Hey Everyone!

This is the only time I get to wear bad make-up and get away with it. I have to admit it and I’m sorry if I sound mean but there are times when I just wanna help a gal out. Either in the MRT, mall or even on the street, sometimes I just wonder what’s going on in their heads when they put on their make-up this morning. Being a make-up artist, it’s really hard not to look. Here are my top 5 make-up pet peeves (peeves are things that really annoy you) and how to fix them! They’re common make-up mistakes that everyone makes! Not like you gotta fix them for me, but let’s just say you gotta help yourself.

1. The Reverse Panda Eye

This is probably the most common. You’re doing your make-up and you didn’t sleep much last night so you’re layering on that concealer under the eye. In the mirror it looks pretty good but trust me girl, it’s deceiving. You think it brightens your look up but when the camera snaps and flash goes off, you look like what I call – the “Reverse Panda”.

It’s not a good look. You look like you have headlights under your eyes and it’s just plain distracting. But, here are a few tips to help you out. If you have heavy and dark under-eye circles it is totally understandable why you want the coverage. Instead, make sure you opt for a concealer with no SPF and no reflective properties. Anything that is a concealer and highlighter in one or a “radiant” concealer is an absolute no. Instead go for something that’s just a liquid concealer. However, if you have no under eye circles like me, and want to highlight – then, just dab three dots underneath your eye and in short dabbing motions, blend the concealer out! Just to clear things up, your under eye concealer should be the same color (not lighter) as your foundation/face.

2. Round Blush-a-Holic

I don’t know how this trend made it here, but it did. The round circle blush shape is making waves with it’s Japanese fans but truth be told, we don’t all look like Japanese dolls. I’ve seen this on girls on the train, going shopping, at the movies. And I hate to be mean, but I really think you look like Krusty the Clown’s wife. I mean look at me! I didn’t even do up myself that bad to show you. I usually see these girls with bright red or orange circles on their cheeks. I just wanna go up there, ask for their permission of course, and blend it out. Trust me, they’re not doing cosplay either.

Blush can do so much for you and it’s not just about looking fresher and more alive. It can help slim you down too. For the most natural flush, work the blush slightly from the top of your cheekbones down to your cheeks. Make sure you add a little at a time till you get the perfect flush and you can see that the blush looks much better and more complete!

3.  The Ashy Foundation 

One of my friends is super fair, but really wants to be tan so much so, she’s in “foundation shade denial”. She refuses to get a foundation that is her shade and usually goes for the shade 2 or 3 shades darker. Then, she bronzes up her entire body. Although looking tan isn’t the problem here in Singapore, I still think we have a similar problem. A lot of the more tan models I do always ask me to apply something lighter so they look lighter on camera. That’s not a problem since it’s on camera but walking around, you do look a little funny. The reason why you look ashy, dull or gray is because your foundation either is too light a shade for you or you’re walking around with the wrong undertone.

And it’s not your fault either. The BB Cream craze here is…crazy! They only provide one or two shades and all of them are for light skin tones. Even walking to your local Watsons and Guardian, most of the make-up brands even major ones supply only foundation shades for light skin tones. It kinda makes me a little mad. Find something that is your skin tone. But, it could be the fact that the actual foundation is gray! There are so many bb creams out there with a gray undertone. You squeeze it out on your palm and it’s obviously gray! Do you check this or no, because it’s gray. I show you ze difference. Gray vs. Yellow – BOTH are bb creams. I’m not going to name any names but you can see the difference for yourself.

4. Top Heavy Lashes

That picture makes me wanna go “heheheheh”. Lol. You can see how dramatically smaller my eyes have gotten and this is everywhere. I mean false lashes can do every Asian great things, including myself. They do open up the eyes. However! You must get lashes that suit your eye-shape. Sometimes people think that all false lashes are created equal but no, they come in different shapes and sizes for a reason! Getting super full lashes does not equate to getting super big eyes. In fact, it equates to smaller eyes if your eyes can’t carry them well.

So how do you pick a good lash. Granted the “good lash” isn’t the best lash I have but it will do. You can see the “good lash” has varying lengths, cris crosses, has more space between the lash and is layered. This is for sure going to look a little lighter on your eyes than the “bad lash”. Of course if you have really large eyes you can turn the “bad lash” into a “good lash”, but this lash is going to just flatten and squash your eye. It’s a straight cut which isn’t natural. It’s just thick. It’s like I can just grab the thing as one piece of hula skirt and take it off.

