Sparkling gold, pink and burgundy smokey eye

Products used in this tutorial:

1. e.l.f. foundation primer
2. Coastal Scents Diva Defense Primer (this is a powder that I used over the e.l.f. primer, and I really loved the way that the two looked combined.. more on these products later)
3. Korres Wild Rose Foundation (I used a sample, and the color was a little too dark for my winter skin, but it smells wonderful and looked great over the primers)
4. Sleek palettes: i-divine sunset, i-divine chaos palettes - These palettes are truly amazing. They're incredibly inexpensive (about 10 dollars a palette) and the color payoff is intense and vivid. I found out about it from watching http://www.youtube.com/user/pixiwoo .. these sisters are AMAZING! Love them. The hitch is that you have to order these palettes from the U.K. However, it is entirely doable, and Sleek actually will mail the products to you from the U.K. And if you order several products as once (really worth it considering the quality of the products) it makes the shipping economical. http://www.sleekmakeup.com/EN/index.aspx ... if you have a chance, check out these palettes! :)
5. Sleek contour/highlight palette in medium: this is a wonderful contour product, imo, and you can order it with a brush or by itself. The brush itself costs quite a bit more than the couple of extra dollars you pay for the combination of the contour palette with the brush- its' a dual ended highlight/contour brush. However, though cute and conveniently packaged, I still prefer my own brushes to contour and highlight.
6. Ben Nye pressed powders in Coral and Autumn Sunset as blush. Ben Nye pressed powders are my absolute favorite powders. They come in quite a large pan compared to MAC pans, for instance, and the quality is very high. They are very velvety and easy to blend without losing the original colors; incredibly pigmented and as a SUPER bonus, I found a site that sells Ben Nye products at a very reasonably discounted price (ie, the 12 powder palette that I own retails for 60 dollars but sells here - https://www.battsavl.com/product/13878/Ben-Nye-Pressed-Colour-Palette - for 48 dollars (!). Likewise, individual colors retail for 7 dollars, but are sold at this site for around 5.60. If you love Ben Nye, use this site - they're great in terms of customer service, and the shipping is a flat rate of 10 dollars... so if you order 150 dollars or 30 dollars, it's still the same. And at 150 dollars, you can get quite a good amount of super high quality product. The Grande Lumiere 12-pallete is also 48 dollars (!). The pressed cheek and eye colors are totally interchangeable, and are the same, very high quality. I'm going to do a review on Ben Nye soon, as they are one of my VERY favorite brands available.
7. Buxom lashliner in leatherette (black). For those of you who are as obsessed as I am about enhancing your lash growth (I used to have the most ridiculously sparse and short lashes, and they are now very long), this is a product which supports lash growth and health. Therefore, I always use Buxom cream liners when I have a choice.
8. Shiseido Lash Bone in Majolica Majorca: This is an Eastern product sold in Asia. My favorite mascara base is actually Shiseido The Makeup Mascara base, but they are a discontinued product (!boo!), so I've been diligent about finding a product that works similarly for those of us who need a primer to hold our lash curl. (If you're Asian with naturally straight hair, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.) The Shiseido Lash Bone mascara base is a good product - not as good as The Makeup Mascara Base original formula, imo, but still quite good. You can find it one ebay - do a search that lists price from lowest-highest, and you can find the best deal on th product.
9. Diorshow Blackout mascara: I love this mascara for volumizing lashes, but unfortunately, I've come to realize that it definitely has a shelf life. Though my lashes are not very thick and I have not used up the product, it has gotten very thick sinceI bought it (probably 5 months ago or so?) and not as easy to use. I am still looking for my holy grail mascara, and I'll let you know when I find it!
10. Too Faced lipstick in 'Totally Nude.' This has been my favorite nude lipstick for a while now.
11. Cargo hi-definition lip gloss in Laredo: beautiful nude color, quite moisturizing, surprisingly as it's a very thin consistency. That's my only complaint about the cargo lip glosses - they're rather thin and need to be reapplied more often than my current favorite lip gloss brand, Buxom. But the color and the smoothness of the product looks beautiful.

I'm really excited, as my recent discovery of using pointed crease brushes has opened a whole new world for me, and I look forward to creating more tutorials with this technique applied in different ways. Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a fabulous day! xo, Isabelle

New Discoveries on the Path

So, it's been a while since I've added a blog post... I've found myself immersed in creating tutorials and also in learning from others' tutorials. I can't say enough good things about the generosity of makeup gurus on youtube. They genuinely have a desire to share and teach what they know, and there is truly a wealth of information that I am only beginning to tap into! So it's not really a surprise that I've found myself less inclined to write and more inclined to practice, practice, and more practice!

