This article is published in number 13 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until March 29, 2022
It is something magnetic in Valentina Sampaio’s gaze, a powerful call that makes it difficult to take your eyes off hers, green and feline. It is something that has to do with determination, courage and resilience, that particular ability to rise from one’s ashes. Valentina in the short but intense life of twenty-five has risen many times and today the awareness of having made it to her makes her strong and majestic like the phoenix of the legend.
“I am a transgender model and this condition at the beginning of my career involved quite a few problems”, she confides without embarrassment, as she prepares for this shooting in which she lends her face to Armani Beautyof which she has been an ambassador for a few months.
Born in a fishing village in the north of Brazil, she has always been attracted to the glamorous world of fashion: “I remember the first event I attended, at Sao Paulo Fashion Week. There were photographers calling me, the blinding lights, it was all so spectacular, until that moment I had only seen it on TV.
There I realized that my dream had come true and I finally felt sure of myself ».
Also thanks to the wonderful scarlet smile that the model has always “used” as a weapon to feel beautiful. “We had few things in the family, the essentials,” she says. “But my mother and my grandmother both kept a red lipstick aside for the important moments.
For me it is the same, I feel the power of this color, which is capable of transforming you ». The transformation she talks about happens right under our eyes, as his naked lips are artfully lacquered. Valentina immediately acquired a new identity: proud, proud and daring. Her gaze flames behind the camera, her eyes, her mouth, her face, all her features seem to cry out “I’m here, this is my place, I’ve won it.”
Looking at herself in the shots, so sensual, yet always naturally graceful, the model smiles at the memory of her first clumsy make-up attempts: «I started wearing make-up at 14, early in the morning on the bus that took me to school. I put on everything, I used a lot of products: foundation, eyeshadow, mascara … looking back on it, I make myself tender ». Today her beauty mantra is less is more, he likes himself naturally, but he never forgets the sunscreen: “My mom taught me: in Brazil it’s a must”, jokes while cuddling the dog Leo, a wad of fur from which he never separates, not even on set. I ask her if she misses her land. She replies that her ocean of hers, the infinite blue sky are always
with her, because they gave her the most important thing: freedom.
an unexpected escalation
Valentina Sampaio made her debut at Sao Paulo Fashion Week in 2016 and from there in a few months his image went around the world. From that moment the covers are countless: Vogue Paris of March 2017, L’Officiel Brasil in December 2018, Vogue Beauty Taiwan of January 2020 (To the right), V Magazine
And Sports Illustrated (August 2020), which for the first time releases a trans model.
The same goes for Victoria’s Secret, who entrusted her with two campaigns. Then, at the end of 2021, the definitive consecration arrives: she enters the Olympus of the ambassadors of Armani Beauty.
“With Valentina we played wearing the different textures of our iconic lipsticks”, explains Donatella Ferrari,
aka Dodi, National make-up artist Armani Beauty, «to show that you can love red, be faithful to it for life, while experiencing different effects. As in clothing: there are women who love to wear a specific color, let’s say blue. Here, even if you opt for a monochromatic palette, there are many shades and fabrics, velvet, silk, cashmere … It is always blue, but the effect changes. The same goes for make-up: lips also need a wardrobe.
For example, the mat version is perfect for every day. The satin effect, on the other hand, gives the lips a silk-like texture, it is more sensual and refined. To amaze and to get noticed, I love mirrored lips, very shiny and shimmering. As queen of the party. Valentina Sampaio has interpreted all these “occasions” always remaining faithful to our iconic color # 400 and it is proof that you can love red but also experiment and dare new textures ».
Hair Cinzia Bozza @ Atelier Luciano Colombo using Kérastase Chroma Thermique.
Donatella Ferrari make-up using Armani Beauty Lip Power.
To subscribe to Vanity Fair, click here.
Source: Vanity Fair
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
