I am Linda from Silverkis.com, and I’m very honored to be able to write this guest post for you today! Sara and I share a lot of things in common, the first time we got chatting, she impressed me by how in-tuned she is to Asian makeup trends. Myself, I spent a good part of my youth living in the US, and in some ways I find myself more Western-minded when it comes to makeup. So the big question that I’ve always been trying to answer, is how to marry the best of East and West. For today, I thought it’d be fun to give you a glimpse at some of my personal favorites from this past Spring 2015 collections, and explain them in the context of “Asian” beauty, with the hopes that it will give you a greater appreciation for some of these new trends that are gaining popularity.
The Asian ideal of beauty revolves around a flawless porcelain complexion, and more often than not, is obsessed with perfection and fair. In contrast, Western consumers favor some color and the ability for natural beauty to shine through. Two very contrasting concepts, but somewhere in between there exists a perfect middle ground, and I think an excellent example is the Diorsnow Les Neiges Rainbow Powder. Every year Dior releases an Asia-exclusive collection in Spring, and it usually includes a face powder of some sort. This year's Rainbow powder was exceptional not only for the beautiful mosaic pattern, but for its ability to veil imperfections while allowing the natural skin to still show through. It floats over the skin without any cakiness or powderiness, is mostly invisible to the eye but still manages to blur the look of pores and brighten the overall complexion. Very few finishing powders impress me as much as Guerlain Meteorites Pearls, but this Diorsnow Rainbow Powder may yet surpass that, and comes in a much more travel-friendly lightweight compact! The Diorsnow collection is expected to be available in the US around summer, so do watch out for this one.
Spring eyeshadows are generally not my favorite as they tend to be pale and pastey, and it is even worse out here in Asia as the current prevailing trend from Korea features minimal eye makeup. But this season I was pleasantly surprised by the somewhat bolder and smokier eye makeup presented by many Western brands. Whilst I personally thought Tom Ford’s rocker chic inspiration was insanely cool and irreverant for Spring, Chanel struck the best balance between pretty pastels and smoky with its La Perle de Chanel collection. Just like Dior, Chanel typically releases a special collection for the Asian market in Spring, but this year, this collection was also made available on Chanel.com and is also expected to be available at Nordstrom for their annual summer sale. I particularly loved the Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow Quad in Tisse Rhapsodie which replaced classic black/grey/brown with a cool complex charcoal for some extra definition.
Addiction is a Japanese makeup brand that was founded by makeup artist Ayako, who was mentored by Francois Nars in New York for many years. Unfortunately it is not easily accessible outside of Japan, but you may find it on various online retailers specializing in Japanese cosmetics. There were 2 new Blush Mix from the latest Spring collection and I picked up Pink Waves on a whim, and was just blown away by it. Such sweet neutral pinks are generally crowd pleasers and are particularly popular in Asia where the youthful school girl look is always highly sought after, but it is not my style as they can look a bit washed out on me. What I loved about this new blush mix is that I can customize how bold a look I wish by either concentrating my brush on the darker or lighter shades. The lightest shade has a pearl finish with very soft shimmers that create a lovely luminosity when mixed in with the other shades or may be used on its own as a highlighter. Unlike many other high-end Japanese blushes that give very sheer color, this Addiction Blush Mix is nicely pigmented, super soft and blends out easily.
One of my favorite new product launches this season is Shu Uemura’s Laque Supreme. These are, hands-down, the best re-invention of lip lacquers I have ever encountered. They are super pigmented, glossy, and yet completely light-weight and non-sticky! Extremely long-lasting on my lips, and they leave behind a stain even after they’re gone. These Laque Supremes are also a very easy way to achieve the ombre lip look that is still very popular in Asia. Simply swipe the color over the inner part of the lips, smack them together to spread, and then dab gently with a finger to diffuse the color to the edge! Super easy and it lasts!
And finally, assembling all of these on my face!
Linda
