Jazz Kaur Sohal, 45, from Buckinghamshire, is married with two young sons and works in communications for a school.
PROBLEM
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Jazz’s South Asian heritage means she is always looking for products that work with her skin tone and address her beauty concerns. She is also a busy working mother (her boys are eight and five) and so has minimal time for a beauty routine.
To create Jazz’s new look, we turned to Aarti Pal, make-up artist and founder of the South Asian Beauty Collective, who says her clients’ top issues are uneven skin tone, hyperpigmentation, dark circles under the eyes and ashiness around the mouth.
SOLUTION
Face
South Asian women often suffer from pigmentation patches, which can be down to genetic predisposition but also sun exposure. ‘I grew up thinking I didn’t need to wear SPF,’ says Jazz. ‘But now I know I did!’ To address this and disguise dark patches, too, Pal says colour correction is key – she used Bobbi Brown Skin Corrector Stick in Deep Peach (below, £29, lookfantastic.com), a shade that works brilliantly to counteract any sunspots or areas of ashiness.
Her technique is ‘to always apply it before foundation, and only where needed’. For base she applied Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup with a sponge (try Superdrug 20 Makeup Sponges, £4, superdrug.com), gently pressing it over the colour corrector to avoid disturbing it.
To brighten Jazz’s under-eye area, Pal prepped with Tatcha The Brightening Eye Cream (£64, tatcha.co.uk), which works long-term but also gives an ‘instant lift’. Then she put on concealer. ‘I like Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear All Over Concealer (£31) as it doesn’t crease, really lasts and there is a good range of shades. I went for one slightly lighter than Jazz’s skin tone.’ When it comes to shade inclusivity, Pal says brands have come a long way in increasing their ranges, but there’s still much work to be done. She loves the new Kosas colour correctors and powders, as well as Armani and L’Oréal’s foundations, which all work well on South Asian skin.
For Jazz’s eyes, Pal used an eyeshadow stick (try Kiko Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick in Golden Brown, £9.99, lookfantastic.com) on the lower lids, blending it up to the crease using a brush. For the time-poor, she says, this is a quick way to bring ‘a pretty depth to eyes and an instant polish’.
To define Jazz’s brows, she applied Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil (£26, benefit cosmetics.com – a favourite in her kit) and used YSL Lines Liberated Waterproof Eye Pencil (£27, selfridges.com) on Jazz’s lash line as ‘it glides on easily and is really pigmented and dark’. The last touch? A couple of coats of L’Oréal Paris Volume Million Lashes Panorama Mascara in Black (above, £12.99, superdrug.com).
Next up, No7 Pro Artist Soft Glow Cream Bronzer in Medium Glow (below, £19.95, no7beauty.co.uk) on Jazz’s cheeks and temples. ‘The packaging feels really premium and the product works on all skin tones. It’s not too muddy.’
Finally, Pal swiped on Bobbi Brown Luxe Matte Lipstick in Downtown Rose (£35, lookfantastic.com). ‘Jazz usually goes for a bold lip colour, but I wanted her to try this subtler shade. And it looks great. It’s a flatters-all hue.’
Hair
The time and cost of colouring her hair mean that Jazz is embracing the grey appearing at her temples (even though she says her mother isn’t so keen!). Left to dry naturally her hair is prone to frizz and so she is looking for ways to smooth it out. ‘I love the look of a bouncy blow-dry but find it hard to achieve myself.’
Hairstylist on the shoot Alex Szabo suggested spritzing in Redken One United All-In-One Multi-Benefit Treatment (below, £30.95, superdrug.com) post wash. ‘It will turn even the most damaged hair from burnt cotton candy to silk. You only need a couple of spritzes.’
To create a smooth style Szabo used a couple of handfuls of strong hold mousse (he likes Schwarzkopf Osis+ Volume & Body Grip Extra Strong Mousse, £13.86, sephora.co.uk) saying, ‘Thick hair like Jazz’s needs a lot of product.’ He then took a big round bristle brush and dried her hair using a Dyson hairdryer with its nozzle pointed downwards to smooth cuticles and create shine.
Szabo and Jazz also talked about new brands inspired by the South Asian tradition of hair oiling. Jazz recalled her grandmother working coconut oil through hers as her child and now finds herself drawn to brands like Fable & Mane, which have brought the centuries-old Eastern ritual into the mainstream. Jazz said she thinks ‘the chic branding makes South Asians feel more comfortable with their heritage’.
JAZZ’S VERDICT
‘I loved the shoot and afterwards I still felt like me, just more confident. Embracing my greys felt surprisingly empowering, and the team helped me feel beautiful! From now on, I’m opting for comfort over perfection.’
Photograph: Natasha Pszenicki.
Make-up: Aarti Pal.
Hair: Alex Szabo.
Styling: Jessica Carroll.
Picture Editor: Stephanie Belingard.
Shirt, Wyse London
