spring 2012 is all about colours! if you’re like me, and prefer more subtle options, then you’ll love the new shu uemura celestial garden collection. the colours are bright, but soft and blend easily together.

here’s how to create fresh purple eyes for spring using the air eyeshadow trio :

STEP 1: start with creating a perfect canvas. for glowing skin, prep with the shu uemura stage performer instant glow. it evens out the skin tone and fills in fine lines for plump, supple skin.

STEP 2: use brush 18 to apply shu uemura face architect illuminations moisture fluid foundation (i use colour 564; if your skin tone is more yellow, opt for the colours that begin with the number 7). set with face powder matte for a silky finish and finally, set everything by spritzing with depsea water facial mist (my favourites are rose and lavendar) – this is how to get glowing skin as opposed to oily skin.

STEP 3: starting at the centre of the lid, apply the purple shade using brush 10. blend away from the centre, all the way up to the brow bone. add more purple to the centre of lid. apply same shade to the bottom lash line.

STEP 4: use brush 8HR and add the blue glitter shade to the inner corner of the eye, blending slightly into the purple.

STEP 5: apply the earthy brown of the double-end eye pencil to the upper lash line. thicken towards the end in order to create a base. blend out the line with brush 10.

STEP 6: use brush 10 and apply the brown shade of eyeshadow to the outer edge of the eyes. do the same to the bottom 1/3 of lash line. line again with black painting liner; then blend and extend the line using matte black eyeshadow.

STEP 7: finish the eyes by curling lashes, applying natural mascara in black and of course, apply a pair of shu uemura falsies. i’m using slant black false lashes.

STEP 8: lips! i dabbed some pro gel cealor to my lips to get the true colour of the beautiful blooming pink lip gloss in the celestial garden collection.

here is the look:

thanks for reading! more looks to come…

create a light, airy look using the new shu uemura celestial garden collection

January 29, 2012

how to, reviews

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waiting for spring to arrive? try playing around with some fun brighter colours to beat the winter blues! the new shu uemura celestial garden collection features soft and playful colours which is perfect for the bright colours that we’re seeing on the runways. colours can be intimidating, but shu uemura always creates colours that are bright, but so subtle when applied to the skin. the colours add a touch of highlight creating a luminescent effect.

find out, step by step, how to create a light and luminescent look using the new collection…

STEP 1: use the misty brown end of the double-end eye crayon all over the lid to create a base for the eyeshadows. blend out with your finger or a brush. then use the earthy brown end to darken the lash line; extend the colour out to create a shape for your eyes and line 2/3 of your bottom lash line beginning from the outer edge. soften the lines using brush 10.

STEP 2: using brush 10, pat the light yellow eyeshadow in the light eyeshadow trio beginning from the centre of you lid and blend away from the centre (creating a gradation). apply the same shade in the inner corner to brighten the eyes and continue the colour on the bottom lash line beginning in the inner corner.

STEP 3: using brush 10 pat the green glitter shade in the same palette to the centre of your lid blending it into the yellow. apply the green to the centre of the bottom lash line.

STEP 4: using brush 10 apply the brown shade to the outer corner of the eyes (over top the earthy brown eyeliner base applied earlier) and to the bottom lash line. blend inwards. use brush 8HR to blend out the harsh edges.

P.S. These palettes were named amongst the most beautiful palettes by vogue paris! Great thing about them is that they are refillable. you get to keep the beautifully designed palette. you may even choose to refill it with one of the shu uemura glow on blushers.

STEP 5: the natural mascara keeps “hard-to-curl lashes” curled after having used the shu uemura lash curler. i use this before applying falsies because it creates a good “lift” for the falsies to sit on. for this look, i used shu uemura lashes in luxe brown. (i also lined my eyes using painting liner in black and tight-lined as well using brush 4F).

STEP 6: for dewy, glowing cheeks, apply the fairy pink or sunlight peach creamy dome blusher to the apples of the cheeks in circular motions blending outwards to create gradation.

STEP 6: to get the true colour of the beautiful juicy glosses, dab a bit of pro gel cealor to the lips, then apply the corona orange gloss for beautifully moist and plump lips.

and here is my look:

check back next week for my look using the airy palette!

golden globes 2012: best makeup looks… get the look!

January 16, 2012

Beauty, reviews

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our favourite celebs walked the red carpet at the 2012 golden globes with the trendiest makeup looks. from soft pink to red hot lips, they each had a look that caught the camera’s lens. playing with different lip colours is something that all girls should try this season. playful lip colours paired with the right eye makeup is what creates the perfect makeup look.

rooney mara and glee’s naya riveria were my favourites; rooney mara looked perfect with her flawless skin and pink lips, while naya rivera looked ravishing in velvet red lips.

to recreate rooney mara’s look at home, try using these shu uemura products:

matte soft skin: face architect glow enhancing powder foundation (for higher coverage, simply wet the sponge to apply the powder foundation)

rosy cheeks: dome blush in fairy pink

soft winged eyes: P light pink 125 all over lid; M soft brown 851 for crease to contour; m black 990 to create soft winged eyes – a modern spin to the traditional solid wing.

full lashline: tightline eyes with painting liner in black

lashes: natural volume lashes

matte lips: rouge unlimited supreme matte in angelic pink (my favourite!) or pk19 in the sakura collection (it’s a cool pastel lavendar pink)

to recreate naya rivera’s look at home, try using these shu uemura products:

creamy matte skin: nobara cream stick foundation and blend using a sponge. it’s high coverage so it’ll conceal imperfections.

contour cheeks: glow on blush in matte amber 761

bold brows: hard formula brow pencil

soft lined eyes: drawing pencil in black and smudge using brush and matte black eyeshadow

velvet lips: rouge unlimited supreme shine in rd185 apply to lips, then blot with a tissue, repeat. this will create a velvet finish.

have fun experimenting!

