GET THE FACTS | LOW BEAUTY

The world of makeup artistry is ever changing from following trends, making new ones and seeing what exists within the cosmetic and skincare industries. We had a chance to chat with Karim Orange on celebs that she has worked on, her about new line that she has collaborated with via Vapour Organic Beauty, being a Low Beauty Makeup Artist and what that means in a world where we are navigating green, non-animal tested products, sustainable as well as other products.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Tell us about your background and how you became a Makeup Artist.

KARIM ORANGE:I have been a professional make up artist for over 25 years. When I was younger I always loved the beautiful girls in the magazines with makeup on. They always looked so happy. I started as an assistant to another celebrity makeup artist. We worked on over 100 videos a year in the early 90s. My big break was touring with Mary J Blige. After that I beat out 23 other make up artists for my spot at The View. This is where I received my two Emmy nominations.

AM: Who are celebrities or projects that you have worked on that we would know?

KO:  I worked on The View and with artists like Jay Z, Nas, Sean Puffy Combs,  Lauren Hill, Rosario Dawson, Goldie Hawn, Mary J. Blige, Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, The Dixie chicks, Deepak Chopra, I've even done Donald Trump's makeup. 

AM: How did Inner Orange come about (from it's name, your partnership with Vapour etc)? 

KO: Vapor Organic Beauty and I have been working together in different capacities for over five years. I have always respected them as a brand because they have always been inclusive of all shades. The name Inner Orange is of course a play on my last name. I find that orange, the color, usually makes people feel excited. The sun has hues of orange, changing leaves have beautiful tones of orange. Some amazing foods are orange. Orange makes you glow. Inner Orange is about glowing strong in whatever-you do, and the colors in the collection reflect a 'glow strong' attitude.

AM: What products are currently in Inner Orange and what are your plans for this portion of the line in terms of extending the product range? 

KO: Inner Orange currently consists of two collections. The first collection is called Spark and it's for light to medium skin-tones. It consists of peachy and soft gold neutral tones. The Crave collection consists of warm burnt orange shades and rich chocolate browns. It is more for medium to darker shades. Inner Orange will continue to develop with Vapor Organic Beauty. You will see the addition of seasonal colors and products to support the crave and spark collection, giving you more possibilities. 

You will also see additional products under the Inner Orange umbrella. The next product is a synergistic essential oil blend called Inner Orange, which will be available in January on the Inner Orange website. 
 

AM: When we talked with you at the event, you explained that you're a Low Beauty makeup artist - can you explain more about what this and misconceptions that people may have on this title/category?

KO: Over the years I have seen the words clean, green, organic, sustainable, natural all used to describe more conscious personal care products. These are the words that I have used to describe personal care products. Recently, I have thought about what it is that I do. What it is that I would like to teach women. It became a concept that I have personally coined to describe my practice which I call 'Low' Beauty. It's very easy for the average person to understand. Everyone likes things in life that are low! Low mortgage rates, low-risk activities, low pesticides in food.

Low beauty is three basic steps and rules, that I try to follow.

*As a makeup artist, I try to use the minimum amount of products to get maximum results. When I teach a woman how to do their make up I try and make it as simple as possible. If she is currently using 10 products I try to get it down to five or six. 

*I also try to introduce products with low undesirable ingredients. 

*Lastly I try to pick products with low carbon footprints. Sometimes the low carbon footprint part can have shades of grey. 

AM: How did your journey to being a Low Beauty artist come about? 

KO: My journey as a low beauty make up artist came about by trial and error. Using minimal products came about on a tour with Mary J Blige. At the time, Mary had her own makeup kit that I was using. Somehow her make up kit got left behind at the last venue. That night I had to do Mary's make up with a few products. It taught me how to be a minimalist. Also working on The View (live television), where you have no extra time for extra products, confirmed my minimalistic approach. 

The need to use products with low undesirable ingredients came about through my personal nightmare. A lipstick that I had been using every day for years sent me to the emergency room because of a sudden allergic reaction. I didn't wear lipstick for almost 10 years after this. I also started making the connection between women and autoimmune disease and what we put in our bodies. There are so many women that have reactions to something they have been using every day. The body one day says that's enough, and makes the immune system go haywire. I was lucky that my reaction happened on the outside of my body immediately. I was able to stop using the product, a lot of women are not so lucky when symptoms happen internally. 

The low carbon footprint aspect can be a bit overwhelming. While I understand that sometimes companies can't do everything right, they should still make an effort not to intentionally incorporate practices that are wrong and harm the earth or animals. They should support sustainable practices and know every element of their manufacturing. 

AM: There is a growing conversation among many about the need to transition a number of beauty products from those that are chemically based to those that have less as well as those that have not been tested on animals.

