The Christmas season always reminds me of ballet.  Why?  The Nutcracker.  When I was really young, my mom enrolled me in a local ballet school and I'd be in The Nutcracker for roles like a mouse, an angel (that didn't move, but at 8 years old, standing still for 5 minutes is difficult), et al.  Anyhow, it got me thinking about dance makeup, which lead me to JAM Cosmetics.

JAM Cosmetics was started by Jessica Dupont, a former dancer whose income was supplemented by being a makeup artist on the side.  As a dancer, she learned the best way to apply make up that can accentuate dancer's features under the bright lights of stage.  Along the way, she's created JAM Cosmetics, where makeup is made to last long and not break out the dancer's skin, packaged in convenient palettes and packages for all different types of dancers.  There's Prima Diva Palette for our prima ballerinas, Stage Siren Palette for our jazz stars, and even Super Fly Funk Palette for our edgy hip hop dancers.

On top of all that, she's created awesome tutorials to create perfect stage looks for dancers.  You're probably thinking, "But I'm not a dancer, so how would dance make up tutorials help me?"  I can only answer, "You have to watch for yourself."  There's so many tips and tricks on making your eyes brighter, rounder, the proper way to apply blush, and everything could so easily translate to streetwear.  The palettes too, contain really great colors that can create great natural looks that's great for everyday wear.

For dancers or dance teachers, JAM Cosmetics offer classes for all dance students on proper stage make up application.  I know my old dance group from college, Chinese Cultural Dance Club, would probably love this. I would have loved this myself more than 10 years ago when I danced!

Here is the tutorial to create a natural Mod look for Modern/Lyrical dancers.  I think this look can easily translate to everyday look, what about you?

 

JAM cosmetics-Natural look for Modern Dancers

I was browsing beauty blogs today and came across Cosmetic-Candy.  The blog itself is so cute, and like PJ of A Touch of Blusher, Cosmetic-Candy hails from the UK, and has lots of knowledge when it comes to Asian makeup brands.

She has a category on Taiwan Cosmetics, which I'm uber curious about since when you think Taiwan and cosmetics, you'd usually think of Japanese brands at a lower price due to the NT being weaker than then Yen.  I clicked and came across this post, which featured a youtube video with a guy talking about MUGU, a Taiwanese brand.

I'll get to MUGU later, since I'm still looking at their website.  It's all in Chinese, which I er, sadly, can't read, despite er, being born in Taiwan and even taking a whole year of Chinese for Native Speakers at UCLA (got As too, woot!), so it's going to take some time.

Anyhow... I came across this video on creating a well blended smoky eye that properly accentuates your eyes, without the black being too harsh.  Smoky eyes is a tad tricky on Asian eyes, since the technique is really really different.  Most Asians just have different eye shapes than non-Asians, so the idea of applying the darkest color on the crease, then blending it up/down and what not doesn't really work.  So this video really helps.

The guy basically tells you to apply black pencil liner on top of your lash line, then gently blend it upwards.  Then blend the whole lid area with a dark metallic color.  Do the same for the bottom lash line.  Highlight the inner corner of your eye with a nude or pink shimmery shade, rather than white since white looks too harsh against the black, then finish the entire look with false lashes.  This draws attention to your eyes, instead of making it look heavy and dark like how the girl looked previously.  Hope you like this video!