Celebrating Asian Eyes

I've always loved Asian eyes, to me the beautiful heavy monolid is one of "sultry sexiness". I've never really understood why so many Asian women opt for surgical techniques to make their eyes appear more caucasian. Sure, magazines that predominantly feature Western almond shaped eyes may be an influence and the lack of "how to's" when it comes to applying makeup sends a subliminal message of beauty ideals. But at ELES we say "celebrate your beauty" do not try to replicate the beauty of others. And the gentle shape of the Asian eye is in my opinion a feature worth celebrating.

Just as Asian women know that the average hairdresser may not know the correct technique for cutting their gorgeous locks, they may also shy away from having makeup applied by someone who is not familiar with bringing out the best in their eye shape.

Traditional makeup techniques play upon the natural crease that appears just above the top lash line. Generally we enhance this crease by apply darker shades there to help the area "recede" and lighter shades to areas that we want to bring "forward". The end effect is one of greater contrast, playing upon the features that are typical of this kind of almond eye.

If however, this natural crease does not exist the effect will look artificial and "painted on" which is why so many Asian women are dissatisfied with a traditional eye makeup application. Instead of creating a crease in the lid area the shadow should be applied in a pattern that enhances the natural curviture of the eye. This diagram below offers a guide to application;

GREEN - Apply a darker shade, generally cool undertone colours work best such as charcoal, soft greys, blues and purples. To intensify this area apply a pencil liner beneath and dab the shadow over the top

RED - Apply a medium depth colour here, a few shades lighter than the contour colour (Green Area) Blend this area well leaving no edges visible, this shade should act as a shadow that fades out into the surrounding area

BLACK - Apply a darker shade here but blend the outer edges as above, this will give an illusion of wider set eyes playing upon the curves of the Asian eye.

BLUE - Use a highlighter shade here, to enhance the brow bone and "open" the eye area. Colours such as Champagne, Opal, White or Light Beige work best

Liquid Liner can be used for a natural day time look with plenty of mascara applied to the top lashes. Avoid too much liner and mascara below the eyes as this can "close" the eyes too much. Begin with a very fine line on the inner eye area tapering to a thicker "cat lick" on the outer eye, this gives the illusion of thicker lashes.

As the lashes on Asian eyes tend to grow straight instead of curving up you may want to invest in a good lash curler if going for a more made up look. Apply eye shadow and just prior to applying mascara lift the lashes by squeezing the curling pads together firmly and slowly, apply mascara after lifing the lashes using firm strokes upward from the base to the tips of the lashes.

I hope these tips work for you...I believe in celebrating individuality and dismissing the dictatorial ideals that we are bombarded with in fashion magazines. Makeup is there to enhance and not conceal

Visit ELES Cosmetics for full details of eye shades available, we love Titanium, Tourmaline and Opal for Asian Eyes

You can't build a castle on sand...

...because sand is simply not strong enough to create a good foundation. Equally you cannot create a great makeup on skin that's tired and lacklustre. This is a challenge in Winter when we tend to live more sedentary lives and as a consequence our circulation slows down.

The skin suffers the effects of artificial heating and with less blood flowing around those veins, our skin cells are starved of oxygen. What you'll end up with, is a thick mask that does little to hide a very sad and dull skin.

So, to get a lovely winter glow, bronzers and highlighters might help, but there really is no substitute for the blush of a natural circulation shining through.

So get it moving!

Try a warm bath with stimulating essential oils; we love Pevonia's Seaweed Bath with Pine Extracts. When sitting in front of the TV, pick up your dry body brush and whisk away the stagnation. Begin brushing from the toes and fingers towards the heart in short light strokes to stimulate your lymphatic circulation and reduce toxins.

Take a walk, ok its cold but you'll soon warm up, walk the dog, walk to the shops or even just take the stairs instead of the lift. Move!

Drink water; there's nothing like nature's bounties to flush the system.

Scrub a dub dub those dead skin cells away with a nice zesty exfoliant, try Pevonia's Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser.

And finally breathe deep! Get that lovely oxygen into your lungs.

And what you find when your circulation is pumping, is a glowing complexion that just needs a little enhancing and not a thick and gluggy mask.

