up and running with the crisp fall air x totalbeauty.com & me

As summer temps migrated south with elongating interruptions of chilled dewy air and drugstore isles stocked with fresh notepads in arcane primary colors, I began to get the first inkling of an urge to start writing once again.






That was a month ago when I thought -- MEAD notebooks uncannily resembled the saturated crayola brights that accented the grey knit sweaters, tights and matte, pale skin at AW '07 Dior, Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs and McQueen. Is high fashion allowed to be so easily replicated by a kindergarten schoolboy holding a $1.99 notepad against the back of NY's grey skies!?

He can, but I absolutely will not, unless I was to wear this season's hot item, the Balenciaga napoleon style primly lined jacket with some stacked heel boots...

Explanation: As an ex-nerd and an avid note taker, not the cool MAC-clicking type but rather the pencil-type...and you guessed it - the neat, Asian, two lines per row, A-type - how dare I pick up a pencil again and regenerate those unsightly callouses on the insides of my index and middle fingers?



So solution -- instead of a bright notebook that'll get crinkled anyway, try accenting nails with the hot, bold, colors from ORLY. The HOT STUFF collection out this fall features 24 bright, electrifying lacquers to spice up fingertips when shocking blue notebooks aren't quite edgy enough. A dash of color to pretty up nails adds the right touch of wit and kilowatt energy without those bumps that scream, I write novels, not blogs...wait, which is better?

xox

Miu Miu eye me x

Refined, bold, edgy, kitty-cat flirty – liquid liners reign supreme this fall, uniquely offsetting matte, nude skin and champagne tinged lips.

From Amy Winehouse thick to “is-that-a-long-eyelash?” thin, this was one fall runway trend I was intent on playing into my daily makeup routine.

Night – liquid line dramatically flipped up, up and away at the corners of eyes and smudged with smoky shadows with nude lipstick, defined brows

Day – slightly uplifted thin flick of liner for the day with earthy brown palettes to subtly enhance the eye area, pink lip gloss, lengthening mascara

Got the formula down squat by beginning of August but until then, Q-tips were an absolute necessity – the litter box quickly filled with liner-dabbed white sticks from my countless attempts to keep my liner from looking too geisha-like or overwhelming my Asian eyes which tend to be smaller than Gemma, Amy W, advertisement models and not to mention yes, the general public.

Because it’s mid-August now – tata, the formula to make the Fall ’07 eyeliner look work for your eye shape:

Thin → thick → thin → dip and flick up

Explanation to above:

1. Start with a thin brush tip or extremely thin felt tip black liquid liner as Rimmel Underground Get in Line or Wet ‘n Wild Liquid Eyeliner in black

Note: With liquid eyeliners, the cheap work just as well as the hefty

2. Lightly wipe off excess formula off the brush on the edge of the container opening or a piece of paper

Note: Tissue tends to take too much off when it comes to liquid liner so refrain

3. Hold brush so that the tip is almost horizontal to the eye so that the pen is not pointing straight at your eye vertically

4. Start with the inside corner of the eye on the upper lid and with a slow and steady hand, draw a thin line until you get to the area right above the edge of your pupil

Note: Don’t use liquid liners on the bottom lid – use kohl liner instead for a less harsh line – unless you’re a makeup artist putting it on another person’s face!

5. Press the brush slightly stronger so that the brush flattens out and draws a thicker line. Make the line a little thicker for the area above the pupil – this makes the pupil look rounder, bigger which in turn, gives a wide and bright-eyed open look

6. As soon as you pass the area above the pupil, lighten the pressure to continue with a thin line until the outer edges of the eye

7. Then, dip the line at the outer corner edge ever so slightly to “conclude” framing the eye the flick up, up and away from the eye in the direction of the temples

8. The flick can be a flirty, curved, short line that looks almost like a longer eye lash at the edge of the eye (daytime, wearable look) or it can be a longer, somewhat straighter, bolder line that set the eye trend for this season (night kitten look)

And lastly – mascara, strong brows and darker smokey shadows are a yes for this look but skip the other fall trend – glamourous red lipsticks – for this look…unless you’re going to be a geisha for Halloween and by that time, the flicked eye look might be too old anyway!?

xxx

A little rebel are you...!?

Antithesis to the velvet-drapery straight long locks with heavy bangs or the film noir waves that framed the pale face in dramatic allure, defy gravity and the dominating trend by whisking your hair to new heights a la Bill Blass a/w '07 runway style:



To up, up and away:

1. Work in a voluminizing gel into semi-damp hair, only applying to the roots

2. Comb the front section of hair all to one side, across the forehead

TIP: use a blast of cold air towards the direction that you want the bangs to go in if you need extra help setting hair to one side

3. Gather up hair in a high ponytail at the crown of your head

TIP: easier done by bending over and flipping hair over the head and brushing down into pony tail at the top of the head

4. Secure pony with elastic

5. Comb backwards from the midsection of the pony towards the elastic from underneath the pony to create texture and volume

6. Loop the pony into a very loose bun and secure the ends underneath the pony to hide the pins. If you are more advanced, separate the pony into three or four strands and twirl each around elastic loosely to create a more multi-layered, volumnous bun on top of head

xox

Flash back to Teenage years - Mass market individualism

My personal fashion statement, which tended to change daily along with my teenage angst, started with the flick of a gooey, lacquer-dipped brush.

