Trials and Tribulations

Trials and Tribulations

December 14th, 2009 @ 6:05 pm by Mrs. Hamster
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I love makeup. Eyeshadows, lip glosses, shimmer powders—I’m a sucker for them all. Place me blindfolded in the middle of a Sephora, and I’ll immediately know where I am by the scent.

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There’s just one teeny tiny problem.

I am a total makeup klutz. Unlike the lovely Mrs. Caramel and Miss Rainbow, I have absolutely no ability when it comes to cosmetics. So, when it came time for my wedding hair and makeup, I knew it was time to call in the professionals.

Much like Mrs. Swan’s search for a stylist who would make her beautiful hair look, well, beautiful, I was looking for someone who had experience with makeup on Asian faces. Yes, we look different. I wanted someone who would enhance my natural features, not make me look like I just graduated from geisha training or emerged from a bar fight with 2 black eyes—which some artists seem to loooove to do.

Luckily for me, I found Sissi Chan, who has rave reviews on the Weddingbee boards. I had coordinated our e-shoot with my makeup trial; unfortunately, you may recall that our engagement shoot was rained-out (the “Tribulation” part of the day). However, I still had a great time with Sissi!

In a previous post, I mentioned my look-spiration:

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Yes! Make me look like Dita!

Here’s a before shot - naked face warning:

And after - with my veil!

A side view of my hair:

After a full-day of rainy weather:

All in all, I was very happy with my trial. I felt like Sissi understood the look I was going for and translated it to look appropriate for my facial features. There are a few things I might tweak for the actual day:

A lot of Asian hair is super straight and doesn’t hold curl well, so Sissi intentionally over-curled my hair, anticipating that it would loosen up over time. Apparently, my hair loves holding curl, so I will probably let her know that there’s no need to over-curl.
I also might go for a little more volume on the top of my head.
A to-do on my part is to find the perfect lip shade—I’d like something glossy but kiss-safe. Any suggestions?

Any other suggestions? Your opinions are welcome!

Tags: hair, makeup, trial |

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34 Responses to “Trials and Tribulations”

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Member

eileen marie (message) 1,662 posts, Bumble bee

I love! Stick with the “over-curl”-it looks great. Yeah, I had the same problem (I had a very Dita look for my wedding) with not enough volume on top during the trial. My gal fixed that for the day-of, but it kinda still fell a little with the humidity. I agree that you may need a little more pop for your lips. Might I recommend Smashbox Doubletake Lipcolor in Cranberry? It IS matte, but you can slick on a little Bigelowe lip shine for a bit of shimmer. The bright glossy reds actually tend to look a bit garish in photos (I had SIX trials & took pics of everything), as do “true reds,” but if you are dead set on the bright glossy reds (I was at first), I suggest M.A.C. Russian red (comes in a lip gloss tube). I often use a combo of the Doubletake & Russian Red. If you want to PM me, I have the names of a bunch of other reds that worked well (although I am not Asian) & photos of every trial AND my wedding day makeup. Good luck-I think you’ll look like a knock-out!

12/14/09 @ 6:31 pm (reply)

Member

eileen marie (message) 1,662 posts, Bumble bee

PS: the Doubletake is a liner and lipstick in one for a pretty fair price, & you can get great samples if you order from Smashbox’s website on Tuesdays I think. Remember that reds tend to bleed (I found that especially true for bright reds) and need a bit of upkeep during the evening. I constantly had to run my tongue over my teeth. I decided not to reapply and just used the liner on my lips with the lip shine for the reception for lower maintenance.

12/14/09 @ 6:34 pm (reply)

Guest

jacki

love it! I have stick straight Asian girl as well so yours might be an hair inspiration for me!

12/14/09 @ 6:36 pm (reply)

Guest

jacki

ahem, i might stick straight Asian HAIR

12/14/09 @ 6:37 pm (reply)

Member

Little.Sister.Pudding (message) 10 posts, Newbee

You look great! I especially LOVED your eyes, in the last pictures I was like :O damn girl!!!! and that was after the whole day! … looks like a winner look to me

12/14/09 @ 6:38 pm (reply)

Member

pmerr (message) 2,518 posts, Sugar bee

You look so beautiful!!! I love it!

12/14/09 @ 6:43 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Mouse (message) 5,844 posts, Bee Keeper

Your make-up looks great! I love it! I agree, more volume on top would look awesome.

12/14/09 @ 7:24 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Frozen Yogurt (message) 2,685 posts, Sugar bee

Aww, you look gorgeous!! I’m with you and mouse, volume on top would make you look even more beautiful.

12/14/09 @ 7:31 pm (reply)

Member

tea (message) 7,295 posts, Bee Keeper

you look fabulous! i’d also stick to the overcurl, at least by the end of the day you’ll still have lovely waves and not kind of straight hair.

12/14/09 @ 7:34 pm (reply)

10.

Guest

jina of jac

Sissi is amazing!!! I’m so glad you were able to meet her!! She definitely nailed it!

12/14/09 @ 7:52 pm (reply)

11.

Bee

Miss Snow (message) 916 posts, Busy bee

That is a gorgeous look! Super elegant!

For longwear lipcolor, I like MAC’s Pro Longwear. You can buy different glossy (clear) topcoats to go over the not-going-anywhere lipstain. I’ve had a lot of luck with it!

12/14/09 @ 8:26 pm (reply)

12.

Bee

Miss Cardigan (message) 8,645 posts, Bee Keeper

You look so gorgeous!!! I agree with a little more volume on top it’d be amazing - and I actually like the amount of curl…I don’t think it’s too much at all!

12/14/09 @ 8:53 pm (reply)

13.

Member

Miss Bravo (message) 505 posts, Busy bee

I like the “over-curled” hair too! It looks GREAT! I would go with a teensy bit more eye-makeup, but that’s because I work at a cosmetics store and totally over-do mine LOOKS GREAT THOUGH!

12/14/09 @ 9:04 pm (reply)

14.

Bee

Mrs. Hot Cocoa (message) 2,077 posts, Buzzing bee

Love it! I’d stick with the overcurl, since it looks so twenties fabulous.

12/14/09 @ 10:04 pm (reply)

15.

Bee

Miss Hamster (message) 4,046 posts, Honey bee

@eileen marie: @Miss Snow: Thanks for the lipstick tips! Smashbox and M.A.C. always are really great for their colors, so looks like I’ll have some shopping to do!

Thanks, ladies! I’ll stick with the “over curls” and request some more volume on top!

12/14/09 @ 11:42 pm (reply)

16.

Bee

Mrs. Cloud (message) 802 posts, Busy bee

I adore it, you are quite the gorgeous gal! But I agree with some of the others, I like the over curl, and with all the dancing and posing and moving (especially under a veil for a while) you want to be sure any falling with be safe!

12/14/09 @ 11:58 pm (reply)

17.