The word ‘Asian’ applies to a variety colours, ranging from Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Korean and the list is endless.  Although I have makeup training as a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant in the past, I can’t pretend to be a fountain of all-knowledge on makeup application for Asian skin tones.  However, in my research, trying to find valuable information and top tips for you Asian beauties out there, I came across this amazing woman.

Taylor Chang-Babian is an award-winning makeup artist specialising in makeup for Asian women.  In her new book, “Asian Faces: The Essential Beauty and Makeup Guide for Asian Women”, she gives beauty-basics and top-tips for the Asian woman.  Her website, http://www.styleeyesbeauty.com provides a wealth of resources and information that every Asian woman should know.

To whet your appetite, check out the following pointers from the website www.styles101.homestead.com to whom the tips that follow can be accredited!

Foundations:

As I’m sure you all know, finding the correct shade for an Asian woman is not easy. Most makeup lines carry tones in pink. On Asian skin, this creates a mask effect. Look for foundations that have a yellow or slight olive undertone for pale light to dark skin. NARS , Cover FX and Shisheido, a luxury Japanese line are great lines that cater to Asian women and yellow undertones in makeup.  Here’s a few of their foundation shades for Asian woman:

Contouring:

This can help a variety of flaws – “flat” face appearance, very round facial shapes, wide set eyes, large foreheads and so on. Contouring is one of the oldest practices in the makeup industry. Yet it is one of the most frequently left-out steps. Contouring creates a sense of balance, adding definition with colour. Bronzers, deeper foundation shades and powders are great to use for this.

Forehead:

If you have a wide forehead, apply a light bronzer to each temple and blend.

Chin:

For a small, thin chin, apply highlighter to the centre of the chin, directly under the centre of the lip. To minimize a double chin, apply bronzer along the jaw line and blend it down, towards your neck. This creates depth and helps to strengthen the jaw line. You should always apply contouring colour on your neck to your shirt line to avoid a “mask” look.

Lips:

To slim full lips, apply a deep shade of lip colour to the entire lip. If you want to plump up thin lips, you can apply a light lip colour with shimmer or gloss. Then apply highlighter between the peaks of the upper lip and below the centre of the lower lip. This makes thin lips look full and gives a pouty appearance.

Nose:

To slim your nose you would apply the contouring shade on each side of your nose, blending carefully, and the highlighter down the centre of your nose.

Cheekbones:

To enhance the cheekbones, suck in your cheeks; apply a darker shade to the hollows and a highlighter to the top of the cheekbones, then apply blush as normal. Don’t overdo it!

For greasy lids, use an eye makeup primer.MK Eye Primer is the ultimate eye prep for smoother, longer-lasting, crease-proof eyeshadow.

If you have a very prominent brow bone and large upper space above the crease, stick to medium shades. Highlighting colours will do just that, emphasize that area and make them appear bigger.

Black eye liner will make the eye appear smaller. Opt for dark browns and charcoals – you’ll be amazed by going one shade lighter than black, how much it will open your eyes.

If your eyes are too “cat’s-eye” looking and you want them to appear more round, do not extend the top or bottom liner past the outer corners. Stop right at the end, with a blunt line.

For small eyes, extend the shadow out past the outer corner just past where brow ends.

For more tips, remember to go to www.styles101.homestead.com or http://www.styleeyesbeauty.com.  Why not even follow Taylor on Twitter?

Luckily, with the help of esteemed makeup artists like Taylor Chang-Babaian, the cosmetic industry has finally recognized that what works for Caucasian women, might not work for Asian women, and have come out with makeup tools to help conceal flaws along with appreciating the difference in skin tones, facial shapes and eye shapes, making the most of the natural and exotic beauty of all Asian women.