A makeup friend Pia Reyes,  extended an invitation to me last October 5  for the press launch of Estee Lauder Fall 2013 Makeup trends.   She was also invited by Lillian Yeung Resident Makeup artist of the brand and I also met Fin a fellow makeup artist.  I have a high regard for these three women who excel in their field, whose work is showcased in billboards, high fashion glossies and in commercial/film work.  Fin was a contestant in the Mega Magazine Fashion Crew Season 2 with my good friend Alee Benson a noted and celebrated hair stylist in his own right.

Blair Patterson Director of Global Artistry for Estee Lauder shared with us the latest trends and techniques for Fall 2013.   Guapo hotness diba!!!!  He works with Tom Pecheux, the Creative Makeup Director of Estee Lauder during  New York Fashion Week.

That’s me with his Guapo hotness.  So okay, I don’t have any makeup on,   I look like his alalay.  He was surprised to find out I was a makeup artist.  Talagang surprised!   Me too, can’t believe I was in the company of greatness!  Tee hee hee hee!!!!

Many lessons were learned or unlearned as Blair did 3 makeup demos to illustrate the trends which proved to be very wearable and applicable even in our humid weather.  Let me walk you through them.  As the catalog says, see it on the runway, see it on you.

Skin is in!!!  Perfect dewy youthful looking skin has always been a timeless staple in beauty trends and serves as a perfect canvass for all makeup looks.  Echoing his makeup philosophy, makeup should look natural, sophisticated and timeless.

He mentioned that all women should have 2 kinds of Foundation in their arsenal as skin tone changes depending on the season.  He advises to get 2 shades of foundation, one that is 1 shade darker than our skin tone specially during the summer season and one that is matched to your skin tone during the cooler months.  Makes sense?  Combine both shades to create a 3D effect when applying makeup to highlight and contour the face but in a subtle manner.  Stress on the SUBTLE effect.  Makeup enthusiasts seem to be doing theKim Kardashian type of contouring and highlighting even on a normal day out which can be too much on a daily basis.  He says there is nothing wrong with this makeup application, its just too much to wear everyday.

The biggest misconception about women applying Foundation is that it is used all over the face rather than strategically applying it to areas where coverage is needed.  Use Concealer instead to cover blemishes and pat translucent powder all over it to set the foundation.  He couldn’t stress it enough, skin should be perfect.  This makes perfectly sense since we live in a humid climate, why pile it on and wear a mask?

His take on the dewy skin as demonstrated on the model below. Wish ko lang LOLZZZ!!!  Talagang natural no?  As the famous makeup artist Bianca Valerio mentioned, oiliness is next to DEATH!..  Sana Dewy not oily.  Bwahahahahaha!!!  So okay, I forgot to take a photo of the model with just natural looking foundation on.  Blinded kasi, he is just too good looking.  Promise next 2 photos will show the actual demo.  But you do get the point ballpoint as illustrated in the catalog.

Red Lips another classic comes back in an edgy way, not tomato red or fire engine red but a deep burgundy color.  For this look, red lips need to be balanced with a natural eye.  In choosing a burgundy colour, look for a blue based tone.  He actually took the trend one step further and did an Ombre Lip instead.   Ombre Lips are two to three shades of lip colour applied to create a 3D effect on the lips.

To achieve a perfect pout, instead of lining the lips with a liner, Brian taught us to rub the lip brush all over the pencil and  apply to the lips.  Here is the shocker, he deftly expertly applied the lipstick using his ring finger and patted it so slightly in light layers until he achieved the perfect burgundy color.  Start at the cupid’s bow which is the sexiest part of the lip.  Any imperfections were erased by a foundation brush dipped into a little concealer and brushed it ever so slightly vertically on the edges as if you are sweeping downwards.

He said this is a neat trick to do so as not to mess up the lip color, the natural sweeping motion will remove the excess color on the edges.  Care to try it on yourself?  I admit it was tricky at first but the secret is the use of feather light strokes on the edges.  I was in awe on how he seamlessly perfected this, his fingers are bigger than mine!  Expert nga naman.   This model has perfectly blended foundation which I was supposed to take a photo of before he applied the eye shadow and red lip.

Lastly, Metallics are coming back in a good way.  A very subtle nod to the 80’s era.  Metallic doesn’t mean Frosted.  He said that makeup specifically eye shadows manufactured nowadays are not the same as the frosted looking ones that make you look swollen and glittering in a bad way.  Eye shadows and makeup now are produced to play and reflect light to enhance the features of the face.  Pigments are smaller so they reflect light more than absorb it.  Cheeks are left natural looking with hollow diagonal contouring using light strokes again.  Eye shadows are not expertly blended, but since his strokes are very light, one doesn’t see really the hard edges.

