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]

If the Christmas-New Year's period has found me somewhat quiet, blogging-wise, it's because I was travelling in Japan for nine days - visiting the Shiseido flagship store in The Ginza, feeding the sacred deer in Nara Park, walking around the Floating Garden Observatory in Osaka, and testing as many hard-to-find Japanese brands (ie. Suqqu, Hakuhodo, ADDICTION by Ayako, THREE Cosmetics, RMK, Elegance, and Paul & Joe) as I could get my hands on.

When it came to eyeshadows, the stand-out brand was ADDICTION. I am not a fan or a wearer of idealised East-Asian eye makeup: the combination of pale shimmer and barely-there colour with a very strongly defined lash line and extremely thick (often false) eyelashes. The ADDICTION eyeshadow range includes almost 60 colours, covering your basic neutrals but also many strong, fashion-forward colours, atypical of a Japanese brand. Most have pearl or metallic finishes, and the pigmentation and texture of these eyeshadows could give Shu Uemura (back when it was at its best) a run for its money. They are buttery-soft, and even when applied dry, have an intensity that appears almost wet.

ADDICTION Eyeshadows in (L-R) Shangri-La, Keshi, Arabian Ruby, and Cigarette. All shadows have been swatched dry. Click to enlarge image.

ADDICTION pressed eyeshadows are available as singles (2000 Yen each) which you can fit into compact cases. There is also a wide range of designed eyeshadow quads (9000 Yen) and sextets (13500 Yen), not to mention eyeshadow/blush combinations. I already had my eye on some specific shades, and decided on buying an empty 4-pan compact case, which I then requested that the sales assistant fill with the eyeshadows in Shangri-La (metallic red), Keshi (pearly silver gunmetal), Arabian Ruby (metallic aubergine-brown), and Cigarette (frosty white glitter). There was also a matte pinky-red shade, Alice, that I nearly got instead of Shangri-La. In the end, however, the softness and richness of the metallic won me over.

Equally fascinated and terrified by pink/red eyeshadow, having bought and discarded NARS Carravaggio duo (Azaela pink and irridescent purple) in the past, I had been searching for a very deep, punchy red since November, when Lisa Eldridge posted her red eyeshadow look video. The trend was undeniable, and I was obstinate that there was a way I could make it work with my warm, yellowy-olive undertones.

My previous attempt to wear red on the eyes used a NARS brick-red cream blush, Constantinople, in lieu of an actual red eyeshadow - and it wasn't bad, as attempts go. The warm matte red is easier for me to wear, but did not have the sparkling alienness that I was going for. This time, I was able to build up the red to the point of creamy opaqueness with Shangri-La. The colour itself is slightly cool, but not to the extent of being unwearable on me, especially when applied heavily with a wet MAC 239 brush; on someone fair and cool-toned, Shangri-La would appear more pink than red. To give depth to the outer corner and the crease, I dipped the same MAC 239 in Arabian Ruby, removing most of the dark purple on the back of my hand, before blending it gently into the red. Finally, I used Cigarette to highlight the centre of the eye socket, and lined the upper lash line with a black pencil, and then Keshi (wet).

At the Thakoon F/W 2011 show, glowing red and orange eyeshadow was paired with desaturated lips. I preferred the opposite: a closely matched red or pinky shade on the lips, which was what Eldridge used in her video. For my version of the look, I layered a shockingly bright, jewel-toned fuchsia (Anna Sui V 360) under a pinky-rose with a more neutral base (Utowa Rose 55). Offset by pale cheeks untouched by blush, the result is weird and unapologetic, but oddly flattering.

Click to enlarge image.

Have you ever worn red eyeshadow in public? I noticed many older women in Japan wearing a very subtle hint of red around their eyes, and assumed it to be a vestige of traditional kabuki makeup. Certainly I hope this experiment of mine has convinced you that the NARS Hanamachi Eyeshadow Palette is not merely a collector's item to be admired and not used. You might be surprised - as I was - how wearable red eyeshadow can be.

