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You know Oxana Novacovici from her Makeup Lessons, from Atelier de Paris, and from the beautiful photos and live sessions she posts on social media. She is one of Romania's established makeup artists from whom we always have something to learn.

Oxana was very kind to answer our interview questions, not just with simple answers, but by offering a lot of valuable advice and information from her experience. Enjoy!

Momirov: – What do you recommend to your clients before the day they come for makeup?

Oxana: – My recommendations extend not just to the day before makeup, but for at least two weeks before the day they have their appointment. Here, I'm talking about intensive hydration throughout the day and especially before sleep. It's about proper makeup removal, following these steps: makeup remover in the form of a lotion or cream, mandatory toner, followed by hydrating serums and skin care serums (depending on what other effects are needed for the skin), then eye cream and finally face cream for the evening. This is the correct skin care process, and it's important for healthy skin that every step is followed.

Just before the event, I recommend they do a light scrub with something very soft and natural, for example, coffee grounds, or there are enzymatic peeling products that remove dead cells and will help the makeup apply much more easily the next day. I also recommend they use hyaluronic acid, intensive hydrating serum, anything that softens and hydrates the skin. It is absolutely forbidden to go to a swimming pool with chlorinated water or to a tanning salon because the skin gets burned and it shows on the day of the makeup. Also, I do not recommend waxing or using aggressive procedures on the skin.

Momirov: – How much does skin health influence the durability of makeup? 

Oxana: – That's a very fitting question because girls expect us to work miracles and for their makeup to last more than 24 hours, but (laughs) they don't think that if you don't drink water and are dehydrated, that affects the durability of the makeup.

If you don't take care to cleanse your skin and remove your makeup correctly, it affects the quality of the makeup. The durability of makeup is directly proportional to how well each person takes care of their skin. For example, on dehydrated skin, foundation will last much less; practically, it will look good for a maximum of 2-3 hours. After that, it will show signs, especially on the nose area where it's most visible, that it's wearing off if the skin is dehydrated.

Momirov: – By what criteria do you choose a skincare product?

Oxana: – First of all, I look very closely at the ingredients. I'm interested, if it's a hyaluronic acid serum, where that hyaluronic acid is on the list. If it's in the last three lines, it doesn't impress me; it's not a quality product. I'm very interested to see who the manufacturer is, if it's a brand I've worked with, if I've heard anything about it, if it has reviews, or if it's a product for which I find good user feedback. I don't trust reviews like "it's good"; I want to see arguments and the effects it has, which helps me understand if it's a suitable brand for me.

Momirov: – What do you do for your skin's health daily, weekly, monthly? 

Oxana: – Normally, the most important things are your diet, how much sleep you get, how much water you drink. No cream in the world can change these, no serum can work miracles if you don't take care of your body both internally and externally. Smoking also damages the skin, as does a stressful or acidic lifestyle. But, to prolong the beauty of your skin, there are the following routines: daily makeup (if you do that) and makeup removal, daily use of creams, serums, toner, weekly peelings, monthly cosmetic treatments. I pamper myself as much as possible.

Momirov: – If you were on a deserted island, what skincare product couldn't you live without? 

Oxana: – It depends a lot on the type of island :) Normally, I would take sunscreen products because spots appear immediately, and the skin ages a lot from the sun. Next on the list would be serums or intensive hydrating products. Now, if I'm on an island with fruits, I can compensate and get nutrients from there, but anything related to UV protection is harder, so a product with a very good protection factor.

Momirov: – How can we delay the visit to the aesthetic surgeon as much as possible? Or how long do you think it should be delayed? 

Oxana: – First of all, we can do this by taking care of our skin when we're young, not starting to use creams and take care at 30-40 years old. This is done from a young age, from 18 you should already start taking care of your skin; you don't need to use a lot of creams but you do need to take care of it.

Especially for makeup removal, it's important to follow all the steps. How can we delay the visit to the surgeon? By doing facial and body massages, hydrating ourselves well, getting enough sleep, using masks from natural products, ensuring that physical effort is present and consistent, and avoiding large temperature differences. Sun protection is very important. We also recommend a makeup remover balm with fruit extract.

Momirov: – Any beauty secret you'd like to share?

Oxana: – The beauty secret I want to share is this: consistency beats any quality makeup product! If you take care of yourself daily, use serum, do your makeup removal, cleansing, and intense hydration, use products for elasticity with collagen and elastin, if you do this consistently, your skin will feel it. If you do this daily, it's even better.

Another beauty secret I want to share is that what you eat is extremely important, and consuming as many fruits and vegetables as possible, and fresh juices are simply brilliant. You'll see that after a month, your skin looks completely different.

Momirov: – What do you do to stay young inside and out? 

Oxana: – I try to laugh more even if it gives me wrinkles around my eyes. Those are signs of age that don't bother me; in fact, I sometimes find them attractive. I'm very careful about what I eat, I try to sleep until 11, I use a ritual to connect with myself, that skincare ritual.

I look in the mirror morning and evening; this helps me observe my state of health, well-being, or fatigue and ask myself questions to which I respond in a way that changes things for the better for myself and my health. Good luck with your work and good luck loving yourself, observing yourself, caressing yourself, and giving yourself time!

In the unlikely event that you're not already following Oxana, you can find her on Facebook and Instagram.