Shalom Blac’s Beauty Secrets: Watch Her 10-Minute Guide to Airbrushed Skin and a Next-Level Cat Eye

Watch the burn survivor and beauty blogger reveal her ultimate makeup secrets, from how she creates an airbrushed-like finish to her top tips for mastering a cat eye.

Shalom Blac’s Beauty Secrets: Watch Her 10-Minute Guide to Airbrushed Skin and a Next-Level Cat Eye

When Shalom Blac was just nine years old, an accident involving frying oil at her mother’s restaurant in Nigeria left her with severe burns to her head, face, and neck. It was a traumatizing, life-changing experience, but one that ultimately led the 24-year-old beauty vlogger (who currently has upwards of 1.5 million YouTube subscribers), to discover the world of cosmetics. “I was introduced to makeup to help me conceal the appearance of my scars,” she recalls, adding that, for many years, she wouldn’t show her face without first applying layers of skin-transforming products. That all changed, though, as she discovered her calling—as well as a newfound confidence. “Now, I’m comfortable coming in front of the camera without the makeup and then showing people how I can slay some face!”

Bare-faced with a freshly shaved head, Blac sets into her simple but nevertheless effective five-step skin-care regimen, which includes Tatcha’s rice powder cleanser and a custom-made Clinique moisturizer. Her product count grows, however, when she moves onto makeup—an elaborate, complexion-smoothing routine that centers around Fenty’s glow-creating contour stick, her go-to foundation from Pür, and two powders. “A lot of people think I use some sort of special makeup for my face or scarring, but honestly, I just feel like it has to do with the technique of how I do it,” says Blac, who credits stippling—a process in which one applies products in small dots that are then blended together—with her airbrushed-like finish.

With her canvas complete, Blac then reaches for Tarte’s liquid liner to create a dramatic black cat eye, which she tops off with a bright cobalt shadow and a set of false lashes. Of course, not everyone can achieve such an expertly executed feline flick, yet beauty novices can rest assured that such a deft hand didn’t come easily to her: “I do think that we all struggle with makeup at some point—and for me, as a beginner child, it was a struggle—but with time, you just get better and better,” insists Blac, who finishes her look with a swipe of clear lip gloss, a spritz of Morphe’s setting spray, and some parting advice: “Remember to always be your own kind of beautiful.”

Below, shop Shalom Blac’s Beauty Secrets.