LOVING what I see in the Mirror

Spreading love won’t happen if when you look in the mirror, you have a problem loving who you see…

Sam Fine is one of Hollywood's leading celebrity makeup artists. His clients include A-list celebrities like La La Vazquez-Anthony, Angela Simmons, Naomi Campbell, Patti Labelle, Vanessa Williams, MoNique, Tyra Banks, Iman, Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige. And you’d swear that his outlook on makeup, beauty and image only entails thoughts of perfection. But not so much.

“I think makeup is the part of black women that speaks; it draws people into us, it is a great communicator,” said Fine.

I think one of the hardest things about loving ourselves, especially women, is embracing our image; loving what the world sees before they even know who we really are. So what do us women do? We sometimes buy our clothes one size too tight, spend money on overpriced hairstyles, add acrylics to our already beautiful nails, and pile on tons of foundation to achieve the complexion we’ve always wanted. We are sometimes under the impression that men like all this… when they barely even notice.

Sam Fine moved from Chicago years ago and after almost 20 years, he’s the man responsible for the faces that we admire the faces that sometimes…hard to say…we wish were our own.

So Sam Fine, the man who makes up the faces of the women that we stand in our mirror sometimes trying to mimic, sets the record straight. He just released his DVD, The Basics of Beauty. With this DVD, he gives dynamic makeup tips as a continuation from his book, Fine Beauty. The DVD offers step-by-step tutorials featuring three unique makeovers. He carefully addresses the challenges that black women face with the application of makeup focusing on tools, technique and product selection.

Sometimes, it is hard to think this way, but celebrities that we love, like Tyra and and J Hud, don’t wake up with the same faces that we see on our tv screens. Like most black women, they may just wake up with some hideous head wrapping and plain faces. Sam Fine wants us to know that even these faces are beautiful.

“I don’t’ see it as a transformation of my clients”, said Fine. “I think transformation implies that they are becoming someone different once I apply their makeup.  I see makeup as an extension of who you are. Makeup brings about an enhancement; there is nothing that really changes other than people can direct more attention to your features.”

Women, especially women of color, have histories of feeling unpretty, not beautiful. History has dictated to us that we our faces are not as pretty as other women of other ethnicities. We often believe that our natural, and sometimes downright nappy hair, is not what the world loves. What we fail to realize is that we are of a people that exemplifies the art of sexiness. Our swags are not of new era. In Africa, when were once considered Queens, our ancestors wore pure gold and rare jewels on their heads. And their faces, flawless. And this was way before Covergirl and Iman Cosmetics hit the scene. Way before Sam Fine.

“Women of color have had the history of being shy about makeup,” he said. “My mom’s generation grew up barely finding a foundation that works for them. So a lot of women just went without makeup. And a lot of women felt left out and they still feel left out. We really just didn’t have that experience.”

But nowadays, the days of pretty girl rock, black women are not very shy to show their beauty. And we shouldn’t be.

To all the young girls out here that look up to the women you see on tv, love who you are, because those women did not always feel beautiful either.

“I think it’s just adolescence,” said Fine. “It’s an awkward stage and I never suggest wearing makeup or getting hair extensions just to make you feel better. Love who you are behind the clothes, behind the makeup.”

We LOVE you Sam Fine! Continue to paint the souls and hearts of black women around the world. And we’ll continue to love ourselves…beyond our mirror images…

Love,

Vee