Photographer: Nick Tsirogiannidis
Style:
Top: Alix NYC
Pants: Off-White
Shoes: Ralph Lauren

We had a chance to meet and chat with Renata Gubayeva, a Ukrainian supermodel and influencer. She’s been in the industry for over ten years and has an extensive list of beauty clients, including Schwarzkopf, Shiseido, Estée Lauder, Stila, Trish McEvoy, and Jafra cosmetics.

We talked about skincare, self-care, and modern beauty standards with her.

Hi, thanks for taking the time for this. What was it like to become a model for you? Let us know what your first working experience was.

Of course, I’m happy to. I was scouted at 13 and, at 14, had my first few work trips to Japan. It’s a great place to go for young talent since agencies there take great care of you, and people are generally very polite. So despite my young age, I didn’t feel stressed or unsafe. Just super excited to see a new culture.

I remember having long, puffy hair and babyish cheeks, which worked great for the market there, but I definitely didn’t have the skills to present myself that I have now and only knew how to take makeup off at best in the beginning.

What do you think makes you stand out when it comes to working in the beauty industry?

I think I happened to have a very classic look, can’t say how many times I’ve heard that I remind them of some famous actress, but approximately at almost every job. I find it really flattering. My favorite comparison will always be Audrey Hepburn since I personally adore her.

Beauty brands are often going for certain softness and recognisability, and because of the nature of the product, there is no way you can tell a story with clothes or set design. So everything has to be in your eyes, your smile, the way you smirk or lift your brows.

It does require some acting skills.

What is the most valuable tip you learned on set from a makeup artist?

The preparation! At any big skincare job, you will start with an hour of prepping your skin: cleansing, masks, moisturizing creams, massage, another moisturizer, and so on. Every makeup artist I’ve worked with has their own little secrets. But it always comes down to the most important, keeping your skin hydrated and inside out, too, so a glass of water before an important event is a great idea.

Are there any behind the scene beauty secrets when it comes to hair?

Oh, it’s a bit of the opposite of the skincare approach. No real hair looks as fantastic as on a hair product package you buy in stores. In my opinion, the little imperfections are what make the final look most beautiful and charming. But on set, there are different rules, so high heat tools and various sprays to keep the perfect wave in place is the only way. So besides hair styling products, the only best advice I’ve got is heat protection spray before getting on set, and hope for the best.

Talking about waves, we love the effortless French wave look that you often share on social media. Let us know how to achieve the same effect.

Thanks! It took me years to figure it out myself. I happened to be the only person in my family with wavy hair, and no one knew how to take care of it. So I used random products for straight hair and was brushing it out and looked like an angora rabbit until a hairstylist at the job pointed out that I have curls and I should definitely stop what I’m doing, as it’s also is very damaging for this type of hair.

The secret is to find a hair cream that fits your curls best, apply it to the wet hair, and blow dry with a diffuser.

I’m really happy that the natural hair texture trend has returned. I’m sure it helped not only me but lots of other women to feel beautiful the way they are without hours with a hair straightener and damaging chemical procedures.