Considered one of the most desired makeup artists in the world, Samer Khouzami has made the combination of art and makeup his stylistic code. Fascinated by the search for beauty and its emphasis in everything, makeup for him is a way of enhancing what is imperfectly perfect in each of us. His gaze is turned towards a future that praises the natural, to the definition of new standards that today still seem like novelties, but which will soon have to become the norm of a universe made of ethical, healthy products that combine makeup and skincare. Not surprisingly, his makeup line, Samer Khouzami Cosmetics, is a best seller all over the world and we decided to chat with him to learn about his secrets and must-have products! Here is our interview with Samer Khouzami:
TBS: When did you realize to be passionate about makeup and how did you start your career?
Samer Khouzami: My career started when I was very young, and it was quite serendipitous. Coming from a financially modest family, I wanted to pursue my education in Graphic Design and began working at a beauty salon to financially support myself. I landed the job doing grunt work, including clean up, making coffee, etc. I then slowly watched the work going on around me and began experimenting with my make-up skills. The owners at the time saw potential, and I slowly started perfecting my skill. I dropped out of college and decided to focus on makeup artistry because it truly was an art. I may have had different plans when I started, but my passion for creating and perception of beauty had never faltered. I had somehow always known that I had a vision or a way of seeing things differently than those around me. When I picked up the tools, it felt as though this was finally a way for me to be able to translate what was only visible to me in my mind and make it visible to everyone else around me.
TBS: Your makeup artistry is a mixture of cosmetics and art, how do you get this combo in your looks?
Samer Khouzami: It takes years of experience for this to happen naturally. I had been asked, quite recently by one of the Samer Khouzami team members, if when I start working on a look, I have plans for what I want to create. No. It all happens on the spot. When I look at the face I’m applying a look on, that’s when the art happens. It’s taking a look at this beautiful face, with one question in mind: “how do I amplify this already existing beauty?” The secret is to have the tools you’re using work with the canvas, not try to create a new canvas altogether.
TBS: What do you think is the most important aspect of makeup for a woman?
Samer Khouzami: I don’t want to sound redundant but it really is all about one thing. Beauty is everywhere, you just have to find the way to make it that much more visible. A woman should never try to use make-up as a way to hide a flaw or imperfection. It should be a way to highlight everything that makes her facial features unique to stand out.
TBS: When did you launch your own brand and what are the must-have products of your line?
Samer Khouzami: I had initially launched my SK Brushes line in 2015 while I was fully dedicated to my career as a professional MUA. Before we knew it, the success of those brushes was causing more demand than we had imagined! That was the tip-off for the first domino leading me to create my own cosmetics line just two years later. The cliché response is all of them! My products are must-haves because they’re being created by a make-up-artist who anticipated the need for the perfect tools to perfect the art of makeup. But if I just have to choose, I would say everything related to skin. The Instant Light Spray Makeup Base, the Divine Matt Liquid Foundation, and The Concealer.
TBS: Every makeup artist has his own muse, who’s yours?
Samer Khouzami: Undoubtedly, my muse is my mother. I had a deeper connection to my mother than anyone else within my family growing up. Spending your entire life, observing, and being close to a person truly allows you to see what the very definition of timeless beauty is and that for me is my mother. With this, I think it carried in the way I worked, trying to capture her essence in every make-up look I create.
TBS: What do you think will be the future progresses in the makeup industry?
Samer Khouzami: It’s not so much as in the future as it is now. Natural. All-natural. The buzzwords you hear “vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free.” These won’t be things to pride a product off of; they’ll become the standard norm. I think the progress that has already begun moving towards all-natural makeup will reach its peak and become the new expectation. I also see it moving towards the creation of make-up that not only works to beautify, but that simultaneously betters skin conditions.
Sponsored by Samer Khouzami