Cleo Chang . Makeup . Hair

Cleo's New Blog!!!

2009-05-14T14:47:00.005+08:00

Yes people. I am happy to announce that my new blog is up!!

Do follow me to my new home. Thank you so much for the support for the past 1 year. I really appreciate your love and support!!

Cleo Is back!!

2009-05-12T12:29:00.002+08:00

Hi People,

I am back in Singapore and busy replying emails. I am in the midst of creating a new blog to host my works so pardon me if there are no new posts in these few days. I will try to be quick. I promise *cross fingers*

So do send me your enquires and stay tune for my new blog!!

Off to Tioman - 4th May to 8th May 2009

2009-04-30T12:56:00.002+08:00

Beautiful Bride - Erna

2009-04-28T12:13:00.005+08:00

I have a new banner for my blog! I think from now on, I am going to decorate it differently so it looks more colourful and interesting. I am getting more tech-savvy. *Flips hair* Wahahaha.

I was engaged to do a Engagement party makeup and ROM makeup for a bride on 2 different days. I don't hear much of engagement parties in Singapore. It is more of a Western culture. But in Taiwan, we have very elaborate rituals for engagement. So, Singapore is like in the middle of neither East or West.

Erna, the beautiful bride is engaged to a Canadian and both of them are residing in China. Interesting huh. Erna have this very exotic look which i absolutely love. Abit like Sandy Lam. I think she makes a good runway model.

For her engagement party which was held at the swimming pool in the evening, I gave her a slightly heavier smokey eye makeup. Contrary to popular belief, smokey eye makeup actually opens up the eyes and creates a deeper and bigger eyes illusion.

For the ROM, it would be the fresh looking bride. Darker eye colour is still used to create bigger eyes effect but less dramatic than the engagement party. At her request, I had her hair slightly curled to maintain her gorgeous hair length.

Her fiance's remark after makeup: You look so pretty

Erna: So I don't look pretty before makeup?

Her fiance: That's a trick question. I will reply later.

Hee. Such a cute couple~

A sweet email from Erna when she was back in China:

Hi Cleo,

Glad to hear from you again!

It was a great experience to have you as my make-up artist for both my engagement & ROM day. You had been a great help!

I am really satisfied with your work for both days. Many of my friends commented that i looked really good! Thanks a lot! I would not hesitate to recommend you to friends and relatives when they need help!:) I have to thank Bibiana for introducing you to me.

Yes, I am back to China leading my old life with my hubby. Life is great so far! Thank you so much for your blessing. I really look forward to your future assistance! Thank you once again for your help!

Regards,
Erna

Love Knots - Launching in May

2009-04-20T16:12:00.007+08:00

Inspired by the grandeur, elegance and romance in all fairy-tale weddings, Love Knots presents the dainty bits of essentials for your prefect wedding.

Specially handcrafted by the designers of Love Knots, they present to you, exquisite handmade corsages, autograph pens, ring pillows, etc to the delights of the sweet princess within you and your bridesmaids. Beautiful gifts to show your appreciation to your bridesmaids and friends for being a part of your Beautiful day.

Cleo Chang is collaborating with Love knots to present to all brides these bewitching collections.

Visit http://weddingloveknots.blogspot.com/

Corsages

Autograph/ROM pens

Coming in May. Stay tuned.

Beautiful Bride - Qiao Yun

2009-04-20T11:11:00.004+08:00

I know it had been so long since I updated my blog. I am so sorry. It all started with a faulty laptop and the rest is history.

I had been busy with bridal makeup and photoshoots recently. Havent been able to post all of them up. Maybe will do some in the near "future".

Okie, Qiayun is a very cute bride with a very cute family. Everyone's all ruffled up for the big occasion. 1 small hotel room, 5 to 6 people. You can imagine the scene.

As per usual, I discussed with her regarding the hairstyles via email and also she brought along a bridal magazine along that day to show me the visuals she likes. That's very helpful~

Besides the bride, I was also roped in to help out with the makeup for the family. Qiaoyun's sister really reminds me of the DJ Liyi. She is one of the few people that is actually comfortable having her hair up into a cute Japanese hairdo. I think it looks great on her.

Beautiful Bride - Joan

2009-03-30T16:04:00.006+08:00

Joan the Bride

Joan is a decisive bride. When I received her email, she had already precisely told me what kind of hairstyle and hair accessories she wanted.

This effectively lighten my work load and reduce alot of hassle and confusion between the bride and I, as the makeup artist.

Something special about Joan is that her eyelids actually make her look alittle sleepy. Therefore, besides triming her eyebrows, I have to blend her eyeshadow colour even higher than I will usually do for brides to create a "refreshed" look for her. While in the meantime, I make sure she has that bridal-natural-blush look.

A sweet message from Joan: I am happy with the makeup and hairdo. Thanks alot!

Going Italy in July!! Anyone keen to come too?

2009-03-30T15:48:00.007+08:00

Hi People,

I will be going to Italy- Venice for a pre-wedding shoot with a couple in Early July. The photographer will be Chris Woon, a talented photographer that I am starting to work with. You can view his portfolio over here - http://chriswoon.wordpress.com/

Do contact me at cleo.chang@hotmail.com for more details or alternatively you can contact Chris directly at contactme@moretopurple.com.

Feel the Love and Romance in Venice

The Power of Makeup - My Belief

2009-03-24T15:09:00.011+08:00

Makeup is a wonderful invention. Which is why ever since in ancient Egypt, women has never stop patronizing cosmetic shops.

Why are we so attracted to cosmetics? The answer is easy. Simply because it works. From the fundamental reason of why we use makeup, to cover flaws, makeup is also used to enhance our features, no matter how beautiful we already are.

There are also social induced reasons of why we use makeup. For example; in old England, ladies used blusher to create pinkish cheeks because the notion of looking "blushed" excites the gentlemen as ladies appeared to be more submissive. And in Japan, it is a basic courtesy for the ladies to dap on alittle makeup before going outdoors.

Why am I talking about this, some might wonder. This is because recently I met someone whom I think has an unhealthy attachment with cosmetics.

My belief: I believe every lady possess her own brand of beauty and uniqueness. Makeup is only to enhance the beauty within her.

Therefore, you have to feel beautiful before you can look beautiful to people and to you. No matter how much coverage and makeup is piled on your face, the lack of confidence can never bring out the best in you.

I have always admired Cleopatra (hence my name). Historical evidence suggested Cleopatra's beauty may be Hollywood fiction. Roman writers tell us that Cleopatra was intelligent and charismatic, and that she had a seductive voice but, tellingly, they do not mention her beauty. However, she managed to seduce two of the most powerful men in the ancient world.

This shows that it doesn't matter if you are not Lin Chiling or Fann Wong coz what really matter is how you present yourself and how much you believe that you are beautiful.

If you don't believe you are beautiful, who will?

At the end of the day, we will still have to remove our makeup and climb into bed with the loved One.

Have a healthy approach towards the use of makeup. Its an da** important enhancer but not a plastic surgeon.

Beautiful Bride - Karen

2009-03-24T12:33:00.004+08:00

I always think there is something good about being petite. That's we always managed to look younger that we really are.

What a way to comfort thyself.

I am a pixie. Most people when they saw me with my big makeup luggage, they always asked me in a kind empathic way " Isn't this bag abit too big for you?"

Karen is friend of mine in the pixie world, a true blooded pixie. I was so surprised to know about her actual age which you totally can't tell from her looks.

Karen wanted something simple yet different. For her makeup, I concentrated on even-ing and brightening her complexion. She has very beautiful almond-shaped eyes and a great smile. So my job was to help bring out the most of her beauty.

Karen is very very sweet too. I received a Thank you card from her. *so touched*

Karen. really thank you for your comments and hospitality. I wish you a blissful marriage ahead.

Off to Party - Jennifer

2009-03-18T15:07:00.005+08:00

Jennifer has a very lovable son. When his mummy was seated for her makeup, the son pulled up his small chair and sit in front of mummy to watch. How adorable.

Well, Jennifer was attending her company's D&D. I was thought D&D should be something happening. Buy pretty clothes, put on some fabulous makeup, set your hair and get ready to dazzle everyone in the company.

