panache
CITIZEN OF STYLE
Back to the Basics Savannah Rae St. Jean embraces simplicity by HANNAH BURKE
T
he pandemic may have shut her salon down for six weeks, but for Savannah Rae St. Jean, there was a silver lining. Makeup trends over the past several years have emphasized perfection: a flawlessly contoured and chiseled face, heavy-handed highlights and overdrawn, matte lips popularized by influencers and the likes of Kylie Jenner. Wearing a mask over the bottom half of your face for well over a year, said St. Jean, may have reinforced the “less is more” mentality. “I’m finding a lot more women are wanting to scale back how much makeup they’re caking on their face,” she said. “I think they realized how freeing it was not to have to cover and carve each feature, and I’m so grateful for that. I truly feel the ‘look’ was unnatural and dampening everyone’s self-esteem because people were so focused on what they needed to change.” Now at St. Jean’s Miramar Beach salon, Savannah Rae Beauty, clients request “fluffy lashes and neutral, glowing tones for the face and eyes,” she said, noting the same applies to hair treatments. After going so long without trips to the salon, women are embracing their natural grays and opting for a more low-maintenance, “lived-in” look. “I’m a huge fan of this because I’ve always said not to fight what you’ve got,” she said. “It’s a difficult place to be if you’re constantly battling what you have naturally. Our focus at the salon is
52
October-November 2021
EMERALDCOASTMAGA ZINE.COM
→ Savannah St. Jean, the owner of a beauty salon in Miramar Beach, strolls along the shore of a pond in a one-piece jumpsuit from Saint Lucille Fashions, an online boutique.
photography by MIKE FENDER
