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.