As you can see, the “good lash” makes such a gigantic difference. Even though the “good lash” isn’t as thick as the “bad lash”, it’s able to open my eyes even bigger than they originally were without lashes and that’s exactly what you want!

So I really hope you found this useful! Hope I don’t see any of you girls sporting the above anymore or I haven’t done ma job properly!

Shop at my online store – http://www.roseanne.sg

Love,
Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

I’m sure we all know how to conceal, but what about colour correcting? No, I’m no talking about slapping on another foundation or concealer to “colour correct” our skin, but using actual cream colours to do the job. Using green and purple concealers might only make sense if you’re helping do Barney the Dinosaur’s make-up, but it can really actually help you achieve an even flawless base under your make-up. This is colour correcting.

Today I’m using my favourite which is the Make Up For Ever Camo Cream Palette. I always use this palette when I need to colour correct my clients or models and I love the texture. It is a dream. There are two main things you need to know about colour correcting – being what colour corrects what, and how to correctly apply the cream (because it’s not how you usually do it).

Dark oranges - are great for dark skin tones because it is able to warm up the skin so that foundation doesn’t look pale and ashy. Often, more african skin tones can have gray or ashy “pigmentation spots” and more commonly, the middle of the face doesn’t match the tone of the border of the face. This dark orange helps to correct the mismatched spots. For midnight dark skin, you can even use your red lipstick to do the job as I’ve done before!

Purple/Lilac – used to correct sallowness of the skin or yellowness and significantly brighten your complexion. Did you know that this colour theory is all according to the colour wheel. Therefore, since purple is used to correct yellow, yellow corrects purple or blue/black spots. For example, if you have really dark under eye circles, you can use a pale yellow colour corrector to correct your under-eye first before applying your concealer. You’ll find that it goes away even better.

Green – the most common colour corrector. It’s used to correct redness, eczema, pink blemishes and zits. Applying the green colour correct before, will help you hide the redness that usually shows up through your concealer. It’s great to hide those hard to hide red areas too.

The rest of the palette features concealers that you can mix together to hide your flaws, they aren’t really colour correctors. I would say this palette is missing a pale yellow because that’s pretty much all that’s left! As you would know, a pale yellow helps to correct the dark under eye circles and helps to neutralize it.

In applying your colour corrector, the keyword again is neutralize. You’re supposed to neutralize the colour, not conceal it. Therefore, as you can see in the picture, the first swatch is wrong. Applying a green layer is not going to help you and will make you look like shrek. Instead, lightly pat the corrector onto the affected area. See how light that is? That’s exactly the amount (or less) that you need to neutralize whatever you’re trying to hide!

Hope this helps and have a wonderful weekend!

Roseanne

Hey Everyone,

I know it doesn’t look like it but I’ve actually been battling acne for a long time. My skin has attitude and breaks out in different periods of time for what seems like no absolute reason. It can have periods of peace and then have periods of war and you can see the war coming with small tiny bumps spread across my face. Thankfully, it has prepared me for battle so here I am sharing some tips to help keep your skin clearer including what works for me and what doesn’t.

1. Spot Treatment – Proactiv Repairing Lotion

My all time favourite acne treatment that doesn’t leave me scars is the Proactiv Repairing Lotion. It works because it contains benzoyl peroxide that eliminates the bacteria on your skin that causes acne. I used the Proactiv range before and just like any skincare range, it works for a while and then doesn’t.  However, I’ve stuck to the repairing lotion for a long time and its the one thing that has helped clear acne without leaving scars, smaller overnight and even stops growing acne from coming out. What a miracle worker. I’m probably on my 4th bottle.

2. The Cleanse Twice Rule & Remove Makeup Properly!

Guess what, many of us don’t remove our make-up properly! It’s sad but true and it was true for me. I thought cleansing my skin with a cleanser looked like it removed all my makeup but it actually isn’t sufficient. Take everything off and make sure its off. I use Bioderma, my all time favourite sensitive skin makeup remover with a non oily forumla. It removes all traces of make-up and has helped my skin improve because I use it with a cotton pad until I see no more traces of make-up. Then, I start off with cleanse number 1 which is Cetaphil because it has a gentle, non-soap formula. I then take my bath and when I’m about to sleep, I cleanse again with my “treatment” cleanser – whether it be brightening, whitening or whatever. That way I cleanse fully. It really helps to make your skin a whole ton better.

