Saturday, May 3, 2008

Review- Iman: The Beauty of Color

Yes!!!! My finals are done! So I can get down to blogging in a bit more detail. I'm going to be starting research in a couple weeks, but that should not impact the blog too much. Alright...so down to business:

Iman: The Beauty of Color






This book touts itself as "The Ultimate Beauty Guide for Skin of Color". Granted that this is the only book that I've read thus far that is specifically geared toward the beauty needs of coloured women (because there certainly aren't enough!!!!), but I'm going to give you my take on it anyway. After years of toiling and searching I might just be able to offer you guys a comparison to another such book. Until then...


So we all know by now that the world's coloured beauties come in a zillion different shades from creamy to cafe au lait to caramel to mahogany. That's why it's so darn difficult for us to find the perfect foundation. And blush!?!- That actually shows up- without making us look like Bonzo the clown?? Forget about it.

In her book, Iman, a former supermodel from Somalia, addresses the beauty woes and dilemmas of coloured women pretty successfully in my opinion. Her guides for choosing colours that suit your skin tones are clear and precise, with enough charm and witty writing to make you forget the agonies that the colour typing process usually evokes.

This book does not offer much in the way of application techniques, but it does give some creative interpretations of makeup, some of which border on artistical. The photography is excellent, the pictures do a lot more explanation than the words do. The guide features models from almost every corner of the world, with a little stardust thrown in at the end! Iman makes over several gorgeous celebrities from the sexy Salma Hayek to uber-models such as Kiara Kabukuru.

At the end of the book there is a lovely section, illustrating makeup looks for every age using- get this- REAL, everyday ordinary women. These are not supermodels with perfectly chiseled cheekbones and impossibly perfect features. These are women that, without makeup, are average. They've got the same bags under their eyes that you and I have. But the makeup (and some airbrushing I suspect) totally transform them.

My favourite things about this book:

Iman does not try to convince you with all this self-love mumbo jumbo that you are perfect without a drop of makeup. Rather, she assists in exploiting your God-given features with the artistic application of cosmetics.


  1. She uses real women alongside models and stars.

  2. There are step by step guides to creating the looks showcased in the book, using pictures to illustrate.

  3. The photography is GORGEOUS!

  4. She writes in an easygoing, self-depracating tone that puts you at ease with the topic. She does not make you feel vain for buying a beauty guide, nor is does she try to convince you that there are "rules" that should not be ignored.

  5. Oh yeah- Her book is most certainly NOT a 162 page ad for her cosmetic line-it's barely mentioned in the book and certainly not mentioned in the makeovers.
Cons:

  1. Not very heavy on the basics- you need to be familiar with at least the basics of makeup application to re-create some of her looks.

  2. I can't really think of anything else that I didn't like....



Verdict: A good buy if you're looking for ways to experiment with your makeup. Very inspirational for a coloured woman- one of the very few makeup guides out there that is devoted exclusively to "exotic" women. Overall a very fun read! I can't really compare to another, similar, guide at this point- but I will do so in the future.

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1 Comments:

Blogger Anu said...

nice review! i've been wanting to read this but keep skipping over it. i love beauty reads :).

i agree, i actually like the fact that for once it's tailored to darker skinned women :).

June 1, 2008 at 10:39 PM  

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