make-up

saw xiaxue's face printed on the cover of lian he zao bao's entertainment section?

one particular line of hers caught my attention:
"i look better than average with make-up, and average at best without make-up"

no, it doesnt take a lot to be pretty, if you're like me who
1) looks awfully plain without makeup
2) suck at using photoshop to enhance your pictures
then make-up us for you. it doesnt have to take very long, ten minutes and you can look like.. i dont know.. say.. that pretty face on the covers of the papers?

Basics
never forget to cleanse your face, use the toner and the moisturiser.
then use a liquid foundation or a two way foundation. loose powder's only used for touching up after the liquid foundation's applied.

Lips

Lip colour

Longer lasting lip colour: most of us have this problem. the lip colour's gone in less than two hours. i got this off perfect ten's tips.. apply a layer of lip colour, use a tissue to dab it, apply a layer of foundation and apply another layer of lip colour. works pretty well. otherwise, use a chapstick as a base.

Vaseline: protects the lips pretty well. they usually give a natural tint as well.

Lip gloss: refrain from spreading them all over your entire lips. you'll look like you've just kissed a suckling pig and desperately need a face wash. apply your lip colour as a base (optional) and apply your gloss at the center of your lips. carry your gloss around for touch ups.

Lip pencil: technically, you're supposed to use a lip pencil to fill up the entire area of your lip before applying lip colour over it. (but who does it anyway? it's much too troublesome)

Eye

Eye Liner

Line the entire top lash line and extend the line a little at the corners. to line the lashes under your eye, make sure that you start the liner at the outer third of your eye and extend it just a bit beyond the corner. do not line the entire eye. you'll look right off a horror story.

Mascara

The mascara works wonders: curl your eyelashes. gently apply pressure at the root, center, and tip of your lashes. when applying to your upper lashes, bend your head down, and look up, placing your mirror below eye level. when applying to lower lashes, gently brush the mascara from the corner of your eye to the end.

Eye colour

Apply a light color all over the lid. Use a darker shade for your upper, outer lid. For deep-set eyes, use another shade that’s the darkest of the three and apply only to the crease of your eyelid.

Cheeks

Blusher

there are many types of blusher like cream or liquid, but for amateurs, stick to the powder type.
first, pick up the brush that comes with the compact blusher. next, throw it out of the window. it's too small. buy a bigger, softer brush. grin like a fool. try to see the apple of your cheeks. brush lightly over the apple of the cheek, moving toward the ear, with short, up-and-down vertical movements. blend blush above your apple.

Remover

finally, spurlge on a decent make-up remover. any trace of make-up left today will prove disastrous when you wake up tomorrow.