My work day make-up, never very adventurous, has attained a new pinnacle of corporate monotony. I won't bored you with the details; suffice it to say that I have lapsed to a ready-in-5 ethos, and can frequently be seen heading out the door without eyeliner. And what is more: I'm okay with that.

And perhaps it is to counterbalance all that unobtrusive naturalism I wear in the office that, when I do get the time and the inclination to play with colour, I tend to go all out.

The incredibly adorable Shokay S/S 2012 Campaign

One of the common questions that beauty bloggers get asked: "How do you do make-up on an Asian eye?" 

I have seen lots of very helpful videos on the topic (from Lisa Eldridge, Rae Morris, and others), but without fail, I personally find the question quite annoying and fetishistic. There isn't a one-shape-fits-all, stereotypical "Asian eye", just as there is no such thing as a "standard (i.e. Caucasian) eye". If you have a monolid, or long narrow eyes, or a creaseless lid, my best advice would be to start looking at images of women with monolids, narrow eyes, or creaseless lids. A copy of Vogue China will probably teach you more about make-up that is flattering for your eye shape than I could in a dozen posts. 

That, and practice. 

Take the above image from the Shokay S/S 2012 campaign, featuring a long, eye-lengthening flick of black liner, orange eyeshadow, and rosebud lips painted not in your typical geisha red, but a glossy tangerine. Since my eyes are more rounded than the model's, recreating the whimsical, wide-eyed look on my features took some adjustment in the width and angle of the flick, but the placement of the coloured pigments is more or less the same. 

Full coverage foundation would have been better for this look, to more closely match HD "perfection", but lazy as I was on a Saturday, I opted for the minimal coverage afforded by Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation, with some concealing around the nose, mouth, and under the eyes. Brows were filled in with my current favourite brow product, Cle de Peau Eyebrow Pencil in 101 (a mechanical pencil with built-in brush), and shaped in as much of a rounded arch as I could achieve. My own brows are very straight, nearly-perpendicular to the line down the centre of my nose; to get the same angle in the brows as the model in the photo would have taken more plucking and masking than I was prepared to deal with. (Compromises, compromises…)

To match the eyeshadow, I blended two vivid metallics from Shu Uemura (their names long lost to me, as they were depotted into a palette years ago), for a warm, shimmery orange that stands out just enough from my skin tone. Toward the inner third of the eyelid, I faded the orange slightly with NARS Silk Road, a very glittery pink-nude, and the outer corner was deepened with Kevyn Aucoin Copper, which is more brown and less metallic. 

The white under the eyes would have been best achieved with a pencil, but with none in my stash, I made do with a layer of Shu Uemura P42 (matte white with pink undertone), followed by Addiction Cigarette to better catch the light. A hint of Cigarette also went under the brow as a highlight.  

The main attraction, the liner, was drawn in with a liquid liner pen, Lancome Liner Definition in 01 (Black). Its soft, flexible felt tip is not as fine as I would like, but it is very easy to work with, even for someone as unused to drawing flicks as I am. It delivers very crisp edges and dark, velvety pigment. NARS Zen beneath cheekbones and a light dusting of Shiseido RD103 Petal on the cheeks finished off the face.

I am less than happy with the lips - not the lipstick, which is a mix of Shiseido Day Lily and Chantecaille Canna - but with the mauve undertone that peeked through despite the foundation and concealer I used to mask the natural colour of my lips. A seam between face and lips destroys the illusion of skin melding invisibly into the sides of the mouth, and draws attention to the unnaturalness of the painted "pout". A peach corrector might have been more effective here to counteract the dark purple. 

L-R (click to enlarge):
Shu Uemura P42 blush (as a white eyeshadow base)
Shu Uemura metallic orange eyeshadow (discontinued)
Shu Uemura metallic bronze eyeshadow (discontinued)
Kevyn Aucoin Copper (contour)
NARS Silk Road
Addiction Cigarette (highlight)
Shiseido OR418 Day Lily
Chantecaille Canna

Image source: Shokay 

Labels: addiction, beauty notes, chantecaille, cle de peau, kevyn aucoin, lancome, nars, shiseido, shokay, shu uemura

8/10/2012 [9]

Thanks to some heavy guns which were recently added to my skincare arsenal (Guerlain Abeille Royale Youth Serum, Sisley Botanical Facial Mask with Tropical Resins, La Roche Posay Effaclar K and Effaclar A.I.), I have not suffered a major breakout in weeks. The scars and pigmentation from old blemishes will take a lot longer to clear, of course, but at least for the moment, I don't feel like cringing every time I look at my own unmade-up face in the mirror.

So, perfect time to show you what difference minimal coverage and, more importantly, brows can make.

The above image on the left is me freshly washed, moisturised and prepped, but without any makeup on. Note the sallowness around the eyes (liver disease? or not enough sleep? the hypochondriac in me wonders), and the sparse and uneven brows.

Now look at the other photo of me (right), only minutes later with the bare essentials on:

Step 1: a light foundation (Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua) applied with my hands, concentrating on the T-zone;

Step 2: concealer (Cle de Peau), applied with fingertips under the eyes, on the eyelid and around the nose; and finally

Step 3: brow pencil (Shu Uemura Hard 9) to define and fill in my brows.

The difference is easily achieved and yet dramatic on a face like mine, enhancing the reality of my skin and features by compensating for their weaknesses, without giving the appearance of "visible" makeup. If not quite bright-eyed - this was before my morning coffee - I look instantly better, more polished, healthy and awake.

To complete the "minimal makeup" look, I would need only a hint of blush and some lip balm. Then, and only then, am I ready to pop outside for some breakfast and to pick up my dry cleaning.

* * *

Edited to add:

Okay, that was a lie. This (left) is what I actually wore when I went out the door. With the bare bones of the look already in place, what is anything else really but the garnish? But for the sake of full disclosure, here is what I added:

• A not-too-heavy balm on the eyelids for a bit of gloss, a trick taken from Dick Page's book. I used Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Lip Protectant.


• Black eyeliner (MUFE Aqua Eyes 0L).


• A light coat of a natural-looking mascara (Shiseido Perfect Mascara in brown). Although barely noticeable, if you're going to wear eyeliner, you may as well balance it with some subtle mascara.
  


• Some pale pink eyeshadow, patted into the makeshift eye-gloss with a finger, to brighten the eyes. I used a pale blush/highlighter, Shu Uemura P42 Glow On.


• Red lipstick, in this case Cle de Peau Beaute R2 Red Abundance Ultra Rich Lipstick.

After base and brows, red lipstick gives you the most bang for your buck, high impact for very little effort, or even the appearance of effort. And for a lazy Saturday morning, what more do you really need?

Image note: This is not a vanity post. All photos were taken on my iPhone 4, which is the only camera I can find at home. None of them have been retouched.

Labels: beauty notes, chanel, cle de peau, shu uemura

10/01/2011 [18]

Jean Seberg wears Jean-Paul Belmondo’s hat in a scene from “Breathless,” by Godard.

Ole Lynggaard Sweet Drops Bracelet / Cle de Peau Beaute Ultra Rich Lipstick / Ormonde Jayne Champaca / Loewe Bolso Amazona

Labels: blistex, cle de peau, loewe, milani, nu + nan, ole lynggaard, ormonde jayne, saba, serge lutens, the sketchbook, ursula k. leguin, walter m. miller jr., william dalrymple

9/26/2011 [5]

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