As seen in Nylon (Singapore)

photography: Brendan Zhang
styling: Amanda Tan
makeup: Andrea Claire using FACE LACE, Maybelline and Urban Decay [Face Lace is wicked awesome - BTS here.]
model: Dasha V / AVE

Get Dasha's colourful eyes:

Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Eyeshadow       $6.99 USD at Ulta (LOVE these)
 

Urban Decay Eyeshadow  $18.00 USD at Sephora

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil  $19.00 at Sephora

and little me on the Nylon contributors' page

One itty-bitty thing: I did a guest appearance on Asia's Next Top Model for TRESemme as a hairstylist not a makeup artist. Not sure why they edited my bio to read makeup artist for Asia's NTM.

Say it with me: Lust haves because I love them and you must have them!

Original Mineral Detox Shampoo and Conditioner set.
This combo is amazing for oily scalp, swimmers and anyone else who feels that their hair has build up - which should be D) all of the above. I bought this after conferring with my friends at O&M due to Stuff Zoie Says developing an unintentional shade of swimmer's mint blonde. Since I like to test everything on my hair I found that it gave my hair new life. I've been using it on my clients who have sinced raved that their hair feels 'like it did years ago' - tea tree is one the ingredients working magic here. If you don't have an oily scalp nor swim a lot, still consider this as an at home detox treatment once a week and trust me - you fine hair girls are going the love the new found body it gives you. Live in Singapore? Buy it here.

Let's kill two birds with one stone.

My HB [husband] went on a business trip and took with him some important steps to my skincare regimen - he's jealous and trying to sabotage me. I had some Skin Inc from an event swag bag that I forgot I had and the Kate Somerville eye cream I bought after sampling some of her other luxe creams.

Skin Inc - Skin Supplement Bar I had originally heard rave reviews from Mmerci Encore who at the time reigned the beauty dept at Harper's Bazaar Singapore. I was given their 'Daily Dose' then and loved it, but we shortly relocated to Austin Texas (2009) where Skin Inc was out of sight and therefore out of mind. I must have been out of my mind to let that happen. As per the pic, I have been using the Skin Inc Vitamin A and Placenta - not to worry Vegans! It's plant placenta! ...unless you're opposed to screaming carrots - I kid! I don't think it's carrots - maybe screaming aloe.
*Skin Inc ships worldwide! [and ps - we relocated back to Singapore in 2010 - I love Singapore but I miss Austin, especially my house.]

Kate Somerville Line Release Under Eye Repair since my HB walked off with my Dermalogica I seized the opportunity to go shopping. I have been ageing fairly gracefully (minus the trucker mouth) so I am lucky in the lineage department but that doesn't mean to leave it up to nature. I love the velvety texture Kate's Line Release gives under my eyes and just like my coveted fave, concealer doesn't crease over this eye cream and your fine lines will diminish. Win/Win!

Kate's dual purpose tip: Try putting a dab on the lip line to help soften lines, hydrate the area, and make lips look fuller and keep lipstick or gloss from bleeding into the lines.

In one of my recent BellaBox monthly beauty deliveries was this little gem: Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Treatment. I love that it has a natural UV protector which is important in any climate for all hair types - chemically processed or not. Suitable whether your hair is fine or thick BUT fine hair proceed with caution and use sparingly. Put a few drops in your hands first, rub together and then apply on towel-dried hair to the mid-lengths, ends and then roots without adding more to your hands or hair.

*NOTE: 'Towel-dried' does not mean attack your hair like a crazy person with a towel. Best to gently wrap your hair to absorb excess water - roughly towel-drying causes friction lifting the cuticle causing breakage and flyaways - especially a bad method for curly or damaged hair.

Another beauty subscription gem from the The Black Box Team in Singapore - Dr Jart's V7 VitaLaser (available in full sizes at Luxola) Again, it's about texture for me when it comes to skincare. This V7 VitaLaser is packed with vitamins to nourish the skin healing the after affects of acne and pigmentation while fighting the signs of ageing and protect against the elements including the evil UV rays. Fire the V7 [Vita]Lasers! It absorbs quickly and yes I can still feel it but it leaves my skin velvety smooth. Velvet skin textures + makeup = love. 

*you got the Austin Powers reference - right? Yes? No? Moving on...

Read all my Lust Haves up to date here.

Andrea Claire is a beauty-pro with a career as a hair & makeup artist for 20+ years. Connect with her on Facebook here.

*Excerpt from an article I wrote in Motherhood (March issue)

Just as Meredith / et tu and you never talks about her brushes,  I never get all that digitally influenced over buying them. Around Christmas time Meredith tweeted about the Urban Decay Good Karma Optical Blurring Brush it was the combo of the tweet and her blog post that intrigued me to at least check it out. One of my favourite foundation brushes by ADesign is a little similar but WOW this Urban Decay brush truly gives an optical blur aka an airbrushed finish. If you are a liquid foundation fan then you need this brush and for those who care - it's vegan.

image source

COVET London nail polish was just introduced to me and I am already a big fan. The first colour I used on set was Confidence, a killer red with amazing pigments. I can't wait to sink my nails (and my models nails) into more.

