Murad Skin Care:
Acne Complex is an effective acne treatment. Murad Acne Complex is a Kit contains the best Murad Acne products.
Murad Resurgence products are an anti-aging solution. Murad Resurgence is used by Joan Lunden!
Murad Acne Treatments are the most effective acne products on the market today.
Need to get rid of cellulite? Cellulite Treatments fight cellulite in the hard to reach places.
Chantecaille's limited edition, Coral Compact ($69) is a two tone, vitamin c rich, illuminating powder embossed with a coral branch. 5% of proceeds go towards “reefs of hope”- an endangered coral preservation project. Refillable compact. Available April 6.
Christian Dior’s newest, only at Sephora, products are Eye Show and Pro Cheeks Ultra Radiant Blush. Eye Show ($30) is a metallic, waterproof cream eye shadow. Available in 6 colors: White Light Disco, Glam & Glitz Black, Pop Aquadelic, Queen of Green, Undressed Beige and Pink Wannabe. Pro Cheeks Ultra-Radiant Blush ($30) is a sheer, long lasting cream blush. Available in 4 very natural colors: Must Have Brown, Hip Peach, Catwalk Pink and Limelight.
It may be the slushy, snowy, freezing dead of winter, but one look at Kate Spade’s new purses and cosmetic cases has me feeling like spring can’t possibly come soon enough. My favorite purse is the Cape Cod Straw Small Reyna ($195) is an adorable tote embroidered with a raffia lobster. The inside is a navy and white lobster print cotton lining. I’ve never been to Cape Cod, but my boyfriend’s parents have a house in Martha’s Vineyard- and we go every year, as often as we can. For such 10 hour drives and 2 week vacations, what’s better than toting your makeup around in the Cape Cod Small Manuela ($85) and the Patchin Place East West Heddy ($50). So adorable, fresh, and cute. Thinking about the two cases sitting on my dresser makes me smile.
Eva Mendes is the 33 year-old Cuban- American star of such movies as Hitch, Stuck on You and Training Day. For this look, mix a liquid luminizer (like Stila’s) with your regular foundation. Define eyebrows and apply a gold shadow (Estee Lauder's Gold Nugget) all over eyelid. With a medium berry cream blush (Stila Convertible Color in Peony), dot along the center of your cheek bones and blend out toward the hairline and over the apples of cheeks. For extra staying power, layer with a powder blush (Nars Blush in Outlaw) of a similar color. Keep lips simple with a glossy pink lipstick (Guerlain KissKiss Maxi Shine Lipstick in Pastel Shine 660).
Fusion Beauty GlowFusion Micro-tech Intuitive Active Bronzer ($39) is a featherweight, fragrance-free, pressed bronzer made with naturally derived ingredients for a lit-from-within radiance. Vitamin C diminishes dark spots and enhances skin tone. Vitamin E fights premature aging and free radicals. Invisiskin, with rice bran and honey extract, keeps skin hydrated and protected. Not only is it a bronzer, but it’s also a skin treatment that increases collagen production and evens skin tone, reduces fine lines and wrinkles, and promotes a youthful radiance. Availabe in 3 shades: Golden (rich golden glow), Luminous (soft sun-kissed glow) and Sunshine (warm bronze glow).
TheBalm’s new, only at Sephora, BalmShelter SPF 17 Tinted Gloss ($18) is a jojoba-based, sunscreen-enriched, scented and tinted gloss. Available in 6 shades.
No one asked me, but here we go...
When did u start the blog and why? September 22, 2006. I didn’t see a whole lot of Asian beauty blogs, so I decided to start my own. The most asked question is, “how do I put eye makeup on if I’m Asian?”
What do you spend on beauty products each month? I really try to restrain myself when I’m at the beauty counters, because I don’t have much disposable income. I’ll go around and try everything at Macy’s, Nordstroms, MAC, and Bath & Body Works, without buying anything. Then if I really decide I can’t live without it, I’ll go back. About $60/month.
Beauty Fixation? Mineral-based, powder foundation (Bare Escentuals) and facial exfoliators.
Beauty Icons (who inspire you): I love Joan Chen, Thandie Newton and Audrey Hepburn’s natural beauty.
Edible addiction that doesn’t make you fat? Smoothies. Make your own. I use yogurt, ice, strawberries, banana, peach, pineapple (or whatever u have); throw in a handful of almonds for fiber, vitamin E, magnesium, protein, potassium and calcium.
Beauty secrets (tell us something that no one knows and that you have not disclosed on your site): I love Pond’s Exfoliating Face Wash and their Dry Skin Cream. I also like Curel Restore and Revive Lotion for the body and Aquaphor for feet. (Not to be braggy, but I get compliments on the softness of my skin [face + body] frequently.) My tips are: wash, exfoliate, then apply moisturizer to damp skin.
