What? I got a great Facebook avatar photo? Yeah, that was the second time working with Ivy for my…read morecompany. I probably got the best look from her among all other makeup artists (at least 10+) I had ever worked with!
The second time working with her--I neither know how she did it nor plan to figure it out--but she made my eyes much longer, larger and brighter than they were in reality. I mean, my eyes aren't super tiny, but they sure aren't that big! Wow!
The rest of the look was just very non-dramatic. The colors she picked were all pretty and glamorous, but never venturing into drag-queen territory. The foundation was very thin and breathable... I'm sorry for my clumsiness to describe the look. Tryin' my best here already. I don't know. I would just say I looked very natural that day without scaring myself, but better than normal. I have the traditional Cantonese woman's face which the mean people describe as "small eyes, nose and mouth, all smashed together in the middle of a big dinner-plate-sized face." The look she created for me was done for a photo shoot, which went great. So instead of risking a botched plastic-surgery job, maybe it would be better to just go to Ivy.
The third time working with her, she created a more "live performance" look for me, which resembled the "test" look from the second time and magically stayed that way for hours and hours. She started putting makeup on me and curling my hair at 11AM--and I still looked the same at 7PM, after I had danced, sang, ate, played, and fooled around for a few hours (no, not that kind of fooling around, boyfriend!).
Best of all, she didn't try to sell me anything. Nothing. I'm sure if you like what she uses, like the eyelashes or the makeup, she'll sell them to you or tell you where to buy them, but she doesn't push anything at all, which is great. She's also an extremely nice and a very lovely lady. She speaks Mandarin and English, but you don't really need to talk much with her anyway. I mean, do you want a makeup artist or a conversationalist? If you prefer the latter, turn on the radio. I'll talk your ear off--for free. I'm a radio host.
Ivy is very fast, in my opinion, and she can work miracles with pretty much anything. But a little preparation the night will certainly make everything go a lot easier. She recommends you scrub your face and use a moisturizing mask before bed, if you have the time (I didn't do this, but I'm a rebel). Don't use any hair conditioner when you wash your hair because the hairstyle will stay better that way. Finally, in the morning of your big day, you should put only moisturizer/sunscreen or whatever shit you normally use on you face and nothing else. She'll take care of the rest. You should bring a bit of moisturizer or base with you too, just in case your skin looks as bad as mine after nights and nights of working/playing. I have no idea how much she charges, but I'm sure it's reasonable, especially when you consider the quality of her work.
What's the secret to perfect skin and hair? Eat right, get plenty of rest. Or just hire Ivy.