I mean its not everyday you could dress up to the highs and show those office b***hes that you could look better than them or show those blind men what they are missing. I never worked in a huge company before so I haven't been to a D&D party. The closest I went to was a social event and that's about it. Pity~

Which is why I think girls should pamper themselves if they have the chance to attend these events.

Anyway, I gave Jennifer a very blended smokey eye makeup so that she won't be too overwhelm as she is not used to heavy makeup. Sometimes people tell me they think smokey eye makeup will look too heavy on them. Well, the secret is, its all in the blending. Choose a lighter colour like dark brown and slowly blend upwards. This will ensure you don't look like you just got punched.

As Jennifer has thin hair, she prefers a more voluminous hairstyle. I had her hair to the side and puff up her hair volume at the back to create a more puffy glam look. Nice ya?

Beautiful Mum-in-Law - Linny's MIL

2009-03-16T15:20:00.005+08:00

Linny was one of my 1st bride who looked me up for her ROM. That was like about 2 years ago.

Time flies~

Now she's married!! She looked me up again to do the makeup for her sisters and mothers. And the very coincident thing is that her Actual day photographer is none other than Byran. Love it~

I was pretty busy that day and the lighting aren't that great for me to take pictures for my portfolio. Actually, I had been quite busy with actual day weddings but you don't see me posting these pictures because sometimes the lighting's are just too lousy for me to take any pictures with my normal camera. Therefore I have to wait for brides to send me theirs and that would take up around a month. I really detest this, but no choice, I have to succumb to fate and poor lighting.

Back to Linny. Hee. I manage to take a picture of her Mother in law coz she wasn't in a hurry to go down to the wedding. I thought Linny's MIL looked fantastic.

Beautiful Bride - Kerry

2009-03-16T13:37:00.009+08:00

Kerry is my best friend, Karen's sister. I had known Karen for more than 10 years and that will be how long I have known Kerry too.

So, this wedding really held a special meaning to me, as a friend and as her makeup artist. I am really honored that Kerry looked me up to be her 2nd March in Makeup artist. As she had already signed her package with the bridal company, she had her makeup artist arranged for her day and night makeup. Therefore, I was there to help her change for her 2nd March-in.

Since I had known Kerry for so long, I knew Kerry is definitely open to bold suggestions. When she showed me the gown she was going to wear, my eyes went *blink blink*

It was a very beautiful and luxurious gown and I knew what was the prefect look to go with the gown and Kerry's bubblixious and daring personality.

From a bashful bride to a vivacious sexy babe

----> (Makeup & Hair not by Cleo)

And Kerry has the prefect features to carry off this look.

I am grateful for this opportunity to help out in her wedding. I think being a makeup artist, besides turning up for my dear friends' weddings, I am blessed to be able to give them another unique wedding present.

And Kerry also given me a chance to showcase my makeup skills for wild and sexier brides. As most brides prefer to be more conservative on their Big Day, I think Kerry had shown us that if you are willing to experiment, you will be surprised by how you can look.

From Kerry:

Thanks to Wuyin for rushing down to help me make-up!
I like the hair and makeup very much! =) It came out very nice in the photos which my friends took!

Hehehe...Thanks for making me look beautiful!
My friends said the make up was very good. Made my features look sharper! Kekke!

Beautiful Bride - Sharon + Advice on Room Lightings

2009-03-02T13:36:00.005+08:00

The ROM solemnization for cute bride was at the Raffles Town Club. I was pretty excited to go there since I never have the chance to go and there was so much who-ha about the Raffles Town Club last year. I was curious exactly how prestigious is it?

Sharon is alittle nervous and it doesn't help when she doesn't have alot of practice wearing her contact lens. So what to do? Cleo has to step in to help. It is actually the 1st time I help someone wear their contact lens. Frankly saying, I was alittle nervous too. Luckily it went well. Phew~

At 1st Sharon wanted to tie up most of her hair because she has to be running around. But I think she will look better if she let down some of her hair since she is wearing a tube dress. So for the hairstyle, I put her hair to one side so that it fits her young cutesy look.

Pictures are alittle over-exposed coz the sunlight is pretty bright

My conclusion for Raffles Town club is that they do provide great service. The manager is always smiling and eager to assist. However the lightnings are very disappointing. I know people love yellow lightnings as they provide great ambience. However, if you want great natural makeup, the best venue to do makeup will be somewhere with natural lightnings or under strong white light.

Yellow lightnings absorb colours so they make it very difficult for makeup artist to determine the right foundation colour and exactly what colour your eyeshadow is. Good lightnings are vital for natural makeup. Therefore I urge brides to check with the hotel if the makeup room has windows for natural lights or provide white lightnings. It is so important!! Trust me!!

Beautiful Bride - Vivian

2009-02-23T10:56:00.003+08:00

It is another trip to Goodwood Park Hotel. This time there was no durian smell which made Goodwood Park back to the top of my list of favorite hotels. Love the beautiful building~

Vivian was the bride of the day. To me, she is a quiet, calm and very elegant lady. Amidst the celebratory mood, she was still very composed which made an interesting contrast between her and her very excited friends. I think friends always have a blast of their time at their friends’ wedding because they can irresponsibly bully the newly wed couple without getting any reprimands. I can’t wait to be a bridesmaid myself~

Vivian is a very pretty bride. Her big eyes looked even more alluring after the application of the falsie eyelashes. Natural falsie eyelashes can open up the eyes and they also gives more depth at the eye area. Therefore, I usually will encourage the brides to have on the falsies.

For her hair, Vivian preferred something simple and natural. So I gave her a simple princess head, emphaisizing more volume on the top of her head, completed with some soft curls down her back. In my opinion, the bride looked very elegant and poised after the makeup.

Love that faint smile

The Season of Love

2009-02-11T18:11:00.007+08:00

February is the season of love.

Not only are we celebrating, the birds are flying high in search of their mates in this February. Comparatively to our expensive and over-commercialized Valentine’s, I would prefer the innocent and simple yet romantic love affair of the February love birds.

I once saw on Discovery Channel the courting ritual of the White bellied sea eagles. They practice one of the most spectacular mating rituals found in nature. Male and female Eagles will lock talons and, with wings outstretched, fall cart-wheeling through the sky, almost falling to the earth before releasing their embrace, then flying off with their life long mates.

Click below to watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tufnqWNP9AA&eurl=http://jpstbcj.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!E12CDAF39A87D05C!256.entry?sa=818327205&feature=player_embedded

Somehow this display of courtship touches me very much. I think since the eagles can do this, all ladies should somehow or another be entitled to some romance by their partners, right? There should be no excuses like “I am not a romantic” or “You know I love you”. Please guys, with a little action and sincerity that will be enough for us.

I won’t mind seeing my boyfriend dance a courtship dance for me. That is romantic. LOL~

Oh, my best buddy Kaz, is having a stall at Love A'Fair @ Sculpture Square on Valentine's Day. Do drop by for some fabulous handmade treats by her.

Facebook link http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=119524210050
Enough of my babbling and my share of nature knowledge. This is a weird post, I know. Hee.

I wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's and hope Everyday's gotta be that sweet!!

My Taiwan Trip - The City VS Village Life

2009-02-09T16:43:00.020+08:00

I love my 9 days in Taiwan.

Total stress-free and there are so many things to shop over there. I love the way how all the similar stuff can be found in just 1 place. That is, if I want to find accessories, there is a place (behind Taipei Railway station) where you can find many shops selling wholesale accessories. You can shop till you drop yo~

It is a rather warm winter when I reached Taipei. Ya, I lived in Taipei. The necessary stuff I do whenever I go Taiwan is as follow:

1. Shop for Makeup - So much Cheaper!

2. Shop for Shoes - So much Cheaper and so many varieties. I mean you can get a pair of heels for TWD 399. That's less that SGD20!

3. Shop for accessories - So cheap and so much to choose from!

4. Go for Haircut, perm & dye -It's definitely cheaper than Singapore. And they have all the new techniques from Japan that make my hair look very voluminous. You know, like Rainie Yang's big hair?

5. Buy sour plums - They have all kinds. Sour plum in green tea, sour plums in red wine, sour plums in lemon tea. I got 1 whole box back.

Since it's winter, I couldn't buy clothes or else that will definitely be in my list.

If anyone needs more informationn on shopping areas in Taipei, feel free to ask. I will try to give you the directions as best as I can!