 FYI: luxury mineral-based nail polish for intense, brilliant colors without toxic synthetic chemicals or carcinogens.

Nylon (Singapore) behind the scenes in the makeup chair.

This is the lovely Dasha Vikhreva /AVE who I have worked with here in Singapore about three times in the past 2 weeks. She is going to be the next big thing in the modeling world - guaranteed - that girl is sweet and can move. Another next big thing - this Face Lace that I used for the upcoming April issue of Nylon (SG). (it's not a beauty story so this is not a spoiler alert) Think outside the box when you apply the Face Lace - just because it has a template for placement doesn't mean the Face Lace police will chase you down if you don't adhere to it - they stick on - that's a play on them - get it? Moving on. They recommend that you put them on clean skin but I did use them here over foundation without issue and recently for another beauty story over eyeshadow without issue which I can't show you because it is a beauty story but stay tuned!

Short and sweet. Check back for April's Beauty Lust Haves. I have a feeling that list will be a little longer.

Read my previous Lust Haves here

Sure - us beauty experts say 'paws off your mug!' - but sometimes you just gotta squeeze that one zit or attack the army of blackheads. What you don't know is that you can make your skin from bad to worse as that one pesky pimple can multiply. The juicy insides of a pimple contains bacteria and when you squeeze it exploding all over your mirror, some of that can and probably will spread onto your face or a simple blackhead that you declog is now open to refill and if you aren't careful picking, prodding and poking can lead to scar tissue and/or infection.

• Before touching your face always wash your hands first with soap and water - preferably fragrence-free soap because even a hint of fragrance on your fingers can be an irritant when squeezing a zit
• Wash your face too. Clean fingers but dirty skin can still cause zits to multiply or become infected
• After you are done poking, wash your hands and face again - this is a great time to apply Dermalogica's UltraCalming relief masque to soothe your skin
• Know when to call in the experts. Underground pimples that are the size of Mt Olympus may need to be injected with dermatologist's magic

 
SKINMISO have some products to declutter your nose of unsightly blackheads and help control the oil.

The Skinmiso Pore Beauty Nose Pack is a multi-step blackhead removal that takes the old Biore nosestrips one step further - and a lot more effective from my opinion. I have tried both - if you have a blackhead problem you are going to LOVE Skinmiso.

Step 1 Remove blackheads and whiteheads with the first nose mask formulated with plant extracts.
Step 2 Contract pores with the second nose mask with ingredients such as witch hazel extract and keep skin moisturized with its patented materials.
Step 3 Control sebum and absorb oil keeping your skin smooth and dry.

For those blackheads playing hard to get you can give them a gentle push but careful! Although this Comedo Remover by SKINMISO has no sharp edges you need to handle with care. My mother had a Revlon blackhead pusher-outer-thingy when I was in high school that I almost shish-kebabbed my eyeball because my nose was too slick from oils - so trust me when I say -wash your face first! Gently press onto blackheads - don't force them - the stubborn ones will eventually come out. And wash your comedo tool with soap and water plus spray with rubbing alcohol before and after use.

SKINMISO is available through BellaBox.

Luxola (Singapore) has sent me their latest addition to their online beauty boutique: Covet London.

Pictured are the hands of TV personality Linda Black that I took behind the scenes at our shoot yesterday. She is wearing Covet London in Confidence.

These nails are dry without any topcoat which tells you how fab the shine is and just like Jem, the pigments are truly outrageous.

From Covet London's FB page: Luxury mineral-based nail polish to deliver intense, brilliant colors without toxic synthetic chemicals and carcinogenic.

Pretty sure they meant to say: without toxic synthetic chemicals or carcinogens vs telling you it's carcinogenic. Just a little word adjustment... but who am I but a hair & makeup artist without an English degree - I am clearly not the judgmental grammar police that you find in the Twittersphere.

Update: Covet London adjusted their FB page to read: Luxury mineral-based nail polish to deliver intense, brilliant colors without toxic synthetic chemicals or carcinogenic.

[ Getting closer... ;) ]

Actually Sofia & Johan  / DIVA Models are both Swedish.
The blonde hair, bronzed skin, warmth of the sun made me think of Miami Vice (the TV show with Don Johnson, not the horrible movie) meets Scarface. I kept yelling out 'cocaine!'  - No, I don't do drugs. Yes, I think I'm funny.

Why models need to do yoga.

Products used on Sofia:

Dermalogica (skincare)
FACEatelier (foundation)
MAC Cosmetics (cheeks)
Tom Ford Beauty (eyes)
Benefit Cosmetics (eyes)
Ardell Eyelashes (2 pairs of wispies - one black on brown!)
NARS (lips)

Products used on Johan:

Dermalogica (skincare)
FACEatelier (foundation)
NARS (bronzer)
Laura Mercier (top secret - wink)

Hair products on both:

O&M Original Queenie

Marc Anthony Strictly Curl Lotion (I love this for round brush blowouts too - which I did on Johan.)

Team credits:

photography: Boon Chian

hair & makeup: Andrea Claire

styling: Xindi Siau