Ms. Match's Beach Trip

If anyone is willing to endorse me, I will gladly turn in my laptop (my sole tool of working) and become a full time beach bum. I am a beach person. If anyone asks whether I like the mountain or the sea my answer would always be the sea. There is just something about the smell of the ocean and the sound of waves crashing that lure me to spend countless hours sitting on the hot sand marinating myself in coconut scented sun block and baking in the hot sun. I just love it! And the fact that there are countless bikinis and large shades to choose from just makes it even more fun. But what to do about makeup?? I am sure nobody likes to have racoon eyes after a long day at the beach. But what's a girl to do without her beloved mascara?

Well on my last trip to Kata beach, Phuket, I have found that you only need to carry 5 things with you to ensure a pretty day at the beach:
The first one is my trust worthy Shu Uemura Eye Lash curler. This just doesn't fail and will never run. Forget your mascara! Do you want to slave away trying to clean your clumpy lashes from that ultra strong formula of waterproof mascara when you are just ready to drop dead on your bed? One quick press and my lashes are all set. Well you can try a coat of clear mascara just to hold the curl, but for me the eye lash curler will do.

Second, my Avene sun cream. You have to always remember that the sun is still evil. It will cause wrinkles, spots and in the worst case...the dreaded skin cancer. To prevent that don't get cheap on your sun creams. Slather lots and slather often. Remember the basic SPF equation. Take what ever number is written on the tube of your chosen sun goo and multiply it by the length of time your skin does not burn when you are out in the full blaze of the sun. That is how long your sun screen will protect you. When you have passed that time limit, slap on some more.

Third, my oasis in a bottle, Shu Uemura Depsea Water spray. Just imagine being able to spray on some cold sweet smelling water on your face after baking in the sun. Enough said. I put mine in the fridge just before I head out to make sure that it's icy cold. A friend even went as far as bringing a small cooler box for her Depsea Water.

Fourth, my Body Shop Shea Butter Lip Butter. Before I left for this 5 day trip I was slaving away on my computer until the wee hour of the night (every night for a week)trying to finish all my articles and work stuff. I was not paying attention to what I eat let alone what I drink. By the start of the trip my lips have become so dry and parched that even drinking water was a pain. To get rid of this I drank litres of water everyday, slathered on lots of lip butter, and took a double dose of vitamin C. It worked! My lips were all soft and kissable again by the second day of the trip.

Fifth, my Clarins compact. After putting on tubes of sun cream my face I'm sure you would be able to see your reflection on my cheeks. And the whole greasy look is soooo not me. But with a quick dab of my Clarins compact all the greasiness is gone and I am left with a natural looking color. Mine is a transparant color which looks rather light in the packaging but actually disappears on your skin as soon as you blend it.

Oh I almost forgot. The there is another staple that never leaves my beauty case, my Shiseido blush stick. I am just totally in love with this piece of makeup that I have to have it everywhere with me. The creamy texture lets me put on the blush directly on my cheeks to give them a sunkissed look (I apply it to the apples of my cheek and dab it inwardly towards my nose to create a subtle sun burnt effect). Because of the creamy texture, it does not run that easily and it looks super natural, which is a big plus since I want people to think that I get this healthy color by sun bathing everyday.

So there you are. Six things you should never ever leave behind in your hotel room on your beach trip.

A friend who is also a director for video clips, ads, etc approached me to be the stylist for his upcoming work. A brand new boy band. I thought, styling boys, hmmm why not? After negotiating budgets over YM, he added as an after thought, "This includes makeup for the talents ya!" And I was like, "what??" Doesn't he know that stylist and makeup artist are two different professions and require a different set of skills?

Maaann...at that moment I had flashbacks of a job interview with my current boss (the owner of a PR agency). When I said that I was a beauty editor which was also a freelance stylist and writer, he looked dumbfounded. And he said,"So what does a stylist actually do?" I mean this is coming from a man who has worked with media almost all his life. I am sure he has come across some fashion and life style magazines as well.

I took a deep breath and tried to explain what my job description was as a stylist. I gues there are a lot of people out there who does not know how a picture in a fashion magazine was produced (or any magazine for that matter).
Oh well.. I guess the good side for me is that there is less competition in the market for stylists. The bad side is to convince people how badly they need a stylist.