Labels: addiction, anna sui, beauty notes, lisa eldridge, nars, utowa

1/07/2012 [18]

I love backstage photos of models' makeup from fashion shows, and frequently use them as sources of inspiration. Some looks are kooky and extreme, others are wearable and natural, easily emulated. While face-charts and beauty breakdowns are primarily released for the benefit of beauty editors, they are also an excellent resource for makeup fanatics and makeup artists, which is why you will commonly find them now posted on beauty blogs.

During the week-long Chinese National Day Holiday, I picked three photos from my album of inspiration images on my iPad, and tried to recreate them using only what I have on hand here in Shanghai*. Bear in mind that I am not a makeup artist, merely an enthusiast. Skill is something only acquired through practice and observation; all you need to arm yourself with is a sense of adventure, and a willingness to go a little out of your everyday comfort zone. Makeup, after all, is not permanent. If you don't like the result, just wash it off.

Since my original intention when I started these experiments was not to show the pictures online, but to merely have some fun on my day off, I did not research that were products used in any systematic way until after I had completed my own take on it. Nor was I aiming for perfect verisimilitude - if I knew a pale lip was going to be ghastly on me, I substituted it with a brighter pigment. However, I have included links to the breakdowns wherever I could identify the show and the makeup artist behind it.

Base used throughout: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua (B30 Beige-Sable) and Cle de Peau Beaute Concealer (Beige). I was putting on and removing looks too quickly, however, to be bothered with powder, so pray excuse the shine.

Look 1. Christian Dior S/S 2012 - Pat McGrath
An easy one to start with. The model is Sun Fei Fei, and there are some more images of the look here.

Eyes: Sun's eyebrows are pretty amazing to begin with; mine naturally needed more work, pencil and powder to make them thicker and darker. There appears to be some tan/golden brown eyeshadow on outer half of the model's eyes. Adapting slightly from the photo to suit my differently shaped eyes, I applied the middle shade from the Shiseido Strata trio into my crease. A dark brown pencil smudged into the lashline, then a layer of brown mascara finished off the eyes.

Cheeks: NARS Zen, a nude blush, to contour beneath the cheekbones.

Lips: An orangey-red lipstick, applied with a lipbrush. I only have one warm red with me in Shanghai, Cle de Peau Beaute R2, so I used that. Sun looks like she was wearing a gloss over the lipstick, but I couldn't find one so I left the lipstick fairly matte.

Wearability: 7/10. A slightly bolder variant of my normal day-off makeup.

Look 2. Rodarte S/S 2011 - James Kaliardos for NARS
Round, navy-blue smokey eye with lavender lips. Beauty breakdown here, which shows the same look on a Caucasian model with deep-set eyes; the shape of my eyes are somewhere in between that and Liu Wen's monolid, so once again, I changed it from the inspiration photos.

Eyes: Instead of navy, I used a blackened teal (Chanel Murano quad), layered under a shimmery sky blue from Shu Uemura. A creamy black pencil went on my waterline, while mascara was neglected entirely. Brows had just the tiniest bit of NARS Bali brushed through them with the Shu Uemura 6OB to fill in gaps.

Cheeks: Skipped it. Kaliardos, however, used a NARS cream blush (Penny Lane).

Lips: Not having any nude or lavender lipsticks or glosses, I used the closest thing I had, a shimmering coral lipstick from NARS called Outsider. Ideally, though, I would have gone for something paler and more neutral, maybe a light mauve like Chanel Ingenue.

Wearability: 5/10. Strictly a night-time look, but not outrageous.

Look 3. Derek Lam S/S 2010 - Tom Pecheux for NARS
This circus-inspired makeup pre-dates Pecheux becoming the creative makeup director for Estee Lauder. A shame, because while his work is never less than gorgeous, I don't think he has done anything quite as weird and wonderful since going to Estee Lauder. This look he created with NARS products has stuck in my mind ever since I first saw it. Breakdown here.

Eyes: Here is where a few extra eyeshadow brushes would have come in handy, so all these colours didn't get muddied from being applied with dirty brushes.

