Archive of ‘Makeup’ category
I know a lot of girls, especially Asian girls shy away from wearing red lipstick. When asked, the response I get is usually along the lines of “too bold/too strong/I can never wear red.”
It is true that red lipstick is loud and bold. And that is a good thing. Sometimes, you want to make a bold statement with your look and trust me, if done right, red lipstick can make you appear strong, bold and confident, without appearing any less feminine, for what can be more feminine than red lipstick?
The only reason you haven’t worn red lipstick is because you have not found the right red lipstick. So I’m going to share some tips on how to choose the perfect shade of red lipstick for you.
Step 1: Pick A Red That Suits Your Skintone.
Pale Porcelain Skin ( think Nicole Kidman or Dita Von Teese) – Choose a True Red color (primary red). Think the London Bus. Porcelain skin also fall under the cool skin tone family, so any blue-red lipcolor would flatter them.
For porcelain beauties, stick to a true red color lippy.
Cool Skin Tones i.e. blue or pink undertones ( think Dita Von Teese or Anne Hathaway): Choose lipsticks from the blue-red family – for example berry reds. If you choose reds that have orange in them, it would look too bright and glaring. Also, blue-red lipscolors help make your teeth look whiter.
Anne Hathway always look breathtaking with red lipstick.
Warm Skin Tones i.e. olive, gold or yellow undertones (think Aishwarya Rai or Rosario Dawson: Choose a red with from the orange-red family. Orange-based reds add spark and compliments your skin perfectly. It also helps to brighten up darker skin tones.
Girls with warmer skin tones need to choose reds with a bit of orange in them.
Step 2: Pick A Red Lipstick Shade
Once you have figured out which family of red you should go for (warm or cool) , its time to experiment. Go to the department store (or drugstore) and start to experiment.
Megan Fox (cool skin tone) wearing a deep blue-red lipstick.
Red is a very strong pigment, so dab some on your finger and then apply it to your lip. I don’t recommend applying it on your hand as your hand has a different shade than your face, and besides, you want to see how it would look like when you wear it on your lips, not on your hand! Continue playing around with various shades, until you find one that matches your complexion.
Step 3: Putting Together A Red Lipstick Look
Fabulous! You’ve found (and purchased) your red lipstick. So now you would want to put it on, and paint the town red, right?
Kim Kardashian does it right. Pair (precisely applied) red lipstick with black mascara and subtle blush.
Yes… but first please pay attention to these simple rules when wearing red lipstick:
- Because red is a very very bold color, make sure to tone down the rest of your other makeup. Keep eye makeup limited to nude eye shadows, black liner and/or mascara, and keep blush neutral. Anything else and you risk looking like a clown.
- When applying your red lipstick, line your lips with a nude/red lipliner first. This helps to prevent the color to bleed. And please use a lipbrush for precise application
- If you are thinking of going all out and wearing a red dress to go with the red lips, make sure it is the exact same shade as your lipstick. And when you do go for this route, try to keep everything else simple.
- If wearing nail polish, aim for nude, black or red polish (in the exact same color) as your lips.
And it’s really that easy to wear red lipstick. Happy Experimenting!
First of all, I am kind of pissed at Parkson’s Dior Cosmetics salespeople at Sunway Pyramid. There were two of them – Ms. Senior – a 40 something lady with some Dior product knowledge, and Ms.Temp, a 17 year old girl who clearly was better off working the children’s toy section. I went to Parkson Grand Sunway Pyramid yesterday, all excited to try out the new Dior Addict range and so headed straight to the Dior counter. Mr.Temp was the first one to approach me. “Would you like to try our new lipstick range? ” she asked. I said “I’m just going to browse first.” , because I’m the type of person who would like to look first for a few minutes before asking questions or try new products.
After surveying the new Dior Iconic lipstick range ( 44 new shades!) , I asked her if she had the new Dior Rock Coat. “The what?” she asked, clearly confused. So I took out my mailer, and pointed it out. After looking at it, she declared – “This product doesn’t exist.” That statement really got me irritated as I knew fully well it exists because my mailer said so, and after reviewing other blog posts about said Rock Coat.
