Makeup: Michelle Webb
Location: AOFM Studio

Imagine a forrest. Imagine rays of sunlight shining down onto that forrest, creating depths of shadows, light and dark, twinkles and sparkles. A slight breeze blowing a girl’s soft, brown, toussled hair gently. Her face, strong and deep and captivating. The garment she is wearing matches perfectly with her makeup, rosy and romantic. Each time the camera starts rolling and Melina begins her modelling, I can’t bear to take my eyes off her nor the scenery. It’s like magic just happens. She is telling a story with just her eyes, her walk and her posture. No words said yet there is a whole story that is being told. And the story…it’s being told differently depending on the beholder. Art is supposed to stir a reaction, and each reaction varies.

Isn’t it amazing how one still image can say so much, and a video clip can tell a whole story even without words? I could write and write and write but it cannot ever compare to the real stuff. Sometimes I can spend hours writing and still can’t capture what I’m trying to describe. Sometimes I spend days trying to put something across but yet I still can’t convey what it is that I’m trying to show you. Sometimes, all you need is a single, silent look from a girl in a motion picture that lasts no longer than a few seconds. Or simply a model from a still image, stirring your thoughts. I think this is why Art is my best friend. I know I am so cheap with the amount of words I use sometimes, as I have been told so many times. I see it more as a lack of ability to express myself and an inability to connect with the world. But when I get angry with myself for my lack of verbal expression and connection, I just need to remember that Art is here to save the day. The art of language is sometimes not enough. Sometimes you need to go beyond…

Art Director/Set Designer: Joanna Rutherford
Photographer: Rebecca Hawkes
Model: Melina, First Model Management
Makeup & Hair: Tammi Nguyen

It was, I have to say, a looooong day. And yes it was still the same old food but it wasn’t at all dull or boring. I don’t know what it was. It may have been because it was a friend’s wedding. It may have been because the company was good. Or may be because the couple, Jenny and Alex, were sooo, sooooo cute together like the oriental version of Ken and Barbie. Two cute little dollies, perfect for one another. And I emphasize “little”. Sorry Alex! LOL. Anyway, maybe it was the combination of all the above, but there’s one thing that definately made it all so much more awesome and that was being able to contribute to the special day.

Maybe I’m just a child who never grows up and can’t sit still for so long, but having things to occupy myself with all day long was great! I don’t know if Jenny noticed, but like a stalker, I was staring at her all day long, every chance I got. Yes, Jenny, you are cute and pretty, but it wasn’t why I was staring at you. I was always looking to see what worked and what can be improved. But more importantly, I was looking to see if she needed any touch ups. After all, it wouldn’t be nice for the bride to look oily or washed out on camera.

Jenny and I already figured out what makeup to use on this day, so I knew exactly what to expect. But for her mother and sister, I had to decide on the day. As it was Jenny’s day and I wanted her to stand out more, the others’ makeup application were a little more humble and subtle. Her mother’s makeup needed to be simple, anyway, because mature women need to use anything that is light and sheer. For the bridesmaid,  I just needed a foundation that matched perfectly, natural eyes and subtle lip and cheek colours. She looked fresh like she has had enough sleep and ready for some more hard work! Hands down to all bridesmaids! It’s not as easy as simply standing around looking good for the cam.

So…I have no idea how to end this particular blog. There is so much to say, I had a lot of fun and I’m extremely happy for Jenny and Alex, but if I go on then I’ll just end up getting side tracked with anything unrelated to makeup! Congratulations to J and A. You guys are THE most adorrrrrable bride and groom. I would like to end by mentioning my one regret – not having boogied with Jenny. You looked like my perfect dancing partner that night ; )

P.S. Ti amo is italian for I love you, you monkey!

Photographer: Nam Nguyen

Of course, I know that appearance is not everything. It’s supposed to be something fun. A treat that helps you get through your everyday life that’s not always smooth going. It’s supposed to be a pass to our creativity and artistic abilities. Makeup, photography, styling. We all create art every day unknowingly. When you take a picture you know what looks good to you. When you select your outfits you know exactly what top goes with your jeans. When you apply your peach blusher you unconsciously know that you picked it because it makes you look younger and happier. Saying that, sometimes it’s hard to remember that makeup and fashion is art, not a necessity that makes us lose our confidence and true beauty when we are without.

Being surrounded by everything beautiful on the outside constantly has been a struggle. Sometimes I get scared that if I remain in this industry long enough, it might get ingrained in me that you must be beautiful on the outside to be worth something. But this is what I was born to do – be creative! And the thing is, it helps, especially, when I have an understanding family, an amazingly supportive boyfriend like no other, and wonderful friends who remind me what beauty truely is by just being who they are! Even when they sit around with their greasy hair complaining about how “fat” they are whilst munching on the fattiest piece of chicken. Beautiful! : )

So let’s all remember, we can live and breathe style, but don’t let it be our support machine!