3.  Finding a Skincare Routine that works for you

A lot of the brands out there claim that you NEED a serum, need a toner, need this and that in your skincare routine. Most of the time, some of the products aren’t suitable for your skin and it’s just a marketing gimmic. You seriously need to find a skincare routine that works for you. That means if you have to skip toner because it breaks you out, just skip it. If you think you shouldn’t use all the products from a brand range, and mix it up a bit, do it! Find the routine that works for you and it will be the best for you. To clear off my whole load of acne I had across my cheeks, I basically fired it all with the Proactiv Reparing lotion, like loads of it. Of course that’s not recommended by anyones dermatologist but even though it was red and irritated  it eliminated my acne in about 2 weeks. Record breaking time.

4. You’re a Work in Progress

Treating acne requires a patient soul. Acne never goes down in a day or two days even. Treat it everyday and be careful with it and it will go down. Sometimes it can be due to your hormones and your diet as well. So eat more vegetables and drink more water to help with that. Hormones – can’t do much I guess. Be patient!

5. Exfoliation & Going Oil-Free

Within your skincare routine, you can help with the process as well like exfoliating less. This really aggravates the acne. You should go oil free with all your products as well and when treating your acne, reduce moisturiser to specific times. When applying your acne medication, do not apply it over your moisturizer. Think about it, you’re trying to dry out the pimple with your medication and then you’re trying to hydrate it at the same time. Don’t confuse it. Apply moisturizer around the zits if you need to or after your medication session is over. If you have “treatment” and “moisturiser/repair” sessions like wake up 9am to 11 am treat acne, 2 pm to 3pm moisturise because that way they don’t mix.

Please also remember to clean your mouth after you eat!

Here are my all time favourite acne skincare products that work:
- Proactiv Repairing Lotion (Can be found at Watsons)
- Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
- Cellilux Glacial Clay mask
- Bioderma for Sensitive Skin (can be found at http://elizabeauty.com/get-your-very-own-bioderma for cheaper)

Hope you liked this article :)

Roseanne

Hey Everyone,

I can’t believe it’s over in two weeks. I still remember packing my bags (albeit very last minute), hopping on a plane and getting on the tube to my very first day of school. And now, it’s already week 7! Finally attending make-up school was a big dream of mine. Even though to be honest most of my friends and family questioned what more I could learn there, I learned an immense amount. It wasn’t so much about theory, but the experience of applying make-up on people day in day out and being professional about it is what helped! In fact, applying make-up on someone else is totally different than applying make-up on yourself, plus you learn the real professional way of doing things and you get told off by someone who’s been doing it for 20 years. Here are my top lessons, tips and tricks (whatever you want to call them) from school that I never knew how to do before. Plus, I’ve sprinkled images of some of my work throughout the post as well!

1. Curling Someone Else’s Lashes

Whenever I had to curl somebody’s lashes before, I always willingly handed them the eyelash curler. Now, with more practice of course, I’m able to do it myself. If you want to do it on someone else, simply tell them to “half-open” their eyes. Then, tuck the eye-lash curler underneath and semi close down and ask “Does it feel okay?”. With a “yes”, then you can proceed to clamp down on the lashes. Wait a 10 – 30 seconds and release for curled lashes. Also, remember that when applying mascara, you always need to apply your mascara on a disposable mascara wand and not apply straight from the tube! Mascara is notorious for little germs.

( Black & White x Tint – Model: Amelia | Photographer: Sandro Hyams| Make-Up: Roseanne Tang)

2. Lipliner is now a must-have

I never understood lip liner before coming here. If I outline the lips, it looks too theatrical. If I fill it in with lip liner, what’s the point, I’m applying lipstick anyway. I just couldn’t be bothered. But seriously with every look I’ve done over the past months, I’ve had to use a lipliner. It’s a must-have to make those really sharp and intense lip looks and it has been difficult but after doing it so many times, I finally got the hang of it. The trick to lip liner isn’t to press hard and draw it out like an eyeliner, but to very lightly trace the line of your lips – the lightest, slightest line will appear and that’s the line you want because you don’t want to go to heavy. You can also ask your model to stretch the bottom lip by half smiling so it’s easier for you to draw. Then, fill in the lips completely by using the side of the pencil to shade in the lips. We almost never leave the lip not filled up after applying liner.