Twist and Turns: Cools Updos To Try

These photos are from a shoot I did for Hair Ideas Magazine Indonesia. The concept for this one is volume. I tried to find subtle yet cute ways to apply volume to hair without the girl looking like 'ibu-ibu pejabat' as we Indonesians say it. FYI Ibu-ibu pejabat means wifes of government officials, and usually they sport a rather high teased hair do resulting in a bee-hive-like-mass atop their heads. I certainly hope I succeeded :-)
Credits:
Model : Vonnie
Hair and make up: Qiqi Franqy and team
Photographer: Adi Nugroho

Those Winter Wonderland Photos

I am sure you have all seen pictures of Asian looking faces with a background of a winter scenery. These pictures usually feature snow covered pine trees with some snow falling in the background, a snow man, and bundles and bundles of thick jackets and other winter garb.

I came across one of these today as I was reading a blog on Indonesia popular culture. The blog was written in English and it was also quite enjoyable. I enjoyed it so much that I was curious to know the guy behind the writing. I only saw a reference to a uni in the wisconsin and I thought,"Ah, this must be written by some American scholar who took a major in Asian studies at his university."

But when I was looking through the blog for a photograph I came across one which feature an Asian looking guy grinning frozenly from ear to ear all wrapped up in a huge puff jacket, complete with ear muffs, beanie, gloves, and all the works. "Hmmm must be an Indonesian guy," I though to myself. And when I finally found his profile I was right.

I also remember looking at friendster accounts with pictures of friends (some first degree some second degree) in a similar pose with a very familiar background. All looking like a shapeless bloated snowman with a smile that could be mistaken for Batman's archenemy's iconic grin.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people wanting to parade their holiday trips to a four season country while the rest of us here must suffer the heat, humidity and not to mention pollution of this metropolitan we call Jakarta. It's just that, if you are going to post your winter pics on the net for everyone to see, why not show off your excellent fashion style. Cold weather meands layering. And layering spells FUN and COLORS! Why not try donning bright puff jacket with a cool glossy Fendi spring '07 belt around your waist? Open the zip and show off your black and white striped cashmere sweater. Pair it with some worn grey skinny jeans and a pair of mean boots. You're set! Or better yet, check out some of my favorite winter looks from the 2007-2008 Fall/Winter runway shows and try keeping the chills out while looking H-O-T!
*Note: From left to right: Balenciaga, Balenciaga, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Marc by Marc jacobs

Back In Time

This maybe a bit late for an introductory post, but what the heck? I didn't have time to do it yesterday when I started the blog, so here goes.
This is just a blog to post all my ravings and my secret obssesion to beauty and fashion. I was a beauty editor for 4 years. I spent one year as an associate beauty editor at Female magazine Indonesia and then, due to some dissatisfaction with the ehm ehm..management, i resigned and spent the next 3 years at Cosmopolitan Indonesia as a beauty editor. Why is this so discreet you might think? It's because now I work for a PR firm handling mostly IT clients. So not me!!
Well that's what most of my friends would say, but here I am, and doing the job every day. No complaints yet. Well.. not that much anyway..

But I do miss writing about beauty and fashion. I miss being one of the first people to try the newest designer perfume (and being able to say,"No Mbak, I already have that one," to every perfume sales girl in the dept store preparing to pounce on me). I miss being on the invitee list of some of Indonesia' s hottest spas and salons (I once tried treatment in a spa whose client list include Donna Karan and Brooke Shield and the price one treatment there can pay for a full months meal of a whole medium sized village in a third world country). I miss going on five star trips abroad to do a photo shoot and to cover a beauty or fashion story (I remember sipping champagne while taking a nice warm bath scented with real rose petals and watching fashion TV on the huge LCD TV mounted on the bathroom wall). and most of all I miss styling photo shoots and writing articles. Hence the blog.

Anyway.. I thought I would be staying far away from the beauty and fashion world but I just couldn't. I remember jumping at the chance to write again for Cosmo and also several other life style publications as a freelance writer and stylist. So now I still get to keep my 'corporate' job while still having fun writing about fashion and beauty.

This blog will feature some of the non edited version of articles and photoshoots I've done and also some personal rants and raves about fashion and beauty products I've got my eyes on. Enjoy!

