Asian women tend to have square or round face shapes, like comedian Cho. Because of this "I always contour Asian faces to give definition to the bones of the face," says Chang-Babaian. She recommends using two different shades of foundation for contouring -- one that matches your skin and one that's slightly darker. "When you use one color [of foundation], especially a lighter color, which is a tendency of Asian woman, it makes the face look wider and rounder," she says. Apply the darker shade where there are "natural indents in the skin," says Chang-Babaian -- typically the cheekbones and the sides of the nose then use the lighter shade everywhere else.
Photo 5/11
Sandra Oh: Highlighted Features
According to Chang-Babaian, Asian women usually attempt to create depth in their faces by using blush, but she says that's a big no-no. Instead, ditch the blush and use darker foundation on shadowed areas (see the previous slide for the how-to) and highlight your face where the light naturally reflects off of it as Oh perfectly illustrates here. To do this, blend a "white, opal or slightly golden toned [cream] along the center of the nose, inner corners of the eyes and along the tops of the cheekbones," says Chang-Babaian. Try Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion, $24.
Photo 6/11
Michelle Kwan: Full Lips
All women want pouty, full lips like former Olympian Kwan's. To make your lips appear plumper, Chang-Babaian recommends modestly reshaping them using a neutral lip liner that's two shades darker than your natural lip line color. Next, apply beige or pink gloss (try Sephora Super Shimmer Lip Gloss, $10). Finish by dabbing a bit of a lighter, shinier gloss shade just in the center of your bottom lip for a pouty finish.
Photo 7/11
Yunjin Kim: Perfectly Lined Eyes
According to Chang-Babaian, many Asian women have difficulty applying eyeliner perfectly due to their smaller eye shape and lack of creases. Her solution? If one of your eyes is smaller or one doesn't have a fold, apply a thicker line of eyeliner on that eye. Gauge the thickness of the line based on how it looks when your eyes are open (not closed). Your liner may look uneven when your eyes are closed, but no one will notice. When your eyes are open, they'll just look totally even and balanced like "Lost" star Kim's do here. Also, to prevent liner from smudging (a common issue for Asians), use a liquid liner like Prestige Liquid Eyeliner, $5.59 as opposed to a pencil -- it will stay in place longer.
Photo 8/11
Lindsay Price: Bronzed Smoky Eyes
Sultry, smoky eyes like Price shows off here are a sexy and dramatic way to play up Asian eyes. This look isn't a cinch to create, warns Chang-Babaian, since Asian eyes don't typically have a crease to work with. "You have to work in layers, not in a V shape like with western eyes," she says. She suggests first trying this look using warm colors like bronze and mauve since they're more forgiving and mistakes will be less obvious. Here's how to apply them:
Step 1: Sweep the darkest color you're using closest to your lash line and, like a gradient, slowly move up the lid applying lighter and lighter shades of shadow, ending at your brow with a pearl shade. Use an eyeshadow palette like It Cosmetics Eyes of Seduction Shadow Palette with Brushes, $34 to get a range of colors in one sweet package.
Step 2: To make small eyes appear bigger, line your bottom lash lines with bronze eyeshadow, starting from the outside and stopping in the middle.
Did you know that Asia is home to 60 percent of the world's population? Yup, it's true. That means there are a lot of Asian women in the world, from many different countries, and just like every woman: no two Asian women are exactly the same. Face shape, skin tone, bone structure, eye color, etc. all depend on the individual. So what's the one thing all Asian women do have in common? The ability to look absolutely stunning. They do happen to share some similar features and attributes as well, all which can be made up to glorious perfection.
We found examples of the best makeup looks for Asian women on the red carpet worn by gorgeous celebrities like Sandra Oh, Margaret Cho, Lucy Liu and more. These stars show off their radiant skin, pouty lips, flirty lashes and smoldering eyes, and here we'll give you the scoop on the makeup techniques employed to create them, with help from an expert, of course.
We went to a bigwig authority on Asian makeup, celebrity makeup artist and author of "Asian Faces: The Essential Beauty and Makeup Guide for Asian Women", Taylor Chang-Babaian. She gave us her expert guidance on how to recreate these flawless and fun celeb makeup looks. So whether you're Asian or not, these tips will help you become your own makeup guru. Which is great because unlike A-list celebs, we can't afford to pay artists like Chang-Babaian to do our makeup.
