What I Put On My Face is Mamamia’s new celebrity beauty series that goes inside the beauty cabinets of some of Australia’s most influential women. From what skincare products they use to their go-to makeup tips, it’s a pervy look at exactly what they put on their face. And body. And hair. You get the idea.

This week, we speak to Rowi Singh. Rowi is an Aussie content creator and beauty influencer, and if you’re not already following her on Instagram, you’re missing out! Fusing her unique and eccentric sense of style with her Punjabi heritage, Rowi is known for creating vibrant, original beauty looks that blend her culture with what everyone’s talking about in pop culture. Rowi talks about what it’s like being in the beauty industry when you have bad skin, as well as the foundations that perfectly match her skin tone and the ultimate trick for getting off stubborn eye makeup. Enjoy!

To listen to Rowi on the You Beauty podcast, get it in your ears below. Post continues after audio.

Rowi Singh’s skincare routine.

I struggle with my skin constantly. I feel like people don’t really see it because they’re used to seeing me all dressed up and with my makeup looking flawless on Instagram, but I have struggled in the past because I’ve got oily/combination skin.

In high school, I was fine but over the past couple of years in my early twenties, pimples started erupting all over my cheeks and forehead. It’s so crippling, especially when you work in the beauty sphere as a public figure and people are looking at your face all the time and you feel so self conscious. I’ve made an effort to have a really regimented skincare routine for myself that I know works. I also go to Infinity Skin Clinic, what really helped was the Deep Sea Skin Peel.

I start off, always, by removing my makeup with coconut oil because I feel like it’s really gentle on my skin. The key here is, it’s not just any coconut oil, it’s got to be non-comedogenic because there are some types of coconut oil that will clog your pores. It helps to lift the makeup off your face and it’s really moisturising as well.

I need something that’s going to work and is gentle because I’m removing my makeup every day, sometimes twice a day. Wipes don’t really cut it for me because I get a rash around my eyes when I use them and they’re not so great for the environment. A bit of coconut oil melted in with my fingertips does it for me.

I’ll do a second cleanse with a Tatcha (product) or The Glow Recipe cleanser. The Tatcha oil is so moisturising and if the coconut oil can’t get something off, the Tatcha one will definitely get it off. It’s an extra step that’s great for highly pigmented eyeliners and eye shadows, so I massage it around the eye area and it helps lift everything. The blueberry cleanser smells so good. After that double cleanse, I could go in with a makeup wipe and there’d be nothing left.

I also use a FOREO facial device. When my boyfriend asked ‘what’s that?’ I explained to him that it’s a face vibrator. I do it after I cleanse, it helps to lift any remaining bits of makeup, but it also just feels nice. It’s a part of my skincare routine where I can just chill. It’s that 10 minutes of your day when it’s just you in front of the mirror, taking it all off, it’s actually quite therapeutic! Then it’s tea tree oil blotted on blemishes, a Vitamin C serum to brighten and a moisturising night cream to finish.

Oh, and Sephora Collection face masks are my obsession. I have a problem. The bubble face mask is so fun, and I’m all about the fun, gimmicky face masks.

Her favourite products.

Virgin Unrefined Coconut Oil.

Image: iHerb.

Tatcha One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil, $73.

Image: Mecca.

Glow Recipe Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser, $52.

Image: Mecca.

FOREO The Luna 3 for Normal Skin, $299.

Image: Mecca.

Sephora Face Masks, from $6.

Image: Sephora.

Rowi Singh’s makeup routine.

Post-uni was when experimenting with makeup started for me, because in school you never really get the opportunity to be creative in the way you want to be. You're forced to fit yourself into little corners. I feel like with makeup and creating these looks on Instagram, you can create your own rules, and I wanted to express myself creatively. I didn't know how, but I started with makeup because you can have one palette and create 50 looks - it was very economical for me, to be honest. I started with one palette and practiced a lot, then began creating more editorial looks and it snowballed from there.

There's not a lot of brown women doing what I'm doing for multiple reasons. It's a cultural thing. We're told to get a good degree and become a doctor or a lawyer, something that is successful in our parents' eyes, and going against the grain has inspired a lot of other brown women to just do what they love rather than what they think they should love. That's the avenue I've taken, and I've struggled with that. It's the misfit experience of not being 'Indian enough' to be Indian and not 'Australian enough' to be Australian, so I created my own little space. It's about how makeup can be a vehicle for self expression.