged liner look to give my eyes some definition and contrast.
What would be your must-have beauty product?
Red lipstick – it gives a makeup look so much power and confidence, whether it’s worn day or night. I seriously can’t live without it. I have many brands of red lipstick, but my top 3 faves are Dior’s “Red Carpet”, Maybelline’s “Are You RED-y”, and Sam Fine for Fashion Fair’s “Dynasty Red”.
If we were to open your makeup bag, what other brands and products would we find?
I love IMAN Cosmetics, so you’d definitely find her “Afterglow” blush/bronzer (one of my all-time favourite products), her “Nutmeg” eye shadow, my go-to vampy lip, “Black Tulip” by YSL, lip glosses from Senna Cosmetics and Illusions Cosmetics (I love to layer them over my lipstick to create the perfect lip cocktail). You’d also find a good black liner in case I need to touch up throughout the day, and my pressed powder foundation from the Covergirl Queen Collection. I literally always have at least 5-6 lip products in my bag at any given time; you never know when you’ll need to change your lip colour!
What are your beauty dos and don’ts?
Do: Apply concealer to rid dark under-eye circles and blemishes; use bronzer around the perimeter of the face to create a warm, sun kissed glow; layer gloss over lipstick to create unique lip cocktails.
Don’t apply excessive amounts of foundation (which can look caked on; really messy); do bold eyes and lips together (I’ve seen very few pull it off effectively, but if it works for you, right on!); use a dark lip liner that is drastically contrasted from the lipstick – so 90s.
Whose makeup do you always admire?
There are four women in the public eye who always have a flawlessly beat face, they are: supermogul, Iman, R’n’B singer, Monica, Jennifer Lopez and supermodel turned CEO, Tyra Banks.
Can you please share an ‘oh no, I didn’t’ moment with us?
Just last week, I was in a rush to do my makeup so I wouldn’t be late for work, and in a hurry I was trying fill in my brows and accidentally made them too thick because of my over-use of the brow pencil. After doing them, I didn’t have time to fix them, but I managed to make time to take a photo (go figure) and post it online, asking of others what they thought of the look. They didn’t hold anything back and told me I needed to fix my brows as soon as possible! I looked at the photo again and said to myself, “Oh no I didn’t”… I couldn’t believe I left the house like that!
If you had to give just one beauty tip/piece of advice, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to explore. Be as daring and bold as you want to be and find what works best for you and the look you are going for. Oh, and for my darker complected women, use a beige liner on the inner rim of the lower lash line to make the eyes appear bigger/fuller as opposed to white; it works wonders for the eyes and pairs gorgeously with our complexion!
What is your beauty fantasy?
To have my makeup done by one of my favourite makeup artists (Sam Fine, Pat McGrath, Valente Frazier … the list goes on) and to do a beauty story in a major magazine. Ahhhh… that would be amazing!
If you could, what would you like to change about the beauty industry?
Although it’s gotten better over the years, I’d love for there to be more diversity in product assortment for women of colour from major cosmetic brands. The definition of beauty has definitely shifted to being more all-inclusive in recent years, but I think we still have a way to go.
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@styledegree
Image source: Sharontina Brightman