( Classic Glamour  - Model: Emma | Photographer: Shooting Beauty| Make-Up: Roseanne Tang)

3. Moisturise Please

I remember applying foundation beforehand on dry skin. It would cake up and look like a complete mess. Little did I know how important skin prep is before make-up application and we’re not just talking primers. My cleanser of choice is a cream cleanser. I cleanse even if there’s no make-up with a special massage technique and grabbing moistened cotton disks to wipe away the cleanser after. I then tone and remember to pat away the toner after I sweep the face with a folded up tissue so the skin doesn’t feel tight. Then of course moisturiser. I have two moisturisers in my kit, a lotion for people who don’t need moisturiser and a more heavy duty one – both E45. Even if they don’t need it, I will still moisturise before the make-up so that it’s a smoother application. For nasty dry spots, you need the heavy duty one. I say moisturise until you feel the skin is soft and supple to the touch. If that’s good, then you’re ready for make-up. I’ve been wanting to get the Rosebud Salve as well. Apply it to the flaky bits, do the eyes first, and the flaky bits will drop off naturally. Then apply the foundation.

( Beauty Shot – Model: Stephanie | Photographer: Shooting Beauty| Make-Up: Roseanne Tang)

I think everyone can do make-up self taught for sure. I know I did for three years, but I guess you’ll never really learn about the small things until you’ve done a few months at a school. What’s hygienic, what’s not, how to prepare your kit and table, how to direct your model so that applying make-up is easier and safer for both of you.

But, I guess the most major lesson I’ve learnt is that man, I really love putting make-up on people. After doing a shoot a few weeks ago for six hours straight on like 20 models, I realised I didn’t feel tired and I think I very well enjoyed myself too much. I only hope I can get a move on a decent make-up artist career back in Singapore. You want your make-up done, holla!

We’re now learning to do HAIR – something that I have absolutely no experience in but I’m getting the hang of it already. I can’t wait to do all the updos, curls and plaits!

xx Roseanne

Hey Everyone!

I don’t know about you but in the fast and busy pace of today, I’m always on the look-out for multi-taskers and as a make-up artist, it’s really important to find products that are multi-use so that we can save space in our kits, and save time. Here’s three products that you can use for multiple uses and are ever so handy on the go, travelling or if you’re just plain lazy. Tsk Tsk. Jokes.

1. Superhero Stick Foundations

Any foundation that you use can be “doubled up” to act as a concealer. What a concealer really is, is just product that has concentrated pigment, more concentrated than your foundation so that it can cover up more. So, if you apply your foundation and pat your foundation again on your blemish after, then you are actually concealing it. But, sometimes we need a little more coverage and that’s when stick foundations are fabulous products. Stick foundations should be warmed up first, scrape a little out and on the back of your hand use your finger to rub the product until it’s creamy. You can then apply the product as a foundation or you can use it as a concealer as well. Therefore, it’s a two in one! It’s great for travelling because you don’t need to pack two products, just need your handy stick foundation, and you’re good to go! I’ve been really liking the Bobbi Brown stick foundations because they’re creamy after warming up and blend nicely into the skin for a flawless finish.

2. The Almighty Lipstick

Lipsticks aren’t just for your lips, they can do a bunch of things. See lipsticks as cream products and you can just imagine what you can do with them. Use your finger to collect some on your fingertip, dab three dots on your cheek and blend with another clean finger for a quick blush on the go. I was doing make-up for darker skin tones the other day and to warm darker skin, you need a peach or red color corrector. Not having those on hand, I applied some red lipstick at the back of my hand and used a cream concealer to blend in with the red so that I got a nice warm peach and applied it to the face to even out the tones. It worked perfectly.

3. The Versatile Gel liner

Rumor has it that Bobbi Brown was the first to bring the gel liner to the market. She didn’t have any liner for a shoot one day and decided to grab her eyeliner brush to collect some mascara product to apply on the eyes. The product didn’t budge so she decided to put it in a pot (with a few extra ingredients of course) and call it the gel liner. Therefore, gel liners are really versatile. If you have a quick hand at smudging, simply take a bit of gel liner with your finger tip and smudge from the lid line upwards. Apply eye-shadow very quickly and you can be sure that your eye looks aren’t going anywhere. Sometimes when the model has already great curled lashes, and we can’t get the small roots of the hairs with a mascara wand, we can go ahead and apply a black gel liner to the roots as well!

So there you have it, three must have multi-use products to save time, space and a little extra mooh-lah.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know if you have any other multi-tasking product suggestions in the comments below!

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Love,

Roseanne