Asian Eye Makeup - Tips and Techniques

"Don't try to be different, just bring out more of the beauty you already have," said Victoria Jackson, one of the most remarkable Hollywood makeup artists. Many Asian women try to make their small eyes appear bigger like Caucasian eyes by using eye makeup. I think that is a tremendous effort but not such a good makeup philosophy. Slanted Asian eyes are in fact very charming and exotic-looking. If you were born with them, you should be grateful for such a wonderful blessing nature has given you. In this article, you will learn how to apply eye makeup for Asian eyes in order to accentuate and draw attention to those slanted little eyes without making them look artificially wider. Keep in mind that these eye makeup tips are not to change what you've got, but to enhance them.

Eye Makeup Brushes and Tools:

Brow Brush
A brow brush usually has stiff, angled, short bristles. It is designed for applying shadow to the eyebrows. Brow brushes with a natural/synthetic blend of bristles are better than the ones that are 100% synthetic, as they tend to be too stiff and do not spread color evenly.

Brow Lash Groomer
Since your hair can get messy, your brows and lashes can sometimes be untidy as well.This two-in-one groomer is very useful. On one side, it has a stiff-bristled brush that looks a bit like a toothbrush for brushing your eyebrows into place. On the other side, it has a very fine-toothed comb for separating lashes after applying mascara.

Concealer Brush

A concealer brush is usually small, with firm bristles and tapered end. When shopping for a concealer brush, look for the one that has soft bristles, as you will use it under your eyes, which is an extremely delicate part of your skin. The ones with glossy synthetic bristles are the best, for they tend to slip along the skin nicely.

Eye Shadow Brush

A good eye shadow brush should be soft, flexible and wide enough to cover half the eyelid. It should also have beveled edges that allow you to apply color across the lower eyelid without leaving obvious harsh lines.

Eyeliner Brush
Eyeliner brushes come in various sizes and different bristle tips such as tapered, angled and flat. The kind that I find most useful and universal is the ultra fine eyeliner brush with firm, synthetic bristles and tapered tip, because it is great for precise eyeliner application.

Smudge Brush
A smudge brush is very helpful if you want to create a smoky look around your eyes. It usually has a small head with soft bristles and rounded point. Try to find one with flexible, natural bristles; it will allow you to achieve that sexy smoky look more easily.

Eyelash Curler
An eyelash curler is one special little tool that can make your normal lashes become more luscious and noticeable. Just remember to curl your eyelashes before applying mascara so that your precious lashes won't break off. Also, the rubber pads on it can easily wear out, so make sure you keep replacement pads on hand.


Asian Eye Makeup Tips:

Eyebrow Makeup

• Avoid using black on your eyebrows because it usually looks too heavy and unnatural with Asian skin tones. Choose lighter colors such as dark brown or mahogany instead.
  
• Trimming your brows to create more arch can bring out your eyes and highlight the eye makeup.
  
• If you have sparse eyebrows (most Asian women do), use brow pencil with color that matches your natural brow and hair color. Starting from the inside of the brow, draw in individual hairs between your natural hairs. Each stroke should be fine and featherlike, and should follow the natural hair direction. Another option is that you can use a brow brush to apply brow shadow. Brush through the hairs thoroughly with an upward sweep, using a tiny amount of color at a time. Add a little more color on the upper edge of the brow to highlight the arch and "open" your eye area. And finally, create a groomed look by coating the brows with a clear eyebrow mascara.

Apply Eye Shadow

• Don't use a very dark shadow because that will only make your eyes seem even smaller. Light to medium brown tones tend to look great on Asian skin.
  
• To apply eye shadow, frst cover the entire eyelid with a light shade. Apply a deeper shade on the bottom part of the lid. Blend it into the lighter shade as you go up. Don't leave any lines of demarcation, as those lines will kill the subtle look that brings out the eyes and makes your eyes look diminished in size. Remember that for Asian eye makeup, less is more. Too much or too dark eye shadow not only fails to highlight the eyes, but also recedes them.

