From A Sparkling Water Skincare To Hiding Bad Hair Days: Egyptian Actress Ayah Samaha On Her Beauty Secrets
Starring in one of Netflix’s most-anticipated series, Paranormal, the actress shares the make-up secrets she learned on set and beauty wisdom from her grandma
The Egyptian actress shares some of her favourite beauty tips, from unique hacks to skincare secrets from her grandma, the netflix star has given Bazaar the full scoop on how she keeps her skin fresh and glowing all year round.
MAKE-UP & FRAGRANCE
Favourite make-up brand: “Fenty for its amazing bronzer collection which goes well with my skin tone.”
Fenty Beauty, Dhs130 and. Fenty Beauty, Dhs75, sephora.ae
Make-up hack: “I use lip tint on my cheeks and eyelids for a fresh, youthful look. One hack I learnt during shooting Paranormal is to use white eyeliner to make your eyes look bigger. It’s true magic! Another one is that with some lipstick and an eye pencil, you can do a whole make-up look. It’s something I’ve been doing every day since I learnt it.”
Zoeva, Dhs50, Zoeva
Go-to lip colour: “I prefer lip balms that give a natural look.”
Mascara: “My favourite mascara is L’Oréal Paris Voluminous.”
Signature scent: “Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille, and I also like to use Coconut Splash — it’s really refreshing in the mornings.”
Tom Ford, Dhs490, sephora.ae
HAIR
Bad hair-day secret: “The wet look; it’s truly the easiest way to handle bad hair days for short hair. Go-to hairstylist: It’s really based on my needs at the time. I loved the ’60s hairstyle that I had as Howaida in Paranormal, though. I’m actually thinking of adopting the same style as a change when my hair gets longer.”
Treatments: “Coconut, avocado and argan oil are my favourites, but I often visit the hair salon for their professional treatments.”
Simon & Tom, Dhs85, simon tomshop
SKINCARE
Skincare Routine: “I use serums and apply sunblock (Banana Republic, Dhs95) thoroughly in the morning. Recently, I stopped having facials and instead I’m leaning towards natural ingredients like raw honey and rose water as a cleanser. In addition to that, I use green tea ice cubes as a toner and aloe vera for moisturising my skin. After playing Howaida, a character living in the ’60s, I had to start researching what women did in that era to take care of their skin. I looked up what my favourite beauty icons did and took skincare advice from my grandmother. I discovered that the best skincare routine is to take care of my health, food and habits as well as keep my make-up very basic and minimal.”
Go-to product for skin emergencies: “Having combination skin can be a headache, especially living in Egypt, so I go for Kiehl’s Breakout Control Blemish Treatment (Dhs200).”
Skincare secret: “Soaking my face in sparkling water for five seconds and repeating it five times. It has an antibacterial nature and hydrates my face more than regular water.”
Miracle product: “Foreo’s facial cleansing device really maximises the benefits of any products I apply.”
Foreo, Dhs200, foreo.com
DIET & FITNESS
Guilty food pleasure: I LOVE carbs! Comfort food was the norm back in the ’60s, so playing Howaida made eating it a lifestyle for me… but now filming’s finished we’ll see if I’ll be able to let it go or not!
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s September 2020 issue