The #ITGTopShelfie series puts the focus on the lives and beauty routines of Into The Gloss's lovely, accomplished, and loyal community of readers. Show us your own Top Shelfie on Instagram—tag us @intothegloss, and include the hashtag #ITGTopShelfie.
'My name is Dana Boulos [@danaboulos] and I live in Los Angeles. I work as a photographer and creative director—I specialize in really dream-like work. I like making people feel like they've stepped into another world through photography and film. When I'm not working, I'm either at a punk show, doing karaoke in Little Tokyo, or seeing movies. Every Wednesday, I'll go see a movie at Cinefamily—I draw a lot of inspiration for my work from French cinema. I'm also signed with Anti-Agency Models in LA, which represents people of all ethnicities, shapes, and styles. When I was trying to model, I would meet with agencies that didn't like the way I look. With Anti-Agency, they actually encourage you not to change your appearance when you sign, so that feels good.
Most people don't know I'm mixed [race]...I'm Lebanese and Sudanese. My teta—the Arabic name for Grandmother—was always into beauty and she taught me about ingredients and what to use, and now my daily skincare routine is pretty simple. I start off by washing my face with Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser with Orange Extract. My skin is normally oily and this is the only cleanser that works and hasn't given me zits. Then I move on to Trader Joe's Nourish Oil Free Antioxidant Daily Moisturizer. I don't like the feeling of lotion on my face, so I prefer ones with a milky vibe, and the Trader Joe's one is the best. After that, sunscreen. I use Lancôme Bienfait UV Super Fluid Facial Sunscreen. It's super light and necessary in LA, when summer feels like forever.
When it comes to makeup, I'm really inspired by the leading ladies from Éric Rohmer's films. They only wear a little but always look great, even if they have pimples showing on their face. In that spirit, I like to keep my daily look to big bushy eyebrows, rosy cheeks, and stained lips. Dior's Hydra Life BB Creme is the best and the only foundation I like wearing—it's moist and evening, and it makes me feel flawless. For blush, I love the whole Dior Glow collection, especially Dior Glow Blush. I tend to wear it kind of like a sunburn. I'm a big fan of burnt cheeks. If I'm only putting one thing on my face, I'll use Benetint Lip and Cheek Stain. There's something romantic to me about wearing blush with nothing else. If you're into matte lips, you have to try Lipstick Queen's Sinner lipsticks. I like Deep Red. They have hydrating antioxidants in them, so they leave my lips really soft and I never have to reapply.
When I was little, I was made fun of for having bushy eyebrows and a gap between my teeth, but at the end of the day I realized that’s always going to be me. Now, I embrace my eyebrows especially. My freshman year of college, I watched a backstage interview with the lead makeup artist who did the first Alexander Wang show, in which she described how to achieve bushy '80s eyebrows...she used clear brow mascara, so that's what I used. Now, I use Boy Brow. It's super light but gives you a natural, bushy look without it being too dramatic. When it comes to eyeshadow for a party or event, I tend to go super wild—I usually buy the ones from the dollar store since the colors are super vibrant and actually work. I have this Santée Color of Princess one that I like. For New Year's, I experimented with glitter and bought a glitter eyeliner from Urban Decay, but instead of lining, I put it all over my eyelids.
My hair is quick to get oily, but I also tend to wash it a lot. For a deeper clean, what I like to do is apply Hesh Ancient Formulae Castor Herbal Indian Hair Oil before I wash, and then I'll rinse it out with Herbal Essence Rose Shampoo. It makes my hair feel so clean. I love the smell, and it has rosehip, jojoba and Vitamin E, which all keep my hair really healthy. I also really like Alba Botanica Hawaiian Body Sea Salt Scrub with a dry body brush in the shower. It's great for getting all the dry, dead skin off your body...my skin definitely feels extra soft after using it. And my favorite scent is APC's Fleur d'Oranger Spray [ed. note: discontinued]—it's a room spray, but I use it as a perfume!
I have poor circulation, so exercise is very important for me. I just joined this new gym near my house, so I'm taking all of their classes. I'm a big hot yoga fan, too—it's a great way to get rid of my dark acne scars, by sweating everything out. For everything else, I use Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion. I apply it on my zits and fall asleep looking like a dalmation, but honestly, it's the best product ever. Overnight, the zits are gone!”
—as told to ITG
Frances Tulk-Hart appropriates bath oil as fragrance, Kirsten Chilstrom sources beauty inspiration from Veruschka, and Libby Gray believes inconsistency is key to your hair routine in the #ITGTopShelfie.