The a+ Ten Beauty Commandments

Perintah penting untuk buktikan komitmen Anda pada dunia fashion dan kecantikan


Fashion week bukan hanya ajang untuk menyajikan gaya fashion terbaru. Para makeup artist pun berlomba-lomba untuk meninggalkan jejak mereka di ajang adu kreatif ini. Sayangnya, seperti tren fashion yang siklusnya semakin lama semakin pendek, tren riasan juga tidak jauh berbeda. Beberapa tampilan yang tampak di berbagai panggung fashion dunia untuk musim semi dan panas tahun ini, juga bisa ditemui beberapa musim silam (catat! Beberapa musim silam, bukan tahun!). Tapi, kami tahu, apapun yang bisa menjadi alasan untuk berbelanja perangkat riasan baru pasti menyenangkan. Untuk membantu Anda menyortir dari begitu banyak gaya yang bertebaran, kami berikan panduannya. Pilih yang sesuai dengan gaya Anda.


1.Thou shalt have no other color for eye liner, but black
Ini adalah saat kembalinya eye liner hitam Anda. Ingat! Hitam, bukan biru tua, ungu, atau warna-warna fantasi lainnya. Begitulah pelajaran yang kami petik dari panggung busana YSL, Gucci, dan Carolina Herrera. Ada berbagai cara untuk menggunakannya. Anda bisa menggunakannya untuk menggarisi sekeliling mata, memberikan aksen pada sudut mata luar, atau hanya di garis mata atas untuk membuat mata tampak lebih terbuka. Padukan dengan kompleksi kulit yang (hampir) sempurna dan sentuhan lipstick berwarna merah muda.

2.Thou shalt apply shocking colors to make thy lips stand out
Ini adalah ajaran dari head of the geek/cool squad, Marc Jacobs lewat koleksi second line-nya, Diane von Furstenberg, dan juga Philip Lim. Coba warna-warna terang seperti oranye atau neon pink yang dipadukan dengan sisa riasan wajah yang hampir tak tampak dan bulu mata lebat dan hitam.

3.Thou shalt always worship flawless, healthy looking skin
Tiap tahun dan tiap musim pasti ada saja makeup artist yang menggunakan gaya riasan ini tapi tentunya dengan sentuhan unik masing-masing. Untuk musim ini Giorgio Armani, Balenciaga, dan Ralph Lauren tak ketinggalan menampilkan gaya ini di runway mereka. alis Giorgio Armani memadukannya dengan riasan mata yang tegas dengan aksen gelap pada bagian sudut luar mata, sementara Ralph Lauren memilih untuk memadukannya dengan pipi yang bersemu merah dan warna bibir pink muda. Untuk mendapatkan kulit dengan warna yang sedikit pucat tapi berkilau, Diane Kendal, makeup artist untuk Balenciaga, memilih untuk menggunakan foundation dengan coverage sangat ringan. Untuk efek kilau, ia menyarankan untuk menggunakan bedak yang hampir transparan dengan sedikit kilau di tulang pipi dan kelopak mata untuk highlight.

4.Thou shalt honour the classic red lips
Saya, seperti banyak perempuan Indonesia lain, pernah beberapa kali memikirkan untuk membeli lipstik merah. Tapi pada akhirnya, pasti warna-warna aman seperti nude, beige, atau taupe-lah yang pada akhirnya masuk ke dalam beauty case. Padahal saat saya pulang dan menonton Fashion TV atau melihat gaya Gwen Stefani di MTV, saya pasti langsung ingin kembali memiliki benda keramat itu. Akhirnya, pada ekspedisi make up saya yang terakhir, saat saya melihat lipstik merah Shu Uemura (coba nomor RD 170), yang menurut mbak-nya adalah warna merah yang paling merah dari semua lipstik yang lain, saya benar-benar tidak tahan untuk tidak memilikinya. Impulsive shopping ini saya lakukan bukan hanya karena warna merahnya di bibir saya memang berhasil membuat saya merasa sekelas dengan Marylin Monroe, tapi juga karena saya baru saja menemukan tip ampuh untuk memakai warna merah dari show Valentino. Kombinasinya mudah saja, selapis lipstik merah intens, sesapu eye shadow warna perak tipis-tipis, segaris liquid eye liner hitam, dan berlapis-lapis mascara. Padukan dengan gaya rambut dicepol agak berantakan dengan dua bando tipis berwarna merah yang sama mengkilapnya dengan bibir Anda. Jangan lupakan juga the little black dress untuk menyempurkan total look-nya !

