Bat your lashes, and lash out

Dear blushers,

I'd like to fill you in on a little secret I have. I have this obsession that I don't think my husband even knows!
I am obsessed with....

Fake Eyelashes

Really. When I say obsessed, I really mean obsessed. Instead of having just enough, my idea of false eyelashes is pretty much the same as having a pair of shoes. You can NEVER have enough of it!

Here's something that will make you agree how obsessed I am with the lashes. Those are just SOME of my lashes. I still have boxes of lashes safely stacked in my secret compartments. :D  Anyway, now let's talk more about the lashes and less about my obsession...! We're definitely blessed to be living in this time. There are so many kinds of lashes out there:

There are interesting fashion lashes...

'normal' pretty lashes...

must-have bridal lashes and many more..

Did you know, false eyelashes was first invented by the American film director D.W. Griffith while he was making his 1916 epic, "Intolerance"? Griffith wanted his actress Seena Owen to have lashes that graced her cheeks, to make her eyes shine larger than life. A wigmaker wove human hair through fine gauze, which was then gummed to Owen's eyelids. As the procedure was rather expensive (and tedious), only famous people could afford it. So not much awareness there then.

And then, in 2004, a breakthrough in material production. False lashes owed its current popularity status to several Asian countries known to the world by their search for beauty. Those countries are none other than Korea and Japan, who introduced the single lash application technique, and individual lashes technique, hence creating an easier application. Not only that, because of the technique, we can now afford to have a more natural, fuller, thicker (and SEXIER) lashes.

False lashes are now produced using either with human hair, sythetic materials or a combination of both, and is applied with eyelash glue. There are even permament lashes, also known as eyelash extensions, that are available for those who would like to wear the lashes for a longer period of time (although, after experiencing what it felt like, I wouldn't recommend it. The glue stings! And when your real lashes naturally fall out, it carries a whole lot of the fake lashes too, leaving you with bald spots. Not pretty.)

Some of the beautiful false lashes that I often used on my models are the ones that are proudly produced right here in Indonesia. (Did you also know that Indonesia is one of the largest manufacturers of false lashes, supplying its lashes all across the world? *clap clap*)

However, there are some lashes that really just took my breath away..

Paperself lashes are designed and produced by PAPERSELF, who was launched in 2009 by London based designer Chunwei Liao. It sole purpose was to unite artists, designers and manufacturers from East to West, challenging conventions of product design.. and beauty. Their lashes are simply beautiful.

Inspired by the art of Chinese paper-cutting, Paperself eyelashes blend an element of traditional culture with contemporary design. Intricately cut and delicately pretty, they are now available in 11 styles.

Another one that I have to give my wholesome credit to is Koji  - Dolly Wink false lashes. It is designed by the very famous Japanese gyaru doll-faced Tsubasa Masuwaka. I was pretty skeptical at first. I mean, any celebrities can just lend their name to any products and claimed to be super nice right? Oh man was I wrong.. the lashes are soo sooo gorgeous, and really, you can pretty much stop any taxi with those lashes. It doesn't make you look like a drag queen too.. that's a plus point there.

I promise to make a special review on these lashes, but just in case you're curious to get your hands on these Dolly Wink lashes, make your way to Sogo or Debenham, or Guardian (not all Guardian stocked them though..) Highly recommended!

 Here are some illustrations on how eyelashes (when done properly) can enhance your eyes even more:

 This model, like many Asians, has monolids. With proper use of false lashes, it helped create double eyelid for both of her eyes, making her eyes appear larger.

This beautiful model is my every supportive mom. Volunteering (forced actually :D) herself to become one of my victims, she wore a stagerring 4 layer of false lashes, one on top of the other in each eye. What a trooper. Can you see how it helped to 'lift' sagging eyelids? Love you mom!

Promise to keep my promise for the eyelashes review..!

Till then, Love,
A

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Indonesian style VS 'Bule' style

Whoa! This is an all different thing to talk about here. We can even dissect the topic into a more focused discussion, and in the end we can talk about this for days, weeks, months, years.. who's counting?

With no offense to my western friends, I use the term 'bule' because I think it's easier for us to generalise the Western style, even though it may originate from different countries. So 'bule' here is a term we use to speak on behalf of American, French, Australian, Italian, English etc etc. Oh, btw, bule means Westerners in Indonesian. :)

In terms of make up, I believe without a doubt there's a HUGE difference of styles between these two. Let's just take a couple of random examples. We'll start this interesting analysis by showing a couple of famous bule icons:

And now, let's bring out a couple of well known Indonesian celebrities:

Okay then, where shall we begin? I'm sure all of you can see the 'subtle' difference of make up styles between the two?

I'm an Indonesian, and I live here, and quite honestly, seeing this thick make up, applied super generously on the faces of the women here doesn't even make me raise my eyebrow anymore. How do you say it? It's just their cup of tea, and slowly I've come to accept it too. Not to me, personally, but I understand it's what they mostly look for when they go to a make up artist to get their make up done.

Here's a quick recipe on how to get the Indonesian celebrity make up look. You need:

- Thick foundation (even better in cream), 1 to even 2 tones lighter than your skin.

- Even thicker powder. Acne scars? Zits? Moles? Gone!

- Really sharp, defined eyebrows. Not a hair out of place, if there is, pluck it!

- SHADING. I have this joke with my students. You're not a true Indonesian if you haven't shade your cheekbones AND the most important thing of all; NOSE. Your nose have to look super straight, super sharp and super curiously will make people ask themselves whether it's cosmetically enhanced.

- Fake Eyelashes. This is it. The secret. The motherload of all makeup ship. Without fake eyelashes, I doubt anyone of the Indonesian celebrities would dare walk out their door. I'm not talking just a pair. We're being modest with 2 pairs. Yes my dear obssesionistas, we're in a different league here. We're talking 3 pairs and above. Rumour has it that Syahrini wore 5 pairs of fake eyelashes every single time. Hence, the famous 'bulu mata anti badai' (anti storm lashes).

Here I'm demonstrating what I meant on how the same style of makeup, but with different intensities can look like (have your finger close one side when comparing to appreciate the full change):

left: typican Indonesian makeup (here I only used 3 fake lashes)

right: same style, but softer look (i use 1 fake lashes)

Okay, I'm not being critical on this. Like I said, living here and seeing this type of makeup on a daily basis, I've come to accept it that this is what the public wants. I'm not saying it's horrible, but it sure is different. Anyone who would like to step out in a different style is welcome to try this look. I guarantee, it will make heads turn. Finish it off with the famous blowdried bouncy hair wave, and I'm sure no one would question whether you are truly an Indonesian :)

Until our next analysis,

Love,

A



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