Asian makeup styles VS. North American makeup styles

Makeup used:

 Mac brow pencil in Stud, fluid liner in blacktrack, lipstick in Girl about Town

Chanel brow pencil in 40 Brun Cendre

Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencil liner in zero

Estee lauder stay in place pencil liner in Onyx

Holika Holika  aqua petit jelly bb cream 

Hello Beautifuls!

After working with different clients from different ethnic backgrounds , I've come to kind of notice a difference between the preferred makeup styles of oriental Asians versus north Americans. Of course, this is just a personal opinion. Many others may have a different take on it than I do!

I've came to notice that oriental Asians prefer a softer, more natural and innocent look that uses subtle makeup and with an emphasis on clear skin. Eyebrows are kept with a minimal arc, with a greater emphasis on the "straight brow" trend. Blush and shadows are kept to a minimum, and the liner is more thin, and lines closely with lash line. Lips are also kept a natural shade with more peachy/pink/coral tones. On the other hand, north Americans prefer a more "sexy" or bold look with arched eyebrows, coated mascara, thicker liners, darker shadows, more contour, and a fuller lip. Both styles are totally unique in their own ways! I personally prefer minimal makeup as I don't usually wear any on a daily basis. After all, at the end of the day your makeup needs to come off. Embrace yourselves, cause your natural beauty is best!

That's it for now!
 PS: Which style do you prefer?

Love,
Carmen

4minute Hyuna - Crazy 미쳐 Makeup

Hello beautifuls!

Been pretty busy these past few days doing makeup for graduations and events. It's tiring, but I honestly LOVE the work! Time usually flies when I get to do makeup on you lovely people. Not only do I get to use and express my creativity, but most importantly, I get to spend quality one on one times with you guys and getting to know you. It's interesting to get to know the stories that God has written in our lives, and it really shows how each and every one of you are made different and unique!

So here's a look that is inspired by a Korean girl group by the name of 4minute. One of the members named Hyuna (who also took part in the world famous music video "Gangnam Style") is seen sporting this makeup look in their new song called Crazy 미쳐. She is seen wearing a bright red lipstick, with a blue base and her eyes are winged upwards with strong shadows and liner. Her eyebrows are kept a lighter shade to balance out the look. Finally, to get her signature mole or "pretty mark" on her face, use a black or dark brown liquid liner to make a small dot at the top of your cheekbones. 

Alrighty, that's it for now. Folllow my instagram carmen_cl91 to see more frequent updates!

Love, 
Carmen

Comic Makeup

Hey lovelies!

So just to deviate from the regular beauty makeup posts, here's a look that's out of the ordinary. I kind of just walked out of a comic. Hahah, anyways, if you want to look like a comic character, your gel liner and liquid liner will be your best friend. You want to look very drawn on for this look, so use your gel or liquid liner to draw a variation of thick and thin lines on your face. Put an emphasis on your eyebrows by giving them a slightly higher arch, and fill them in with clean edges. Draw lines on your features wherever you feel needed, such as the nose bridge and lips, collarbone, and the outline of your face. After you're done, you should look something like the above. Feel free to draw dots on your face as well to imitate comic dots. I used mostly the Make Up For Ever Flash Palette, and the MAC fluid liner and gel liner for this look. On the lips, I used Edward Bess's "Eternal Passion" which is a rich red with blue undertones.

Until next post,
Carmen

Instagram: carmen_cl91

There's more to life than what we have here.

Hello Beautifuls!

Like all trends, our eyebrows has had its' fair share of evolutionary changes and the history to em' brows actually go way back to ancient civilization. And no, don't worry...I'm not gonna spend this post talking about the history of eyebrows haha. What I do have to say though, is that for those who were born in the 1990's like me, do you ever remember the pencil-thin eyebrows that were once of popularity back in the day? Flash back to the more recent years, thick and luscious brows with a natural arch is what is dominating runways, and fashion magazines.

 I personally  agree with just cleaning off stray hairs to bring out the natural shape of your brows, but I definitely don't agree with over-plucking to the extent your natural shape changes. I think you can for sure play with around with different shapes with makeup or concealer or whatever it may be, but in the end, whats gifted to you suits you best and makes you unique for who you are! Embrace yourself for who you are!