This Mercedes Sports car was spotted at Ximending -Everyone was whispering that this car was featured on tv. When I saw it, I know why. Besides the flashy colour, the Mercedes logo and its car's rims are all coated in diamond studs. Whenever it is real diamonds anot, I think that is not the point anymore. I wanted to take more pictures but as you know, "ZzzzOOooooom", in a flash, the car was gone.

Well, so much about Taipei. Everyone can go Taipei, so let me share something more interesting. I visited my relatives in Tai Chong. This is a whole different life as in Taipei. My mum lived in a Hakka village and her family business is planting and selling oranges. Yeah, it is those oranges that we buy for Chinese New Year. This would mean we are surrounded by mountains fields and lakes. It is nice to go there once in a while. I spent the whole day walking dogs, eating oranges and playing with my cousins on the streets.

At night while the kids are busy with the fireworks – We can buy mini fireworks and fire them at the empty fields, it was very fun, when I discovered all the uncles had disappeared. After some probing, I realized they had all walk down to the village centre to watch “singing” performance. *raise eyebrow* Yeah I said its “singing” performance. I grabbed my camera and rush down. There we have a lady wearing this:

singing at the top of her voice. People, it is winter night. It definitely was about 10 degrees out there.

After some inaudible singing, the host began to rant: “You are wearing too much clothes!”

Then it became this:

I was more excited than most men in the audience. This is actually a rather common performance in Taiwan. They will occasionally invite this “performance” during special occasions like weddings and Chinese New Year.

I was anxiously holding my camera hoping there will be MORE action. But disappointingly, more action will only appear if you give them Hongbaos. Just imagine a totally naked woman singing in your wedding. LOL. That’s village culture.

My Mum and sisters cooking dinner --------------Me trying to amuse my cousin

Village girl - I am very lucky to have this life I guess.

I am Back!!

2009-02-03T16:24:00.002+08:00

Hi people,

Cleo is back from Taiwan!!

I hope everyone enjoyed the long Chinese New Year holidays and gotten alot of hongbaos.

I really enjoyed my trip home. Besides shopping, I was busy walking around in Taipei hoping to find some business inspirations. So do stay tune to for some nice surprises.

I will post some pictures and share my Taiwan trip and thoughts with everyone this weekend. In the meantime, do feel free to call or email me for any makeup services!!

*kiss*

Chinese New Year is here! Away from 24th Jan to 1st Feb

2009-01-19T13:02:00.008+08:00

I did 2 weddings in January but I didn't get the chance to post them up yet because I am still waiting for the pictures from the photographer. Hurry Bryan!! Lol!! I think January is a great time to marry. A new year, A new beginning, A new couple. Plus, it is my birthday month. Waahaha~

What's up with me posting 3 entries in one day? Hee, usually when my inspirations flows, I have tons to say. I thought it will be better that I blog them now before I lose them all. Plus, CHINESE NEW YEAR is coming!!

My dear readers, I will be going back to Taiwan for Chinese New year to pay visits to my relatives. If I spend CNY in Singapore, it would be very boring since I don't have any relatives here. It is also a great time for me to go back to purchase my makeup stuff especially my fake eyelashes. It is definitely cheaper for me to buy in Taiwan than in Singapore. Therefore if I did not reply your emails or alerts during this period, I am terribly sorry. Do wait for me to be back on the 1st of Feb. I will reply to all enquires by then. Do wait for meee~

Here, I wish everyone a prosperous year ahead. And with a greeting that always tickled me very much. Hope everyone "HUAT" ah!!

On another note altogether, being a makeup artist allows me to meet lots of people. From photographers to my brides to their friends, I made a few acquaint aces from my work and I am grateful for their friendship.

Singapore is a very very puny place. You can meet your friends anywhere you go and especially during weddings or funerals, you will have a nice surprise that that disgusting guy in school is actually your distant relative. This happened to my friend. No joke, but it was darn funny.

Well, something similar happened to me. In my recent bridal makeup assignment, when I was halfway through the makeup, the bride's girlfriend came walking into the room. I looked up and when I saw the girl, " ABBBBBBBOSSSSH"!! It is like a punch in the face.

[Tembling voice in my head]...Isn't...isn't that my ex-boyfriend's girlfriend?

Yeah people. What are the chances? I was 80% sure it is her. While cursing my way through the makeup, I was relieved that she didn't recognize me. But maybe she doesn't even know me, which is a great thing too.

Then the bride starts to chit chat with her: " You must catch the bouquet!"

Girlfriend says: " Aiya, I can't. I am very butterfingers. And you know XXX is also very butterfingers."

"ABBBBOOOOSHHH"!! Another punch in the face when I heard the ex-boyfriend's name. 120% sure. It is so odd to be hearing this conversation as an "unknown" ex-girlfriend. Again, what are the chances??

Lol, I have long let go of that previous relationship but it seemed so unrealistic that day in that hotel room. When I heard girlfriend asking Mr XXX to come to the hotel, I quickly packed my stuff and escape. Imagine the shock for him to see me there.

So lesson here is, don't do anything naughty in Singapore. It is too small to keep secrets. Another thing, also look pretty. You tend to attract attention on days you look your worst. Ahh, it also makes me wonder. If girlfriend engages me to do her makeup on her wedding day, will I do it? I honestly wish them happiness and am happy to know they are going to get married. But it will be a little awkward if I am there right?

*thinks*

Beautiful Mum - Madam Sing

2009-01-19T12:11:00.005+08:00

I did say I love to do makeup for aunties ya?

"Mothers of the bride are also the star of the day" -quoted from a bridesgroom I know.

I agree. Mums are super human being. They worked and take care of their kids at the same time. How long has it been since they wore nice dresses and decked out in full makeup and wonderfully blown hair? I think on their daughter's wedding day, they deserve to shine with their daughter.

Madam Sing didn't sleep the whole night because she was busy preparing the food for the wedding day. She told me she spent the whole night rolling the "tang yuans" !! Actually my advice to these mums is; don't spend so much time preparing for the food because most of the food wont be eaten anyway. Just do some for the sake of tradition then take a good rest before the wedding day so that they could endure the long wedding day the next day and look fabulous at the same time.

Madam Sing fell asleep during the makeup session. It is a great time to doze off but it is alittle difficult for me coz I can't bear to wake them up when I need to check their makeup. I gave her a bright colour eyeshadow so as to brighten her eyes.

Like most aunties, they are likely to face a problem of black spots on their skin. Madam Sing has some black spots on the left side of her cheeks which I have to carefully cover up with care. Madam Sing has very prominent features so after touching up on her complexion and eyes, I think she looked like how she looked like 10 years ago.

I smiled to myself when I saw Madam Sing walked out of her room smiling sheepishly at her husband after her makeover. It is like she became a young lady going out for her date. How cute.

Beautiful Bride - Grace's ROM

2009-01-19T11:20:00.005+08:00

This is yet another Singapore & Malaysian Union.

Grace has her gown made-to-measure and it looked very flattering on her. I love that beautiful royal purple.

When Grace sent me her picture in the email so we can discuss about the hairstyles that suits her, one look and I could tell she has this lovable bubbly personality. Sometimes when I am doing makeup, I like to chit chat with the brides or mothers so I could get to know them better. However, I am still naturally shy. But Grace's bubbly personality made the whole makeup session very enjoyable.

Grace wanted her hair to look more natural with waves and alittle curls. She chose to have a tiara for her hair accessory. It looked just right for her. The important thing about choosing a tiara is that the size of the tiara have to be proportionate to the head. That is why I discourage brides to use the small tiaras for little girls. They are usually very small, therefore when placed on the head makes the head looks disproportionally large. We DO NOT want to look like big headed dolls!

For her makeup, I gave her a light purple eye colour to match her dress, careful not to overwhelm her with too much purple. As you can see, Grace is one of those lucky girls who has the natural blush on her. So mixing too much red will make her look like she's a big apple. So girls who naturally have a reddish tint, do be careful when choosing your eye colour and blush.

Grace had on her own fake eyelashes. You can choose to buy your own fake eyelashes and I can just put it on for you. I have no problems about that. Just do make sure you get lashes that you have tried before and you think it looks great on you.

I love Grace's smile. Its infectious.

Beautiful Bride - Jaclyn

2009-01-14T12:29:00.003+08:00

My 1st ROM bride for 2009!!

