My Private Hieroglyphs
von Dogan Firuzbay


I am standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom. I begin to put on my make-up, I cleaned my skin thoroughly with cleansing milk and lotion. Now, in the morning I wash my face with cold water.


There is one rule: no make-up without a base. I use a moisturizing lotion on my face that is adepted to my skin type. First I apply it to my neck moving up to the chin, then come the nose, forehead and cheeks. Whatever remains on my fingertips I put on the back of my neck.


Then I give my skin a few minutes to absorb the lotion. Before I actually put on my make-up, I look out the window to see how the weather is. I always apply my "day" make-up in the daylight and I always inspect my face in my hand mirror to be sure that the nuances are absolutely perfect.


When the sky is cloudy, I choose strong, clear colors. On light, sunny days, my make-up is more subtle. I press the foundation out of a tube onto the back of my hand and spread it onto my face with a little spong that is moist. I begin on my forehead. I also use foundation on my lips and the area above and below my eyes. On my neck and near the ears, I smooth out the make-up until every sign of a difference in shade is wiped away.


After the foundation I take a special compact powder. It is made of various colors: beige, pink, violet, ochre, white and green. On this palette I mix the six colors and apply the resulting beige to my skin. I define my eyelashes and eyebrows with a little eyelash brush.


Now the muscles and lids are soft and relaxed. - I can do my eye make-up. I apply the eye shadow with a small, flat brush. The color is coffee brown with a touch of red highlights in it. After I finish the color on my eyelids, I take a kajal pencil and accentuate my eyes with a thin line. I have blue-green eyes. For the mascara on my
eyelashes, I take the mascara brush out of its cartridge and bend it a little so I can maneuver more easily. I adorn my eyelashes with several layers of the thin mascara coating - to give them a silky shine and a light shimmer.


I Iike my make-up to be discreet. Then, very carefully and minimally, I intensify my eyebrows. For my lip make-up, I first begin with a lipstick pencil and draw the outlines. I follow the exact outline of my lips - they must be absolutely perfect. I always use the same lipstick - Dior 763, a bright, strong red - the casing is hexagonal, royal blue on the outside, gold on the inside. Once my lips are a luminous red I press them together so the color is evenly distributed. - I apply ma rouge with a big, round brush so it gives a light shimmer to my cheekbones.


Afterwards, I stand in front of the mirror and scrutinize my face. - I select some silver earrings, - they suit me.


At the very end comes my perfume - today it is Shalimar.



(Translated in English by Faye Marty)