However, I still smiled and thanked her – and proceeded to test out more lipstick shades. By this time, Ms.Senior approached me and asked if she could help me. I asked for the Dior Rock Coat again and she pointed out the nail polishes. Patiently, I asked for the Rock Coat. She said, “No, we don’t have the Rock Coat. That product doesn’t exist.” . So I pointed out at the mailer and the several reviews of said product. Ms.Senior said, “maybe they don’t sell it in Malaysia.”
Here’s some advice for Dior Cosmetics Malaysia – please get your staff training dept and marketing dept in sync. It is very very irritating when ill informed staff keep on telling you a product doesn’t exist when you know it does. At the very least just say, “I am sorry, but we don’t have this product right now, if you like you can call our customer service number at 603 XXXX XXXX for more information.” .
Anyway, bad store service aside, I fell in love with the new Dior Iconic lippy and nail polishes :
new Dior Addict nail varnish, new Dior Addict lipstick (top) , and old Dior Addict lipstick (bottom).
If you read my post yesterday, I said that the old Dior Iconic lippy was sheer and not suited for dark colored lips. Well, I found out that the new Dior Iconic lipsticks had been reformulated and they had better coverage and consistency. The new lipsticks are still sheer, but somehow more pigmented.
L: Lipsticks in Smoky no.821 and Pink Costume 466. R: Dior Nail Vernis in Smoky Plum
Anyway, I do take into account that the new lipstick i got is in a very dark color so that would also affect the consistency of the product. However I did test other lighter shades at the store and the consistency of those lighter shades are much better than my old pink Iconic lippy.
I also got the nail varnish in a deep red-black shade called Smoky Plum, and the shine on this product once it dries is astounding. It gives a very deep shine like nothing I’ve ever seen.
So the verdict ? I am loving the new Dior Iconic lipstick and nail varnishes, and once my budget permits it – would definitely get 3-4 more lip and nail polishes in more colours and shades.
As for the Dior Rock Coat, I’m going to find out why it’s not available in Malaysia yet.
The new Dior Iconic lipsticks and nail varnishes retails at RM90 and RM70 respectively at all Dior counters nationwide.
Kate Moss For The New Dior Addict Lipstick Campaign.She's wearing Dior Addict lipstick in no.578 or "Diorkiss" and Dior Vernis nailpolish in no.804 or "Perfecto" and Dior Rock Coat.
A few days ago I got a mailer from Christian Dior promoting their Dior Addict iconic lipstick. It came with a very very tiny sample of said lipstick ( I got shade no.578 or “Diorkiss” ). So I tried it on and I don’t think I like it very much. The lipstick was moisturizing and shiny, but it was also very sheer. If you have somewhat dark lips like me, sheer lipsticks in light shades would never cut it. To prove it, in the campaign ads, Kate Moss was also wearing no.578 and it seems that its a bright pink on her, on me, it was kind of mauve.
Anyway, going through my lipstick inventory, I realised I also have the Dior Addict lipstick in no.466 or “Pink Costume” . I don’t even remember how I got this lipstick but I put on the lipstick again and although it was a very bright yet flattering shade of glamorous hot pink, the sheer coverage is just not doing it for me.
I think if you had lighter colored lips (or maybe if I got this is in a darker shade?) it would have made a great. However, the mailer says that they have Dior Addict makeover sessions at Robinsons The Gardens and Parkson Sunway Pyramid this weekend so I’m going to head over there and complain have a consultation with the makeup artists on duty then to see I’m able to find a Dior Addict lipstick that works for me.
I’m also very interested in the Dior “Rock Coat” . It’s a semi transparent black Top Coat suitable for dark nail polish colors. (!!) This is what it looks like:
I. WANT.
It looks really delicious and I can’t wait to try it out. I’ll update on both my Dior Addict lipstick drama and the Rock Coat nail polish over the weekend. Stay tuned.