Finish with a lick of Lush Mascara and dollop of Super Gloss and you'll look like you've been hitting the Gym and holidaying in the sun!

How to look polished with less makeup

Ever heard the expression "Less is more"? Not sure who coined the phrase but I know beauties such as Coco Chanel believed the adage. Apparently her rule was to dress and accessorize and then remove one accessory before leaving the house. This way she never felt "over-done". Brings to mind images of dear Queen Lizzie with the glasses, tiara and handbag - I always thought she looked like a Christmas tree and should either get contacts or lose the tiara. Anyway, I digress.

My point is; when it comes to makeup, how can we all wear less and still look "polished"? How can we use makeup so skillfully as to appear "un-madeup"?

Well, I would like to share with you a makeup epiphany; I found this quite by accident. If you create the "Perfect Brow" before doing any other eye makeup, you won't need much eye makeup at all. If you are the person who does the shadow etc first you may not realise this and you may not realise that changing the order of makeup application can really make a difference to the end result.

But first thing is first. How do you get the perfect brow?

You can do what I used to and tweeze a few hairs every day to make sure there are no strays but this is a sure-fire way of getting wobbly, out of shape brows. My advice, for what its worth is to have your brows professionally waxed, fill in any small gaps with a few flicks of brow pencil and then tweeze the odd one or two that crop up between waxes. (Kind of like the baked beans that fall off the toast, you have to eat those first.)

Or, if waxing isn't an option then get one brow perfect by following the recommended shaping: See below, then make a stencil of that brow; take a firm piece of clear plastic draw the outline and cut out the centre. (Now you just flip the stencil over the guide you with the opposite brow)

When tweezing at home, apply a warm, damp cloth to the brow to soften the skin and open the follicle (it really does hurt less too) and remove the hairs in the direction of growth. You might need a good magnifying mirror to do this. Finish with application of a cool, damp cloth.

As far as pencilling the brows; take your time. just fill in the necessary gaps and careful not to apply too much to the inner brows (near nose) or they will look like tadpoles - see taddy brows below. Brush with a brow brush and voila! Perfect Brows.

For a light and natural makeup apply in this order:

Base - apply a touch of foundation to areas of the face that need it, you don't need to apply a mask.

Conceal - use a "lip brush" to apply concealer to any discolourations then roll your finger over the concealer to warm and blend (as if you were being finger-printed)

Powder - a tiny dusting and only down the T-Zone.

Brows - make them perfect (as above)

Liner - a fine line just above the top lashes with a little "flick" in the outer corner, mute by pressing soft brown or grey shadow over the top, then use blush brush over the eyes to blend.

Mascara - Only on the top lashes and make sure you get every single lash.

Blush - a light dusting on the apples of the cheeks, smile and you will see those apples!

Gloss - the lips, a nice rosy colour is the most natural.

Let me know how you go!

COLOUR INSPIRATION

It's easy to get into a makeup rut and do the same look day after day after day. Like a comfortable old tracksuit your "daily makeup" can get tired and make you feel bored with yourself.

And just as it is hard to find inspiration sometimes in cooking the nightly meal when you are not a gourmet chef, mixing it up with your own makeup can be a challenge if you are not confident with colour.

When it comes to makeup, I look for inspiration in nature. Then I know with certainty the colour combinations will work. Think of a bird of paradise flower - the vibrant orange contrased with the deep purples or a blood rose, the deep red with the darker shadows that look almost charcoal at the base of each petal.

Consider the season, Autumn hues are not always about browns and golds and oranges, Autumn skies are dark and moody with plum undertones and the greens are deeper and bluer.

Look around you, colour combination inspiration is everywhere!

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WINTER PREVIEW

We are loving the new look coming for ELES WINTER, its back to 40's sophistication with smouldering eyes and siren red lips. In preparation think 40's when you stock up your winter wardrobe, belted jackets, hugging pencil skirts and Hollywood hair. Stuck for ideas?? Watch "Pearl Harbour" for inspiration!! Practice the cat-flick eyeliner, too, if liquid is a battle for you, create a stencil with a pencil - hey that rhymes! Then go over with the liquid. I find it easier to begin on the outer corners and work my way in, but hey, whatever works for you.