Jaclyn is a young bride. Same age as me!! I cannot imagine myself married at this age but looking at her so happy, I think as long as you are happy with your significant other, it doesn't matter how old you are.

She ordered some very nice flowers for her hair. I have no idea what flower is that, but it sure looks very pretty.

The thing about being young, well..as the Chinese says: 年轻就是本钱. Jaclyn looked ravishing with just a little touch up.

Comments Welcome!!

2009-01-06T14:49:00.003+08:00

Hi People,

I realized there is a growing readership of my blog and I am thankful for that. I just started blogging just last year and being a not-so-technology-savvy person, I do not know alot about simple stuffs like posting pictures, increasing traffic and what not. I only just recently realize I could upload full size pictures on my blog. Yeah, that's how backward I am.

Well, the purpose of this entry is to encourage readers out to leave more comments for me. I think your comments will really help me in my makeup. I want to know how I can improve and what styles you like to have. If you are lazy to write, I created a "Reaction" button. So at the end of my entry, you can just click on how much you like the entry. Just one click!! I do appreciate your help!!

Okie, if you are an angel or just like me too much (I know there are very nice souls out there) hopefully someone can help me with the following:

Give some suggestions on how I can improve my blog. Maybe like what more you will like to see in my blogs? More pictures and less babbling for example. Or more makeup tips??
Some seasoned bloggers, do tell me how I could increase readership. I have no clue.
Anyone in the IT/ design line? I am looking for someone to help design my namecard and maybe in future my website. So if you are in this line or know someone who could help me, do drop me a note!! (Of course I will pay!!)

That's all for now. Let us talk!!

The Little Red Dress Competition - WON THIRD!!

2009-01-05T15:19:00.005+08:00

This competition created quite a stir among the photography community because the works will be judged be a number of framed fashion photographers in Singapore.

This is actually a contest organized by the Singapore Heart Foundation to create awareness in Heart Disease for Women. Heart Disease is typically sterotyped as a Men's illness. Therefore this is a step to forewarned women of all ages of the dangers of Heart disease

The rule of the contest is simple. The lady in the picture will have to be shown wearing a Little Red Dress which signifies the heart.

A photographer I often work with Kian Teck decided to take part and I was the makeup artist. Post up a few pictures to share.

Behind the Scenes:

Tinah the Model -------------------------------------Kian Teck the Photographer

Lights - Kian Teck's Cute Cousin

Hopefully he will win!!

And A little side story of that day:

After the makeup for the last model, I didn't follow through the shoot as I was feeling feverish. So in order to save money, I took a bus home. I was lucky so I got a seat. If you have seen me before, you will know that Cleo goes around doing makeup with her very big red luggage. Yes, its the size of an average luggage bag you will carry overseas. And since I was on the bus, I didn't have a choice but to leave my bag sitting at a corner of the railings.

The bus was ok crowded. There were still space to stand around and still be comfortable. I was feeling drowsy so I fell asleep. When I woke up, I can only see the head of a man who was supposedly standing in front of me. I had a rude shock. A man in his thirties was sitting on my luggage bag!!

That totally blew my senses away. Why would anyone think it was ok to sit on someone's luggage?? So i patted on that man's shoulder and ask :" WHY ARE YOU SITTING ON MY BAG?"

The man stood up and said:" Why I cannot sit? I pay the same fare as you. You should take a cab!"

Then he kept repeating about paying the same fare so I observed to him : " well, if that is the case you can sit on the floor!!" That was when he starting hurling verbal abuse to me, words like "stupid" and "you idiot" came out from his mouth. And everytime he speaks he will push his face closer to mine to intimidate me.

It was only then, this nice high EQ auntie intervened and ask the man to keep his cool. She dragged my bag aside and told me its useless to argue with such an unreasonable man. Which I don't really agree, since I am not at fault, but nevertheless since she was this nice, I kept my mouth shut.

After a while, that man alighted the bus. Before he alighted, he throw these words at me: " Luckily your mum is here. (he was referring to that nice auntie) You have to learn to respect people. Luckily she is here. Or else I would have punch and slap you."

Okie, I didn't speak then. In my mind there was three things I want to say

She is not my mum.

Respect is for people who earns it or deserve it.

I hope you have enough money to pay me when I sue you on court for harassment (if he punches me).

There are so many weird and unreasonable people around. If it was an old man, I would definitely have given up my seat. But NO! He was educated, young and fit. I have no idea what was running in his mind when he saw my luggage. I figured his line of thought is : " Wow, a luggage. Just nice. I can sit on someone's else luggage and that will not be wrong at all.

Nice people out there, do be careful and not be bullied by people like him. From this, I learnt that I have to keep my cool at all times. Practice having high EQ. Or else, you will definitely be angry all the time.

Now thinking back, it was a darn funny story to share with friends during outings. Some even thought I was bluffing. Hee, I wish I were.

Updated on 18th Feb 2009.

Kian teck won the third prize for the Little Red Dress competition in the open catagory! This is something coz the pictures were judged by a panel of famous fashion photographers. I am glad I am a part of this. Winning entries are be viewed here

http://www.littlereddress.com.sg/exhibition.php

In The Year 2008

2008-12-31T12:21:00.004+08:00

The earth has completed its 1 round round the sun. I hope I am correct about this. Wahahaha. I hope Calvin realizes that the only way future is going remain as future is when Earth stops moving.

One Year has passed...

In the year 2008, I think we had witnessed and experienced a series of rather unforgettable events.

Worldly wise - We have the awesome Olympics held in China. Taiwanese finally kicked away the "bian" and put on the "Ma". USA have it's Obama as President. These just to name a few.

Personal wise - I made a few more friends that helped me along my Makeup career. I set up this blog and witnessed a slow growth in the number of viewers in my blog.

Everyone knows that 2009 is going to be tough. But hopefully we can all survive and be stronger than before.

I like to thank everyone who are reading this blog for making this blog possible. I hope in 2009 I can share more pictures and works with everyone!!!

Its a New Year.

Beautiful Mum - Joelle & Jerene's Mum

2008-12-23T13:29:00.010+08:00

Some of you might remember Joelle. She was the bride that held her ROM Solemnization in Gardenasia. This time, it was her wedding. Time really flies unknowingly.

I did not do her makeup because she has signed a package with the bridal shop. However, this time, I am doing makeup for her sister and her mum. And boy, these 2 daughters do take after their mum.

Her mum was tired after the long day so she was dozing off during the makeup session. So I gave her a more vibrant blue and purple to brighten her eyes. Joelle's mum looks very elegant indeed.

Beautiful Bride - Agnes

2008-12-22T23:00:00.008+08:00

After doing a few weddings and ROMs, I realize there are actually quite a number of Malaysian and Singaporean unions. With the large number of Malaysians working in Singapore and the relative close distance between Malaysia and Singapore, it is not difficult to imagine how love could blossom. Come to think, I think this phenomenon is unique between these 2 countries only!

Having said all these, Agnes the bride is from Malaysia while hubby Zeek is a Singaporean. They emailed me a picture of what kind of style they will like to have. I suggested to Agnes to get fresh flowers for her hair which she did. Unfortunately, the florist thought she wanted the flowers to be bundled up into a hairpiece, hence I was not able to use the flowers anymore. so brides, remember when you ask the florist for flowers as your hair accessory, just tell them to give you in stalks.

Agnes had just permed her hair so her hair is alittle dry. So I chose to do a hairstyle that is more intact so that the hair would not frizz and lose the curls easily. As Agnes is wearing a formal long gown, we decided to keep the hair to one side for a more youthful and less formal look. BTW, not only do I moisturize your skin before the makeup, I do put moisturizing oil for the hair too if the hair is too dry.

Agnes have the prefect face shape. You know the type whereby people called it " gua zi lian"? She can look pretty at different angles without fearing she will look fat on camera. *jealous*

I gave her eyes a natural colour of brown so that it can open up her eyes and also have an "uplifting" effect. Her cheeks and lips were of a nice brush of pink so you have a beautiful blushing bride. Hee~

An additional of picture that Zeek and Agnes kindly consent to let me use for my portfolio

Beautiful Bride - Angeline

2008-12-22T21:59:00.012+08:00

Dear People,

there are 2 Furama Hotels in Singapore. And I didn't know that.