Beauty Bibles: When I was 13, my uncle gave me his copy of Way Bandy’s Designing Your Face, and that was the first real makeup book I ever had. Though it was written 22 years ago, it has some important points on touching your face and knowing the curves and lights + darks of your face. Bobbi Brown’s books (Beauty, Teenage Beauty, Beauty Evolution) and Kevyn Aucoin’s (Making Faces, Face Forward, The Art of Makeup) were all great references- and Asian Beauty by Margaret Kimura and Marianne Dougherty, was fantastic.
Childhood Beauty Ambitions: As an adopted child, I often wished I wasn’t Korean, or that I had a crease in my eyelid, or that I didn’t have a mole next to my eye, or a dimple in my cheek. I grew up looking at American magazines and their idea of beauty- Cindy Crawford or Christy Turlington. At some point, I realized I could never look like them, and I’d have to make do with what I had. I just wanted someone to think I was pretty.
Morning Beauty Routine:
Post Shower:
1. Wash face with Pond’s fresh start daily exfoliating cleanser.
2. Douse 100% cotton pad with C.O. Bigelow’s Rose Water Skin Tonic, gently pat over face.
3. Apply Origins’ A Perfect World White Tea Skin Guardian.
4. Moisturize face with Pond’s Dry Skin Cream.
5. Apply lotion over entire body.
6. A few spritzes of Marc Jacobs Perfume
7. My favorite deodorant, as of now, is aididas brand 24 hr. Control Absorbent Deodorant. This is the first deodorant for women to manage perspiration as effectively as an anti-perspirant. 100% aluminum-free and non-staining.
Must have travel beauty items: Travel makeup removing wipes (like Olay), Tinted moisturizer w/ an SPF (I make my own), Benefit’s Brow Zings, deep red/ rose tinted lip balm (doubles as blush. I like Burt’s Bees), Bobbi Brown foundation stick, and Chanel pressed powder. I also need Garnier Fructis Style Surf Hair and Bumble and Bumble Holding Spray + Thickening Spray.
Stila's new, limited edition, Convertible Color Duo ($20) is a duo of the 2 best-selling Convertible Color shades (Lillium- muted rose + Gerbera- light peach) in a mirrored compact.
The new, Plumping Lip Glaze ($24) is Stila's classic lip glaze infused with marine collagen spheres, shea butter, and vitamins A + C- for smooth, glossy lips. Packaged in the signature click pen. Available in 6 shades.
Guerlain’s KissKiss Maxi Shine Sheer Colours Volume Effect ($27) is a shiny, plumping, long-lasting transparent version of KissKiss lipstick. Available in Nude Shine 644 (shimmering rosey beige), Rosa Shine 669 (shimmering pale pink) and Violet Shine 670 (shimmering muted fuschia). The KissKiss Gloss ($26) is a super shiny, non-sticky gloss that stays put while moisturizing lips. Comes with a flat brush applicator. Available in 3 different formulas: Petal Effect (for sheer coverage), Pearl Effect (pearly finish), and Gloss Effect (subtle sparkling finish).
The Kimora Lee Simmons' Super Model Stage Kit ($38) is a palette of warm browns and rich golds, designed to make you look goddess-like on the go. Includes 3 eye shadows in penny whistle (shimmering copper), gold rush (true gold) and mink (brown with gold accent); 3 lip glosses in chocolate mousse (rich brown w/ shimmering accents), creme caramel (swirls of browns + rich gold flecks) and black cherry float (deep red satin); blush in moroccan dust (shimmery tawnys + nudes); and beauty powder highlighter in champagne (soft pink shimmer).
Stella McCartney has recently created an Ecocert-certified, luxury organic skincare line called Care by Stella McCartney. It boasts:
• 100% INGREDIENTS FROM NATURAL ORIGIN
• 100% ACTIVE INGREDIENTS CERTIFIED ORGANIC
• PRODUCTS CERTIFIED BY ECOCERT
• PRODUCTS NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS
• NO GENETICALLY MODIFIED INGREDIENTS
• NO PETROCHEMICALS
• NO CHEMICAL PRESERVATIVES
• FRAGRANCE COMPOSED WITH 100% ORGANIC ESSENTIAL OILS
• RESPECT OF THE ENVIRONMENT
• NO SILICONES
• NO PARABENS
A 4-step program (cleanse, tone, rescue & revive, moisturize & protect) is recommended for the most effective results. Two of the star products are the 5 Benefits Moisturising Cream ($76) and the 5 Benefits Moisturising Fluid ($76). Each contains organic concentrations of grape seed oil and white mallow extract (for moisture), linseed oil and musk rose oil (for nourishment), green tea extract and soybean oil (for vitamin E), and sweet orange extract (for vitamin C). Protects the skin from exposure to the environment, leaving skin glowing.
