6 Makeup Mistakes to Avoid this Summer!

Summer is just round the corner! I don't know about you, but this is my favourite season of the year (even though I lived in hot, sunny, all-year-summer-weather Singapore!) to travel. I prefer to show some skin and put on bright and beautiful summer clothing, not all wrapped-up like a bak-zhang (Chinese rice dumpling) in Winter for my OOTD shoots.

Putting on the right makeup is as vital as parading in your best summer outfits, agree?

In this post, I will share some of the cringeworthy, outdated makeup trends of yesteryear that you MUST absolutely avoid this summer,  this year and possibly the next few years to follow too!

Mistake no. 1: Pearlescent light eyeshadow under the brow bone.

I know how some makeup gurus (especially the western ones) advocate for years, how this technique neaten your overall eye shadow look and give you brighter eyes. BUT, do you know if you choose the wrong shade, eg: pearly or shimmery white/beige colours, you end up looking more mature than your age?

Image credit: lloydandwolf.com

As illustrated above, this arch eyebrow coupled with iridescent white eyeshadow colour under the outer corner of the brow bone look IS JUST SOOOOO 90s! When I first started makeup, I was taught this technique. Fast forward 20 years, this technique is still widespread, especially amongst those who doesn't care to keep up with Korean beauty trends. Why oh why?

Doesn't this eye makeup look younger, fresher and more suitable for Summer?

Mistake no. 2: Fully Lined eyes, with black eyeliner.

Unless you're going for some theme party, there is no reason to fully line your Asian eyes with black eyeliner. Lower liner should not be full-on black for most Asian eyelids, particularly monolids - it really makes your eyes smaller (with the exception if you are doing a smokey eye look complemented with the right eyeshadow shades - then that may work.)

Mistake no. 3: Blusher that are swiped upwards, in attempts to create a "smaller face"

Please stop sucking your face into a fish-face before swiping your blusher upwards!

How Not To Debt For Beauty

Ever since I started Instagramming my monthly beauty hauls, 

I get questions like these all the time:

Did you buy all this?

Where did you get your money from?

How do you manage to not burn a hole in your pocket?

 

Photo credits: sheniko.blogspot.sg

Let's face it. Women spend tons of their hard-earned money on beauty & fashion. For at least once in our lives, we resorted to eating plain bread at the end of the month, because we don't have money left after shopping! Of course we need to have that latest shade of Chanel lipstick and that tenth bottle of brightening serum, even when have not opened the previous tube of lipstick we bought last week. Exactly. We need it.

On the other hand, there are a handful of oblivious people(these folks usually have no idea where their money went to) who have a misconception that beauty products don't cost much, but have you REALLY sit down to total up your monthly spending on beauty, hair, body products & services? I am sure these set you back at least a few hundreds to a few grands (God forbid!) per month.

Allow me to share some ideas to you beauty junkies out there, how to stay sane and not to get into debt coz of shopping!

Natural Sweetie Pie Ulzzang Makeup Tutorial - a look that carries you through from a working day to a casual dinner date!

This is a makeup tutorial inspired by Korean trends. It's a neutral look that is good for everyday - suitable for school/work, casual day out with friends or even a casual dinner with your date!

I have monolids that naturally turns into double eyelids with a crease after I apply mascara/falsies. This makeup suits both single eyelids and double eyelids ladies.

 

Products used in this makeup tutorial (clockwise direction):

1. Iope Cushion Blusher No.01
2. Make Up For Ever HD Powder
3. Lancome Cushion Foundation
4. Heavy Rotation Eyebrow Mascara No. 4
5. Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes Mascara No.01
6. CLIO Gelpresso Waterproof Pencil Gel Liner No.1
7. Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint and Precision Pencil
8. 3 Concept Eyes Creamy Water Proof Eyeliner No.8
9. Make Up For Ever Face Brush no. 128
10. Tom Ford Eye Shadow Quad in Cocoa Mirage
11. NARS Brillant A Levres in Istria
12. Etude Colors in Lips PK006
13. Inglot AMC Gel Matte Liner no. 77

 (For separate product reviews, click on the blue hyperlinks.)


