Make up for glasses

Applying make up is a little bit different if you wear glasses. The lens sometimes makes our eyes look closer and cross-eyed. The make up application for the eyes have to make the eyes appear wider, brighter, and bigger. The best part about make up is the fact that we can always play with light and shadow. Its an illusion.

My sister was doing her homework with her glasses on and I was inspired to do a make up look that is easy for young professionals working in an office environment. (Thanks to my sister for being my guinea pig!)

 

The main concern in a professional looking make up application is to make the whole look clean and bright. With glasses its easy to look frumpy and sleepy. I focused on making the eyes wide by adding light reflective eyeshadow base with the contour on the outer corners of the eyes. The eyeliner application is also focused on lining the upper lash line with a darker emphasis on the outer corner. The lower lash line is only half lined with the emphasis on outer corner. A peach cream blush, highlighter, mascara, and a reddish-rose lipstick. I prefer lipstick over lip gloss because in my opinion it looks more polished than gloss. 

Products used to create this look:

Make up forever Sculpting Kit: I used this as a highlighter for the brow bone and high cheek bones as well as a shadow base for the eyes. I contoured her cheek bones, side of the nose, outer corner of her eyes, and on her jaw line.

The Make Up Store microshadow in xocoatl: This was used to contour her eyelid in the outer corner only.

NARS eyeshadow duo in Misfit: I used the cream base eyeshadow in this palette for her lids because it has a bit of a shimmer to it to diffuse the light and make the eyes appear more awake.

Stila smudge pot in Brown: I used this to line her upper lash line and 1/2 of her lower lash line. Emphasizing the outer corners.

Becca Cosmetics jewel dust in xantho: I tapped this glittery bronze onto the middle of her lids. This creates a beautiful shimmery 'pop' in her eyelids.

Stila convertible color in Gladiola: Though the color make scare people away this is a beautiful peach blush and when applied to the apples of the cheeks a natural healthy flush is created. I prefer peach blushes than pink-y blushes because it looks a little more radiant and natural.

NARS sheer lipstick in Gipsy: This is a beautiful rose color that looks great on most people. It has more color than Dolce Vita (another fave of mine and my personal go-to lipstick) that will read sophisticated career woman without being intimidating like a red lipstick.

 

Make up Story

I saw a few Youtube videos of "beauty gurus" that were doing the make up tags... Thought I'd do something similar here.


1. How old were you when you started wearing makeup?
2 years old! I used to sneak into my Grandmother's and Mother's make up drawers and play around with their make up. I also used to get into a lot of trouble for cutting my own hair. Needless to say, my make up skills were a lot better than my hair cutting skills!
I started wearing make up for school around 6th grade, then I couldn't be bothered with make up too much in high school b/c I was too sleep-deprived from all the activities I did each day. I only wore make up for dance performances and figure skating competitions in high school.

2. How did you get into makeup?
I got into doing make up because I hated people touching my face. I used to re-do the make up that my mother did on my face for dance recitals when I was a child b/c I didn't like the way it looked. When I got older, I started learning theater make up and signed up to be on crew so I wouldn't have to sit in anyone's chair! lol. 

3. What are some of your favorite brands?
Stila, Make Up Forever, NARS, Fresh, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Origins, and Body Shop

4. What does makeup mean to you?
Make up is a wonderful way to enhance natural beauty. It is also fun to mix it up and try a new look b/c at the end of the day, you can wash it off!

5. If you could only wear 4 products on your face what would they be?
OCC Tinted Moisturizer, Stila's Cherry Crush lip/cheek stain, Alison Raffaele's Transparent Finish to go, Shu Uemura mascara



6. What is your favorite thing about makeup?
The ability to lift a mood, look and feel fabulous, and the confidence it brings.

7. What do you think about drugstore makeup vs high end makeup?
I'm a make up snob/junkie/hoarder - I love good quality products so tend to stick with products I've tested on myself and that it works well. I'm also transitioning my make up to also be cruelty-free b/c bunnies don't deserve to be mistreated and tortured for the sake of cosmetics. There are so many products that humans are willing to try and test out if it works.

8. What is one tip of advice you can give to a beginner?
Hone in on the skills you are good at and focus your energy on that. You can't do everything.
I'm not an FX make up artist, nor a body painter, or do fantasy type make up but have tried all those things out. I'm just not good at it and there are so many more talented artists who can do that kind of work. My best skills is in beauty make up and airbrush make up applications. I like continuing to expand my skills so I practice a lot and have done some pretty interesting transformations during Halloween for clients and friends.

