Fresh off the heels of debuting her first EP, Songs To Sway To, 21-year-old Zarina Nares is enchanting Los Angeles crowds with her modern jazz and blues ballads. While the green-eyed, Tribeca-bred chanteuse, who has modeled for Mansur Gavriel, looks to the past for musical inspiration (Billie Holiday’s “You Don’t Know What Love Is” “changed my idea of music,” she says), Nares is adamant that her personal style on and offstage is firmly rooted in the 21st century. “I don’t try to look costume-y, which I find can happen when people are really into [particular] points in time,” she says. Instead, she favors an “everyday modern look”—most evident in her self-cut brunette bob, signature blue-lacquered nails, and noticeably bare face.
“Honestly, the reason I don’t do that much is not because I’m lazy but [because] I love the idea that I can get ready in five minutes,” says Nares, who has parted ways with concealer and foundation altogether. Now, instead of obscuring the occasional blemish, which she treats with a combination of Mario Badescu’s drying treatment, redness-reducing tea tree oil, and ice to lessen swelling, Nares often takes to Instagram to showcase a smattering of lotion-covered dots (not to mention the beauty mark planted squarely on her cheek). “I don’t mind if I have one pimple or if I’ve broken out on my forehead,” she explains. “I’ve become much more comfortable in my own skin.”
And yet that’s not to say that Nares, whose mother has worked as a beauty creative director for the likes of Chanel, Estée Lauder, and L’Oréal, abstains from makeup entirely: “I wear lipstick every single day,” she says referring to her favorite foolproof nude hues, such as Bobbi Brown’s Art Stick in Brown Berry or Bare. Of her pared-back approach, she says, “Whether I look good to other people or not, Ifeel good . . . so I’ll just run with it.” Just the kind of refreshing beauty advice we’d expect from a rising ingénue.
By Zoe Ruffner