Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Make-up maketh the woman

my mini collection

Okay I made that up. But seriously, no matter how many times your hubby/bf/patents/grandma/nosy aunty complains about the tons of cosmetics you put on your face and say that going au naturel is the best, they sometimes forget that they have (at some point of time) made some compliments about your rosy cheeks or your radiant skin. What say we? Well, we can’t help it. We adore beautifying our faces ‘cos it make us feel good and more confident. I didn’t mean to say that we are totally dependable on it. Let’s just put it this way, make-up functions to give you that extra boost of energy or inner confidence during your gloomiest days and when your level of fatigueness is at its peak. Beside that, make-up is created to be our savior in times of emergencies like getting not enough sleep or developing a nasty zit on your cheek (horrors!) on the day of your wedding. Bits of concealer under the eyes and walla! You’ll look as if you’ve just had eight hours’ of sleep. The trick for not getting more ‘you don’t need make-up’ criticisms from your ‘attackers’ in the future? Master the application of make-up and to know what colors are suitable for your skin tone, simple as that. Unless you are a make-up artist or that your mum/sister is a make-up artist, you gotta do your work e.g. browsing through make-up application books and magazines. Or else you can ‘test n try’ and play with different make-up brands to see which ones suit you. There are thousands of cosmetics brands out there luring you to buy their products, and if you want long-lasting make-up that really enhances your features, go for branded ones. But there are brands that are of good quality at a reasonable price, so the decision is up to you.

Anyway, being such a loyal fan of cosmetics (Applied my first lippie at the age of 5), I’d like to share with you readers of my modest make-up collection hehe. Here we go!

Foundation

Unless you have flawless skin, you can skip this one. In my opinion, foundation is meant to even out the skin tone of your face and to partially cover nasty zits as well. I have sensitive skin which reddens easily, so it’s a must for me. The brand I’m using right now is of the Play Sticks range from Benefit (purplish tube stick in pic above), a cosmetics brand from San Francisco. It’s not available in Sabah yet, but I can assure you it’s my best foundation purchase so far. If you have slightly tanned skin with yellow-based skintone like me, you can try paper dolls.

Pros – (i) Radiant and glowing face guaranteed for the whole day.
(ii) Effectively covers redness and blemishes.
(iii) Convenient packaging (Like its name, it’s a foundation stick!)

Cons – (i) Hmm…well it’s not available in KK yet hehe…

Concealer

There are 2 types: one for your undereye circles, and one for the other areas of your face. Concealer is a must for me to cover my panda-like peepers, my ever-growing zits and un-diminishing acne scars! For the eyes, I’m using Clinique All About Eyes Concealer (next to Playstick) and Body Shop Concealer for my blemishes (next to Clinique).

Pros (Clinique) – (i) Provides good coverage for those hideous undereye circles. It makes
your eyes look alert instantly!

Cons – (i) It’s in liquid form. Sometimes only the water comes out without the concealer. So you gotta give it a few more squeezes. By then, your fingers will be icky-sticky!

Pros (Body Shop) – (i) Provides moderate coverage. Meaning to say not bad lah.
(ii)Nice packaging. Silver equals chic!

Cons – You have to dab for a few times in order to get that zit covered.

Pressed Powder

Pressed powders are essential for girls with oily skin for that quick touch-up. But if you’re using a good foundation brand, you’ll just need oil blotters. I normally use my Maybelline Clear Smooth Finish Powder during make-up application. If you’ve got oily skin, use the one that screams ‘OIL-FREE’!

Pros – Provides the perfect finish for your make-up base.

Cons – None that I know! (‘cos my foundation’s good enough, so any pressed powder will do for me hehe!)

Eyeshadow

So far I’ve played with greens, blues, golds, browns, beiges, purples, and blacks. For lazy days I’ll just use white+gold+black, beige+brown combinations. Smoky eyes (brown or black) is the choice for special occasions and night outs! I’ve never used yellow or really light greens before (probably never will) and think that going for browns is the most difficult combination to master ‘cos the colors are similar to that of my skin. Too pale and I’ll look as if I’ve never applied any eye make-up, too much and I’ll look as if I’ve just got punched in the eyes. Also, if you have really dark undereye circles and they are still visible eventhough u’ve put on generous amounts of concealer, it’s advisable not to use black eyeliner under your eyes (use pink or light blue-based instead – I’m using Benefit Eye Bright which has pinkish tones. It makes your eyes look brighter, definitely!).

