How Second-Day Makeup Inspired Joey Maalouf's New ISH Collection
Celebrity makeup artist and hairstylist Joey Maalouf is all about breaking beauty rules. Take metallic makeup, for instance: rather than reserving the shimmery shades for fall, the beauty insider made them the star of the spring collection for ISH, his newest cosmetics collaboration with FabFitFun.
Maalouf first landed in the public spotlight as Rachel Zoe's main makeup man and BFF on her reality show, The Rachel Zoe Project. In addition to co-founding The Glam App with stylish star Cara Santana, he also tends to the faces and tresses of Kendall Jenner, Molly Sims, and more celebrities. Now with his affordable metallic must-haves for ISH (which stands for "I'm Smoking Hot"), we can all score the same red carpet-ready looks.
Leading the line is the Gold Bomb ($30), a hydrating balm that leaves a subtle glow on the face and body. There are also four creamy Shadow Sticks in gold, bronze, brown, and rust ($18 each or $56 for the set), and five Shimmy Shadows in nude, peach, gold, bronze, and charcoal ($22 each or $88 for all five). You can also save by picking up the entire collection for $169 (that's a $43 discount) which are only available online.
In honor of his one-year-anniversary collection with FabFitFun, we sat down with Maalouf to find out how second-day makeup inspired the line, his top advice for aspiring makeup artists, and more. Read on below for more and shop the entire line over at ish.co.
Who or what inspired the colors in the collection?
It’s funny, I guess it always go back to Rachel Zoe. We’ve had a 10-, 11-year relationship with me doing her glam and now we’re family. We’ve traveled the world and spent so much quality time together and had so much fun. She exudes glamor, and I think a lot of that rubbed off on me and you definitely see her in this.
Whether I’m thinking about it or not, there’s a muse vibe with Rachel in everything that I do.
What were some must-have elements when you were creating the collection?
I always have been attracted to using balms on my own skin and I always used it as a highlighter. It was always kind of a BTS (behind-the-scenes) secret; like when you’re on photoshoots, how do you get that gorgeous, dewy skin? We always use balms. I was never really so obsessed with a powdered highlighter so I always went towards that real dewiness, but I couldn’t find the product of my dreams.
[The Gold Bomb] has shea butter and coconut oil and it’s super hydrating and moisturizing. It just has a touch of metallic in it — just enough so that if your skin is dry it soaks up all the yummy [ingredients] that are good for you and [conditions] your skin. There’s still that touch of glimmer in it that gives you that dewiness.
When it comes to the Shadow Sticks, I was looking for something that was long-wearing...my clients or my friends or my family [have always said], "Oh my God, I woke up and my eye makeup was exactly the same; I wiped around it.” That always kind of stuck with me. [My good friend] Rachel Zoe even jokes about it very publicly like, “I'm wearing last night’s eye makeup.”
I used to always think that’s so crazy, [but making the products] long-wear was important because I felt like who wants their eye makeup to fall down their face halfway through wearing it? Just be secure about it.
We love everything, especially the Gold Bomb. What are your favorite ways to use it?
I like to use [the Gold Bomb] on the peaks of the cheeks and the bridge of the nose and you can also use it as a lip balm. I even use in the hair. I like to carve it out with my finger and warm it up with my hands and I’ll use it on the body [and] highlight the collar bone. It doesn’t come off on clothes. During the day it’s not too glittery so it just looks like sheen like your skin has a gorgeous glow. It looks like a secret!
What are your favorite "beauty rules" to break?
I like to break all the rules! They say rules are meant to be broken and I believe that there are no rules. When it comes to your look, I just think anything goes. I think if you’re doing what you want and you feel gorgeous, it might take people time to catch up to the gorgeousness of it, eventually your look will become a trend. I think if you stay true to who you are and you trust your instincts — like if you’re attracted to a color of eye shadow, most likely that color is going to look good on you.
What are your top career tips for aspiring hair and makeup artists?
You just gotta keep doing what you're doing; you gotta keep trying. If your instinct tells you you're gonna be a dancer, if you don’t try it, then you’re not going to know. If you want to be makeup artist, you literally should be doing everyone’s makeup that you can get your hands on — which is what I was doing.
I didn’t know I could make a career out of that...I think you just need to trust your instincts and make sure that what you’re doing is exciting and validating. The worst parts are the moments you’re learning something. Just don’t stop doing until you realize it’s something you don’t want to do and you move onto something else...it's the only way to get to the next place.
I do wish I knew then what I know now. I never would have stopped doing people’s hair and makeup. I would have made it my mission to elevate the process of what I want to do.
Many people may know you as Rachel Zoe's main makeup man, but what's a fun little-known fact about you?
I started doing makeup when I was 15 years old and it wasn’t enough so I got into hair. But then I moved to New York to be a dancer and I danced for the Detroit Pistons! I actually rarely tell anybody that.
It was just for a few years; some of the members in my dance team from high school brought me into it and I had fun and I thought that was something I was gonna do. Little did I know at 15 I already knew what I was going to do.
Now we know! Last but not least, what's your number one favorite skincare item?
My personal favorite skincare products are wipes. When you wash your face [it's] not as clean as you think it is. I always use a wipe before [and after] I wash my face. Before doing your makeup or going to bed or starting your day, just start with a very clean face. Pores get clogged so quickly so you gotta watch out for that and I think having fresh skin is the best face. Then all you need is Gold Bomb!
Main image: @imsmokinghot