I will post new tutorials on my tutorial page, and I want to share and update information pertinent to other Asian women with small eyes/creases who wish to create beautiful complex looks given the smaller canvas that we have to work upon.

I no longer find myself relying as much on the Sephora small eyeshadow brushes. Though they do work to pack on color in smaller areas, I have discovered the Loewe Cornell brushes, which are less dense and are a paddle shape. The 3/8" Maxine's Mop (Loewe Cornell) is often suggested as an alternative to the MAC 239 brush. After watching numerous tutorials, I have noticed that most professional makeup artists tend to have an arsenal of MAC brushes and makeup as their standard go-to products. While a number of other gurus do use other brands, MAC does seem to be the standard for makeup artists all over the world. I won't get into the makeup at this point, as I haven't the funds to invest in the makeup products, but I have been much more intent in researching brushes, as I believe that the proper tools can make a huge difference in how easy or difficult it is to create a look. Without exception, the MAC 239 is touted as one of the best and most versatile brushes. When asked, many gurus and professionals will say that the MAC 239 and 217 are the best brushes to invest in - for beginners and beyond.

Although the Sigma SS239 was originally meant to be a dupe for the MAC 239, Sigma brushes are increasingly making an effort to separate themselves from MAC. Their SS239 may have been simiar to the MAC brush at one time, but is now a much denser brush. Though I initially believed that denser brushes were better for packing on color, I now believe that the thinner paddle shaped brushes allow for more control and versatility in use. Not only can the MAC 239 be used for packing on color, the sides can be used to gently move and manipulate color to blend smaller areas. The larger blending brushes (from the 217, 222, and 224) can't blend the very small areas in which one color morphs into another color. Also, on the smaller Asian eye, almost all color shifts require smaller tools to blend the colors, as a large blending brush will create a muddy effect - not pretty at all.

So rather than spend the 24.50 on a MAC 239, I opted instead to try the Loewe Cornell brushes in 1/4" and 3/8", which are only a few dollar each, but reputed to be just as good as the 239 by many gurus. Since the brushes are priced so reasonably, I was also able to purchase several of them, rather than just one or two. The local Michael's crafts store doesn't carry the 3/8", so I am waiting for an online order to arrive. However, in the meantime, the 1/4" has been a godsend, giving me the ability to both pack on color in very small areas as well as blend and manipulate the colors.

Also, the MAC 219, or Sigma SS219 (although Sigma is now changing their entire numbering system, and I don't know what the exact numbers are right now), or the pencil brush, is an excellent tool for the Asian eye. It does what the MAC 222 and 224 are supposed to do, in my opinion. It can be used with a neutral color to blend out colors in the crease, or alone for the same purpose. It can also be used to add a crease color when creating a cut crease look. For more precise definition of the cut crease, I still prefer the Sephora smokey eye brush, as it has a finer tip and smaller body. But the pencil brush is good for a lot of other purposes as well, such as creating a thicker line underneath the eye or for packing color onto the lid.

The other major shift in products lately has been in the use of eyelash curlers. I still prefer the Shiseido lash curler for the first curl - to get all the lashes in that first curl up nearest to the lash line. Because it's flatter and wider, it gets most of the lashes curled, whereas the Shu Uemura curler is more rounded and can miss the lashes on the ends of the eye,. However, to curl the lashes themselves, I have found that the Shu Uemura curler is better to create a nice curl as we Asians have to curl multiple times to create a graduated curl... otherwise our lashes would just stick straight up if we only curled once, as many caucasians do. This was actually good news for me since I have two Shu Uemura curlers, and didn't want to waste them.

These are not the only changes in routine/functionality that have been happening for me. However, I'll detail these changes in another blog post.... there is just so much to learn! It's wonderful and sometimes daunting, but always growth-inducing, and that's really the point for me... :)

Re-do of baby blue/violet using primer + NYX jumbo pencil in white

So here's the re-do of the last look in baby blue and violet using the same colors, but whereas I used only Urban Decay Primer Potion in the last picture, I used UDPP + NYX Jumbo pencil in white as a base. You can see that the color payoff is way more intense, and the look is much more vivid.

Enquiring Minds Want to Know

If you're anything like me... learning about makeup techniques and trying to understand the reason and rhyme for each product, then this little bit may enlighten you on one teensy question that has been bothering me: what is the deal with using eyelid primer in conjunction with a cream/gel base? I had watched some youtube videos by Xteener (love her), which is where I picked up the notion that, in order to get the highest color payoff, you can use eyeshadow primer, then a cream base over that. On top of these, the powder then adheres and gives that amazing color payoff that we all love and want for dramatic makeup looks.