What products swaps do you suggest for mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, foundation, eyeshadow, cleansers, toners, moisturizer etc. Are there any products that you suggest that people continue to use that may not be Low Beauty oriented but are safe to use?

KO: You're trying to get me in trouble with this question (lol). I believe in education not scare tactics because I'm a magician, not a preacher. I encourage women to switch three products first - their lipstick because they eat it. Their body lotion because your skin is the biggest elimination organ in the body, and your nail polish because the nail beds are so porous and traditional nail products are so toxic.

Let's also remember that I am a makeup artist and I love makeup. I still follow the trends and products in traditional makeup. I have to relate to any woman that comes to me for a consultation. I have to understand what she is using and why.

So, if you come to me as a virgin when it comes to owning cleaner versions of beauty products, I'm going to be very gentle with my recommendations. My first step is to educate you and get you out of any lipstick that has toxic ingredients. With that being said if you're addicted to your Dior Show mascara (which I know is fabulous) I'm going to say enjoy it and tackle other things (first things first). 

Here are some of my favorite products (yes they all fall under Low Beauty lol)

Mascara: Mineral Fusion and Gabriel Cosmetics 

Eyeliner: Zuzu Luxe (they have a ton of fabulous colors and shades, for both eyeliners and lip liners). 

Lipstick: Any color you love that's nontoxic. 

Foundation: I love Vapour and Mineral Fusion in liquid formulas. (they offer so many varieties and formulations). I also like Au Naturale sticks and ZuZu Luxe for powder. 

Eyeshadow: Most mineral shadows are ok. Just make sure they are not made in a country that tests on animals. Also, try and find some that contain no FD & C Dyes. 

Cleansers, Moisturizers, Toners: Try brands like Indie Lee, Kimberly Sayer, Dr. Hascka and Even Healy. All of these brands are amazing.

Read more from the Nov issue and see Get The Facts | Low Beauty in mag.

XOXO, BOY MEETS GIRL

Brands are born for a number of reasons, but some emerge to simply mark a moment as well as an extension from a lifelong passion that needs to be shared with like-minded individuals! Stacy Igel is the powerhouse behind Boy Meets Girl® which she states is the original athleisure brand and is coveted by celebs, "IT GIRLS," and more. We talked with her about how she came to fashion, the story behind the advancement of the brand, upcoming brand achievements and of course how she stays on top of it all as a wife and mom of her young son.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We think it's pretty appropriate to have you in this issue as our Style Director has always mentioned your brand as one of the early athleisure brands. Walk us through your journey in fashion that led you to creating Boy Meets Girl®!

STACY IGEL: I knew at a very young age - I tell people in the womb, who I wanted to be – a fashion designer. It was a pretty direct path in terms of getting here, but also there are hurdles. I dressed my classmates, had my own little lookbooks in 1st or 2nd grade and would make catalogs. I would make them without Instagram or social media. I just used polaroids to create them – this was pre-photoshop or even using computers! 

My mom was an entrepreneur. She created a lumbar support and she was always going to Hong Kong and Taiwan. She would bring back these trinkets from these places that were super cute. I just loved them and I started making catalogs and selling these items in there. Like I had the first charm necklaces back in the day so it was so cool. So I was this budding entrepreneur and I learned how to run a business. 

Then, while my mom was building her business she went from doing it at home to expanding to factories, tradeshows, etc. So even though it wasn’t designing, a clothing collection, it was a back machine that came in one color and one price point and she was a physician’s assistant – she was still making something and it was the things that you did to start a business. Creating something, selling, producing a product and dealing with factories. So when I was young, I knew I wanted to have my own business and to design. She definitely inspired me. My father was also very encouraging in my dreams. He is a doctor. Therefore, I had no family who was in the fashion business.

I started taking classes – there were opportunities at Columbia College in Chicago as my grammar school and high school at that time didn’t have the opportunities that people do now to learn those skills. I had to take a lot of extracurricular classes to learn more about design.  

I worked in retail at the Gap and in college worked in a retail store in Madison-Wisconsin where I made my first product and sold it there. I was always just on this track that I knew I would do this as well as understanding all facets of this business. My mom taught me that you can’t just do one thing you have to understand all facets from design, retail and manufacturing.                                                                                                                                                                     

Rosario Dawson in Boy Meets Girl

When I went to school I triple majored at the University of Wisconsin in Design, Retailing and Business. I got a Certificate of Business and I was able to carve out the 360 of how to be in business, do design and more. I took internships where I was able to learn more, did fashion shows etc. During my Junior year, I was able to study in London with Zandra Rhodes who is a very famous designer. I also worked with Donna Karan and Elsa Klensch (host of CNN's Style With Elsa Klensch), I was dabbling in a lot of areas and I even interviewed in '98 Marc Jacobs at one of his first NYFW shows in SOHO and I got to see behind the scenes and what it took to be in it. Seeing all these things, my parents asked did I still want to do it?  Of course I did!

