Glossy, useful, tempting to try - the cookbook for Asian beauty

Makeup is like cooking, directions like recipes - toss together all the right ingredients as basic as tomatoes & basil, or pricey and seasonal as fresh truffles, add a dash of pepper there, a sprinkling of cheese here, all for a spicy, sweet, or decadent result.

Gathering all the ingredients could be a bother, and the cooking less tempting when the recipes are on bland white paper, alas the genius of Nigella Lawson & Martha Stewart. With beautiful, enticing, homely pictures and easy 1,2,3 steps and ingredients for how to achieve the look, the feel, the lifestyle...

Now, the makeup "cookbook" for the Asian face is finally here!

Complete with mimic-able-looking images, straightforward directions and accessible ingredients to create everything from daily looks to costume makeup, Asian Faces by makeup artist Taylor Chang-Babaian is the new powder room goddess.

Three of my favorite looks from the book below! On a side note, I am not copying out her directions here but you can learn how to achieve these looks and many more, if you get, and every woman should have, the book here.

Look 1: Pretty in Pinks
Using pinks, shimmery cremes and salmon tones on eyelids, cheeks and lips, Taylor creates a defined, yet romantic, look.

Look 2: Smoldering
Perfect for evening soirees or if you're just the smoldering type & love to show it. This is my personal favorite NYC night look.

Look 3: Ganguro
A how-to for the toned down version of the over the top Ganguro fashion trend from Tokyo (created by high school girls) - bleached hair, dark tanned skin, pale lips, white accents - the ultimate bold statement for a girl who loves contrasts and standing out.

xox

an asian beauty secret - the importance of cotton

Walking down the wall-to-ceiling packed beauty isles of the local drugstore back in Tokyo, there is, unfailingly, an entire shelf dedicated to an assortment of cotton pads. Some are quite expensive, ranging up to $20 for a perfectly aligned box of 100 sheets! Shiseido, Kose, Kao, you name it, all the leading major skin care & cosmetics companies distribute various forms, textures, shapes, all packaged in their various pretty containers or tinted zip-lock plastic baggies.

Why this phenomenon in Asia but not in the US? Beauty magazines and beauty television segments in both countries often focus on the cleansing & toning aspect for keeping skin healthy & radiant - but the US versions do not stress how crucial the 1 to 2 minute "patting" and "tapping" step is when applying the toner. Usually, it's an easy, "apply toner after cleansing with cotton or hands" and if you're good, you might have a tube of round cotton pads...BUT, the directions should actually say,

1. Get soft, 100% pure cotton, facial cottons that allows optimum administration of the toner into the skin's layers without scratching the delicate skin surface or causing any harsh rubbing by coarser cotton pads.

2. Soak the cotton pad with toner. Note - the toner should be exactly what it is named - a formula that hydrates and "tones" the skin after washing the face with the alkaline water (not good for your skin!)


3. Hold the toner-filled cotton, so that one end is tucked between the pointer finger and middle finger, the other end tucked between the pinky and ring finger so that the spread surface faces out from the inside, palm-side of your hand.

4. Pat the face lightly, allowing the skin to soak up the toner from the soft cotton. By patting and tapping the skin with the toner-soaked cotton, you stimulate the skin, allowing more microcirculation and better absorbtion of the hydrating agents in the toner.

5. If your skin needs extra hydration from winter dryness or summer sun damage, soak the cotton pads with an intensely hydrating or comforting toner and leave directly on the face as if you are wearing a mask. If the cotton is as good as it should be, the toner should penetrate into your skin rather than getting all soaked up by the cotton.

Once trying it, it's hard to go back to regular bla-US drugstore cottons! Save those for removing nail polish!!

Available also in the US, TRY:


Satin Box, SatinClouds Heavenly Cotton Pads - my beauty blog heroine, Bronwen at Meg's Makeup sent this my way to test and reminded me of how much I adore and terribly missed beautifully spun, perfectly soft & coccooning cotton pads in my skincare routine. Truly heavenly - a must!!


Shiseido Makeup Facial Cotton

xox

a dose of asia in the makeup pouch for a lovely New Year!

Happy New Years everyone!

Almost done with 2006 and I can't wait for the new year. Fresh beginnings and an enhanced outlook, right!? (<--I know I'm being uncannily non-nyc by being so enthusiastic about the one day when the city goes nuts and everything seems a little dismal and lonely...ok, note to self, must change my own outlook...ha)

Either case, having pretty & lovely items in your everyday tote is one effortless, fun and lighthearted way to remind you of your new effort to improve how you act, feel and in effect, how you appear. More the better when the emblem comes with a great beautifying agent and a compact mirror.

Some Feel Exotic & Gorgeous finds to keep at hand as a vampy reminder of what an asian beauty you really are. take your pick!!

Keep these kimono inspired emery boards at hand for perfect fingertips at all times. Easy to tuck into any evening clutch or purse, an instant pick-me-up for dull-manis. Paul & Joe Emery Board ($5.00 each)


What more could a girl long for than to be spritzed all over with a dash of Cartier at moment's whim? Now available in 1oz bottles, the perfectly proportioned petit bottle is ideal for toting around everywhere you go. We love you Bond ⋅9 but Cartier is an eternal obsession. Delices de Cartier, (1oz; $60.00)



Appropriately named Purse Gloss, this petal-coloured shimmery lipgloss is flattering on fair skin tones. A sophisticated yet flirty pink, I love it in the shade, Beijing, which brings a healthy-looking luminosity to the face with just an easy, no mistakes swipe. Plus, gotta love the name. Cargo Purse Gloss ($16.00)



Because I think there are certain eye palette colours that just seems to work for most asian skin tones, because these two palettes capture the two colour ways that I think works unfalteringly well, and because these two ideal palettes come in the most adorable Asian-pop slick compacts, ever, I love the new Tokidoki Eye Shadow Quad from Smashbox. Tip: the darker eye shadows can be used as eye liner on top lash & edges of outer bottom lash by wetting the tip of the eye liner brush (recommended f/ before, Trish McEvoy brush #11) and the lightest colours at the inner corners of the eye for an open eyed highlighting effect.) Harajuku girls, you've got it going on~ Smashbox Tokidoki Eyeshadow Quad ($30.00 each)


Last but not least - turn every touch up into a classic "powdering room" moment with a whisk and a fluff of this gorgeous red tinted all over brush with a black lacquer bottom. Complete with a silky vintage looking drawstring pouch (also good for carrying change and a few credit cards when running to the nearby bodega or sake store), this Lola brush set is a beauty addict's essential makeup & life-touchup tool. Lola Cosmetics All Over Brush ($35)


All products available at Sephora

xox