Eyeliner and Mascara

Eyeliner is the most crucial makeup for Asian eyes. Many well-known makeup artists such as Victoria Jackson and Bobbi Brown advise that since Asian women tend to have sparse eyelashes, they should just omit the use of mascara and use the eyeliner to draw attention to their eyes instead.

• Use a pencil or eyeliner brush to draw a line as close to the lashes as possible.
  
• Reapply to make it thicker and make sure that the line can be seen when your eyes are open.
  
• Smudge with a smudge brush to create a smoky look that will help bring out the eyes.
  
• Apply eyeliner under the eyes but this time draw only a soft shadow line. The lines on the bottom lids should be lighter than the ones on top.
  
  If you have full luscious lashes, curl them first, then put on layers of mascara. Try to apply it as close to the base of the lashes as possible to keep the application looking natural. With the same rule as eyeliner application, apply mascara only lightly on the lower lashes. Also, comb through with lash groomer after applying each layer in order to avoid clumps.
  
  
  

Natural Beauty Tips

It is an age old problem, how does a woman keep her natural beauty to stay looking young? Natural beauty secrets have been passed down through the generations from royal subjects to the common worker from every culture on the planet. It is a shame then that Western women have not adopted these more natural beauty secrets instead of those that rely on (usually) invasive medical procedures. This is a peculiar situation when many natural beauty treatments are neither costly nor difficult to obtain and come with little risk to a person's health.

Probably the most surprising natural beauty treatment is water, something we are surrounded by but often ignore. Cleansing the body's system, hydrating the skin and helping to maintain its natural beauty are just a few benefits of drinking eight to ten glasses of water per day. Just living in today's modern world allows a build up of unwanted wastes in our body, and water is an excellent way to cleanse our systems.

Many essential vitamins and minerals are present in fruit and vegetables and eating these regularly is another natural beauty secret and pleasant way to help make your skin look younger. Fruit and vegetables contain many different nutrients, providing us with particular benefits and drinking natural juices can give us optimum health and helps enhance our natural energy. Skin, hair and nails are helped by the juices of apples, oranges, cucumber and carrot, all of which are natural and affordable natural beauty secrets.

Another natural beauty secret is exercise as it is inexpensive and the results can be astounding including an increased oxygen level in the blood. You shouldn't be shy of physical exercise as it's another good way to improve your health and natural beauty, although walking may be the most common, there is also running, swimming and cycling as well. Other benefits of exercise include better digestion, toxins are removed from the body's system more efficiently and calories are burnt off more quickly.

Keeping fit also raises positive energy levels and lifts the mood, increasing your overall natural beauty. Keeping positive and happy is a natural beauty secret that has been shown to lengthen the life span and boost the immune system.

Regular bathing is a natural beauty treatment that has a spiritual and psychological effect on your mind as you cleanse your body of all the pollution that it absorbs. Depending on your day, you may want to shower in the morning as pleasant wake up stimulant or bathe before bed to relax you from the stresses of your day. A restful night's sleep is good for your day ahead as you are less likely to become stressed while you are at work.

Although the Sun gets some bad press, we cannot live without it as it provides us with a necessary source of energy and vitamins but too much sunlight can damage this natural beauty and be the cause of aging, dry skin and wrinkles. To counteract the aging affects of the sun, it as always a good idea to apply a suitable sunscreen which can help filter out the damaging effects of the sun but keep those that are good for the skin and as a natural beauty secret, it should not be forgotten.

Perhaps they shouldn't be called natural beauty secrets because for the most part they are either free or relatively inexpensive and rely on just a little old fashioned common sense, but what a difference they can make!

Beauty Tips, Common beauty mistakes that all of us Make

Ever considered that the way you apply hair conditioner is actually ruining your hair? Or for that matter, the under eye cream that you ritually dab on at night is giving you puffy eyes? If you already have oily skin and adding cream was wrong idea. Beauty is not one-size-fits-all routine, which means that what worked for one person may not work for another person. Here are a few mess-ups and ways to correct them:

CONDTION YOUR HAIR

If you apply hair conditioner as you shampoo-starting at the scalp and working it through the hair then stop. The hair closest to the roots is healthy new growth while the ends are where the damage is more. Conditioning the roots weighs your hair down and makes it look greasy. The Right Way: Start at your ears and go all the to the ends. It will give your hair the necessary bounce.

EYE SORE

Massaging eyes with cream to get rid of excess baggage is not on. Why? Hydrating ingredients hold water in the skin. So, moisturizers and creams may be making your eyes puffer. The Right Way: Apply an under-eye cream for 10 minutes and wipe it off.

ODOUR ODOUR

Well-groomed women or men with bad body odour is one of life’s unsolved mysteries. Use a deo and perfume together. Never wear perfume on the fabric-it will stain.
The Right Way: Dab or spray perfume onto the skin at one or two pulse points-knees, wrists, base of the throat and behind the earlobes. Don’t rub your wrists together. This breaks down the molecular structure of the perfume.

SOAP TALK

A dry skin is not equal to acne-free skin. Soaps make the skin too alkaline and leave it open to bacterial attack. The Right Way: Use a mild face wash just twice a day. Follow it with an oil-free moisturizers.

ASTRINGENT STING

Astringents are alcohol-based, which can dry out your skin. The Right Way: Use a natural toner like rose water instead. It hydrates your skin while getting rid of that greasy feeling.

OLD ISN’T GOLD

Clean out your make-up box every year when was the last time you checked the expiry on your fave lipper? Old make-up is not going to grow an antique value. It can cause skin allergies and infections. The Right Way: Throw out moisturizers, toners and cleansers within a year. Herbal products should be phased out after six months. The longer the expiry period, the more the preservatives and that’s not good news for your skin.

Cosmetics (foundation, consealer, powders, mascara) should be phased in 3-6 mont6hs while lippers and eye pencils can be held on to for a year.

MORE MISTAKES

Four everyday mistakes that you can tick off your list.

• Applying foundation immediately over moisturizer. This thins out the make-up making it blotchy. Wait one minute after applying the moisturizer. If running late, blot it with a tissue.
  


• Plucking eyebrows too close to the mirror: You tend to lose track of the shape and end up with thin or uneven eyebrows. Use a large mirror and place it near a window. Step back after every few hairs to check the summetry.
  


• Neglecting your Neck: Th e skin on your neck is thinner and more sensitive than the skin on your face and just as prone to changes in pigment, elasticity, texture and wrinkles. Apply moisturizer and sunscreen to the neck area daily. And what ever putting on a face pack, include the neck.
  


• Hair color has to match your skin color. The Right Way: Consider skin tones, lifestyle, profession and personality before colouring your hair. Consult your stylist before deciding on a color.

OVERMEDICATION BLEMISHES

Zapping breakouts with spot cream is common. But most of these treatments contain acids that penetrate the skin for hours, resulting in burns which cause redness, peeling and irritation. Follow the direction on the medication package and refrain from overdosing on the spot treatments, medications take time for effects to show.

BATHING TILL YOU ARE SQUEAKY CLEAN

All it means is that you have overstayed your welcome. And that you have removed the natural oils and lipids from your skin and hair. Use a mild soap. Limit your bath time to 10 minutes and use warm, not hot water.

CUT AND WEEP

Oval is the ideal shape for nails? Fingers, yes. Toes, no!! Cutting toenails into ovals can lead to painful in growths. The Right Way: Cut toenails straight across, giving it a square shape.

FACIAL FLAWS

Bleaching before facial

In most salons, bleach precedes a facial for that really clean look. This may cause breakouts. Bleaching involves chemicals while facials involve exfoliation; by principle the two should never meet. The Right Way: Get bleached a day or two prior to the facial.

Salon facials suit all skin types

People with oily skin must avoid cream massages, as it stimulates the oil glands. T he Right Way: Facial for oily skins should have cleansing, exfoliation, toning, mask and protection.