When I graduated, I designed for Elie Tahari and was hired by him. I left there and went to Izod and learned high fashion as well as mass and branding. In 2001 right before Sept 11th, I left to pursue my own thing. Then the 11th happened and my first tradeshow was right around that time. 

My collection at that time had a lot of ribbons as well as the original Boy Meets Girl collection as it was focused on the Fourth of July and I was showing it in Sep as it was showing my Spring/Summer collection for the following season. My first department store who bought the line was Bergdorf Goodman at this trade show which was my first in NYC. It was crazy to sit in this booth showing it there and my mother kept nudging me saying, “it was the best store in the world.” There were about 60 designers that were showing; however, I was a hot booth as I had something new and fresh that resonated with all the customers (not to mention I had my awesome mom working with me at that show ... those were the days). I had a purchase order that was a nice amount and I was handmaking and screen printing everything – I did it all myself and then I realized that now that this was a thing, I’d have to get a factory as it was a big company and I was in business and had to ship all these goods. 

I am the direct line of having the passion, wanting to do it, being involved in every facet and a budding entrepreneur. I never stopped working – I have been working since I can remember as it’s what you do when you love it.

AM: Who is the Boy Meets girl customer?

SI: We like to say that she has a young attitude, she has a bit of an edge, she’s fun, she doesn’t take life too seriously. She really believes in being good and doing social good to help change the world. It’s not one specific thing, but she is into music and what’s happening. She loves going to concerts, traveling, etc. We like to say that it’s not only runway, it’s about being on the go and not taking things too seriously and having a good time. We’re the original athleisure brand which is why we love that this is in Athleisure Mag!

You’re on the plane, you’re on the go it fits your personality and it’s not about a specific age - just our attitude and how you feel. It’s amazing for me as the person who has built it to see what they come for, how they come to the brand, what they buy and why they buy. It makes me pinch myself sometimes.

Eva Longoria wears Boy Meets Girl

AM: How did you come up with the logo?

SI: I have a cool story on this – as it came from meeting my husband. I was going to dinner for the first time with my husband – at that time he was my boyfriend to meet his parents. On his wall, he had silhouettes of his brother and sister. When I was younger, we had something like that of me and my sister. The logo isn’t us per se but when I looked at it I was like, oh “Boy Meets Girl” – the first time you meet someone, the first concert, travel experience. It’s a moment and a story. 

After that night, my husband (who was also a graphic designer) and I started playing with the silhouettes, poofing the hair up, playing with the layouts etc. We then focused on trademarking everything, did the IP, spent a lot of time to protect the name across all apparel as well as internationally. You have to learn about all the protection and we deal with IP and protection on a daily basis. I always say that the logo is us in some ways but it’s really everybody as it’s about the story. Being young and having a good time.  I am also grateful my husband is a fashion/entertainment lawyer so the early days of putting this all together definitely inspired him too!

AM: What collabs have you done that you liked and of course, tell us about Care Bears.What collabs have you done that you liked and of course, tell us about Care Bears.

SI: One of my latest collabs that I partnered with was a very intimate NYFW show this past Sept where we partnered with Justine Skye and subway talent that were dancers into this space. I worked with Randy Jackson and he had an artist from Singapore named Will. What I did in this show (I’ve been known to partner with a number of artists/talent such as Wyclef Jean, Pharell, Leah Labelle, Natasha Bedingfield, and many more) was different then my other shows due to venue space. We could only invite 120 people and showcased the brand alongside new artists. A lot of artists I have worked with, we work together right before they hit. I mean when we worked with Justine she had never performed a NYFW live show before and then right after, she was opening for Beyonce which was crazy! It was really about showcasing the talent and infusing them in a great spot with great people and it’s the heart of who we are as a brand. I love this! Working with Wyclef was amazing as it was 3 months of working with him and it was a dream for sure. He is a musical genious.

I love working with artists on the rise and infusing music into our shows and keeping it fresh. We also did a Buy Now Wear Now concept in 2016 in partnership with Shopify and we did the same in 2012 with Wyclef and made a microsite which seemed crazy then compared to how you can do it now. For me, I am always doing things before its time.

Care Bears is iconic and I love being involved in bringing them back. Working with them has been great. We did a sneak peek collection back in Aug which was also at Collette (an iconic store in Paris) and it sold out. I am doing it again in a much bigger collab for 2017 as they felt our brand had a lot of synergy and it is their 35th Anniversary! They felt it would be cool as they are collaborating with a number of brands but no one has created what I have for this collab! Excited to share more. Follow @boymeetsgirlusa and @stacyigel on Instagram as we reveal more in Jan/Feb 2017!

Justine Skye stuns in Boy Meets Girl.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Stacy Igel

Read more from the Dec Issue.