Because I was working off just the image I had on my iPad, I had to guess at the colours and their placement. The purple I used was NARS Jolie Poupee (right side) mixed with MUFE 92, the blue in the inner corner a mixture of Jolie Poupee (left side) and the same light blue Shu Uemura shadow I used in Look 2. An orange shadow from Shu Uemura replaced NARS Mediteranee on the browbone, while a shimmery Shu Uemura green mixed with the olive side of NARS Nouveau Monde was my substitute for the emerald green from NARS Misfits under the eye. The lightest coat of brown mascara was used. Brows were left over from previous look.

Cheeks: I forgot about the cheeks, although checking the breakdown of the look now, I can see that Pecheux used a pink (Desire) and an orange (Taj Mahal) blush.

Lips: My lips are naturally quite dark, so I went with a sheer pink lipstick, Granville Dior Addict, instead of trying to tone them down with a lighter colour.

Wearability: 3/10 on me. I think this would be amazing on someone fairer, with light-coloured eyes, but with my features, it just makes me look unfocused and tired.

*My main residence and the larger part of my stash is in Sydney.

Labels: beauty notes, james kaliardos, nars, pat mcgrath, tom pecheux

10/15/2011 [7]

Labels: benefit, color me in, laura mercier, le metier de beaute, lipstick queen, nars, paula dorf, shiseido

10/12/2011 [3]

Photography by JSLEE

Labels: apple, ecole de paris, estee lauder, george eliot, giorgio armani, guerlain, la double vie de veronique, nars, shu uemura, sisley, tandy, the sketchbook, uriage, vladimir nabokov

9/26/2011 [4]

Labels: christian dior, color me in, giorgio armani, laura mercier, nars, revlon, silk naturals

9/03/2011 [3]

A look into my everyday beauty habits and routines, inspired by the series "The Top Shelf" at Into The Gloss.

When it comes to skincare, I appreciate its importance without being fully committed to the ritual of facials, exfoliates, and treatments, although I'll wager that it's only a matter of time. I use a combination of old faithfuls and new products that I am testing. First, I remove my make-up with Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil - one pump is sufficient for getting rid of everything, including waterproof mascara - before cleansing with an oil-targetting cleaner, followed by the application of layers of various toners, serums and creams. Shu Uemura Depsea Hydrability Intense Moisturising Concentrate is a stalwart that I wear on its own in summer and beneath a moisturiser or oil in winter. Another product I have repurchased many times is Clinique All About Eyes Rich; after too many bad experiences with eye creams on my sensitive skin, I tend to stick to what is known and safe. Huiles & Baumes Face Smoothing Serum is a rich facial oil I have been testing for the last month or so - I love the fresh herbal scent and the way it shrinks my pores.

My lips chap easily, especially in cold, windy weather, so I never leave the house without lip balm, preferable ones that are non-sticky, flavourless, and colourless. I keep Blistex Lip Conditioner with SPF 20 around the house, on my bedside table and at my desk, and a tube of Clinique Superbalm Lip Treatment in every purse. Both are great, intensely nourishing and not so expensive that you can't afford numerous back-ups. Lip balm is something that needs to be applied frequently and liberally, so you never want to be caught without one handy.

If my skin is clear, I am happy to get away with just wearing tinted moisturiser and some concealer. When I do wear foundation, I apply it directly with my fingers - it's quicker and saves me the bother of washing a foundation brush after every use - before dusting a bit of loose powder over it to keep it in place.

Brow pencil is a minimum requirement when mine are so naturally sparse and patchy - I use Shu Uemura in the shade 06 Acorn. On a normal day, all I wear on my lids are matte or satin browns and taupes, for a look that is polished, but not painstakingly drawn in. Even my eyeliner and mascara are brown. I am already on my third tube of Shiseido Perfect Mascara in BR602, and I've lost count of how many of the Guerlain Eye Pencil in Kohl Me Brown 03 I have bought. I smudge the pencil into my upper lashline, to give my eyes some subtle definition. Gel and liquid liner has its occasional uses, but not whilst I am on the clock.

