Bathroom Shelfies: Anouk Maas
Nothing more fun than peeking into another beauty's bathroom cabinet. Welcome to the Bathroom Shelfies, where BEAUTSY gets a tour in the bathroom of a well-known social media influencer that not only shares her beauty ritual, but also tells us about her favorite beauty products and beauty secrets. In this edition: Anouk Maas.
Words: Vicky de la Cotera, photography: Kim Erich
The silk kimono hanging carelessly on her balcony door, the smell of fresh coffee, the dark green wall that contrasts brightly with the other white walls, the opened windows and the sun that shines its light beautifully on the many green plants on the balcony... can we live here? We're in the home of Anouk Maas - singer, musical star and former GTST actress. She just came back from a hot yoga class and walks around makeup-less. She waits for the coffee to simmer while she pours us a red beet juice. "Healthy girl, aren't I?", she chuckles while she spins her curls in a bun. The 33-year-old lives an entirely plant-based life and shows that on her Instagram, where she has about 51K followers. Pets are absent, but there is a boyfriend in her life. "But I don't live with him. I'm away a lot - when I'm home, I want to relax completely.''
The bathroom is her favorite place of the house. She has rebuilt it herself, including a bath tub, sink and shower. The theme is black, minimalistic, with an eye for detail. Anouk: "I love taking a bath after a long day in the theater, with a glass of wine and my Netflix show. This bathroom is my great pride." While she's changing in a lovely, white top, we're already taking a peek in her bathroom cabinet. Are all of her beauty products vegan? What are her favorite brands? And how does she take care of those beautiful curls? Time to get to know this blonde beauty a little better.
Tell us: what's on your beauty shelf?
"A mix of expensive and cheap products. It contains cleansing products in particular. I spend a lot of time in the theatre, so I sometimes wear (a lot of) make-up for hours or days in a row. I find it quite difficult to get it off completely - sometimes I have to wash my face two or three times. My beauty shelf has to look nice and pretty, but I also try to make sure as much as possible that there is no rubbish in the products I use. People forget that the skin is our largest organ; we've been doing a lot of healthy eating and exercising, but we forget our skin. That's something I pay a lot of attention to myself, but I have to admit: it's quite a hassle to find products that are both clean and completely vegan. Now 95% of the products I use are vegan."
"We are good at sports and healthy eating, but we forget our skin: our largest organ"
Can you tell us something about your beauty ritual?
"I take my mascara off with coconut oil. But because my face is quite greasy after that, I use a face wash by Paula's Choice. It really cleans very well, which is of course important to me. Then I use a mild eye cream, a nourishing face cream and, if I need more, a nice face spray by Linné Botanicals to refresh and moisturize. And then, of course, once in a while, a scrub! In the evening, before going to bed, I use a night cream or oil with an anti-wrinkle effect for my face, neck and décolletage. So my skin can recover."
You named Paula's Choice. What are your other favorite beauty brands?
"Origins, Embryolisse and SMPL. From Origins I use an SPF 40, from Embryolisse a day cream. This forms a good base for my theatre makeup. When your skin is irritated, this cream will soothe it. For some extra hydration I mix it with my face serum from SMPL. What's nice about this brand is that many products are multifunctional. You can also apply the serum to your cheekbones for an extra shine. I have a concealer by Hynt Beauty - I use it for the scar I have under my lip, or for occasional pimples. Furthermore, I hardly use any makeup: a bit of mascara and lip balm and then I'm out the door."
How do you take care of those beautiful curls?
"With the Killer Curls by Kevin Murphy. I also just discovered the Color Full Shampoo by RAHUA. What a lovely shampoo! I'm also looking for a silver shampoo that is clean, but I haven't found it yet. After washing my hair I add a drop of Merme Berlin argan oil to my curls, otherwise it becomes one big fluffy mess. I like the fact that it's so concentrated, so you don't need that much."
You often have to go into makeup when you have to perform in theater or on tv. Isn't that makeup full of bullshit ingredients?
"Yeah, often, unfortunately. There is vegan makeup, for example by Ellis Faas, but it is not 100% clean. Every makeup artist uses his or her own brand, that depends on what kind of deals they make. Especially on TV you have to deal with sponsorship: makeup artists are sponsored by a certain brand and have to use those products on you."
"There is little make-up that is both covering and good for your skin"
Would you like to see that differently?
"Yes, but makeup artists also tell me that there are few products that are both good enough for theatre and good for your skin. Theatre makeup in particular needs to be much more covering than normal makeup, because you'll be in the spotlight all night long and the makeup also needs to be seen in the back. Pretty heavy, you can imagine, to take it off again in the evening! Hence my whole alliance of cleaning products. It takes some time to figure out what does and doesn't work, in terms of makeup."
What makeup do you use in daily life?
"Not very much, I often go for a natural look. I recently became a fan of Hynt Beauty, of which I use the Solare Bronzing Powder. I also have the eyeliner from Hynt and the concealer. Then a little mascara, lip balm and that's it. Oh, and some eyebrow coloring. If I'm having a party or want to wear some more, I use Mac. Hopefully there will be enough clean makeup in the future so that you don't have to do that anymore!"
Which other BEAUTSY products do you have in your bathroom cabinet?
"Secretly a lot... I'm a fan! Because I already get so much rubbish on my skin when I'm doing shows, I want to take good care of it with clean and preferably vegan alternatives. With a webshop like BEAUTSY I am very happy. To start with, I have the Color Full Shampoo and conditioner by RAHUA. My hairdresser gave me the tip to mix it with a drop of silver shampoo. I also use the Refresh Mineral Face Mist by Linné Botanicals and the Revitalising Hair Treatment by Merme Berlin. In my shower I have the Wake Up shower gel by Plant Apothecary. For my armpits, I use Holi Stick N3 by Agent Nateur and also, I'm a big fan of the Concentrated Repair Balm by Soapwalla. A vegan alternative for the Eight Hour Cream! By the way, the Luxurious Body Oil by Soapwalla is also great.
Finally, for my face: Skin Prep by Hynt and the Advanced Eye Therapy by Merme Berlin. Makeup wise, I use Duet Perfecting Concealer by Hynt, but I'm collecting my own supply of clean makeup so I can ask my make-up artists to use my own makeup. I'm looking forward to BEAUTSY getting even more clean makeup in its range soon!"
Would you like to shop Anouk's clean beauty products? Discover them here!