Well, I remember wondering... why not just cream base? Or why not just eyeshadow primer (lots of youtube gurus tell you to do just that)? Over time, I think I finally figured things out. The other day, I did a look with just Urban Decay Primer Potion (because Enquiring Minds Want to Know)! The colors were - meh. For an evveryday look, it was still pretty bright. I had to kind of rub it off a bit to go to Brazilian jujitsu class (I'm there to train, not to hook up :P). And of course, it was really hard to rub off (thank you, UDPP)! But compared to some other looks I have done, it paled in regards to vividness of color. You can see in the picture at the beginning of this article, that the color payoff is just not as strong.

Well, it got the wheels in my head to turning, and it all finally came together and made sense. A really good primer, such as UDPP or Too Faced Shadow Insurance, HOLDS that product on your face, rendering it fantastically difficult to budge - as exhibited by the difficulty I had in removing product before my Brazilian Jujitsu class. It also prevents makeup from creasing - VERY important for those dramatic looks. Now the cream base (such as a NYX jumbo pencil or a gel liner applied to the lid before adding powder colors) makes the colors pop like crazy. The powder adheres to the cream and makes the color incredibly vivid, and gives one really great control when layering colors. Without the cream or gel base, sometimes, the powder will get kind of sloshy, or muddy. However, with the base, your eye becomes like a canvas ready for oil pastels - you can layer on colors with a similar effect to actually drawing with pastels - the colors actually layer on top of each other instead of just mashing together into colorless gunk.

So why not just a cream base, then? (After all, Enquiring Minds..., etc.) Well, cream shadows can crease if they are used alone. You may get a great canvas to start with, but with some sweat, humidity and motion, the colors may start sliding off. That's where the eyelid primer comes into such a prominent place of importance. The primer makes everything STICK, and it prevents everything from creasing.

And THAT is why the best combination for a dramatic eye look is to use an eyelid primer + cream/gel base. Voila! Question answered! :) FYI: I will be re-doing the baby blue'/violet look that's pictured at the beginning of this post, but with both primer and cream base - and I will post the picture in the next post!

Have a bright, beautiful and joyful day. May your makeup pursuits be plenty and colorful, and may all your adventures bring you to the center of your own loving heart.

Favorite products for Asian eyes

It used to be that I was a costume make-up artist, and that adding as many interesting textures, colors, and elements as possible was part of what made the whole production more interesting. Glitter, rhinestones, gems, glitter glue, uv-paints (that glow in black lights) were my forte.

More recently, as I began to research more wearable makeup, I ran into quite a few challenges. Of course, easy wearable makeup is not an issue. We all have our favorite quick routines, and I am no exception to this rule. However, when I tried to replicate some of the more interesting looks that I saw in magazine spreads and sephora catalogs, I had a very hard time getting the precision necessary to create real depth and vividness of color and hue. Even with good product, without the right tools, the eye shadows would not blend or layer properly. Rather, they would just crumble into a messy, diluted color heap. If for instance I wanted to add a deep purple for a crease-effect (I say crease-effect, because like many Asian women, I have a very small crease and need to create the illusion of a larger crease with eye shadows) and if I already had a bright pink on my lids, the purple and pink would just mix together to form a vague messy hue.

It took me several tries and a lot of shopping to figure out a few things. First of all, I have a smaller eye than many of the caucasian gurus on youtube (I just "found" youtube in the last month or so, and it's amazing as a resource), and this was even true of many of the Asian gurus as well. So rather than using normal eye shadow brushes, I had to find smaller brushes to fit my smaller eye-area. I also needed to find precision tools in order to use the eye shadows as a true artist's medium, rather than a messy bunch of powder. This being said, these are some of the brushes that worked for me:

1. Sephora professional small eyeshadow brush. This brush is more densely packed than some other small eyeshadow brushes that I found, and the density is important in order to properly pack the color onto the lids. Large or even medium sized eyeshadow brushes do not allow the precision to create multi-colored or even monchromatic-depth of the same color on the lid.

2. Sephora platinum smokey eye (or pencil) brush: This is probably my favorite brush so far. The bristles are incredibly soft and yet the brush can create from a thin to medium lines for eyeliner, or for lining the crease area for a cut-crease look. You can also use it to smoke out eyeliner or to blend out the edges for a smokey-eye look. It also causes less fallout because of the precision of the tip. This brush can create a number of looks, and in my opinion, is the most important brush for creating eye-looks of any complexity in a small eye.