My go-to lip colour - lipstick, never lipgloss - is always changing. If you keep your eye makeup clean and effortless, it is a simple matter to change your look in the middle of a day by switching lip colours. I have a red imitation-leather lipstick case that I bought in the markets in Shanghai for around 150 RMB (or $21 AUD). It has an inbuilt mirror and holds three lipsticks, usually a sheer natural colour, a deeper berry or rose, and a red. Continental Couture has one that looks very similar but made from shark skin for £119.

Cutting my hair short was a decision I made the year I left high school, and it's been that length ever since. Short hair is freeing and conveniently low maintenance. But also, looking back at old photographs of myself, I feel like that person with long hair is a stranger, someone still wore school uniforms and had not yet been introduced to undergraduate anthropology. In a not unsubstantial way, we are not the same, just as I will not be the same person ten years hence. Identity is an ever-evolving thing, and often the outward change - manhood initiation rituals, the widow's weeds - marks also a significant internal overhaul. (The reverse is also true, and it is not in my interest here to quibble about direction of causality between the mental and the physical, for both are intrinsic and interdependent.) It takes me less than 5 seconds to style my hair: a few strokes with a synthetic and boar bristle brush is all it needs. If it is in a truly disastrous state of disarray, a tiny daub of Frederic Fekkai Glossing Cream, combed through with my fingers, is usually enough to tame it.

I do not have a signature fragrance, but I always come back to a select few, like Serge Lutens Vetiver Oriental. In my work bag, I keep a Travalo filled with Chanel No. 19, for those times when I forget to apply before leaving the house. Perfume is the last step of my routine of getting ready. Without it, I always feel a little unfinished.

*Australian regulations don't allow SPF factor numerals greater than 30 to be claimed on sunscreen labels, for several reasons, so SPF 30+ is the highest level of sun protection that you will see on any product in Australia.

Top photo credit: Orion Mitchell, 2010

Labels: beauty notes, blistex, chanel, clinique, frederic fekkai, guerlain, huiles and baumes, la roche-posay, mecca cosmetica, nars, serge lutens, shu uemura

8/21/2011 [11]

Labels: beauty notes, nars, shiseido, shu uemura, yves saint laurent

8/13/2011 [16]

• I have and like DHC Cleansing Oil, good against bulletproof makeup, but it has a tendency to clog pores. Bioderma Créaline is kinder to pores, hydrating and soothing overheated, tired skin at the end of the day—especially in summer— while it cleanses away quotidian grime and makeup. It's not really a lightweight product, despite its gentleness; you might be surprised at what you can get off with it, and I highly suspect that I'll not need anything more heavy-duty, considering I don't wear spackle.


• I'm not really a skincare fanatic, I'm just happy to find cheap products that work. The Face Shop has the best skincare for value, in my opinion, of the Korean "road shop" brands, and despite its ridiculous gimmicky name, the Marine Stem Cell Toner pampers and cushions my perpetually dehydrated skin with its slippery texture rich in hyaluronic acids and other hydrating agents, so I'm sticking with it.


• Moisturizers are tricky, especially since one often needs different formulations for each season. I'm still looking, though I refuse to pay for anything higher-end than Kiehl's, which I am eyeing next but not completely decided on. If not, I'll default to matching moisturizer from TFS, which forms a reasonably good barrier to seal in the moisture provided by the toner.

Thick, scentless and yellow, with a waxy consistency,
• Kiehl's Ultimate Hand Salve looks and feels like a heavy-duty product, one that you might expect to instantly soften chapped, raw, unhappy hands... but might take you by surprise when it absorbs rapidly and completely, leaving behind no messy residue.

• I would guess that Chanel Vitalumiere contains some unique blend of silicones that is especially adept at smoothing over uneven skin—my skin is fairly rough on a small scale—for a satiny finish. I might also guess that the formula works with the natural oils in my skin, rather than battling against them, transmogrifying unflattering shine into a dewy soft-focus glow, but that is just a guess. All I really know is that this product works such wonders on my skin, I am tempted to blame witchcraft rather than science for actually tempting me to fork over money for a Chanel foundation: horrifyingly expensive, not to mention I secretly dislike the interlocking C's.


• Vichy NormaTeint Anti-Imperfections is really a very matte-finish foundation (for acne-prone skin, if anyone is interested), but the sparse color selection, the fine powdery texture when blended out, and the lasting power like glue make it a better concealer in my opinion, especially in the yellower shades,for everything from undereye circles to ruddy acne scars.


• I admit I'm probably selling out here, as I concede that I prefer to keep my skin as light as possible—any darker, and my olive undertones ensure that I look muddy, or even ill—so sunscreen is a requirement. Shiseido Anessa fulfills all my requirements for a sunscreen—high SPF, broad-spectrum protection, and meaning it when it says "waterproof" on the label—in addition to serving as a mattifying base in summer that actually makes my skin look better by taking down a bit of the heated flush and oily shine that plague me around that time of year. In fact, I don't really need the excuse a natural disaster would provide to justify buying this product, since I have nothing comparably useful in my stash. This is an Asia-exclusive, but I am taking the liberty of including it, since it is quite easily available to me, at least.


• The point of a blush is to replicate a natural rush of blood to the cheeks: for this reason, it is crucial to properly match a blush to the color of the skin. On me, I've never met the color that performs like the bruised mauve of NARS Sin: my guess is that the purplish grey in it is good for neutralizing sallow olive tones, to leave behind only a faintly visible flush of rose. I've even got the hang of applying it with a finger, saving me the trouble of having to buy a brush.


• I actually really like Etude House's brow pencil: a tapering wedge-shaped twist-up crayon, with a hard texture and in a wide variety of shades (who knew that such a cheapie brand would give such seemingly humble considerations as brows the attention they really deserve). With a product like this, I honestly don't see the need to seek out something more expensive.

• I scoff at the notion of high-end mascara (so overpriced, and you throw most of it away) but I would like to live with DiorShow for a little while: it's the only mascara I've ever liked, as opposed to "it gets the job done." I think the secret is in the fat brush with the blunt bristles spaced at extremely tight but regular intervals, coating lashes thickly enough to make an impact, yet separating each hair from each other carefully to avoid the spider effect. I would get a cheapie dupe if I could find that.


• L'Oreal Extra Intense Liquid Pencil liner goes on as smoothly as the name implies, like melted chocolate, but once it sets, turns into a waxy formula that stays on and does not smear or transfer, even through a torrential crying session (as I can attest from personal experience). In brown it imparts to my eyes the depth but not the harshness of black. To be honest I'm cheating a little here, as it's easily obtained in the United States, but is nowhere to be seen in Korea.


• Finally we have come to eyeshadow! Usually the eyeshadows comprise the largest proportion of a stash, not because they are the most frequently used, but because they are the collectible action figures of the makeup world, coming in infinite and infinitely attractive variations and serving little practical purpose whatsoever. (Though, don't take my word for it, I'm an Asian for whom eyeshadow doesn't do much and who is consequently bitter about the fact.) So when paring down a stash, it makes sense to cut away at the eyeshadow collection first. For now, I will only buy two: Laura Mercier Sandstone (a peachy fine bone in a satin finish that imparts an imperceptible glow to skin, not shown) and MAC Shale (an analogue of taupe hovering between silvery grey and sheer lavender, more flattering for my cool and light olive tones than a true brown-based taupe).

• Guerlain Kiss Kiss Essence de Gloss, in 421 Grenat for me, may be the classiest lip gloss that I know of. Now, if someone would please do something about that stupid bling packaging?


• I'd like a good everyday matte rose lipstick for professional settings... but what?

Labels: annick goutal, beauty notes, bioderma, chanel, christian dior, etude house, guerlain, hermes, kiehl's, l'occitane, l'oreal, laura mercier, mac, nars, shiseido, the face shop, vichy

3/03/2011 [0]

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