The holiday season is all about looking and feeling your best, even for ballerinas like Jordana Daumec, First Soloist at the National Ballet of Canada, who is currently dancing as The Bee in the seasonal favourite, The Nutcracker. We caught up with her as she helped present Essie’s new Gel Couture Ballet Nudes collection, available as of January, to find out about her go-to beauty products and how she unwinds after a run of show.
29Secrets: What does your beauty routine look like? What are some of your go-to products?
First things first, a clean moisturized face! I like using products with the least amount of chemicals. I wash my face everyday with the company ‘Simple’- moisturizing face wash. Then I follow up with Essential Body Wisdom‘s shea face cream called Bye Bye Dry. A lot of my friends use that cream too! It’s my mom’s company which is amazing! All natural! Also, I have to have great looking curls since I’m known for big hair. I couldn’t survive without Kinky Curly Custard, which is a great gel for curly hair!
If you were stranded on a desert island and you could only bring one makeup product, what would it be and why?
That’s easy, mascara! When you have a nice tan going that’s all you need! I’d already have some nice bronze action going on from the sun, so all I’d need would be lash definition. I’d feel naked without it!
If you could name an essie shade to describe yourself, what would you call it and what colour would it be?
This is a fun question! Maybe something like Rock That Beat and it could be a reddish tone. I love music and dance. Even at home cooking I’m dancing around and singing.
What is your favourite essie shade that exists in real life?
I love all the colors and names of the new Gel Couture Ballet Nudes line! It hits home since they are all names we use on a daily basis at work! I recently just tried Closing Night and loved it!
How do you switch up your holiday makeup look from day to night?
For my day look, I tend to use light browns and purples and a matte blush. So to go for a fun night look, I’d keep the structure of how I put on my eyeshadow the same but I would use a darker purple shade with gold shimmer in it and do a smokey eye. Then use a blush with slight gold in it. And of course lipstick! Reds are always my favourite!
If you could rock any makeup look from The Nutcracker, what would it be?
I would love to rock the makeup I do for my role The Bee. We use a white shimmer eyeshadow because the mask we wear around our eyes is black. It helps definite our eyes and also looks really pretty under the lights. Minus the mask, I’d totally rock white shimmer eyeshadow for the holiday season!
Which look or character, from all of the ballets you’ve performed in, has stood out to you the most?
Three years ago we did a ballet called Manon and I was one of the soloist leads. I got to wear this beautiful green dress and this gorgeous red wig! It was so much fun having a wig in that color! It’s always fun to dress up in different costumes for work!
Stage makeup is made to last, so what’s your routine or go-to products to make sure all of the makeup comes off and your skin stays fresh?
Believe it or not but I use the same thing that I use in the mornings to wash my face. Simple’s Moisturizing Facial Wash takes off all my makeup in one go! My face feels completely clean and restored after all that stage makeup.
What are some ways that you unwind after a run of show?
Nothing beats a pint of ice cream from Ed’s and watching a great show on Netflix or HBO! Completely unwind and use my imagination in a different way while watching TV.
Image via The National Ballet of Canada / Karolina Kuras
