So after you became experts on braiding your hair in an “effortless” manner, now it’s time to move forward and master the make-up.

You know how sometimes you have those day-time occasions that require just a tiny bit more? When you don’t want to look as though you piled on loads of make-up but still look a tad more “dressed-up” in a way that’s appropriate for day?

To give us some professional guidance I’ve invited make-up artist Angela Wang. Angela is originally from Taiwan and been working in the industry for the past 6 years with names like MinnaK, SVDL, Slurp Magazine & NBC on her Resume.

You will need:

When I asked Angela for secret upgrades make up artists apply in the industry, she confessed a lot of it has to do with Contouring.

Yes, most models have incredible cheek-bones but those usually get a special treatment to accentuate the structure even more. By using two different tones of foundation (one is your perfect fit and the other is two shades darker) one can achieve a more contoured look, and definitely upgrade an entire appearance without using too much color.

Step 1 : FOUNDATION

The first shade of foundation – the one that matches perfectly your natural skin color, is applied evenly. The second, (two tones) darker foundation is applied to the sides of your face. As Angela explained, it’s as though you would put the palm of your hand to your face, that is exactly the area you should be covering with the darker foundation cream. After application be sure to blend in properly, to creat an even look. The contouring effect will be achieved as a sophisticated visual illusion.

Step 2: POWDER

To avoid that shiny look often seen after applying foundation cream use powder to matt down your face. Angela strongly recommends applying powder with a big brush, using either translucent loose powder or a simple compact powder that matched your natural color.

Step 3: THE EYES

We’ve all seen those step by step ”smokey-eye” charts everywhere, strategically trying to explain to us how to achieve that effect…

But from my experience ladies, it’s all about trial and error. Yes, look at the chart for the general idea of the placement of the different shades (highlight the corner of the eyes and below the brows with the lightest shade on the palette, and darker on the sides of the eyes) but the only way you will “get it” without taking a course is by standing in front of mirror armed with patience and applying the eyeshadow according to the directions while using your judgment for what’s flattering for your eyes. Because it’s a day look, we stayed close to the natural shades of brown to create an accentuated look for the eyes, without passing as “too heavy”. IMPORTANT: never use the aplicators that come with the eye-shadow palette, always use proper brushes, to achieve better application! You will see the difference…

Step 4: BLUSH

With a big round brush from your brush set (available in practically every pharmacy and at Sephora in many sizes and at different price range) finish up by applying rosy blush to your cheeks. Start from the apples of your cheeks and “swoosh” to the sides of the bone to accentuate your structure.

Step 5 : LIPS

Last but not least, a tiny bit of gloss always makes a huge difference. My current favorite is a lip butter glaze in a pomegranate shade by KORRES.

Eh – Voila!

Photo by Andy Bae