More Beauty tips:

Advanced Night Repair or ANR to Estee Lauder fans.  This miracle evening serum was applied on the high planes of the face and patted (not smeared) on to give the satin finish to the skin.  Not dewy but semi matte.  Blair touts this as a all around makeup tool to have.  He mentioned that in a photo shoot specially for male grooming, this is always on his Makeup kit.  Read the testimonials on the Estee Lauder website as to the wonderful benefits of this great product .  I will probably try this beauty tip on brides if I do get the chance to get hold of one small bottle.  It’s so mahal but probably worth it.    Sabagay, a few drops lang is all you need.  Pia and I looked at each other and joked we should get one bottle and share it.

Oh did I mention the wonderful gifts I received that morning?  A big thank you to the Estee Lauder team and Lillian Yeung for the pabaon to all the makeup artists, bloggers and journalists that attended the press launch.

Blusher in Peach Passion Shimmer, Creamy Lipstick in Pure Color 75 Forbidden Kiss, Double Wear Stay in Place Dual Effect Powder Makeup in 36 Sand and Sumptous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara in 01 Black, all housed in this blue and white appliquéd cosmetic kit.  How lucky can I get?    I tried on the lipstick and it is just a gorgeous deep burgundy color.  So flattering on any skin tone.

Last minute Chika with Blair:

Trends for S/S 2014 –  Geometric Eyes are making a comeback in bronze metallic hues, as seen on Derek Lam’s S/S 2014 collection.  Photo taken from En.vogue.Fr website.

Good News for Monolids or those with Chinita Eyes!  –  The global Spokesmodel for Estee Lauder as seen in the photo above is Liu Wen.  A question was asked to Blair as to how do we interpret the runway trend with Asian eyes specifically the ones with Monolids?  He said that this should not be treated as a flaw because the fact that the eye doesn’t have a fold or crease, there is a huge area or eye space to play around with colour.  No rules, just experiment.  Look at the face chart and model to prove his point.

“Pageant Makeup” –  When Blair was beginning to apprentice with the legendary Tom Pechaeux many years back, he was asked to do makeup on a model to show what his skill level or artistry was like and if he had what it takes to be in his team.  What Blair thought of as great perfect looking makeup with expertly blended eyeshadow and liner,  Mr. Pechaux looked at his work and walked away muttering, “it’s pretty but it is pageant makeup”.  Blair did not understand what he meant because he did what he was taught in makeup schools only to discover, it was considered Pageant looking.   Mr. Pechaeux walked back and messed up his work and said, ‘Makeup should look worn, lived in not too perfect like Barbie.”  He instantly had a lightbulb moment and it changed his perspective on how makeup should be applied and how it should transform and empower a woman.

High Def Brows –  Blair’s philosophy in makeup as echoed by Tom Pechaeux is the often repeated mantra, “Less is more”.  This also applies to the Brows.  When Blair first travelled to Asia, he mentioned that he thought he could teach us Asians a thing or two about brow application.  Boy was he wrong.  He said he was humbled and “schooled” by what he saw in our local makeup artists when they showed him how we do our brows.  If you notice in the face chart and in the models during Fashion week, brows are left naturally and neatly groomed and sometimes not even touched.   To achieve a well groomed brow, choose one shade lighter than the hair colour and use a spoolie brush to rub the brow pencil in and apply colour to the brows.  See the photos in the demo above.

Bronzer first before foundation –  To lessen the intensity of the bronzer, apply this first before you apply the foundation.  The Foundation will tone down the ruddiness of the bronzer.

Tissue vs. Powder –  In setting the makeup, if you don’t have translucent powder, spread a tissue on the face or cheeks and use your blush or powder brush to brush over it.  This will help set your makeup because the tissue will absorb the oils in the makeup.

Look younger or look glamorous –  Blair also mentioned that here in Asia, the makeup philosophy is to make the woman look glamourous like a celebrity while that in the US, the makeup philosophy is to make the woman look 10 years younger.   As an observer, he concludes that it is maybe due to a cultural thing in Asia as we aspire to look like celebrities  versus our Caucasian counterparts who are constantly after the fountain of youth.

I now leave the last point to ponder on, and hopefully this insight will give you a glimpse of what the experts have to say about beauty and hopefully choose what beauty standard applies to you.  Have fun, pick up a few trends to update your look and experiment,  after all,  its just makeup.