When Hard Candy hit counters with bright punchy colors, subdued pastel blues, shimmery purples and vampy goth crimsons, nails became the palette for incorporating Prada orange into daily looks at the price of a mere $7.00. A luxurious habit for a 13 year old perhaps, but an irresistible buy for fashion fanatics...with an empty Chloe wallet.

So when Chanel's beauty team started making their lacquers an essential part of their runway look - of course the beauty tribe followed.

Starting with Black, A/W '06 shows. The silver/gold from S/S '07. Now the crimson, shimmery dark reds of A/W '07 (seen here) is the top "must" color in every, ten pound September issue of Glamour, Lucky, you name it.

Even if you don't regularly check out the awesome resource that is Style.com for the latest runway news (heads up! S/S '08 is hitting NYC in September!) at least take a look at the detailed shots of the Chanel show to decipher what colors will be sold out by next season.

You'll be way ahead on the beauty color forecast radar which:

A: Allows you to come off as a fabulously adventurous soul that couldn't care less about the current big trend - that's old anyway!

B: When the color hits all the magazines and everyone starts wearing it, they'll realize that you are at the cutting edge of beauty trends - YOU DID IT FIRST

xox

How to Polka Dot - Runway Report #2

Being an asian girl with just a little over 5 feet in height, I have a tough time wearing Polka Dots without looking like a little girl that mommy dressed.

I've vowed to generally stay away from the on-again, off-again trendy pattern, until I saw a fresh ensemble at the Lela Rose Fall '07 show that who other than Anne Watanabe flawlessly pulled off. So easy to copy and take onto the streets, afterall, it IS still winter in the Real World, too!



Runway Look Tip:
ONE. Polka Dot prints are most flattering on sheer, flowy material as shown above that doesn't cling or stretch out over your body. The dots should be floating off you rather than outlining your curves.

TWO. Stick with smaller dots unless you want to go the Diane von Furstenberg fall '07 look (Left, model Hye Park) with black/white graphic patterns or bold reds OR the classic YSL MOD prints with a huge dot that covers the entire dress.

THREE. Don't do candy-pop or jelly-juice colored dots. Screams "I am longing to go back to my childhood happy days" and it just isn't...well, it just isn't. Go with sophisticated color combos like black, grey, silver, muted blush, gilded gold or dusted silvery tones.

FOUR. Pair with skirts and pants with classic winter fabrics as herring bone or wool, as ingeniusly shown here. Needless to say, no flannel! yikes.

FIVE. Keep accessories simple, hair sleek or pulled back into an office-type bun and makeup, in cool shades as to avoid looking like a teenager trying on mom's clothes.

Now go enjoy the dots-scene and look beyond chic with the new twist to the print that , admit it, you know you've missed wearing since you were three.

xox

Tuleh wins the Sunday award - Runway Report #1

HAIR: Soft, thick bangs, face framing tendrils, a slight undone curl at the ends and exquisite luster that makes you want to touch.

Mini-Tip: Use an intense conditioner or treatment the night before so that hair is nourished, moisturized, with the least number of split ends and frizzyness when blowdrying hair. Dab in texturizing light gel only at the roots to keep volume intact. And at your next hair appointment, bangs bangs bangs!!!

MAKEUP: Red stained lips, dewy doll-like eyes and a matte, doll-like pale face. An untouchable yet alluring mix of innocence and sohistication.

Mini-Tip for lips: clear balm -> red liner -> fill in a little in the middle of lip and smudge with finger tip -> subdued red lipstick with moisturizing agents, the more dewy looking, the better -> dab of lipgloss only on the middle of the bottom lip.

Mini-Tip for eyes: -> eye line only the top with a black kohl pencil, then smudge with a dark bronze. Use a bronzy gold, almost rose gold, coloured shadow on the upper lids, lightly sweep upwards at the out edges. On bottom lids, start on the inside corner of the eye and dab a clean gold (not yellowy) shadow towards the outer edge. Curl lashes and follow with black mascara on top and bottom lashes. I depend on YSL Ombre Vibration Duo in the 37 Brown/Copper to achieve any sun-kissed gorgeous bronzy eye look that looks just gilded enough.

Mini-Tip for brows: -> keep it no darker than the hair color so that it doesn't over power the eye and the bangs, brushing it and holding the brows in place with a clear brow mascara is enough for this look. This will keep the face with a natural-beauty purity rather than 1950's vamp.

Mini-Tip for face: -> mattifying translucent powder with a soft pink or soft orange blush underneath it all so the cheeks do not over power the other features on the face. Let the lips take center stage.

xox