Pat McGrath

I am so inspired by British makeup artist Pat McGrath and her work. She has had no formal training in fashion or makeup and only completed an art foundation course, but it only proves that she has pure talent. Most of her creations are too whimsical for everyday wear, but some are completely wearable, like this one (see picture above). She prefers to use her fingertips to apply makeup. She has worked with designers including Prada, Miu Miu and Dolce and Gabana.

Watch her at work backstage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QznjFJ83Rc8

and more of her whimsical creations taken from her MySpace page:

Wedding Stuff

Yesterday, I went shopping for stuff for my wedding next June and managed to get most of them in Citymall. I've surveyed most of the bridal houses in town but I finally decided on Eternity Bridal House in Citymall as their package was within my budget and their gowns were well kept. I already have a gown for my wedding, thanks to my fiancee's mum and am thinking of making a cheongsam with some lovely silk material that my fiancee bought from China for the wedding dinner, so I'll rent the gowns for the photoshoot only and exchange the wedding day gowns for something else. I tried on about 10 gowns and decided my favourite and the most flattering for my body shape was the mermaid tail dress. It's not as bulky as the A-line or the hooped skirt and it really accentuates the curves.

I'll be getting Sheila Liaw of Iro Iro Citymall to do my hair and makeup. She charges RM400 per session, so that'll be RM800 for the wedding day & dinner. I'm thinking of doing a simple, fresh-faced, pink cheek, pink lip look and my hair up for the day and a more dramatic smokey eye and red lip for the dinner. The first time I saw Sheila's work was at a bridal fashion show at Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort. I was quite impressed by her work then. I went through her portfolio and found that she studied makeup in Singapore and worked in Taiwan before. She was also the makeup artist for Sweet Memories Bridal House until 2007. She is very neat, but I did not like some of the looks that I saw in her portfolio, like the neon pink and neon green eyeshadow and the brows looked very unnatural to me, but overall, the hairstyling was very pretty and the makeup looked polished. I'll get a trial before the wedding so I'll keep you all posted on the results. I think she uses a combination of Japanese products and sells them in her shop. She also gives makeup and hairstyling courses. For the photoshoot, my makeup will be done by the bridal house's in-house makeup artist, May. I've heard some good comments about her makeup, but I've yet to see it for myself.

"Quote"

"The best thing is to look natural, but it takes makeup to look natural" - Calvin Klein

Twilight

I watched Twilight last weekend and it was awesome! I haven't read the book before so I didn't have a clue on what to expect, but I wasn't disappointed. At least now instead of having nightmares about vampires sucking the life out of me, I'd be having sweet dreams of friendly vegetarian vampires. I googled Twilight makeup and found that it was done by a MAC artist, Jeanne Van Phue. These are the products she used to create the pale faced look for the vampire characters (http://makeup411.com/breakdowns/id/380/):

Skin Care
Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 55P+++
Foundation
SK-II Air Touch Foundation in OP-3
Powder
M.A.C. Blot Powder/Pressed in Light
Blush
Visiora Compact Powder in PC 103
Eye Shadow
M.A.C. Eye Shadow in Blanc Type, Flute and Wedge. *Flute was a limited edition color and is no longer available; Girlie is an equivalent (it's in the Satin category).
Mascara
Smashbox Limitless Lash Mascara in black waterproof
Lips
Smashbox Lip & Lid Primer and Benefit Silky Finish Lipstick in Good to Go (a plum/brown color)

I must say that the makeup was flawless, even in close-up shots. Apparently it rained the entire time they were shooting, so the SK-II makeup they used must be really long-lasting. Too bad they don't have Smashbox here in KK. I can't wait for their next sequel, New Moon, to be released.

Steph's Wedding

My best friend Steph got married last month and I had the honour of being one of her 6 bridesmaids. Her hair and makeup was done by jane Fong of 52nd Street Hair Salon in Wisma Sabah. It was such a lovely transformation as I've never seen her wear any makeup before. Her hair was pulled up elegantly into a chignon for the wedding ceremony and set into curls for the wedding dinner.

(L-R: Me, Chloe, groom's youngest sister, bride's youngest sister) I did mine & Chloe's makeup.

Stuck in a Makeup Rut

Have you ever been through a period when you just don't feel like wearing any makeup at all? Well, that's what I've been going through the past few weeks.

I just dread the thought of having to go through the whole makeup regime thing every morning before going to work, every single day of my life. But I hate getting comments like "you look pale today" or "are you sick?", so I haphazardly slap some concealer on my spots and under my eyes and dab some lipbalm on. Then I realise that I look weird without drawing my eyebrows, so I draw a thin line and simply blend it with my fingers. Then I think I look anemic without some blusher, so I quickly dust some on. Force myself not to look at the mirror anymore and head off to work. Bad makeup days are always the worst days of my life.