I love buying make-up palettes which have a combination of colors so you don’t need to buy them individually. Plus, they are super convenient! My eyeshadow brands include Shisedo Maquillage (for smoky look), KATE line spicy (for casual/smoky look), Chanel IrrĂ©elle Duo (for casual/smoky look), Silkygirl Funky Eyelights (casual look), MAC Crayon Kohl (smoky look), and The Face Shop (casual look).

Eyebrow liner


Some people look great with black eyebrows (like actress Jennifer Connelly) and some with browns (most Japanese magazine models). Personally, I like the brown look for my thin-layered eyebrows. I think black eyebrows make me look fierce! Currently using Shiseido Maquillage range and it’s got automatic sharpening properties which saves your energy from sharpening it from time to time.

Mascara

Admittedly, I’m not a regular user of mascara unless I really, really, really need to use it. Why? Sure, it does make your eyes appear ten times bigger with that China-doll look. But think about the time when you get back home and try to make few unsuccessful attempts to get that black smears outta your eyes. Ickk!!! By then you’ll give up and hit the hays with charcoal-like eyes. But I also do admit that my Shiseido Lasting Lift Mascara is doing an excellent job in making your eyelashes look longer and actually lift skywards. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s good.

Blusher

Whoever invented the blusher should get all thumbs’ up. Even when you are at your sickest and your complexion at your palest, few sweeps of rosy blush on the cheeks make you look (at least) healthier than the actual condition that you’re in. I’ve always love to see fair-faced celebrities with really cute, light-pinkish cheeks and some spread over their noses (think Faye Wong). It makes them look so fresh and healthy! It’s recommended that all girls’ own one big blusher brush so that you can apply blusher liberally and that the color is even out on the cheeks. Benefit’s benetint is a wonderful liquid blusher as it really brings out the natural rosiness of your cheeks, but it’s a bit troublesome for those who are prone to blemishes ‘cos the watery application will make them appear more obvious. So I stick to powdery forms like my Body Shop blusher. It has bits of golden flecks in it, so I can apply it more at night to show off my ‘golden’ highlights!

Lips

I always think that we should have a special lipcolor for a special occasion. E.g. nude lippie or pink gloss for casual days (stay at home, buying groceries), orangey-red for shopping or meeting up with girlfriends, cutesy,shiny pink or barely-there sexy pinkish nude (with holy smoky eyes) for dates with boyfriends, clubbing, partying or weddings, and fiery momma-mia! red for weddings and performances. Never put on bright red lippie when going on hot dates. By the time you’re done with your smooching sessions, either your sexy red lippie will be gone or it’ll get smeared on other parts of your face besides your mouth. Not attractive at all!

Currently using Lancome Juicy Tubes and Averine Hologram Gloss for lip gloss, Averine Sheer Gloss and L’oreal Color Riche (with chocolatey taste!) for the natural look, Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited for a bit of lively color on the lips, Shiseido Maquillage and YSL Rouge Pure Shine (lovely minty taste! I LOVE this lipstick) for the not-overdone-but-simply-sexy look, and MAC Viva Glam for the look-at-ME! Look.

Others

If you wish to have extra long and flirty eyelashes, go for falsies. They are a real fun accessory to play with, provide that you know how to apply it yourself. Then you need to have your girlfriend to apply it for you. My fave falsies styles are half falsies which you need to stick at the outer end of your lashes, those with bits of glitters and sparkles on them, and colorful rainbow-like ones. Shu Uemura has an extensive and creative collection of falsies and currently mine is the half falsies one :)

So!! That’s bits and pieces from my make-up collection. If you have discovered any fantastic product and am proudly using it, please do share the info with me :)