Thank goodness I was early for the appointment with Angeline so I could rush down to Furama Riverfront from Furama City Centre in Chinatown. Luckily I reach on the dot. Phew, what a way to start the morning~

Angeline was the bride. I am really lucky to have her because she put so much trust in me. In our email conversations, I gave her a choice of 2 different hairstyles and told her maybe we can decide on that day itself which suits her better and she readily agrees.

I like to ask my brides this question: "How do you usually do your hair?"

This is because, if you have always do a "princess head" to work, don't you want to look different for your special day?

This is how we decided which hairstyle is for her

As for her makeup, as Angeline has very big eyes, I was careful to not overwhelm her eyes with colours. Just a careful bending of colors to define her eyes and there you see, her eyes look beautiful. And like what most girls needed, I even out her skin tone for that lovely glow.

I always try to keep it low when brides send me their thanks because I am easily embarrassed (hee). Angeline was very vocal about how she love her look that day. I know some of you might doubt me since this is my blog and I can write whatever I want but I think I am satisfied and happy to know that I can bring just that tad of pleasure in someone's life on her special day.

I love my job for this.

I Should Look Like This for Christmas

2008-12-17T12:00:00.033+08:00

It is the festive season again.

I love Christmas. Yes, some might say Christmas in Singapore is only about the lights and decorations but that's enough for me. I love the beautiful lightnings in Orchard. I think it is a lovely way to mark the end of the year. No matter how good or bad this year had been, it gives me a peaceful feeling to stand in the midst of the Christmas lightnings and glaze at the the night's beauty.

And there are always the Christmas parties to look forward to. So, I will like to recommend this season's winter favorite colours to help ladies out there prep for their Christmas parties or D&D that are coming up.

This season's favorites are:

Gorgeous Purple

Off the runway Beautiful smokey eyes

Be adventurous, and add alittle orange for that extra funk!

I have friends who always tell me that they end up looking like they have been punched in the eyes when they try using purple eyeshadow. Now, the tips of achieving this set of beautiful smokey eyes (Picture 2):

Use a light purple and spread the colour from the middle your eyes to the front and end of the eyes.
Slowly spread the colour alittle beyond (upwards) the double eyelids. We have to use the lighter purple so that it creates an illusion of colour fading off. You can use a brush or makeup sponge to apply the colour.
Only after that, add a deeper purple near the eyelashes (inner) region to create 3D eyes. Always have a darker colour near the eyelash area so that the eyes will look bigger.
Draw your eyeliner. You are set to go!

The 2nd Look for Christmas: Copper/ Metallic Gold

Gold has always been the favorite colour for winter wear coz it looks very glamorous and classy. Pair it with a pair of fake eyelashes like the left picture and you are set to look like a star. The tricky part with gold eyeshadow is that it could not be easily seen on Asian skin. So, I advice ladies out there to go for copper gold or gold with a reddish tint so that the gold doesn't seem to just disappear on your eyelids.

The last look: Sexy Black

Black.

Sexy & Timeless. It look fantastic in whatever outfit you are in.

Tip 1: Use a black pencil eyeliner to fill up your eyelids before applying the powder eyeshadow. This allows the colour to be more intense and its easier to manipulate than the liquid eyeliner.

To set the whole look,

Give your lips a nude lip colur with a tad of gloss for shine
A touch of blusher to give a natural glow
Then, curl your hair loosely either upwards or a loose ponytail and you are ready to party!

Merry Christmas everyone~

A Night to Remember

2008-12-08T16:20:00.015+08:00

+++ A Night to Remember +++

It is once again that time of the year where students flock to shopping malls to buy "that dress" for that "special day". Just for that "special day", for that few hours, young girls are willing to dished out hundreds of $$$ just to make sure they look tip top gorgeous.

I remembered my own graduation night in my JC times. A group of us went to a - I believe-freshly-graduated-from-design-school-designer. My gown (at my time, most of us wear formal gowns) was a light blue long gown, that is incredibly low cut and obscenely tight. Most girls are paranoid of having their gown too loose but not me. The gown was soooooo tight that I had to run to the ladies to unzip so that I can breathe. I was virtually out of breath the whole night. And this of course had become the joke of the night.

There were other fashion mistakes too. I went to a popular saloon to do my hair. I told the hairdresser I wanted to look elegant. It was a truly hair-raising experience. And when I say hair-rising, I meant it literally - Hair-rising. That's why I like my brides to show me visuals of what hairstyles they like so there won't be this kind of "miscommunication".

Horrors of horrors.

Anyway, enough of reminiscing. Jieyee and Wanfang are two young pretty things that engaged my services for their graduation night.

Jieyee wore a lovely white gown and at first she wanted to look sweet and cute. However on second thoughts, we decided to go for a more elegant look that is different from her everyday look.

While Wanfang opted to have a more mature and sexy look. So I gave a a slight smokey eye makeup for that more mature look and soft curls to frame her face for that sexy touch.

There, hope all the girls out there have a fabulous prom.

New Additions

2008-12-08T15:33:00.009+08:00

Hi people,

I decided to include not only bridal postings in this blog but also my works for fashion, D&D and other events. The reason being that it would be easier for me to update people in the rest of the world of my works and improvements all in one media.

So stay tuned for some of my fashion works. I am active in studio fashion makeup for models. Time to time I am surfing the net and flipping magazines for looks that are hot on the runway and try it out on the models. So hopefully this addition will add more colours and fun into my blog.

My previous works

Beautiful Mum & Sister - Aileen & Mum

2008-12-07T11:37:00.007+08:00

Jane is the bride. She engaged me to do the makeup for her mum-in-law and her sister-in-law, Aileen.

Aileen is a cheerful and very pretty girl and she definitely take after her mum. She has beautiful big eyes and compliment them with her big charming smile.

She wanted to look either sexy or princess like that evening. I gave her a princess head because I thought that would complement her green dress and personality more.

As for the mum, she has the problem like most mums have - thinning and flat hair. So like what I used to like to do, PLUFF UP THE HAIR. I guess you can see the result.

The Pretty mum and daughter

Beautiful Sister-in-law - Meiqi's Sister-in-law

2008-12-07T10:57:00.008+08:00

Meiqi the bride engaged me for my makeup services for her mum, mum-in-law and sister-in-law. And the best part is, she is actually the friend (bridesmaid)of Kathy, the bride who engaged me to do makeup for her mums and aunt on her wedding day at Goodwood Park Hotel!

Meiqi was there on Kathy's wedding and she saw the makeover I did for Kathy's mums and aunt. She liked what she saw and so I was engaged for her wedding. I am delighted by this piece of news. It is always great to know someone appreciate what I do.

This day is a great rush for Meiqi therefore I didnt have much a chance to take any pictures except for Meiqi's sister-in-law. She is a beauty. I gave a a sexier makeup to fit her lovely long flowing dress and pluff up her hair for more volume.

Beautiful Bride - Lee Ching

2008-12-07T09:45:00.013+08:00

I did Lee Ching's makeup for her ROM and she wanted me again for her actual day wedding because she likes my style of makeup and hair. *blushes* I am really honoured. Hee~

For this wedding, we dicussed about having different looks for different outfits, carefully avoiding having a similiar looks. As Lee Ching would be changing into her kua after her morning wedding gown, I have to design a hairstyle that is suitable for both the wedding gown and the kua.

Its a low updo. This is a very popular korean hairstyle for brides. You will definitely know this if you have been watching korean dramas.

As for the evening, Leeching changed from her white gown to her cheongsam. So again, I gave her a hairstyle that could be changed easily by the help of her sisters. As for the makeup, she has beautiful shaped eyes. Therefore, I decided to give her a more sexier and dramatic smokey eye makeup for the evening. I think she carry the look very well.

I think she looks like a duchess from the Victorian ages in this look. Agree?

Added fluffness at the back with fresh pink flowers for a statement.

When Leeching has to change into her cheongsam, all she have to do is to pin up the curls at the back and voila!! Another new hairstyle. Beautiful isn't? This way, the bride do not have to worry having the same look for all the outfits she will be wearing on her wedding night~

I am waiting for Leeching to post her pictures on facebook so I can add them to my blog. Stay tuned!

Beautiful Bride - Michelle Loh

2008-12-03T09:08:00.015+08:00

Michelle introduced herself as Michelle Loh because she knew I already have a number of brides named Michelle. wahaha~

Michelle is a young enthusiastic bride. She requested to meet me a week before her big day so that we can build rapport first. Hee, that's cute isn't? I am happy we did meet because I was able to point out a few important beauty tips for Michelle to make sure she looks ravishing on her Big Day.

The solemnization was held at Amara hotel. She wanted to have fresh flowers in her hair but the flowers from her florist are not suitable to be used in the hair. So, a glance around the hotel room, I decided to take the nice pot of flowers by the hotel and put into Michelle's hair. The effect is nice~ Lucky her~

Message from Michelle by sms:
Dear Cleo, thks for making me a pretty bride today...will intro my friends to you who will be getting married..

Thanks Michelle. Wish you happiness~

Tips for dry cracked lips to be soft and tender:

1. Use a gentle facial scrub and gently massage on your lips every other 2 days (everyday if a fast remedy is required) to remove the dead skin. Remember to be gentle!! We want soft tender lips, not a bloody war-torn lips.

2. Second step, before you sleep, put on a medicated lip balm, not just any nice sweet tasting lip balm!! Do make sure to buy a medicated lip balm so that it will heal and moisturize the lips properly.

3. If you are hype to be a pretty bride, the last thing to do is to put a small sheet of the clingwrap (polyethylene), you know, that plastic sheet you use to cover your unfinished food to store into the fridge, over your lips to lock the moisture. This do sound a little extreme, but I heard it really works wonders. Or you can just stop at step 2.

Michelle did it and on her big day, she has beautiful soft tender lips! I am sure her hubby can tell the difference~

Beautiful Bride - Jessie

2008-12-03T08:14:00.009+08:00

Jessie is a teacher and she definitely has the air around her. It's pretty easy to communciate with her as she already knew what style she wanted.

She chose to have the classic bride style - "Princess head with curls". Lotsa brides like this style. I think it is beacuse it looks elegant and sweet at the same time. Comparatively to a updo which denotes a more formal look (not necessarily I ensure you) and a all-down hairdo which can look alittle messy, the "Princess head with curls" is definitely an all time favorite with the brides in Singapore.

So, here's Jessie in her gown. That's a classic bride.

Jessie is already pretty so I just have to enhance her complexion to give her her bridal glow.

The Eyebrow Issue

2008-11-17T11:40:00.013+08:00

Yes, the eyebrow issue.

I think ladies out there spend considerable amount of time and money trimming and shaping their eyebrows. *tweezing and shaving*

But most of the time, I think we tend to overdo it, which results in near-non-existent eyebrows. Or even if the eyebrows are still there, they tend to be over-arched or over shaped. Therefore I do spent considerable amount to time trying to rectify the "eyebrow issue" when I am doing makeup for the ladies.

My own preferences are thick eyebrows. It doesn't necessarily have to have an arch (which is the preferred type of eyebrows and the politically correct eyebrows to have). Instead, a nicely- trimmed and even eyebrows that complements the shape of the face produce a more desirable natural look.

By thick, I do not mean BUSHY! Let me show you some examples of this beautiful Korean actress Kim Hee Sun.

She still looked beautiful in the top picture, but don't you think she looks so much more elegant and natural in the bottom pictures?

I am inspired by how these beautiful Korean actresses look. They are always effortlessly beautiful, looks very natural and posed. (Let's not talk about the plastic surgery part coz we are talking about eyebrows today)

So I am alerting every ladies or girls out there of this eyebrow trend. Don't overly trimmed or shaped your eyebrows. It just doesn't look natural. Plus, over arched eyebrows look fierce wor~

Another example of beautiful Soon Hye-Kyo

Doesn't she just look prettier and prettier as her eyebrows get thicker and thicker?

Constantly I have to urge my customers to let me thicken their eyebrows, but their replies are always:

1. I am not used to seeing myself in thick eyebrows
2. I think thick eyebrows look fierce

So today, I hope ladies would understand why I insisted. I mean, as long as it looks nicer, shouldn't everyone try to get used to it?

What does 'Love' mean?

2008-11-14T12:08:00.005+08:00

I was reading through blogs and I chanced upon this entry by one of the acclaimed wedding photographer in Singapore. I like it so much so I decided to do a copy and paste and have this lovely article in my blog too. Talk about being original. (HA!)

What does “Love” mean?
———————–------------------
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-old, ‘What does ‘love’ mean?’

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

‘When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love. Rebecca- age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.You just know that your name is safe in their mouth. Billy - age 4

‘Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other. Karl - age 5

‘Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.’ Chrissie - age 6

‘Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.’ Terri - age 4

‘Love is when my mummy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny - age 7

‘Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mummy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss. Emily - age 8 (I couldn't help but laugh when I read this)

‘Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. Bobby - age 7

‘If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate’. Nikka - age 6

‘Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.’Noelle - age 7

‘Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.’ Tommy - age 6

‘During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared any more. Cindy - age 8 (This touched me. It reminds me of my dad, clapping his hands like crazy when I receive my scroll on graduation day. I love my dad)

‘My mummy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night. Clare - age 6

‘Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.’ Elaine-age 5

Love is when Mummy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.’ Chris - age 7

‘Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day. Mary Ann - age 4

‘I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.’ Lauren - age 4

‘When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.’ Karen - age 7

‘Love is when Mummy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.’ Mark - age 6 (I seriously doubt that's love. Its more of I-can't-help-it situation)

You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it,you should say it a lot. People forget. Jessica - age 8

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said ‘Nothing, I just helped him cry’

Beautiful Mum - Limin's Mum-in-Law

2008-11-04T12:27:00.008+08:00

Limin’s mum-in-law is a very pleasant lady to chat with. Like all grannies, she is taking care of all her grandchildren. Yet, she still finds time for her own leisure, participating in dance lessons, taking up bowling and indulging in a little manjong once a week. All in all, she is leading an active interesting life in her senior years.

She was heading to her youngest son's wedding dinner in a classy purple gown. So, her eye makeup was in a purple-blue tint and a rosy blush to give her face radiance. I think all can tell Limin's Mum-in-law is a beauty now and in the past.

I like to give aunties and grannies a pluffy hairdo so as to create more volume and height, thus looking younger and taller. A pluffy hairdo also allows the subject to exhibit more glamor and grace. Look at Limin's mum-in-law, she look like an elegant school principal ya?

Beautiful Bride -Winn

2008-11-03T16:58:00.011+08:00

A lovely restaurant tucked at the north end of Singapore was Winn and her fiancé’s choice for their ROM solemnization. Completed with the lovely sea view and the cooling sea breeze, Gallery by the Straits @Sembawang SAF Yacht club is a romantic place to hold a beautiful wedding.

Winn is a customer of Elsie – Bridal Closet. She was dressed in a long gown to match her fiancé’s formal suit. So, she actually looked more like an actual day bride. As I have mentioned, I believe makeup is to enhance one's beauty. Winn has beautiful eyes. So, I concentrate on even-ing her skin tone and enhancing her beautiful eyes. She does look very radiant.

Curls are nice. And not necessarily curls will make one look older. Instead, if done properly, the bride can look very sweet and young. And its more interesting than straight hair.
This is a Japanese-inspired Hairdo.

Pictures below a courtesy from photographer Mr KC Tan (http://kctan3636.multiply.com) Thanks!

I do not have much experience in blogging so I forgot I should take pictures of the surroundings so that brides-to-be can have a reference of the venue. I promise I will try to remember the next time when I go to more unique places for makeup!

Beautiful Bride - Huiyun

2008-11-03T15:33:00.005+08:00

It was a traditional yet non-conventional wedding. Why would I say that? Well, it was traditional because Huiyun the bride donned in 2 different cheongsams for day and evening. It is unconventional for the same reason too. Singapore being a modernized & westernized society has absorbed the western values and culture so much that it has been unconventional to have a Chinese bride not wear a white gown.

I dressed Huiyun’s hair up in an elegant yet unconventional style so that it would not be just a boring elegant bun. She paired her dress with a pair of oriental earring which sets off very well with her dress and completeed the whole look.

As for the evening, it was held at the Pan Pacific hotel. I have to say it’s a really nice hotel and fantastic lightings. Lightings are very important to me because it good lightings allows me to get the correct skin tone and colour for each individual.

I did Huiyun’s Mum’s and Mum-in-law’s makeup 1st. Both mums are wearing cheongsam tops and they sure look very elegant.