2011 in review

December 31, 2011

Uncategorized

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,700 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

my romantic holiday makeup look published in Insert Magazine!

December 20, 2011

Beauty, Media

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to celebrate the shu uemura wong kar wai holiday collection, Insert Magazine requested a soft and sexy holiday makeup look for their cover girl. the magazine also includes steps on how to recreate the look. i met the photographer and the rep from Insert Magazine at holt renfrew bloor location. to create the requested purple look, i used the wkw eyeshadow palette which also includes a cream blush. for asian eyes, i like to use a full strip of lashes before applying the partial jeweled love lashes; this helps to support the partial lashes and also opens up the eyes even more.

to view the entire online issue, click here.

natural makeup for a naturally lovely bride… watch this video to see me behind the scenes :)

December 17, 2011

Behind the Scenes, Bridal, Video

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studio910.ca did such an amazing job in creating this cute video for bride lili and groom dave. i had such a great time doing lili’s makeup using the shu uemura sunset gold palette and shu pink lipsticks. the bridesmaids were in royal blue, so using the colour atelier eyeshadows in blue hues, i created soft, smokey blue eyes for them. it was a fun morning!

Lili + Dave from Studio 910 on Vimeo.

soft, romantic makeup for the holidays

December 16, 2011

Beauty

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it’s the holiday season; that means christmas dinners and parties and don’t forget about the new year festivities that are just around the corner! this calls for a glam look with a holiday sparkle to accentuate your eyes.

using the shu uemura WKW holiday collection’s drowning in flame palette, i created a very wearable soft and playful holiday look and added that extra sparkle using the collection’s jeweled love partial lashes. when your eyes are open, it just looks like you’ve got a burgundy accent in your lashes, but when you blink the gold crystals on the base of the lashes catch the light and create a twinkle in your eye each time you blink – so stunning.

photographer mark darren mui captured a romantic shot of model janice wu. she was picture perfect for the holiday season!

to create the look:

For a romantic holiday look, use brush 12 and eyeshadow ME soft purple 735 all over the lid. Use brush 10 and P dark purple 781 along the lash line and at the outer corners of the eyes. Pat G gold all over the lid and in the inner corners of the eyes. Line eyes with painting liner in brown and brush 5F. Finish by accentuating eyes with jeweled love partial lashes at the outer corners of the eyes. Use rouge unlimited pink flush for the lips.

it’s the holiday season! add some serious glitter to your eyes!

December 15, 2011

Beauty

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using the shu uemura WKW holiday collection, i created a look for shu uemura using colours from both the holiday palettes as well as the glamourous dance in glitter premium false lashes. i wanted to create a look that was simple, bold yet soft to show case the lovely colour atelier eyeshadows. the shu uemura eyeshadows have great colour pay-off because they are so pigmented. i didn’t need to use a cream base to create the intense blue.

photographer mark darren mui directed and captured a great shot with model stephanie nicholson. the perfect soft lighting made for a perfect photo.

to create the look:

For dramatic holiday eyes use brush 12 and pressed eyeshadow in ME medium blue 686 all over the lid. Then use brush 10 and P dark blue 696 to create a gradation from the lashline up to crease. Follow by using P dark purple 781 and brush 8HR and blend into the crease. Use G glitter in the inner corners of the eyes. Line eyes using drawing pencil ME blue. Complete the eyes with the dance in glitter false lashes. For lips, use rouge unlimited glitter fuse.

glowing skin on a glowing bride – have a peek at azadeh’s wedding…

December 8, 2011

Bridal

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i met azadeh this summer; she was referred to me by a mutual friend. when i met azy, she came prepared showing me websites with inspiration photos. she knew exactly which hairstyle she would have her hairstylist do and wanted a makeup look that would match the hairdo, as well as her lovely gown. we tried out a smokey eye, but in the end we went for beautiful glowing skin and soft brown eyes with individual lashes rather than a full strip. her sister, on the other hand, wanted slightly smokier eyes, while mom chose very natural makeup.

here are some stunning photos courtesy of the bride; she was photographed by lifeimages.

azy was also featured in wedluxe. from choice of wedding gown, to hair, to makeup, to venue, azy really has impeccable taste!

congratulations to lovely lady both inside and out!

bridal dolly eyes – meet beautiful bride shan-shan

December 3, 2011

Bridal

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i was put in touch with shan-shan through a mutual friend of ours. we met to do her engagement shoot where she requested soft dolly eyes. she was such a friendly bride; On the day of the wedding (where we began getting ready at 5:30am), she was busy offering tea to all of her bridesmaids! one bride and several bridesmaids to be ready by 8:30am – what a hectic morning it was! but so nice to meet such lovely ladies.

here are some photos by photographer richard emmanuel: