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Everyone needs a little color in their life especially when it comes make up. Here’s some tips to pull off a colorful look (even on a work day):

• Pair a colorful eyeshadow with a neutral eyeshadow : Try wearing a colorful eyeshadow with a neutral eyeshadow like a light beige/tan for a pop of color without your look being overwhelming with color.

• Colorful eyeliners : These are my favorites when I do neutral looks. I like to use a metallic green liquid eyeliner paired up with my favorite neutrals to kick up the look. I also like to use colorful eyeshadows as eyeliners as well. All you need is a thin liner brush that’s dampened and a colorful eyeshadow you’d like to use as an eyeliner. When using eyeshadows as eyeliner, it gives a much softer look than using regular pencil or liquid liners.

• Use colorful mascaras : Who says your too old to wear colored mascara? Try using one to spice up your look. Sometimes, I like to use metallic/glitter liquid eyeliners on my lashes for a dash of color.

• Cheek power : Colorful looks aren’t just for your eyes. Try using a bright blush for a kick of color on your face. Remember NOT to over do it with the blush and keep eyes/lips neutral.

• Colorful Pout : Try using a colorful lip color like pinks/reds/etc. Just like when it comes to blush, try to keep the rest of your make up neutral to have more of the focus on one thing (like your lips).

I decided to do another make up post for asian women because of the increasing e-mails and feedback about having more make up tips for asian women!

- Look for foundations and concealers that have a yellow undertone. Since, most asians have yellow undertones, this will ensure that your foundation will look natural.

- When filling in eyebrows, use a medium to dark brown eyeliner/eyeshadow for natural looking brows.

- When choosing eyeliners, use colors like soft black, navy, plum, brown and dark grey. Avoid applying eyeliner on the lower waterline (this will make your eyes look smaller). Instead, apply it to your upper lashline and wing it at the end to accentuate your exotic eye shape.

- Use blushes that are soft pink, peach, or light coral in color.

- When choosing lip colors or lip glosses, look for colors in soft pinks, mauves, deep red, and berries.

Don’t forget to check out more make up tips for asian women on the For The Women Of Color page!

You want to look beautiful on your big day, but don’t know where to begin? Here are some helpful tips for doing your own make up for prom or for a special event.

• If you do decided to get your make up done by a make up artist, bring photo references of what you want the artist to achieve. Photos from magazines of your favorite celebrities with make up looks you like are very helpful.

• Make sure to keep up with your skincare routines during the weeks following up to your event! Who wants to have breakouts on the day of? The night before, apply a facial mask to make your face feel fresh before your big night.

• Make sure to apply a foundation primer before applying your foundation.

• Use a foundation that best matches your skintone. The last thing you want is uneven looking skin. When applying foundation, apply foundation to your neckline as well. Set your foundation with a loose powder. Remember: When it comes to foundation, less is more.

• Decide if you want to play up your eyes or lips. The rule of thumb is focus on the eyes/downplay lips or focus on the lips/downplay eyes

• Before doing any type of eye make up, make sure to apply an eyeshadow base to avoid creased eyeshadow before night’s end. When it comes to eyeshadows, you don’t have to be matchy matchy with the color of your dress. Use eyeshadows that compliments the dress by using contrast colors. Having trouble figuring out which eyeshadow colors best goes with your dress? Check out this entry about outfit/eyeshadow color combos I did a few months ago. Experiment with make up looks before your big night.

• Wear smudge proof/waterproof eyeliners and mascaras. Make up smudges are bound to happen on the dance floor if your not using waterproof formula eyeliners and mascaras.

• Want spicy up your eye make up look? Wear false eyelashes! Don’t know how to apply false eyelashes? Check out this tutorial + pictures on Specktra.net.

• Keep blushes natural looking and a color that best matches your skintone.

• Make sure the lip color you choose doesn’t wash out your face. Prime your lips with a lip balm before applying a lip color. Use a lip liner that best matches either your lipstick or lipgloss. Apply the lipliner first. This allows your lip color to last longer. When applying lipstick (if that’s what you decide to use), make sure to apply it with a lip brush instead of applying it directly from the tube. This also helps prolonging the color.

• Special Event bag make up essentials; blotting sheets or pressed blotting powder compact, a mirror, lipstick or lip gloss, and eyeliner.

I get asked, “How can I achieve a natural face?” a lot. It’s very easy to achieve and all you need are the right tools aka the right make up. Natural make up is more appropriate for the work place and interviews than outrageous/colorful make up looks. Even I have to do a natural face when it comes to major business functions/meetings. I save the more colorful looks for when I have make overs to do or free days. Here are some of my tips when trying to achieve the natural face.

Choose a concealer that is yellow in tint, so it can hide your imperfections without adding much color.

• Product recommendation : Artistry Enhancing Concealer

If you can’t decided which foundation color is best for you, go to a department store make up counter and they can help assist you when finding the right color. If you decided to go to the drugstore for your foundation, make sure your drugstore has a return policy for cosmetics. Test the color on cheek or chin, the foundation should disappear on your skin. Don’t forget to always set your liquid foundations with a loose powder.

• Product recommendation : Artistry Foundations

Always make sure your eyebrows are well groomed. Your eyebrow pencil/eyeshadow color should be either 1-2 shades darker if you have light hair or 1-2 shades lighter if your hair is dark.

• Product recommendation : NYC Browser Kit

When it comes to eyeshadow colors, choose more earthy tones. Try shadows in gold, brown, bronze, plum, and beige. You can apply a light eyeshadow on your lid and a darker shade on the crease to give eyes more depth. Don’t forget to apply mascara!

• Product recommendation : Artistry Essentials Colour Quads

If eyeshadows isn’t your thing, you can skip the eyeshadow and just use mascara.

• Product recommendation : Artistry Essentials Mascara

Wear an eyeliner that doesn’t look harsh on your skintone. For lighter skin, try brown/dark blue/grey. If you have darker skin, try dark brown/black. Use a powder eyeshadow + liner brush instead of a regular eyeliner to create an even more softer look.

• Product recommendation : Beautique Eye Pencils

For a flush of color on your cheeks, wear a natural looking blush. If you have darker skin try warmer tones such as bronze, plum, a dark rose, and terracotta. For lighter skin, try tones in rose, peach, pink. Apply blush on an angle on your cheekbones and a touch on the apple of your cheeks.

• Product recommendation : NAO Cheek Color

When choosing lip colors, look for colors that best complements your skin and lips. If your have darker skin, try shades in plum, berry, deep reds, mocha colors. If you have medium/olive skin, try shades in deep pink, light brown, raisin, and caramel. If you have lighter skin, try shades in pink and peach.

• Product recommendation : Artistry & NAO Lip Colors
  

Hey everyone! It’s been awhile hasn’t it? I’ve just been so busy and I neglected my poor site!

Since it’s been awhile and my make up bag has been overflowing with new products that I have tested out recently, I decided to share some of my current favorites in my littleanything but little make up bag stash;

Artistry Essentials Colour Quad in Medium - I use this basically everyday now if I want to achieve a more neutral look for business meetings. These mineral eyeshadows go on like BUTTER. They blend so beautifully! What I especially like about this quad is the fact it comes with a cheek color as well as liner color. Talk about convenience! I can even use the darkest eyeshadow color for a brow color. An amazing buy for $25. I’m stocking up on these quads because they are the perfect eyeshadow colors for brides/bridesmaids (aka WEDDING SEASON!).

Artistry Essentials Mascara - If you know me, I’m all about lashes. Since I have barely there lashes, mascara is always a must with me. I finally got to try Artistry Essentials’ and I have to say that it’s a new favorite of mine. I’ve tried a lot of mascaras, but for me, Artistry makes the best mascaras. This mascara provides a clump-free look that enhances, lengthens, separates every lash. I’m the type of girl that puts on about 42649284 layers of mascara to achieve the look I want, but with this mascara, a few swipes on the lashes and I’m satisfied. Why spend $20+ for mascara when you can spend only $14 for this must have essentials item.

NAO Cosmetics blush in Smitten- I bought this color by accident! I meant to order Epic which is a matte blush. Smitten in the pan, looked kind of scary to me at first glance. I was reluctant to even try it and was about to return it. I thought to myself ‘how is this shimmery melon color going to look good on my skintone?’. I finally tried it out and it’s one my of favorite blush colors ever. I was amazed on how this color adjusted to my skintone so well. It wasn’t as bright as it was in the pan. The staying power of NAO’s blushes are great. By the end of the day, my cheek color was still there. NAO’s blushes are nice in texture and the shimmery-ness of the blush wasn’t too over-whelming. On ‘lazy make up days‘, I like to apply Smitten on my eyelids (without a base so, the color isn’t to bright), apply a brown eyeliner to my upper lashline (I like to use a brown eyeshadow applied with a dampen thin liner brush for a more softer eyeliner look than regular pencil eyeliner), and a few coats of mascara. This highly pigmented blush will set you back only $19.55 and it’s worth every penny.

NAO Highlighter in Dark - No women in the world should be without this product! Talk about miracle in a tube. This creamy textured highlighter will make up look refreshed and adds a certain glow to your appearance (yes, it will even make you look good on a Monday morning!). This product is a everyday must for me. My clients rave over this stuff, they just can’t get enough. A few dabs of this underneath your eyes, tear duct, browbone and your good to go. I also like to apply a strip of this highlighter on the bridge of my nose and blend it a little. I noticed how my nose appeared slimmer in size. You can also use this highlighter as a concealer. Have a problem with feathering lip color? Apply some of this before applying your lip color to minimize feathering. I think if this product was $100 I would still buy it, but lucky for us it’s $16.45.

Stock up on NAO Cosmetics because soon NAO will be no more. This truly saddens me because they provide make up artist quality products for only fraction of the price. Sad to see you go NAO!

Expect new things for Precious & Make Up! New layout, domain name, content, the works..just keep checking!