Huiyun's Mum-in -law

Huiyun's Mum After & Before Makeup

As for Huiyun, she was wearing her long cheongsam and since its in the evening, I gave her a glamorous look with her long hair in curls, completed with diamond hairpins for extra glamour.

Sadly as Huiyun was in a hurry to leave, I could'nt get any pictures of her. So now Im patiently waiting for her pictures. Stay tune!

Beautiful Bride - Lulu

2008-10-24T10:49:00.001+08:00

Lulu is a unassuming and extremely friendly lady. She can just start chatting with you like you are her long lost friend. This makes my job so much more enjoyable.

Lulu engaged me as her makeup artist for her actual day wedding. So long before her wedding, we met up and have a chit chat and discussion of how she would like to look that day with the picture references that I had already sent her via email. This is a step I would take if brides to be are not taking the trials. The meetup would allow me decide what is suitable for the bride depending on the length of the hair and her personality.

Most brides prefers to look natural in the day, so I concentrate on giving perfecting Lulu’s complexion and a radiant blush since she has already a beautiful skin tone.

For the evening, Lulu donned a sweet and flirty pink & white gown. So, we decided that her long hair should be swept to the side for a sweet look. Love her cute smile. Thanks for the pictures Lulu!

P.S: The lightings in the restaurant are not good for photo taking by unprofessional, thus pardon the quality

Beautiful Couple - Adam & Sonia's Studio Shoot

2008-10-14T15:20:00.002+08:00

Adam & Sonia's Studio Shoot.

They are one cute couple. That much I can tell.

Usually I will liaise with the bride for the details and the groom's biggest and main duty will be to appear on the big day itself. Adam is different. He is in charge of all coordination and it does feel weird on my side to be discussing about makeup and hair with a guy. Lucky Sonia~*envious sign*

Adam and Sonia wanted a special studio shoot whereby they are not just the main leads. I guess to them marriage is not only the union of two people but of their families too. Therefore, their studio shoot is a huge event as all their respective loved ones were all present for the family portraits.

It was a cosy affair. Looking at them with their respective families smiling and interacting in harmony make me realize that's is probably what marriage is all about. Love and acceptance.

Sonia had a total of 2 looks for her shoot, 1st in her white gown and her evening gown that she will be wearing on her wedding day. I gave her a sweet curly hairdo so as to step out of the traditional neat bun that most brides will have on their big day. As for her evening gown, I gave her a lovely hairdo that suits her perfectly.

Sonia in her Bridal Dress - Dramatic huh?

Evening dress - Such a lovely smile

I am also in charge of all family members' makeup. It had been my greatest pleasure to be in the company of such lively and friendly people. I hope to post some of their family portraits here soon.

And for all brides-to-be, if you like the execution of these pictures, these are taken by a photographer friend of mine. His name is Bryan Foong and you can have a look at his blog @ http://www.bryanjeanphotography.com/blog/

So far that's all I have got. Let's wait for their big day!

Beautiful Mums - Kathy's Mum, Aunt & Mum-in-law

2008-09-30T09:34:00.001+08:00

Kathy the bride had her wedding at Goodwood Park hotel. That is a really lovely place. I think whomever had passed by the hotel would definitely agree that it looks beautiful especially at night. It looks like a small palace. I have never been to Goodwood Park hotel to do makeup before so naturally I was quite excited.

Guess what greeted me at the entrance of Goodwood Park hotel? It was a faint breeze of durian "scent". I was told that Goodwood Park hotel is famous for its durian cake. Oh my goodness, I guess lovers of durians would love the place. As for me, even though I have been staying in Singapore for almost all my life, I have yet to get used to the pungent smell of durians.

Kathy's mum and aunt are very nice and welcoming. Both of them have short bob hair so what I can do is to make their hair puffy so that the hair will look nice and voluminous.

As for the makeup, I concentrated on giving them a nice overall complexion and brighten the skin colour so that the skin will look more radiant. I also did alittle adjusting of their eyes so that their eyes looked bigger than before.

As for Kathy's mother in law, she is actually over 70 years old. But who is to say grandmas can't look good?

Kathy's mum After makeup

Kathy's Mum before Makeup

Kathy's Aunt After Makeup

Kathy's Aunt Before Makeup

Kathy's Mum-in-law After Makeup
(The lighting in the evening is bad)

Beautiful Mum - Susan

2008-09-14T18:20:00.001+08:00

I like doing makeup for Mums and mother's in laws. Maybe it is because till now, I have been meeting all these very nice aunties who were very nice to me. I enjoyed chit chatting with them and it made the makeup session very enjoyable.

Susan is attending her eldest son's wedding reception, dressed in a gown rented from Bridal Closet. Susan was very worried about her natural curly hair which tends to be a tact too messy at times. As Susan is blessed with a beautiful complexion (I bet you can't tell she is over 55 years old), I spent more time on taming her hair to give her a neat, classy look.

After Makeup

Before Makeup

Beautiful Bride - Irene Outdoor Shoot

2008-09-14T18:13:00.001+08:00

Beautiful Bride - Michelle

2008-09-14T17:19:00.001+08:00

This is a really late entry. Partly my fault because in the past I did not have the habit of taking pictures of the brides I have worked with so I had to wait for brides to send pictures to me

So here it is. Michelle - A dec'07 bride.

After Makeup

Before Makeup

Beautiful Bride - Christina

2008-08-20T14:15:00.002+08:00

Christina is a National Day's bride. Long before her ROM, we had discussed about how her hairdo should be like. She wanted to look slimer in her pictures (everyone does) so I decided to give her a hairdo that lengthens her profile. Below are her kind words for me:

"Hi Cleo,

Thanks for being my MUA on my ROM and making me so pretty!! Definately will share my photos with you once my photographer had them processed in a week's time...

Will definately reccomend your services to any of my brides to be frens!!

Take care and keep in touch!

Cheers,
Chris"

After Makeup

Her Everyday Look

Will upload the pictures as soon as Christina sends them over. Hee. Can't wait~

Event - Magazine Launch

2008-08-20T13:55:00.000+08:00

Look Vouge in Kua

Look Sweet in Kua

Bridal Closet was invited to participate in the launch of a Bridal Magazine. I was there as the makeup artist for the 2 couples. Elsie's couples are decked out in traditional Kua.

I want to break the concept some brides do have that wearing Kua will look old and boring. With the right makeup and hair, you can still look stylish or look like a sweet traditional ge-ge (princess)~~

This is featured in the newspaper. Will upload once I get my hands on the scanned copy!

Beautiful Sister-in-Law & Mum-in-Law - Claudia & Mum

2008-08-20T13:35:00.001+08:00

Lili contacted me to do makeup for her Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law. Claudia and her mum were so nice to me.

For Claudia, because she is still young, we decided that we should just keep her face fresh. So just a light touch of makeup to make already-pretty Claudia shine more.

Lili's mum-in-law is a very stylist mum and still looking very young for her age. Usually she likes to put on green eyeshadow when she does her own makeup. I decided that since she is already wearing such a lovely blue-ish-green Qibao, she would look great in a subtle makeup. So there she is, I think Lili's mum-in-law looked great that day. Very posh & stylish.

After Makeup

Before Makeup

Beautiful Bride's Sister - Bibiana

2008-08-20T11:05:00.001+08:00

Bibiana was attending her bf's sister's wedding. She was supposed to be wearing a long beautiful black & white gown. Therefore, we decided that she would look great in a slight smokey eye makeup look.

After Makeup

In her Normal day Look

Beautiful Bride - Michelle

2008-08-19T22:11:00.002+08:00

Michelle had her ROM held at Aranda Country Club. I think she is indeed a modern and daring bride. She chose to wear a cute black & white dress which I don't see very often for weddings or ROM.

Michelle is very tall so she thought it would be difficult for her to look sweet. Actually it wasn't hard because in my opinion, she looks very sweet already. With her cute short fringe, I gave her a sweet looking look. She do really like it alot...

"Hi Cleo,

Thanks so much for all your help on that day. I really love the make up and the styling. I have attached some photos for you too.Really nice knowing you. Hope that I could look for you for any of my future events too=)

Will definitely recommend you to my friends. CONFIRMED!!!!

Keep In Touch wor...