5.Thou shalt not forget that amber copper shadow color looks pretty on any skin tone
Siapa sangka kalau eye shadow dengan warna tembaga kemerahan ini cocok untuk semua warna kulit. Yup dan para makeup artist Missoni, J Mendel, dan Costello Tagliapietra berhasil membuktikannya. Untuk mendapatkan warna yang serupa, coba MAC Amber Lights yang disapukan tipis-tipis pada kelopak mata. Padukan dengan sisa riasan nude dan matte, dengan sedikit sapuan bronzer di tulang pipi Anda.

6.Thou shalt not undermine the come back of the smoky eyes
Ya, ya, ya, kami tahu Anda telah mendengar tren mengenai smoky eyes beribu-ribu kali, dan kami juga tidak akan mecoba mengatakan bahwa kali ini jauh berbeda. Kami hanya akan mencoba menggoda Anda untuk kembali melirik gaya riasan ini dengan mengatakan bahwa, kali ini smoky eyes tampil di berbagai panggung runway dalam berbagai versi warna menarik. Behnaz Sarafour, Roberto Cavalli, Christian Lacroix, Versace, dan DSquared menjadi saksinya. Mulai dari warna cokelat, warna hijau kecokelatan metalik, bronze sampai warna hitam dengan aksen highlight emas di sudut-sudut mata. Padukan dengan bulu mata yang penuh dan panjang dengan beberapa lapis Lancome L’Extreme.

7.Thou shalt remember to keep cheeks looking pink, rosy, and fresh
Jika di musim-musim sebelumnya, aksen pink pada pipi lebih membuat Anda tampak seperti remaja yang sedang tersipu malu, sekarang hasil akhirnya tampak lebih dewasa dan sophisticated seperti yang tampak di show Stella McCartney, 3.1 Philip Lim, dan Michael Kors. Dapatkan efek ini dengan mengaplikasikan blush warna pink lembut, seperti Shu Uemura Glow On no. 33E di bagian luar pipi Anda (bukan di bulatan pipi) dan sapukan ke arah garis rambut. Padukan dengan eye shadow warna cokelat yang disapukan di garis tumbuh bulu mata dengan aksen warna emas di sudut dalam mata dan garis mata bawah.

8.Thou shalt not bear false witness that head accessories are so last season
Sekarang sudah saatnya membuat potongan rambut mahal Anda tampak lebih mahal lagi dengan menggunakan berbagai aksesori yang begitu beragam dan menggoda musim ini. Prada memilih gaya turban tahun 60-dan dengan warna-warna jewel tone yang cantik, Burberry Prorsum dan Dries Van Noten memilih head band hitam sederhana yang juga dipadu dengan updo sederhana, tapi tentunya cocok jika dipadukan dengan baju yang jauh dari sederhana. Visor dalam berbagai bahan dan gaya tampak bertebaran di show Jean Paul Gultier. Tapi juaranya tetap adalah Marc Jacobs dengan berbagai interpretasi kreatif dari topi pet mini dan bunga-bungan plastik untuk koleksi dengan namanya sendiri, dan buket bunga-bunga romantis untuk show Louis Vuitton.

9.Thou shalt not shy away from shimmery makeup
Kuncinya untuk riasan dengan efek shimmer adalah: pengaplikasian hanya di satu bagian wajah saja. Zac Posen dan Alberta Ferretti menggunakannya untuk memoles kelopak mata model-modelnya dengan sedikit aksen warna yang lebih gelap di sudut luar mata.Tapi untuk penampilan yang bisa membuat iri semua orang, Chanel tetap juaranya. Makeup artist di show Chanel musim ini mengoleskan eye shadow silver ber-simmer di kelopak mata dan memadukannya dengan warna gold bershimmer di garis bawah mata. Now, that’s what we call mixing up your metals! Biarkan sisa wajah tampak seperti tidak berdandan dengan sedikit bronzer di bawah tulang pipi.

10.Thou shalt not commit fashion faux pas by applying all these commandments at once
Mengikuti tren baru memang menyenangkan, apalagi make up dan rambut adalah cara termudah untuk melakukannya (bandingkan membeli satu batang lipstik merah dibandingkan dengan membeli satu gaun Valentino misalnya). Tapi ini tidak berarti Anda bisa berfoya-foya melakukannya Cukup pilih satu tip sehari, kami yakin ini cukup untuk menjauhkan Anda dari fashion police.