Michael Kors is a smart man. He's pretty amazing at clothes, shoes, and purses. All of his perfumes smell delightful. The Leg Shine ($32)? So brilliant. The lightly tinted, deodorant-like twist up canister is awesome because you don't have to get your hands all messy and smelly. Available in classic (golden sheen), bronze (sexy bronze glow), shimmer (light tan sheen) and limited edition, only at Sephora, gold (subtle golden sheen with gold flecks). For all these reasons, I am led to believe that his new, Island Michael Kors Hawaii Lip Gloss Balm ($12) will be a keeper. It's a chic orange tinted, flavored and scented lip gloss balm. Suitable for all skin tones.
I had a gift certificate from Christmas left over, so I headed to the makeup counters. I picked up a Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Quad ($25) in Spicy (deep brown, medium brown, rose pink and gold). Each shadow is powder, but they are so soft they feel like cream. All are highly pigmented to provide long lasting color.
This is the Marc Jacobs Gift Set my boyfriend bought me for Valentines Day, this weekend at Macy's. We got the very last one. It includes a 1.7 oz. eau de parfum spray, a 5.1 oz. body lotion and a 0.13 oz. perfume. Sure, I picked it out, but after you've been with someone for 4 years, you start to just tell them what you want. It's easier that way. Anyway, I love him, and he's so amazing and supportive of everything I do- and I don't deserve him. AND he came up with the name "facecandy." He's my facecandy.
Kristin Kreuk, the 24 year-old daughter of a Dutch father and Chinese mother is widely known as Lana Lang- Superman's love interest before Lois Lane, on the WB's Smallville. She always looks beautiful with even skin and lightly defined eyes. For the look in this picture, even out skin tone. Sweep a pale silvery lilac shade over entire eyelid. Gently define eyes with a brown or black liner around the entire eye. Blend. Add a pale pink gloss.
The idea of Pop Beauty’s Conceal and Correct Pressed Mineral Powder Cake ($25) impresses me a lot more than say, a shimmer brick. The 5 shades (peach, yellow, translucent, nude and tan) can be used separately as a concealer, or blended together with a sponge and buffed onto the face.
When it comes to mascara, I'm somewhat picky. I want it to stay in place until I have to take it off, but when I take it off I don't want it to be a lengthy procedure. That's why I'm so enamored with Blinc Kiss Me Mascara, which I've talked about before. It stays the day and comes off easily with a splash of warm water and a gentle rubbing of the lashes. This is my holy grail, can't-live-without-it product. However, when I saw Cover Girl's Volume Exact Mascara ($7), with is flexible, plasticy brush, I decided to try it. I picked up Black-Brown and have to say it does create voluminous, yet separated lashes. 2 coats for extreme lahes.
Urban Decay Deluxe Eyeshadow ($17) is a creamy, cashmere-like, powder eyeshadow that don’t fade away (especially when paired with Eyeshadow Primer Potion). We all know I’m a sucker for attractive product packaging, and I love the pretty artwork on the top of each weighted, mirrored compact. Available in a vivid array of colors, my current favorite is Underground (medium fawn).
Bobbi Brown's Bridal Face Palette ($50) is a chic white palette, designed to make you your prettiest, whether it's at a wedding or not. It's filled with 3 eye shadows (petal shimmer wash, white, and smoke), one blush (French pink), two lip colors (tulle and slopes) and one new shimmer lip gloss (posey).
Make Up For Ever's Sculpting Blush ($24) is an oil free powder compact. Available in cools (7 pinkish shades) and warms (7 orangey shades) and a few tone on tone neutrals and a few "pop" colors for brightening. Matte, satin or Iridescent.
Vincent Longo's Virgin Lux Lip Gloss ($22) is a full-coverage, opalescent, high shine gloss that contains collagen, vitamin E, and aloe. Available in Apollo Gold (opalescent champagne beige), Misison Control (plum with opalescent teal sheen), Prismalite (soft opalescent gold sheen), Take Off (sheer opalescent poppy red) and Touch Down (opalescent coppered rose).
Givenchy's packaging is so beautiful, it doesn't even really matter to me what's inside. Pop Gloss Syrup Lip Gloss ($22) is a sheer, tinted gloss made from 2 types of wax and resin for ultimate shine. Available in Plum Syrup 435 (sheer fuschia purple) and Raspberry 436 (sheer watermelon pink). Inside the Prismissime Eyes 9 Color Eyeshadow in Arty Palette 53 ($53) are 6 pure, matte colors spotted with white pearlescent shimmer (inlays are pink, green, turquoise, yellow, purple and orange) and 3 iridescent, metallic shades (pure silver, pearly pink and precious copper).