3. Sephora professional crease brush: This brush is smaller than the platinum crease brush, which I find to be helpful again for a smaller eye. I don't really use the crease brush for my crease, even for a smokey look, as I prefer the precision of the pencil brush or even smaller brushes with natural bristles that are sometimes labeled "lip brushes." Now, I don't have a monolid, or even a light crease. I was born with a very deep but very small crease, which I think requires smaller and more precise tools. A monolid can get by with the larger tools because one doesn't have to worry about the shadow falling into the deep lid and doing weird things. Therefore, I find that a precise tool is necessary for defining the crease. However, the sephora professional crease brush is perfect for blending out colors, which is necessary for creating depth and polish in a more complex eye-look. Other brushes I have seen on youtube that I think would also work - blending brushes such as the e.l.f. blending brush, or other dense, soft, graduated natural bristles that come to a rounded point (unlike the sephora platinum smokey-eye, which just comes to a straight point).

Those are the three most important brushes, in my opinion. It's nice to have a couple of the small eyeshadow brushes as well, in case you want to do a multi-color look. Next are tools that I find are very helpful, but not of the same degree of importance in my opinion.

1. The sephora professional smudge brush: This brush allows you to smoke out cream eyeliners easily. It is densely packed and a longer shape, to allow for precise smudging (you need to have the control for precision even more when you have a small eye, otherwise you won't have a smoked-out eyeliner, but a big messy raccoon-effect).

2. The sephora professional angled liner brush: This brush allows for precision in applying cream or gel based liners. It has the right amount of stiffness (even though the bristles are soft) to create a precise line. When the liner brush is not stiff or dense but skinny enough, you can't get a small enough line for the tiny deep crease. Again, if you have a monolid, you can get away with a thicker line - or even if you have a double-lid with a light crease. But with a very deep crease, if you don't create a very precise line, the line will invariably smudge and lose the effect of the cat-eye, or whatever precise look you are trying to create. Some liquid liners are also good for this purpose, depending on the brush or the tip of the liner (or you can use a regular liner brush of your own). Makeup forever used to make the BEST liquid liners EVER. I am so sad that they discontinued those, but with the right angled brush, you can use this method to create a precise and flattering cat-eye.

3. The sephora platinum eyebrow brush/lash comb. The platinum comb has a metal rather than plastic comb. The metal tips are sharp (!) I tripped once holding onto the metal ends of this comb, and it poked right into my palm. So yes - it's sharp, but it's fantastic at separating lashes. Other eyelash combs cannot even come close to the precision of this comb. It works perfectly to declump lashes every time. This tool is for everyone, not just people with small eyes. I love it, because you can apply as many coats of mascara as you want without getting spidery or clumpy.

4. The Shiseido eyelash curler. I know that the Shu Uemura curler gets way more attention (and I have two of the Shu Uemura curlers, so I'm not really complaining about the quality), but the Shiseido curler is wider and somewhat flatter in shape. A lot of Asian reviewers have commented that the shape works better in general for the Asian eye, and I would tend to agree. I had to be careful with the Shu Uemera curler not to catch my skin in the curler (which definitely happened sometimes). The Shiseido curler definitely works better for my eye shape. It also seems to get the lashes curled more evenly, as it's less rounded and therefore allows for more length along the lashline when grabbing lashes to be curled.

And last but not least, these are a couple of products that are really necessary to create a vibrant-eye that doesn't smudge, crease, or fade throughout the day (and I have done intense physical exercise to test this out, and my eye products didn't budge at all when using these products).

1. The obvious product that most people are familiar with is using a good eye primer. I like Too Faced Shadow Insurance, but the other product that is often hailed as being the "best" primer - Urban Decay Primer Potion. There are a few others that are touted by various youtube gurus, but the Too Faced and UDPP are the most widely recognized.

2. Something I picked up from watching the youtube gurus: NYX jumbo eye pencils. These are thick and creamy. Used on top of the primer (the primer helps to keep the creamy pencils from creasing) the sticky texture gives powder eyeshadow even more ability to adhere. I also like to experiment with other cream or gel shdaows/liners, to see which shadows show up best on which product.

Ok - I know this was pretty long! I didn't mean to ramble on quite as much as I did, but as a consumer, I always want to know what products work best on my type of eye, and why - so I have tried to take the time to explain. There are some other products that I definitely want to share, but these are the items that took me from muddy eyeshadows to clear-cut and colorful looks... these were also the items that were eluding me at first when I was trying to figure things out, so hopefully, this post will help other people who might have similar issues. Still, the thing that will allow for the most clarity and precision is always going to follow that old adage: "practice makes perfect." Although it helps to find another person with similar features and learn what they are using, ultimately, we all have to experiment to find what works best with our individual skin type, tone, and texture.

Good luck, and most importantly, HAVE FUN out there! Makeup makes me so happy, I hope that you feel the same, deriving joy from waking up each day to the palette of your face, and using your unique artistry and vision to make your life a beautiful work of art.