X

(P.S. Thanks to Jenna, Banh Bao and a secret someone for sitting around long enough when I was trying to pass the trial for London Fashion Week! You are why I made it : P)

The current market in beauty, in my opinion, still does not cater much choice for non-Caucasians. I swear by that. It’s not easy for me to find makeup that suits black or oriental skin, especially. So I’m always on the lookout for more makeup to add to my kit and to experiment. Go to any department store and there is limited choice for someone like me or someone with very dark skin tone. Sometimes there are things you can find that will work. Most of the time, though…ergh. Black skin will struggle to find bright bold eyeshadows, blushers that will show up and foundation that is dark enough with a choice between warm undertones and cool undertones. Oriental skin will struggle to find foundation that is yellow enough and eyeshadows and blushers that has less of an orange tone to them.

Differentiating between cool tones and warm tones is not as easy as it seems! You’d simply think red is a warm colour and blue is a cool colour, full stop. But even different shades of reds and blues have cool and warm undertones to them. So if you think you suit cool colours, don’t just run out and get any blue eye shadow you can find. And if you are black, don’t just get the darkest foundation on the counter and think it’s your colour. Orientals…the yellowest foundation on the counter may not be for you. Sometimes you need to mix two shades together. Sometimes NONE of the shades are right for you even when you mix them. Maybe you need to do a little bit more research on warm and cool colours. And don’t assume that you have to use the whole collection from one brand. Just because a few items are great for you, doesn’t mean that you have to stick to everything else within that brand. It’s OK to mix and match different products.

The play was based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, but set in a more futuristic world with robots and spaceships. Hence the makeup looks for this performance were very bold and colourful, perfect for a stage performance. Everything was OTT and dramatized, but we kept the patterns simple, avoiding too much detail as the actors were going to be seen from a distance. On the first day, I realised that some of the makeup application were not big and bold enough and a few needed even more simplicity. By the last day of working for this performance, the lightning bolts reached to the top of their eyebrows, the eyeliners lengthened to their temples and the blushers were as red as a chimpanzee’s bottom.

This whole experience was highly valuable because I learnt to prioritize and apply makeup that is suitable for the situation. For a show of this many people with a time limit of two hours, it was a struggle with just two makeup artists, but it wasn’t impossible. If I had to do it by myself, though, I don’t know how I would have coped. I was lucky to have had a close bunch of makeup artist friends to call for help whenever I needed it.

Makeup Artists: Tammi Nguyen, Jutheanne Cruz-Wild, Bianca Pereira, Carmen Goetz, Peggy Xu
Photographer: Nam Nguyen
Location: Imperial College London

To view all photos from this show click here

Madame Moi was launching her new collection of accessories (which I secretly wanted to steal and then pray for forgiveness afterwards : D) and her concept for this launch video was a period look with humble, stylish outfits, bright lips and structured hair. We had four models to work with and each lady had very different features. That was perfect for me! I always love the opportunity to work with different types of faces, and applying makeup for groups helped me to improve on my timing also. But the greatest excitement of this shoot was being able to work with Jasmine’s oriental eyes.

Often, my Caucasian friends make the mistake of defining all oriental eyes as one type. But that is a false generalisation. There are so many different types of oriental eyes and each type suit a different sort of look. Some makeup artists find great difficulty with oriental eyes because our teenie weenie eyes are not the same as any other. And if you’ve never had experience with this, it’s not likely that you will know what suits your Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean clients. Even I found great difficulty in working with oriental eyes not so long ago (and I’m a yellow person!).

So you see, this is why I get so excited when faced with the “oriental” challenge and it’s not often I come across Jasmine’s type of eyes. They were beautiful eyes, but if the wrong makeup is used and the application is poor, it could go very wrong. Her eyes only needed two colours; a darker shade close to the lash line and a lighter shade all over the lids. And to complete the look, a fine eye liner with long, beautiful lashes. But the most important factor – blend, blend, blend! If I had not kept to the simplicity and I had made it more complex by using a lot of layers, then it would have either aged her or make her look angry.