Here’s a makeup tip for those of you who have serious undereye circles: instead of using a really heavy concealer, use a corrector instead. The difference between a concealer and a corrector?
According to Bobbi Brown, concealers lightens the dark circles, while corrector brightens. Get it? I don’t really quite get it either but what I do know is that if you have dark eye circles, you want a corrector. If you want to add a concealer on top of that go ahead but you need to apply corrector first. Okay?
I’ve used many types of concealers for various imperfections on my face, and I can safely say that using a corrector is the best option for prominent undereye circles.
I discovered this makeup tip while reading through Bobbi Brown’s Makeup Manual. Previously I’ve either used either:
1. a liquid concealer (very easy application which is ideal for the delicate skin under the eyes This type of concealer doesn’t settle into the creases BUT it does not offer a very strong coverage i.e. the dark under the eyes can still show through) , or
2. a heavy cream concealer which covers the undereye circles but would appear kind of heavy or crepey after 20 minutes.
So finding this little pot of magic was happiness itself for me.
Another surprising thing about the corrector is its pigment density. Just a tiny tiny bit is enough to cover even the most serious of dark circles. So while the texture is very dense, you end up using a very light touch.
The shade of concealer that works for me is peach. I either use it on its own and dust some loose powder on to set it, or if I’m feeling it, I add a lighter shade of concealer like M.A.C’s Moisturecover concealer in NC20 on top of the corrector.
The corrector retails for RM90 at Bobbi Brown counters and stores nationwide.
PS/Anyone else have any other great makeup tip for covering severe undereye circles is welcome to share : )
I notice that a lot of Malaysian girls do not bleach their eyebrows. Although admittedly, blow bleaching is not necessary (like manicures aren’t “necessary”, it makes a big difference in your appearance when you have it done. Here’s a photo of Jennifer Lopez before and after she bleached her brows:
Bleaching your eyebrows can give your face a more softer, feminine look.
Even if your hair is completely black, bleaching your eyebrows to a softer shade of brown can make a subtle but dramatic difference. In Malaysia, I haven’t found any hair bleach that is strong enough to bleach asian eyebrows so I usually use Jolen bleach.
This is a very gentle yet effective bleach and to maintain your brows’ brown color, you would need to use it once every 3-4 weeks. If you have brows that grow out fast like my sister, you would need to use it once every 2-3 weeks.
Using Jolen is very easy. Just mix up the accelerator and bleach, and apply it on your brows.
Mixing the bleach and accelerator with the spatula and mixing base.
Here’s a photo of Huffy during and after bleaching her brows:
It looks kind of funny when you're doing it..I know.
Tip: From my experience, if you have really fine brow hair, leave it on for 5-8 minutes. If you have thick brow hair like Huffy, leave it on for 10-12 minutes. Don’t leave it on too long or you’d end up with bleached blonde eyebrows!
Before you can apply makeup properly, its important to understand your facial contours. It’s also important to understand that a lot of makeup guides available out there are catered to western/caucasian faces. I’m going to highlight to you the difference between asian and western faces:
Gong Li is an excellent example of a beautiful Asian face.
And here is Charlize Theron, one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood:
Deep-set eyes and a more angular bone structure is more typical of a Caucasian face.
Noted Differences:
Asian faces are usually wider overall, while Caucasian faces are more narrow.
Asian cheekbones protrude sideways, while Caucasian cheekbones are usually higher.
Asian faces have a relatively lower nose bridge while Caucasian noses potrude at a higher angle.
Asian brow bone do not protude as much and are much more shallow while caucasians have a more deep brow bone and deeper set eyes.
Asian faces has a wider forehead, while Caucasian faces have a more narrower forehead.
Asian faces have shorter and and flatter chin contours compared to Caucasian chins which are longer and sharper.
So what does these differences mean to us Asian girls? It means the right use of contouring techniques to enhance and sharpen our much more solid contours to give definition to our face shape. This also means that eyeshadow techniques that works on those models you see in the magazines might not work on you.
Thanks for visiting our blog! This blog is updated regularly by Heidi & I, two sisters living in Kuala Lumpur.