So for this look, to bring out the brow hairs and the natural arch of my brows, I opted to use a lengthening and volumizing mascara (such as the one from Make Up For Ever) on my brow hairs. I then went ahead with a brown eye shadow to fill in the gaps between the hairs. Just to make it look extra luscious, I went over and drew in tiny little strokes with a brown liquid liner to imitate brow hair.

For the cat eye, I extended the liner further than usual, and angled it slightly towards the tip of my ears. Make sure you refrain from doing the "fish tail flick" though, or that may actually change up the entire look. For makeup, its always the slightest little change that will make a difference. Oh ya, almost forgot, use a pearly eye shadow at the center of your eyelids, and a white or nude color eyeliner on your bottom tear line to make the liner pop!

For this makeup look, it's all about knowing your angles, knowing where the light hits your face, and playing around with shades. To contour, find the hollows of your cheekbones to bring out your natural bone structure. Choose a contour shade that goes well with your blush (or even choose a blush that is slightly darker), and sweep it gently under your cheekbones. Just be sure to blend it out super well for a natural finish.

On the lips, just choose a coral peach or pink and blend it out with your fingers for a softer look. And for the airbrushed effect? Stipple your makeup on with a stippling brush or sponge, and go over in thin layers rather than one thick layer to prevent yourself from looking too caked up.  Take your photo where there's tonnes of sunlight, and there you have it!

Alrighty, enough of my blabbering. A huge pat on the back for whoever actually ends up reading this.

Have a great rest of the week everyone! Let's all make an effort to be patient, understanding, and love all those around us.

Carmen

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Makeup for New Classics Studios X Canadian label Malorie Urbanovitch

Photography / Alyssa Lau, Eric Yun & Kevin Wong
Creative Direction & Styling / Alyssa Lau
Hair & MUA / Carmen
Model/ Kendall Shea

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by the talented Canadian fashion icon and blogger Alyssa Lau of the Ordinary People blog to work some of my magic on one of her models for a shoot. So here it is! I had the honor of doing makeup on Canadian International model Kendall Shea (from Mode Models International) for one of the latest editorial shoots of New Classic's Studios X Canadian label Malorie Urbanovitch. These are a couple of my favourite shots from this shoot. The full story of this shoot can be seen here! Be sure to shop the full editorial here!

For a natural look, focus on enhancing your features and use earth tones rather than bold, colorful shades. For this look, the focus is contouring Kendall's already beautifully sculpted features to bring them out in photos. I used a highlighter from Benefit on the high points of her cheek bones, nose bridge, forehead, cupids bow, and chin. Eye shadows were kept to a minimum with darker shades concentrated on the hollows of her eye crease.

That's it for this post! Remember ladies! Be natural, be you, be kind, and be loving.

With tonnes of love,
Carmen

Jill Stuart (limitedd edition) Ribbon Couture Eyes- 2015 Spring collection in Mixed Berry Crepe

Hey All!

So as promised, here are the swatches to the 2015 new collection of the Jill Stuart Ribbon Couture Eyes in Mixed Berry Crepe. This is one of the limited edition palettes, and the non-limited edition palettes also comes in different shades, which can be seen here. The shadows are very pigmented and creamy (not too dry or too powdery at all!). One of my favourite things about Japanese products is the high quality and how shimmery and pretty their cosmetics are. This palette comes in 5 shades, with the color in the center being a bright coral red-pink, and the rest being neutral colors. The entire palette is a "berry" or "wine" shade with a neutral undertone, which looks amazing on both Caucasian and Asian skin.

To add on to the quality of these products, the packaging is also top notch! It comes in a sturdy metal packaging with a mirror and crystal-like finishing. On the box it came in, it states that it is made with "Swarovski elements." No wonder the packaging is so shiny and reflective! The opening part of the palette is decorated with a bow, which honestly in my opinion adds to how beautiful the packaging is.

For those who has the patience to read or skim through my blabber, show me your favourite products out there!

With love,
Carmen

PS: This blog is still undergoing construction, so bear with me!