The #ITGTopShelfie interview series focuses on the beauty routines of Into The Gloss' lovely, accomplished, and loyal community of readers. Submit your own on Instagram—post your Top Shelfie (tag us @intothegloss!) and include the hashtag #ITGTopShelfie for a chance to be featured on ITG.
"Hi! I’m Jetmira (Yet-mee-ra—also @jetmira_j) and I’m a student and radio talk show host. I grew up in Albania, but I study in Bulgaria and spend my summers in the U.S. on Cape Cod. Moving around so much means I’ve had to focus on figuring out what won’t irritate my skin when I travel, and finding a way to carry all my things around easily. My beauty process has been such a journey from the teenage years and the fun stuff your skin does then. The first thing I ever remember using on my face was Avène, when I was 13, but my mom never wore makeup, so I began experimenting later than most of my friends. Nowadays, where I am dictates what I do to my face. When I am in Tirana [Albania], I am usually on holiday, so I have more free time to relax and put on face masks. It’s funny because I always take time to apply a full face of makeup very meticulously, but I don’t like to bother with touch-ups—I’ve found that Estee Lauder’s Double Wear, Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able Concealer, and Marc Jacobs Perfection Powder always stay in place.
Bulgaria is my favorite place to be in terms of skincare—all the pharmacies carry the best French skincare brands and they retail for almost half of US prices. I love using the Effaclar line from La Roche-Posay, since I’m oily. It does a great job at keeping breakouts from happening, but it’s not the most hydrating line, so at nights I like to use Avène’s Cold Cream. It has a sticky consistency that I don’t like during the day, but when I put it on at night I wake up plumped and hydrated. My new favorite eye cream is Kiehl’s Avocado Treatment, which I bought on a whim at an airport—it made my eyes happy during the flight, which is my true test for any product.
Whenever I’m in the US, I go a bit crazy with buying products that aren’t easily available in Europe. My first time visiting, I went home with half my suitcase full of makeup! This summer I discovered the Lierac Masque Èclat—which I think is actually illegal witchcraft in a bottle. I’ve been using it for a week and my skin has never been better! At night I just cleanse with Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser, and use the Lierac stuff. Whenever I’ve done that, I wake up without any puffiness or oil build-up. The Korres Two Step Wild Rose Resurfacing System is really great too, because it makes my face feel super smooth afterwards. In the days after using it, everything from my pores comes out and vanishes.
There has to always be sunscreen on my face. Bare Minerals Prep Step or Shiseido’s Urban Environment are amazing for oily skin. Then I usually just do a BB cream. Hands down, the best stuff I’ve tried is from Maybelline—it makes my face glowy and pretty but with almost no actual coverage. Not sure how it does it. I typically go for Glossier Stretch Concealer because it’s waxy and it feels like I’m putting on something more like an eye cream, rather than concealer. I’ve always been a bit afraid of blush, but I like creams that are easy to control, so I’ve been using Glossier Cloud Paint. But one of my weird beauty rules is that I can either use contour powder or blush—never both. I love Burberry’s Light Glow in Earthy Number 7, because I’m pale and that one creates shadows without being brown or orange-y. Usually I seal everything in with the Marc Jacobs Perfection Powder, but recently I’m using Glossier Wowder and I really like it. I also do a little trick with powder that helps my eyelashes—I load up the brush, close my eye, and swirl the brush right over it. It sets my concealer and leaves enough powder residue on the lashes to make my mascara grip better for a fluffier lash. Diorshow Mascara and Marc Jacobs O!Mega Mascara work best on me, because they have large, dense brushes. Usually I finish off with lipstick—either a red or nude. I love Burberry Liquid Lipstick in Oxblood, Dior's Rouge Zinnia, and Bite's Moka for satin-y lips. For matte, I like the Nars Lip Pencil in Cruella, and Kat Von D's Everlasting Lip Liner in Lolita. They have good staying power, but don’t crack when I smile and talk.
My fragrance for the longest time was Gucci Guilty Intense. Now I’m using Gucci Oud, which is interesting. I also love Chanel’s Coco Noir—it smells almost masculine. I hoard fragrance samples though, because it’s nice to have options to travel with. Plus, it’s fun to smell different now and then."
—as told to ITG
