Journalist Nastya Poletaeva about self-esteem and favorite cosmetics

FOR THE FACE "HEAD" we study the contents of beauty cases, dressing tables and cosmetic bags of interesting characters to us - and we show all this to you.

About self-esteem

The world of the first 18 years of my life did not mean that makeup exists for anything other than improving itself. I was born in Tolyatti, a small town with many ballet schools and sports clubs. People there do not give themselves the descent. When I came to visit my mother this summer, it seemed to me that I was in California: on the city beach there were completely inflated bellies, resilient priests and embossed legs. In general, the atmosphere there always implied a desire for physical perfection. I also strove: for 12 years I was seriously engaged in ballet, I additionally went to the gym and existed surrounded by girls with immaculate bodies.

This I mean, the first 18 or even 20 years irritated me in appearance: from the hips and curly hair to the shape of the nose and skin color. Starting from the tenth grade at school, I managed with a Spartan set: nuclear foundation, eyebrow pencil, black eyeliner (thicker) and black mascara. Not because I understood myself so well and found "my" means. It just seemed to me that I was acting according to the principle of "do no harm" - I didn’t aggravate the fact that nature dumped me. Then I entered the university and moved to Moscow, but this did not change much. I still stubbornly drew a sexy look, wore very fitting clothes and suffered from complexes.

In the first year I managed to fall in love - very unfortunate. That person was a real abuser, but it's hard to understand when you are 19. So I lived for several years, drawing ever thinner eyebrows and buying ever more uncomfortable bras. It seemed to me that this way I would cease to hear "Never make your lips more beautiful - you don’t go" or "Are you in this dress like anyone at all?" At the same time, I started having terrible skin problems, and I am still sure that my conviction has caused convulsions. Maybe in a different context, heels and T-shirts with a large neckline make you feel better, but for some reason I did the opposite.

And in the winter of 2013, I was in Paris for work. I ran around for interviews and exhibitions, I didn’t sleep much and, at the end, I had little thought. Just one of the last days, the photographer and I were not allowed into an important event - we were a few minutes late. So I went to the nearest McDonalds for cola, which is always washed down with grief. I sit, I drink, and then from somewhere on the side: "Pardon?" I turn around, and there, I'm sorry, the most beautiful man I've ever seen in 3D. Our conversation with him did not lead to an exciting romantic adventure, but he raised my spirits. Straight from the cafe, I went to MAC across the road and suddenly bought myself the first lipstick in my life. Maroon, almost black, glossy - I stood in the shop in thought for about an hour, but I still took it. And after that I was released. At first I was really scared to go out with burgundy lips: it seemed that everyone would poke his fingers and smile. But no, the sky has not collapsed. But after a couple of months of intense lip makeup, I didn’t care about the imperfect symmetry of my face, my puffy cheeks, and whether I looked sexy enough.

Pro makeup

This is not a story about the terrible Togliatti and fabulous Paris. It’s just that at the time of that trip I did get away from the painful relationship, I started earning and traveling normally, I really liked my work - and somehow, I began to like myself too. The excitement of the discoverer woke up in me: I began to buy lipsticks - dark and neon-bright to blackness. In parallel, I finished my skin and suddenly realized that I adore sparkles. They appeared on my face a little bit: first in the inner corners of the eyes, then on the eyelids, then on the eyelashes. Now the foundation of my everyday makeup is matte lipstick and glitter. But, if it comes to my mind that it would be cool to stick gold stickers on top of my eyebrows, I will stick them: I definitely won't be bored with them.

My attitude to myself and make-up work influenced not only indirectly. In 2014 I settled in Vogue, and all the year and a half that I worked there, the ocean of cosmetics stretched before me. It's one thing when you go to the store - there are annoying consultants, everything is terribly expensive and incomprehensible. And it is quite another when the mountains of tubes lie in front of you: take them, try them. If it were not for the work, it would not even occur to me that the eyeliner can be pink, the ink - silver, and the highlighter - that the highlighter is needed at all! Plus, the site had a cool team - no one made round eyes when I literally came with a star in the forehead. The environment in which you can not think about "what people say," is important.

About skin

As I said, I had very serious skin problems. I have been treating her for about two years, and although everything is all right now, I am always on the alert. Therefore, my care is rather boring and the same: I use the cleaning tonics and masks of Holy Land (they have been prescribed to me by a cosmetologist for a long time), I wash with a special terry mitten Jane Iredale, which magically washes even waterproof mascara. My skin is dry and dry, so for the night I apply Panthenol - a greasy, sticky pharmacy ointment that is used for sunburns. I have no allergies to it, it perfectly moisturizes and is completely absorbed by the morning. Highly recommended, especially in winter.

About care

I do not go to bed with makeup. This habit is worked out to automatism, and now, no matter what morning the party turns into, I always fall asleep with clean skin. I also stopped squeezing and generally touching acne - completely, because otherwise an atomic war would flare up in a matter of hours. I refused tonal creams, because with them (and I tried dozens of different ones) inflammations appear more often and last longer. Of all-strengthening: every morning I drink two glasses of water on an empty stomach - honestly, I just feel like drinking. I also take oral contraceptives - they were prescribed to me by a gynecologist when I treated my skin. In my case, the cosmetic effect was magical.

About hair

I have curls, but it is not easy: they are prone to dryness, just that they begin to break and crawl, so I chose a long care. As a result, stopped at Davines. They have a great Love line for curly hair and very cool styling so they don't fluff. Every two washings I put on Wella oil for the night as a mask, but it is perfectly replaced by ordinary coconut oil (I suspect that any other is also). Ready masks also love. I try not to use a hairdryer and cut through several courses of "Pantovigara" - these are such vitamins for hair and nails, an excellent thing. In general, I wet my hair in every possible way and on the shore. But if you land me on a desert island with baby shampoo and a bottle of oil, then I will not be lost.

About perfume

In the matter of fragrances, I am polygamous, but true. Of course, smells tightly grapple with certain periods of our lives, with specific people and events that you do not want to experience again and again. And yet I can not stop loving the scent, if one day I liked it. No matter how many bottles stand in my closet, they all become a very personal experience over time. But I don’t want to part with my own memories, even if it causes belated discomfort. The smells themselves gradually begin to be perceived differently, it’s not boring with them. I like to think that my favorite perfume compositions are similar to my favorite books - frightening in their scale, with endless levels of meanings, without romantic smoke. As a result, almost all the flavors that were in my closet are very heavy and give a gloomy antiquity.