BEAUTY BLOG
The model has always possessed a wisdom beyond her years
Vanessa Matsunaga makes motherhood exceptionally beautiful
You always hear the nicest things about Vanessa Matsunaga-Sunga before you actually work with her. The face that you hear remarks such as “She’s the easiest to work with,” or “She’s such a sweetheart,” says a lot about her charming personality and professionalism. True enough, the moment the Brazilian Japanese model arrives on set, she greets everybody with a “Kamusta,” and a smile that warms up your day.
This is not always the case for someone with a face as familiar as Vanessa’s. Having been in the industry since she was barely 18 years old, the beauty has experienced it all, filling the team in on her craziest, most memorable stories—from first being spotted at a mall in Brazil to the joys of being a mother. With every experience, she is even more grateful for her life.
Aside from her exotic beauty, perhaps the most striking thing about Vanessa is her wisdom— something she had always seemed to possess from a young age. It is the reason why she has come so far in the industry, and the reason why she will inspire others to simply become the best version of themselves. “Once you lose track of yourself, it’s hard to go back,” she starts. “Love yourself, invest in yourself and know that nobody can take your place—there is space for everybody as long as you are authentic.”
BEAUTY TALKS We sit down with the model to discuss her beauty routine, motherhood & lessons from the industry
ON HER SKINCARE REGIMEN:
“I’ve always been particular with my skin. Makeup can only do so much. ESTÉE LAUDER is one of my favorite brands. I love their Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery II; nothing I have tried compares to it. I also use their Micro Essence Skin Activating Treatment Lotion. I always have it in my bag. Most days, I leave the house without makeup on so sometimes I would apply the product in the middle of the day to freshen up. Also, I never stick to one kind of product for long because I believe our skin needs different things. I don’t want my skin to get too used to one product that it stops working.”
ON HER FAVORITE MAKEUP LOOK:
“It has to be something fast. I’m always doing several things at once. Sometimes I use one brush to do most of the work. My favorite products to achieve a fresh look include the TOM FORD Shade & Illuminate, which my daughter likes to play with too. Another essential is the K-PALETTE Eyebrow Liner.”
ON HOW SHE CARES FOR HER HAIR:
“I tend to do most of my treatments at home, since I don’t always have the time to go to a salon. Right now I like using KÉRASTASE Chronologiste Regenerating Mask to refresh my hair, although I like to change variants from the brand often.”
ON HEALTH AND FITNESS:
“I recently got back to running and simple exercises at home. I haven’t had the time to fully commit to working out yet. I have two kids; one is a toddler and the other is still breastfeeding. I maintain my body since I carry my kids all the time, up and down the stairs. I’m very hands on because I feel that they grow up so fast. I don’t want to miss out.”
ON ADVICE SHE WOULD GIVE GIRLS STARTING OUT IN THE SAME INDUSTRY:
“Don’t get too influenced by whatever trends are out there, since you also have your own mark. To be honest, there are many bad influences in the industry. The last thing you want is a young girl who isn’t very sure of herself to lose her sense of identity because someone else is trying to shape her into somebody she is not. I started pretty young; I left Brazil when I was almost 18 and you don’t always have someone to watch over you. It is my personality to be more responsible. I don’t know if it is because I’m the ate of my two brothers or I was independent early. I learned more from other peoples’ mistakes because I didn’t want to go through the same thing. So I would say, just make sure you don’t trust just anyone who smiles at you. There are a lot of smiles but then trouble comes, they’re not always there. But of course, there are a lot of beautiful things in the industry too.”
ON HER BEAUTY PHILOSOPHY:
“Nowadays, we see a lot of people trying to change so much about themselves. Once you lose track of yourself, it’s hard to go back. Love yourself, invest in yourself, and know that nobody can take your place since there is space for everybody as long as you are authentic.”
“LOVE YOURSELF, INVEST IN YOURSELF, AND K NOW TH AT NOBODY CAN TAKE YOUR PLACE SINCE THERE IS SPACE FOR EVERYBODY AS LONG AS YOU ARE AUTHENTIC”