Regards,
Michelle"

After Makeup

Before Makeup

Beautiful Bride - Winnie

2008-08-19T22:05:00.002+08:00

Winnie's Mother-in-law

Winnie's Whole Family

Beautiful Brides - Bridal Closet

2008-08-19T21:06:00.001+08:00

I will like to introduce one of my partner, Elsie. Elsie is the owner of an online gown boutique - Bridal Closet.

She has a huge collection of beautiful gowns and dresses for Brides, bridesmaids, Moms & Flowergirls.

The things I love most about Bridal Closet is that it has ONLY 1 piece of gown in 1 Design. For brides that value individuality, this is a great place to choose your gown from. And I must add, her gowns are all imported from Fashion-savvy countries like Hongkong & Korea.

She do have a huge collection of accessories to choose from. From tiaras, hairbands, earrings and necklaces, you name it, she has it.

And Elsie is a fabulous person to talk to and to work with. You will love her chatty nature and her professionalism.

Do take a look at her site at http://bridalcloset.multiply.com

It's great really~

Beautiful Bride - Joelle

2008-08-19T20:31:00.002+08:00

Joelle had her ROM held at a relatively new venue - Gardenasia. It is somewhere near Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve if Brides-to-be are interested to look for some new places to hold your ROM. It was a refreshing change to be somewhere near the nature for a wedding.

Joelle left a very sweet comment for me:

Hi Cleo,

So sorry for the late reply. Have been busy with my new house and preparation of the customary wedding this coming december. Just managed to get my photos edited. He..he.. Thanks for the make-up on my ROM day. You really make me looked so beautiful and received lots of compliment from my guests. You did a great job! I'll recommend my friends to you if they need any make-up for any events. Once again, thank you for your great effort. Attached are a few photos taken on the ROM day.

Best Regards,
Joelle

After Makeup

Before Makeup

Beautiful Bride - Lee Ching

2008-08-19T20:00:00.001+08:00

Lee Ching is a customer of Elsie - Bridal Closet. She showed me pictures of how she wanted her hair to be like which makes things easy for me. Usually when the bride knows what she likes, it gives me a direction or style to work from there.

Lee Ching & Hubby

Hairdo

After Makeup

Before Makeup

Therefore, in the end, she really like the look I gave her. Following is the kind remarks from Lee Ching:

"Hi Cleo,

Thanks for the lovely make-up and hair! Haha, it was so difficult to see in the house that I didn't realised how nice everything once until we got to the venue. I had soooo many compliments on that day, particularly on the unique hair-do that you have created! :) :) It's not a problem to put my photos on your blog at all. :)

If you need to put forward any favourable comments anyway (singapore brides etc), I'll be happy to do so as well!:) Already I have so many "soon to be married friends" enquiring about who my make-up artist is! Will pass on your contact.. Thanks a lot and I'll see you again in July.

Regards,

Lee Ching"

Thank you for your compliments. I am really glad you like it. *smiles*

Beautiful Bride - Ms Kay

2008-08-19T16:37:00.001+08:00

Beautiful Bride - Studio

2008-08-19T16:11:00.001+08:00

Estelle is a half Taiwanese - Singaporean girl. So I gave her a hairdo that is cute & lively like what you can see on the Taiwanese variety shows or magazines. And she really like it.

Beautiful Bride - Adelin

2008-08-15T14:12:00.001+08:00

Adelin & Hubby

Young bride Adelin planned to have her pre-wedding pictures taken - wearing jeans. This seemed to be the latest trend with pre-wedding photography. I guess what matters is who you are taking the pictures with. *smiles*

Adelin wants to look natural and causal so nothing fanciful was done to her hair. I gave Adelin a fresh and natural makeup to retain her youthful look.

Look at them, so young and so in love. Hee~

After Makeup

Before Makeup

Beautiful Bride - Linny

2008-08-15T13:50:00.002+08:00

Linny knew how she wanted to look for her ROM. She said it was just a private family affair so she doesnt want to know too formal or too over-done.

We met up and discussed about the hairstyles that are suitable for her. Then there you go, Linny looking sweet and cute.

Thank you Linny for the pictures. You are a real sweetie.

After Makeup

Before Makeup

For All Brides-To-Be - Your Beauty Regime

2008-08-15T13:02:00.001+08:00

Dear All,

To ensure you look beautiful and ravishing on your happy day, a well planned beauty regime is one important part of your preparation work.

Often, there are brides who are troubled by skin problems like; pimples breakout(who doesn't), uneven complexion, dry skin, oily skin, blackheads, etc..

These skin problems often caused difficulties in the application of the makeup. Makeup does cover up the flaws but with the help of a nice complexion, the bride will look more beautiful with her natural glow.

Therefore, I do suggest brides to go for regular facial at least 2 months before the Big Day, to curb these skin problems. Usually during a facial, it involves these steps:

cleansing
skin analysis, where the esthetician puts eye pads over your eyes and looks at your skin through a brightly lit magnifying lamp
Exfoliation, usually while a steam vapor is directed at your face.
extraction of blackheads if you want it and it's suitable for your skin type. (It can cause broken capillaries and discoloration if done on sensitive skin, or done improperly.) People have different pain tolerance for extractions. They can be uncomfortable, especially on thin or ruddy skin.
facial massage to relax you and stimulate your skin and facial muscles
a mask targeted to your skin type (dry, oily, combination, sensitive, mature.)

It is essential that you found the right facial that suits your skin.

If you are on budget, you can always DIY at home. Just remember to

Wash your face daily with a suitable facial wash at least twice a day
Exfoliate with a facial scrub once or twice a week. If you touch your nose or the area around your nose and chin and it feels rough, my dears, it's time to exfoliate!!
MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE AND MOISTURIZE. Even if you have oily skin, its also esstential for you to moisturize. You just have to find the right products. Nevertheless for dry skin babes, you definitely have to do it religiously.
Facial masks. Don on a mask according to what you skin needs for once or twice a week.

This might sound troublesome. I advise all to chant " I WANT TO BE BEAUTIFUL" while you are slapping on your moisturizer to your face (& body).

Cheers!

My Makeup Services

2008-08-15T12:00:00.006+08:00

Packages as per year 2009. New packages are available on my new blog. Please visit http://cleochang.wordpress.com for more details.

ROM Package

- 1 makeup, 1 hairstyle
- Eyebrow Trimming
- Transportation

Bridal Package 1

- 1 makeup and 1 hairstyle for day/ evening
- Eyebrow Trimming
- Fake Eyelash
- Transportation

Bridal Package 2

- 1 makeup and 1 hairstyle for Day
- 1 makeup and 1 hairstyle for Evening
- 2 pairs of Fake eyelashes
- 1 bottle of Face ampoule
- Eyebrow Trimming
- Transportation

Pre-Wedding Makeup Package

- 2 sets of Makeup and Hairstyle

- 3 sets of Makeup and Hairstyle
- 1 set of Fake eyelash

Mothers'/Sisters' Makeup Package

1 Makeup & 1 Hair

1 pax each
2 pax each
3 pax and above each

Do take note:

A deposit of 40% (non-refundable & non-transferable) is required once the booking is confirmed.
Trial that's not included in the package is additional charge.
Please inform me if you require changes in Bridal Package - Made to customized!
Please inform me if you want additional services - Change in makeup and hair for 2nd march in, Accessories, Flowers
Surcharge of $50 will be imposed if makeup services are required at 6.30am or earlier
**Studio makeup packages can be subjected to change for number of looks
Prices are subjected to changes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOC for Groom's makeup and styling
FOC for Body Shimmer
FOC for rental of Hair accessories - a deposit of $50 is required for the rental of the each hair accessory. Full refund will be given when the hair accessories are returned in their original state.

Welcome to my Blog

2008-08-14T15:52:00.001+08:00

Hi Everybody,

This blog is dedicated to all the brides and their family members who has chosen (lucky) me to be part of their happy day. This is an avenue for me to express my gratitude for their hospitality and to record these sweet memories.

For all brides-to-be, this is also my bridal portfolio. If you are looking out for a makeup artist, do stop by and take a look. Feel me to contact me at cleo.chang@hotmail.com if you have any enquiries. Alternatively you can also view my other portfolio at http://wuyin.multiply.com/

I wish all brides and brides-to-be a happy happy marriage and a lifetime of sweetness~