Whenever I remember back to this shoot, I shamelessly feel a great sense of accomplishment like I’ve managed to run the 10K or something. Yes, I know it’s a little sad! But hey – I’ve gained a little more confidence in my work because I have fulfilled yet another great challenge that will make me a better makeup artist. Now, onto the next challenge…Asian Bridal Makeup : )

Producer: Katy.V.Chung of madamemoi.com
Cinematographer: David Lau
Director: Thao Dang of thaoski.com
Editor: Tom Ruddock
Music Composer: Pete Bailey

Hair: Tammi Nguyen|Emma Mei Chung|Katy.V.Chung
Makeup Artist: Tammi Nguyen
Styling: Katy.V.Chung

Starring:
Justine Priestley | Jasmine Tiet | Nicol Pang | Star Kendrick

Sponsors:
Hunni-B Bakery

Half an hour later, the complete team and our head makeup artist, Maria Papadopoulou, had all arrived. And guess where the catwalk was going to be held? In the basement restaurant. I struggled to drag my suitcase downstairs along with the rest of the makeup artist herd, to find a sort of Middle Eastern and relaxing ambiance. It was lovely. But where was the space for the catwalk? Turns out, the models were to walk around the restaurant, but in an orderly manner of course. And our backstage area…Woh! Where was the lighting?! It was the dimmest room I was ever going to work in. This was going to be interesting…

When the models arrived and we had to get going with the makeup, I had to use my prior knowledge of makeup and foundation shades to determine what will be appropriate for each model. Since the lighting was poor, it was now all up to my instincts and personal judgement. And you know what? It all worked out surprisingly well. During the rehearsal, we watched the models do their fierce strutting with bright lights glaring at them and the makeup was perfect. Everything was so put together, so appropriate, so gorgeous. I wanted to grab the outfits and accessories and run away as far as I could! Why, oh, oh why can’t the fashion world cater for the poor and needy like me???

So another successful catwalk, another successful day. I realised that I knew a lot more than I thought. I predicted what shades would suit each model and how much eye shadow I should apply and how much luminosity was enough and it all turned out fine. The faces were not too white and the eyes were not overpowering that it takes the attention away from the outfits. Designers Julie Haider and Nicol Denoir were happy with the results. Go team!

Video by Kassu Ent Association with URBAN PULSE CREATIVE
Designers: Nicol Denoir, Julie Haider

I have already had a peek at Tamezin’s website prior to the shoot, and I was very much in awe of their moto. Tamezin is for young people and by young people, who “want to make a difference to the youth culture” through the magazine. The team’s focus is on real girls because let’s face it, in today’s society, there is so much hype over celebrities; every young girl wants to know them, look like them, be them. The problem is, often celebrities dress very provocatively. Now, there is nothing wrong with embracing and loving your body and the way Mother Nature made you, but we seem to forget that young, teenage girls are still growing up, still figuring themselves out and confused about their sexuality. But how can they find who they are, learn to accept themselves fully and learn what true beauty is when they are surrounded by this illusion of “perfect” beauty?

The magazine encourages girls to understand that everyone is different and beautiful, even with their unusual bone structures, their curves, their “vertically challenged state” (moi! : P). Plus, you don’t have to dress sexy to look great. So for this particular shoot, Melissa Shefiq and I gave four girls a very fresh makeover to bring out their girlishness. The eyes were smokey blue, the cheeks rosy, the lips glossy and natural. We also styled their hair, each one different to bring out the best of their qualities – from bouncy curls and smooth hair to plaits. After the styling was complete, the girls looked like stars. The outfits they had on were pretty and elegant, with not one ounce of provocativeness in the air. Why look up to airbrushed images with amazement when we can find unique beauty from within ourselves!

I hope that my contribution to this shoot will help young girls accept their own qualities and see fashion and beauty in a different kind of way. I hope that they can embrace who they truly are and be whoever they want to be without feeling the pressure to look, be or act in a certain way that the media can sometimes encourage them to. Heck, I hope that even their friends and bullies can’t phase the realness of their spirits.

For this photoshoot, we had three different looks. The first one involved a walk in the park with vintage looking bikes. It was a slightly cloudy day but the rays of sunshine that we did get created a beautiful golden glow on Star’s blonde hair. Her bright vintage outfit matched perfectly with the old camera she was holding, and Madame Moi’s accessories completed the look like a cherry on top of an ice-cream. And the bonus – the real chemistry between Star and Kane, making the pictures all that more authentic and sweet.

The second and third look took place inside an extremely striking and charming diner that takes you back in time. I felt like I was back in the 50’s and I felt glamorous just by looking at Star in her elegant dress and bright, red lipstick. Everything was so stunning, from the chairs, to the deco on the walls and even the water bottles on the tables which I could not figure out how to open! They even had a bowling alley inside the diner. How incredible is that?

So we spent an entire day living in the past for a brief moment. And when the shoot ended, it felt surreal to step back onto the streets of Hackney and remember that we are now living in a crazy world with not so much elegance and glamour anymore. It wasn’t so much to do with disappointment, because our generation is another unique one that will mark another bold and intriguing period, but it was more like a feeling of daze and confusion! But of course all my friends know that I’m always confused : P

Photographer: Darren Wong
Art Director: Thaoski
Stylist, Accessories & Hair: Madame Moi
Makeup Artist: Tammi Nguyen