Last week, to counter this lazy makeup spell I had, I went and bought myself a new bottle of MAC studio fix foundation, a new Cyber Colours liquid eyeliner from Sasa and a much needed eyebrow pencil from The Body Shop. Suddenly I had new-found inspiration to try techniques that I never thought of doing before. Now I'm really looking forward to making-up my next client. Who wants to be my next guinea pig?

False Lashes

Here's an interesting video from Elle.com on how to apply individual false lashes. (http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid372302730/bclid416330781/bctid877893875)
I've gotten mine done at 2 places in KK, Grace Nail in Damai and Natural Beauty in Citymall.

Grace charges around RM80 (last time I checked was beginning of this year) for eyelash extensions and you can choose between dramatic and natural lashes. It takes less than an hour to get them done. I've done mine there a couple of times but they didn't last very long. Comments received from friends were varied,"too long, very obvious, not balanced, very nice, makes your eyes look huge" among others. Maintenance was difficult since dust kept getting stuck on them and when I tried to clean them, the lashes would come off. When I washed my face I had to be very careful not to get my eye area wet or my eyes would really sting and get red and teary. Since the lashes are thick and long it makes my eye area itchy when I blink too. The thought of having to go through all that discomfort puts me off from getting it done again next time.

Extensions at Natural Beauty in Citymall costs an affordable RM38. The beautician took an unusually long time to apply the lashes, kept pulling them out and re-applying them again. After about an hour and a half she showed me the results. It wasn't as thick as Grace Nail's and some parts were sparse. Before leaving, the beautician served me a drink and advised me to use a lash vitamin serum since my lashes were too "thick" (she meant "thin" but kept calling it "thick"). I might get it done there again since it's so reasonable, but only after my lashes have "recovered".

Recently, I've started applying my own false lashes. They usually sell strip lashes which are faster to apply but easier to come off. My first attempt failed because the glue I bought from Daiso wasn't strong enough so half of the lash came off. I was so embarrassed that I put off applying false lashes for a few months, but I felt better after seeing a picture of Scarlett Johanssen on the red carpet with the same problem! My second attempt with a stronger glue worked, but the lashes didn't look as natural as the individual lashes I had done in the salon. I saw MAC selling individual lashes but I didn't bother asking the price.

Check out Kim Kardashian's Q&A on lashes. (http://kimkardashian.celebuzz.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=13&limit=20&search=revitalash) She swears by an eyelash conditioner called RevitaLash to thicken and grow lashes. I'm dying to get my hands on it!

Client #2: Bernice Heng

Danielle brought Bernice to try out my makeup a couple of weeks after. I used a purplish toned shadow on her eyelid. These are the results... (The lighting in my room is yellowish... should have taken the pictures in fluorescent lighting instead)

Client #1: Danielle Soong

I've decided to do makeup for friends when I have the time. These are

before and after photos of my friend Danielle... (Note: I forgot to take her before picture so I had to take it the next time she came over, hence the different outfit & hairstyle)

Looking Back

I realise I've been wearing makeup for the last 10 years or more. That's about half of my life spent clogging up my poor pores! I started wearing makeup in highschool, long before any of my classmates did. As a teenager, I suffered from severe acne breakouts, which left me with both physical and emotional scars. Makeup did wonders to my self-esteem, but not my skin! It was a vicious cycle - the more makeup I used, the worse my skin became, but I couldn't stop, I couldn't face the world without my makeup. I wish I discovered facials earlier.

Over the last decade I must have committed a ridiculous amount of beauty blunders while trying to perfect my makeup application technique. I always cringe when I look back at old photographs of me wearing foundation that was obviously a few shades too light for my skin. Another mistake was not concealing the dark circles under my eyes. And I regret over-plucking and shaving my eyebrows because they won't grow anymore. Recently my sister, a medical doctor, told me that surgeons are advised not to shave their patients' eyebrows as it may not grow back. I started shaving my eyebrows after looking at Japanese teen fashion magazines. I learned the hard way when I realised my brows wouldn't grow back and when the trend for thicker brows was back. Now I have to resort to using eyebrow pencils and eyebrow shadow. I won't consider getting them tattooed because I don't trust beauticians' brow tattooing skills and since brow trends keep changing. I read somewhere that olive oil and castor oil helps but I have yet to try it. I wonder if Talika really works. I'll probably buy it online a few months before my wedding next year.

I started learning about makeup from any makeup book that I could get my hands on. I would get demos and makeovers at departmental store cosmetic counters and even attended a few beauty workshops. There are so many different techniques and styles that it's difficult to draw a line and say which technique is wrong or right. It's all a matter of preference and what looks good on you. Not everyone looks good with a smokey eyeshadow effect or eyeliner on the lower lid. But in general, you should ensure that your foundation matches your natural skin tone. The experts always advise to apply makeup in natural daylight.

My current favourite look is the Korean minimalistic look. I stumbled across this look while browsing through some Korean bridal magazines and later, after watching a Korean drama series. I want to become a freelance makeup artist, but first I need to attend proper courses and get certified! Patience, patience, patience. Will post pictures of my work when I find someone who agrees to be my model!