Beauty Of The Month: Faryal Makhdoom Khan

This post is a special one, for quite some time now to the team and I; introducing to you our favorite feature: The Beauty Of the Month series. The thoughts behind the BOM Series are to connect with a beautiful (inside & out) personality and take inspiration through their life-lessons, vision, wisdom, beauty tips they swear by and what keeps them happy and going.

The BOMs are based on a list of carefully selected beauties around the globe and I hope you have as much fun reading them as we did putting them together.

Introducing our first Beauty Of the Month

Faryal Makhdoom Khan 

Faryal’s bang on-trend and versatile lipstick taste coupled with her natural red carpet-like elegance puts her on the A-list of divas to follow, yes I agree. But there’s much more beauty to Faryal than what the world credits her for, the journey of a Yankee teenager to a Mother in Bolton (UK). With a double major grad (Political Science and Journalism – oh yes!), responsibly carrying the Pakistani heritage, Faryal has seen the world change with her fairy-tale love affair that broke the hearts of millions across the world. If all this wasn’t enough at 22, her husband fights for a living and a good one too; Boxing World Champion and a Silver Medal Olympian Amir King Khan. But the most revered of them all are Faryal’s own makeup looks sought after by almost a million followers of her own social networks! When we found out that Faryal’s very own beauty channel on YouTube was on the way, it was no second-guessing that Faryal is the beauty that inspires us like no other.

I got an opportunity to chat with Faryal and discuss the so-many points and questions I had in mind. To start-off, Faryal is a very sweet and kindhearted person – two minutes from the first ‘hi’ we were chatting like it was a catch up due to her friendly style and down-to-earth personality. I had a great time, and here’s what we chatted about:

Tell us about how you met Amir. Was it love at first sight?

We met when he was in New York for a photo shoot for Prada. I was also there around the same time and we met for dinner with a few mutual friends.  Ever since, we stayed in touch.  I don’t really believe in love at first sight but Amir does, he always used to say to me “I’m going to marry you one day.” and I used to think he was just joking around, but it actually happened!

How has life changed since you got married and moved to Bolton, UK?

 Anyone can tell you that getting married is a brand new chapter in a person’s life, but add to that marrying a celebrity, and moving to a different continent – well yes, life is very different! It’s been an adventure and I’m very thankful. The hardest adjustment has been being away from my family, I’m very close to my parents and brother and it’s not easy waiting for months at a time to see them. Life in the UK is busy! Everyone knows us here, so it becomes hectic but like I said, I am very thankful.

I’m a city girl, and New York is my city. I was born and raised there. So moving anywhere, even to a great city was always going to be a little difficult. It takes time to adjust and Bolton particularly is not a cosmopolitan city.

I have an amazing husband who’s always been supportive and likes to keep me busy. We make sure to go to London at least once a week. So it’s actually quite good!

Before you met Amir, you were studying corporate law.  Do you plan on going back to school?

Growing up I was passionate about law and determined to pursue that career-path…but you know what they say about making plans? At this time, I’m reevaluating what I want to do with school, since I only have a year left. With traveling along over the world with my husband, and being a new mom, I’m just settling in to my new roles – I’ve got some projects in the works for 2015, that will allow me to expand my brand without having to compromise my time with Lamaisah. It’s going to be very exciting!

How have your views on life changed after becoming a mother?

Being a mother has not changed me in a lot of ways, I’m still outgoing, fun and social.  I don’t think your life has to stop simply because you’re a mother. Of course my priorities have changed. Motherhood makes you think outside the box and my daughter is my first priority.  Everything I do now, my whole future, and all I’ve planned, is based on her.

Amir has a huge fan following. Did you ever image that you would have your own large, growing following? How do you feel about fans wanting to know about your life? How do you handle it and do negative comments bring you down?

Before I met Amir, I used to have everything on private.  I wasn’t into social media as much and then my husband pushed me into it, “get people to get to know you”.  Now I’m hooked onto it and I really enjoy sharing my life with others; I like interacting.  I do enjoy posting pictures, letting people get to know me, which is why I’m starting my own YouTube Channel. I want people to get to know me and instead of judging me they can get to know me and how I am through videos.  I enjoy it and I do have a good following.  It makes me happy and makes me want to do more for them.  You get love and you do get hate. It’s a balance.

Bullying, of any nature, is something I take very seriously. I hope that I can reach out to people and model a more positive attitude. I am very spiritual and that has definitely helped me handle the bad, I’ve reached a point where I can actually laugh at the things people say. With the bad comes the good and I appreciate the people who stand up for me. It’s a learning experience: whoever you are, you will always get hate and you have to learn to take it.

Being married to an athlete, does he push you to eat healthy? Do you work out?

He is a health freak.  In the mornings, he usually makes the vegetable juices and I make the breakfast.  We do have unhealthy days where we have fried stuff once a week.  But usually we have healthy vegetables and boiled food just to keep him clean when he’s not training.  And it pushes me to eat healthy as well.  I feel like, when I eat healthy, I feel more energetic, clean, and refreshed.  Good food should always make you feel energetic. I stay active as well – whether it’s a short jog, a dip in the pool, or 30 minutes at the gym.