9. What is one makeup trend you never understood?
Eyelid taping. This is predominant in Asia, I had to tape an Asian brides lids a few times because they wanted a "double lid" effect. This changes the way the eyes look and I never understood the phenomenon of looking completely like a different person when this trend has been done as well as using make up to transform the entire face especially when it comes to weddings. Its just weird to me. I understand that you need to transform the entire face for a theatrical production or a film/tv show and embrace the joy that make up can do that but for an everyday look or a wedding?!?!?! Thats just living behind a mask.

10. What do you think about the beauty community on YouTube?
Some of the videos make me cringe but its like watching reality tv shows, you just can't help but watch it. This video is really cute though....

Happy Thanksgiving & Hi-Def

Fall wedding season and holidays are here - I've been getting booked more frequently this fall. I've also taught several private make up lessons and had wedding guests come to my studio for make up applications. I like it when people come to my studio to get their make up done because my back doesn't require a pummeling on the massage chair for hauling my kit around the city. I also have my entire kit here so the possibilities are endless.
I'm very thankful for the space and location I now have my home studio in. The windows let in a lot of light.
I had a client early this morning come in to have a make up lesson and prep her on how to do make up for HD TV and Film. One of the most important aspects to HD TV, Film, and Photography is how the light will hit your face. HD doesn't lie and will always look scary if you apply make up with a very heavy hand. It brought to my attention the importance of products that work. One of the best things to put on the face is a good mattifying primer. The last thing you want is looking like a flashlight on TV. Check out Givenchy's Mister Mat. This is a good mattifying primer for that T-zone. Another favorite HD product is Make up Forever's High Definition Microfinish Powder - a little on the messy side but an excellent product b/c the powder is so fine, gives a translucent finish, and gives a smooth surface.
The best make up for HD is the airbrush foundations by Kett, Obessessive Compulsive Cosmetics, and Temptu - I like the watery, fast-drying, and natural looking finish these foundations give applied by the airbrush gun, brush, or fingers. All three of these brands are available online. If you don't have access to these brands or they don't deliver to your location, you can try Make up Forever's HD Finish Foundation. Apply with a light hand and only add extra coverage where you need it the most and blend everything well!

Thanksgiving and my birthday is coming up this week so Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Think girly: Pink Lipstick makes a comeback

Its been a while since my last post... I haven't really been excited about too many things in the beauty world.
I've been a subscriber to Allure Magazine for 5 years now and I was reading the Feb. issue. There was a highlight on pink becoming the new red. I was skeptical at best b/c pink lipstick was what I wore as a kid. (I loved a bright fuschia lipstick in my mother's make up drawer and wore it around the house very often!)
Pink lipstick also conjures up memories of the bright cosmetics that were so "in" during the 80s. But then again, the 80s have been making a comeback the past few years so its not surprising that pink lipstick will be back. I scoured the aisles of Sephora looking for the perfect pink and I found two lipsticks. No. 38 by Make Up Forever and Schiap by NARS.
The Sephora store I visited didn't have No. 38 anymore so I purchased Schiap. Love the bright color against my pale skin tone (I'm pale w/ very pink undertones but I'm Chinese and supposed to have some yellow undertones too but its not very dominant). I love how it just brightens up the face. Just like a beautiful red lipstick, pink lipstick can also brighten up the face.
Pair pink lipstick with beautiful dewy skin, black mascara, and highlighter on the cheek bones & brow bone. Add more drama by adding a black eyeliner in the cat-eye fashion or to add more fun, use a navy or deep purple liner!

Lashes galore

This is my favorite pair of false lashes by Make up forever. I've worn it at parties and its not too overwhelming yet creates a fun look with the small feathers on the end. Make up forever makes the most beautiful lashes that are dramatic and fun. However, at $14 a pair it is a bit pricey to wear only once. I recommend taking a q-tip dipped in eye make up remover or just any make up remover to remove old glue from the strip.
False lashes can dramatize any look without having to wear too much make up, and I would recommend not to wear too much dramatic make up because then the look will look too intimidating or too "stage".
During my last dance performance, I used bright purple lashes from Make up forever and I got lots of good comments on it. Apparently every last detail enhanced the fun nature of the dance pieces that I wore the lashes for. :-)
With halloween coming up in Oct., I would definitely get a pair of crazy lashes and wear them.