Maria João Marques

Lisbon

Hello there.

Born in 84, I breezed through high school until one day I decided to pursue a law degree. At Universidade Clássica (the place where classic mistakes are made), the expression "blood, sweat and tears" really came alive... mostly through tears, eventually some sweat.

Throughout college, my love for all things beauty pushed me into makeup artist school to become a makeup artist. I was lucky enough to have the best mentors I could've wished for (Antónia Rosa & Naná Benjamim), work with some top photographers for top magazines and take part in major events like ModaLisboa and PortugalFashion.

Years later, tired of explaining to people the whole lawyer/makeup artist thing, I decided to give it a go at becoming a full-time lawyer. How did that work out for me? Not bad, actually, but I never really enjoyed the practice or the sound of my inner cry throughout an entire work day.

One thing that stayed the same was my love for beauty. A year ago, after years of learning the ropes, I managed to hatch out a plan that could make me a true master of my domain, which is thebeautyroutine.com. The Beauty Routine is, you guessed it, a place where everyday beauty takes place: either through techniques, reviews, trend-watching and beauty advice, or simply by chatting away with my readers. It gave me an opportunity to put years of observation into practice and talk about beauty on a level that makes me as proud of myself with a keyboard as I am with a lipstick on hand. Wordpress, Twitter and Facebook are my homies and we understand each other perfectly.

Turns out, I feel right at home doing this (I knew it already, it just took some time into convincing myself). I know and care enough – a lot, obsessively - about the beauty/fashion market and consumers to touch their soft spot, and because of that brands like me and readers answer back on a daily basis. Me? I love them all back and would love to turn this adventure into my next job.

I guess this is what makes you turn your life upside down to pursue whatever you feel passionate doing, and that is what I'm aiming for as of NOW. Won't you please help?