Do you guys eat desi food?

Yes we do eat desi food, we are desi 🙂 !  We have a cook at home and he is from Pakistan so he makes us desi food. Since most Pakistani dishes are meat based, I always tell him to add vegetables to make it healthier!

How did you lose your baby weight so quickly? Do you have any tips for new mothers looking to bounce back?

I breast fed for 5 months and I would recommend everyone to do it if they can as the effects are life-changing on the child and your bond.  My stomach literally went down in 2 months from breast-feeding; I didn’t really have to exercise as much though I do exercise when I get the chance.  Running helps the stomach go down.  But I really don’t eat fatty foods.  I really recommend breast-feeding, jogging, and eating clean.

What is your skincare regimen?

I drink lots of water, which help flush the toxin from my body.  Water, really is the key to good skin, it makes your skin brighter. I also exfoliate at least twice a week.  I love Dermalogica for exfoliating.  Eat well, drink lots of water and exfoliate.

There isn’t a bad picture of you anywhere online; your makeup always looks flawless! What foundations do you use?

I don’t think foundation is what makes my makeup look flawless, but how I apply it. Your foundation is your base and I think perfecting the technique takes time. I’ll be sharing my technique very soon with my followers!

When it comes to foundations though, I don’t use just one.  Sometimes I use Armani, sometimes I use Cover FX and then sometimes I go for MAC.  I do have a lot of foundations, but I think it’s the way you apply it that makes it look flawless.  Sometimes I use a brush and other times I use a damp beauty blender.  I moisturize my face, then I use a primer, I love smash box primers.  Then I put my foundation on to give my skin that flawless look.  I don’t think its so much the foundation because I have different foundations that I love for different looks.

How did you learn how to apply makeup so well? How long does it take you to do a look?  Any tips for girls who want to improve their own skills?

 I’ll be giving lots of tips on my Youtube channel.  My channel will be about everything that makes up fashion and beauty.  The primary reason I’m doing this is to give tips to girls who want to know how to apply it.

 I’m not a makeup artist, and don’t know these things as well as a makeup artist would.  I always loved makeup even before I was married and when I was young.  I always loved doing it.  Practice makes you better and better.  And I always explored makeup and I try new tricks. I’m not that fast at doing it, something I take an hour doing a big heavy look, and my husbands keeps telling me to hurry up!  A normal everyday look takes me about 15 minutes to put together.

On an interview with BCC you mentioned that you plan on coming out with your own makeup/skincare line specifically for South Asian girls. Can you tell us more about it?

Inshallah I will be doing that soon, I just have so much on my plate right now.  I am a perfectionist. I want to make sure that once I’m not only satisfied but also ecstatic with the products I create, I will happily share them with everyone. As for now, I am concentrating on launching my YouTube channel. I am excited about sharing my life and my passions with my followers and connecting on a more personal level.  I’m not going to do a whole range of makeup, but concentrate on specific products.

You get a lot of comments on your social media about your hair. Can you tell your fans how you take care of your hair and which brand/color does your stylist use to color your hair?

 I’m not sure which color exactly she uses, but I know that she uses a few colors to blend into my hair.  I do have a base of a light golden brown, then I have blondish highlights but they are so blended in that you can’t really see the highlights.  I do oil my hair quite a lot and I also steam my hair.  I like to use all different types of oil, like mustard, and create a mixture. I oil my hair at least twice a week; it helps hair growth and makes it soft and shiny. Getting a trim every two months also helps.

You have become a style icon for Desi girls globally, how do you feel about it? Does it put pressure on you? Can you give some advice on how a South Asian girl can develop her own personal style while still remaining true to her cultural roots?

Well, a global style icon? That’s very humbling and honestly, it feels great! I am still evolving my own style, so at times I do feel pressure, especially because my looks are so heavily scrutinized. I think the key to having a great style is confidence – love who you are and enjoy what you wear. Style and beauty are subjective; there are no rules, other than feel good! If you’re comfortable in what you wear, you’ll look good. Pleasing anyone or everyone shouldn’t be a part of the equation. As for cultural roots? I think we’re lucky that the South Asian fashion is so diverse. We can pull from our heritage and create looks that are timeless and enchanting. I’ve received criticism for wearing outfits that people find too liberal for Muslims. I think modesty, to some degree, is also subjective. But, I am not dressing up as a role model.

 You can always personalize looks to fit your own comfort level, like wear stockings under a dress.  Or wear a shawl with a sleeveless dress. It’s really how you style yourself.

 What are your plans for 2015? What can your fans look forward to seeing from you?

First off is the YouTube channel, which will be up soon.  I’m not only going to be talking about skin, makeup and fashion but also about my life with Amir so my viewers will gain real insight on how we are as a married couple.  This will also include a glimpse into me as a mother.  Eventually I’ll be coming out with my makeup line, I’m also looking to do a shoe line.

It was great talking to Faryal about love, life, family, career and more. There’s just so much to this lovely lady that the world needs to know of. We wish her all the best for her YouTube channel, soon to be launched. Read about it first on desibeautyblog.com !