Below is a series of pictorial makeup tutorial. 
(Click on each image to enlarge.)

You may replace products I used with your existing products or any similar shades/ dupes you think is suitable for you. Everyone's facial features are different, so please feel free to tweak the look as you desired!

Step 1: Skincare - Prep your face with your usual day skincare products.

Step 2: Base Makeup

Step 3: Brows

Step 4: Eyeshadow

Line your eyes with the darkest colour in your eyeshadow palatte. Subsequently, use the lightest colour to blend,blend and blend away any harsh lines!

Laneige Singapore Brighten Up Workshop

Laneige Singapore organised two events this month of March 2015. I attended the Brighten Up Workshop and picked up some of the newest, hottest Korean makeup trends for the year. It was fun and educational for me! I even made a few new friends and I love making new friends with common interests!

My Holy Grail Series (1) : MAKEUP REVOLUTION ICONIC REDEMPTION PALETTES

I am starting a series of blog entries entitled "My Holy Grail Series". As the title clearly suggests, in this series of blog posts, I am going to feature some of my holy grail (HG) beauty products which include makeup, skincare, haircare and bodycare products. These are products I have personally used & proven effective for me over an extended period of time, and at the moment of writing, ARE NOT sponsored.

To kick off this series, I picked out the product type that I have the heaviest usage for - eyeshadow! Probably you already know, I am sucker for eye makeup. This is partly due to my monolidded, dull-looking tiny Asian eyes...and also because I'd always felt that if you want to ascertain a person's level of makeup skills, you just simply need to look at how they draw their eyes.

My HG eyeshadow at the moment:

MAKEUP REVOLUTION REDEMPTION PALETTES ICONIC 1, 2 and 3.

MAKEUP REVOLUTION is a relatively new brand from London. Despite being new, they are gaining popularity steadily overseas, due to their amazing quality at super affordable prices. You pay drugstore price, you get high-end quality. Beat that!

At the moment, MAKEUP REVOLUTION are not available in retail stores in Singapore. Products can be purchased online via their website at http://www.makeuprevolution.sg/

I don't see many Singaporeans using their products yet. Maybe not yet, since they have only started their online presence in Singapore late last year 2014. Things may be different few months down the road...

My thoughts on REDEMPTION PALETTES ICONIC 1, 2 and 3

• Considered as exact dupes of the Urban Decay NAKED 1, 2 and 3 palattes, these Redemption Palettes are only at a fraction of the cost of Naked palattes. (SGD12 each. Can you believe it?)

• The colours are mostly an exact match. I am not going to do swatches here since this is not a formal product review. I believe you will be able to find great Youtube videos or blog posts on the swatches - just google!
• The colours are super pigmented - almost as pigmented as the original NAKED palettes.
• The texture is smooth, and glides on easily.
• Last throughout the day, with no need for touch-ups.
• Cheap-looking plastic packaging that get scratches easily. The low-end sponge applicator looks just as bad. BUT seriously, for SGD12, what do you expect? 

Among the three palettes, I find myself reaching out the most for Iconic 1 and sometimes Iconic 2. I hardly use Iconic 3 because they are cool tones, and in my opinion, are more suited for fair skin individuals or the Caucasians.

On a daily basis, I create a soft brown natural eye makeup look using Iconic 1. Let me show you guys a sample look of my daily makeup:

Indoor shot with natural sunlight seeping in

Indoor shot with artificial white lightings

5 Eye Makeup Tips for Every Woman

Putting on eye makeup can be as daunting for girls who just started makeup, as it can be for the everyday woman rushing for work.

That's why years ago, I wished someone could have straight off told me what is the best & hassle-free way to make my eyes look bigger & prettier. That could have saved me years of experimenting on my poor eyelids.

Truth is, there is no short-cut to big, beautiful eyes. Your pain doubles if you have monolids/single eye lids like myself, as you probably need to spend much more time on your eyes than any other areas on your face.

Hope is here! I am sharing some of my tested-and-proven tips of drawing yourself to bigger & more beautiful eyes!

Two unfiltered, unedited selfies taken with my Samsung Galaxy S4.