São Paulo – Wherever she goes – in her six appearances in São Paulo Fashion Week, or in self-makeup lessons taught in London, Dublin, Rome, Paris and Copenhagen –, Karina Saib wears her family’s influence on her sleeve. Her great-grandparents made the move from Beirut, Lebanon to Brazil back in 1920. “Surely all my makeup jobs that accentuate the eyes are influenced by Arab makeup. People say they can tell it’s me, because there’s something mysterious about it. I guess the eyes will give you that,” she told ANBA.
The holder of a degree in Fashion, Saib – originally spelled Sahib – began to take an interest in makeup through her household environment and how women would relate to one another. “I used to see makeup around the house. My grandmother would wear red fingernails, black eyeliner and perfume. And although my mother was always classical, her eyes would always be sharp, and her lipstick red. Femininity is a constant in the Arab [world]. That was a major influence on me. You see it and you want to look the same,” she said.
Karina recalls that when she started out, she had no professional makeup artist to look up to; all she knew was she wanted to work in the beauty industry. “I’d look at people and envision how they could look so much prettier with black eyelashes or lipstick. I had an Arab-descendant boyfriend who was also very important, because all the women in his family wore makeup, and he was one of the people who encouraged me the most,” she said.
While going to Fashion school, Karina started working for MAC Cosméticos. “In the afternoon I’d go after the makeup artists just to watch them work. In a year’s time I became a product specialist, which is like a PhD in skin. You learn your way around each and every product, you study a composition book. You learn to work textures and all kinds of skin. That job was my true school,” she recalled.
Aside from watching more seasoned professionals work, the traditional Arab dance school Khan Al Kalili helped her express her ancestry. “I took more than ten years’ worth of belly dancing lessons at Kalili. I got the chance to do makeup on lots of dancers who developed amazing self-makeup abilities,” said Karina, who also used to do a theater and performance group from the Christian Arab church she was raised on. “Lots of people see Arabs as one thing only, but my family, for instance, is Christian. That’s still surprising to some. I take great pride in my Arab background, because it comes from both my father and my mother,” she said.
Com 12 anos de carreira, a profissional hoje atende personalidades como a atriz Samara Felippo and journalist Mariana Godoy. Karina’s working on a step-by-step Arab makeup tutorial – which she claims is ideal for any occasion – for her Youtube channel. It’s a color-rich process, with red and black eyeshadow, then the pink and golden illuminator, and finally the black eyeliner that helps accentuate the typical Arab look.
In addition to doing image consulting and skin pigmentation, Karina teaches courses in various levels, including self-makeup. Although she hasn’t taught a specific course in Arab makeup techniques, Karina has decided to approach the style as a way of cherishing her ancestry. “It’s where I come from, and I wanted to pay tribute, to show the type of makeup that’s always current in the Arab world,” she explained.
From here on out, she intends to keep creating, teaching courses and honoring her Arab roots. “I’m always going on about the essence of people. My self-makeup courses are about knowledge of self. I believe that in order to do makeup on yourself you need to know yourself. In my courses and videos I strive to show that everyone has their own essence,” concluded Karina.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
