BEAUTY & Lifestyle PROFILE

with SIMONE SIMONS singer of EPICA

More than a decade Simone Simons is travelling the world with her symphonic metal band Epica. She writes and records albums not only with Epica but she also can be heard as a guest singer on albums of Kamelot, Ayreon, Sons Of Seasons and Primal Fear. Recently Simone started her own blog called smoonestyle.com to share her interest in beauty, fashion, food, photography and travelling with the rest of the world.

Photo by Tim Tronckoe

Why did you start smoonstyle.com?
,,I always loved to do my own make-up and hair, choosing my own dresses and working with designers. I started to get many questions from girls asking me for tips and advice. Obviously people like my style and since blogging is totally up to date, modern and the fact you can choose which content you want to share, I started smoonstyle.com to blog about everything I like: food, photography, make up and fashion. But lately I turned more into a food blogger because I love cooking. I don’t like cleaning though, but luckily my husband does that. I guess it’s also because I am a mom now and being more interested in food than I was in the past. As a singer you must eat healthy to stay in shape and you have to take care of your body but now with the baby I started to educate myself more about food.’’

What is your favourite dish to cook?
,,Asian-style, spicy food. Rice and chicken with really spicy sauce. I love ginger, cilantro and chilli. I make almost everything except really big meat dishes.’’

Your guilty pleasure is?
,,Chocolate, liquorice and cake. I make pancakes and muffins a lot and I use Instagram to post photos of what I bake and cook. But I am so busy with Epica right now, there is not much time left for my hobbies besides first of all being a mom.’’

Being a public figure is appearance important for you?
,,In a way it is because the audience expect to see a certain side of me. You kind of have to live up that expectation all the time, which can become a little bit tiring sometimes. But I love getting ready, doing make up and hair. It’s a fun process for me. One day a week I try not to wear make up to give my skin some rest. I could walk out the tour bus wearing my pyjama’s and no make up but if I know there are people around who are going to take photos I try to look a little bit presentable.’’

How do you fight a huge pimple on the face when you have to go out in public?
,,Well, you can camouflage the shit out of a zit but you can still see the texture on the skin. During bad skin days, just wear bright lipstick because that distracts. Or focus on one part of your face for instance strong smokey eyes.’’

Your best beauty tips are?
,,Drink a lot of water, eat healthy and take care of your skin. Use a moisturiser and SPF sun protection. You can skip blush and bronzer but use concealer and foundation so the skin looks always good and use mascara because it really opens the eyes. And don’t forget your eyebrows because they are the frame of your face. I have to draw mine a little bit, if I don’t do that my face looks different.’’

Your favourite beauty products are?
,,I use an eyelash curler and with the waterproof mascara of Maybelline they stay up. That really makes the eyes bigger. Concealer is my best friend and also hand lotion because I get very dry hands. For my hair I use a hair wand and a blow dryer because my hair gets easily frizzy, half curly and half straight. I don’t like to use a hair straightener because it makes my hair break off.’’

How to keep make up good on stage?
,,When its tropical there’s not much you can do but normally first use a primer because then the foundation sticks better on your skin. Waterproof mascara of course and I mainly use matte lipstick or long wear lipstick. Glossy lipsticks are not a good option with your hair loose. You can end up look like The Joker. I have a little set up on the side of the stage. When I don’t have to sing in the middle of the set I can fresh up, brush my hair, redo my lipstick and powder my face.’’ 
Photo by Tim Tronckoe

Your worst beauty drama?
,,Lipstick on the teeth and when my false eyelashes are coming off during a show. Sometimes I get a teary eye from the ventilator and then the make up is smutching all over my face. During the early days with Epica I was not really enhancing my complexion but making it look worse, hahaha.’’ 

What are the essentials in your bag?
,,When I am on a festival or doing interviews I have sun lotion, water, some mints and some money with me in a small bag. When I am travelling I also take hand detergent with me, hand lotion, painkillers, in case I get a headache, a powder and lipstick, a little mirror and an extra charger for my phone.’’

You’re favourite apps are?
I love photography so I use Instragram because I love to watch photos of family, friends and famous people. I have You Tube because I like to watch videos from different food and beauty bloggers. I have a few photography apps, like Photoshop express and Pic Stitch, because I like to make collages for my family. The Great Photo app cost a little bit of money but its really cool made. I have Twitter and I like to look at the health apps to see how many steps I made that day and to see if I was lazy or not hahaha. I have newsfeeds like Nu.nl and a train app to see if my train goes on time. Oh, and I have Teletubbies but that’s not for me but for my son, hahaha.’’

What are your tips for efficient travelling?
,,After fourteen years I still haven’t figure out a system, because I still sometimes over pack or under pack my suitcase. I once even forgot my in-ear monitor. It was crucial because they are made for my ears. And I always like to have a little bit more stuff with me in case I need it. But in the end I don’t need it and I am only carrying al those extra kilo’s with me. And always check out the weather forecast, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought this jacket with me for instance. It’s always good to have a scarf with you though.’’

Anything in particular you bring home from from travelling?
,,Sometimes I buy magnets for my mom. She likes to put them on the refrigerator. When I am in another country I love to consume the local food and specialties. I live in Germany but when I am in my homeland The Netherlands I always take a big bag of liquorice with me. I buy really strong liquorice in Denmark and in America they have different sweets I like to bring home. And then there are our fans who give me gifts, like portraits and cool artwork.’’

What is your motto?
,,Enjoy every day in life. Carpe diem!’’
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Visit Smoonstyle here or visit Epica bandwebsite here 

#epica #headbangerslifestyle #hbls