After months of maternity wear and even more months of nursing tops, I had fallen into a fashion rut. Not only that, with constant sleep deprivation and lack of personal time, I was just too tired most of the time to be bothered with looking good. I ended up feeling lousy about myself, my confidence took a plunge and on some days, I didn’t even want to look at myself in the mirror as I thought I looked real awful.
So when Kenan stopped breastfeeding and I could finally put away all the nursing tops, I didn’t know what to wear anymore. Besides the classic pieces, my wardrobe is pretty much outdated as I haven’t bought much new clothes in about two years that are not related to me being a mom ie. non-maternity, non-nursing wear.
In fact, I have kind of forgotten what it was like to have fun dolling myself up. I hate to admit it but instead of turning into the yummy mommy I aspired to be, I find myself in a “mommy slump”.
But I decided it’s time to get out of it. I don’t want to continue the spiral downward. I wanted to reconnect with myself, to get in touch again with those parts of me that are sort of buried after baby came along. And to kick start this, I’m adopting an outside-in approach by having a ‘Make Myself Over’ project!
Well, I have wanted to work on my makeup skills for quite a while but never got down to it. I do enjoy putting on makeup but since becoming a mom, I don’t really have much time for it. It’s often drawing the eyebrows, putting on mascara, dabbing some lipstick and off I go.
So I surfed the net for makeup courses and finally settled for a one-to-one course with Fionna Lau.
One-to-One Makeup Class
Fionna's easy-going, friendly nature immediately put me at ease.
She started off with understanding about my skin type and the concerns I have and then taught about proper skincare before going into makeup.
Throughout the lesson, what I really appreciated about Fionna was that she didn’t dictate that I must follow her ways. Instead she tried to combine her techniques with what I am used to doing so that applying makeup becomes really easy.
And when it comes to what looks good, she certainly has the eye for it. At one point, I was commenting that the eyebrows are drawn a bit too thick and she kept assuring me that when the rest of the eye makeup goes on, it will not look thick at all as everything will be balanced out. True enough, she was right. In fact, it won't look good if the eyebrows were any thinner.
She started off with understanding about my skin type and the concerns I have and then taught about proper skincare before going into makeup.
Throughout the lesson, what I really appreciated about Fionna was that she didn’t dictate that I must follow her ways. Instead she tried to combine her techniques with what I am used to doing so that applying makeup becomes really easy.
And when it comes to what looks good, she certainly has the eye for it. At one point, I was commenting that the eyebrows are drawn a bit too thick and she kept assuring me that when the rest of the eye makeup goes on, it will not look thick at all as everything will be balanced out. True enough, she was right. In fact, it won't look good if the eyebrows were any thinner.
Fionna is also very knowledgeable about cosmetics and made some very good recommendations. For example, through her, I have found a really good makeup base - Shu Uemura UV Underbase Mousse. I bought the makeup base from her after the class and have been using it ever since. It’s really one of the best buys I’ve ever made because not only does it help my foundation to go on smoothly, it also allows the foundation to last the whole day! I also tried HABA Velvet Touch Base II as a primer for my eyelids during the makeup class and I loved it. It gives a soft velvety, powdery finishing and is perfect for my eyelids. I observed that the eye makeup last many hours that day - usually my eyeliner (I'm a fan of Bobby Brown's gel eyeliner) will start to smudge after about five hours. Fionna even helped me buy the primer, which is really sweet of her. I can't wait to start using it.
During the lesson, Fionna also asked me if I have any makeup that I bought but am not too sure how to use them. I showed the items to her and she gave me some very good tips! So now I can finally put those cosmetics to use instead of having them sit in the drawer.
Oh yes, I also finally learnt how to put on false eyelashes. I’ve never used it except during my wedding, which was done by the makeup artist anyway. I thought it’s really hard to stick the false eyelashes on but Fionna taught me how to do it and I fixed it on perfectly at the first try. Fionna said it must have been ‘beginner’s luck’... haha! But I have yet to put on the false eyelashes again since the makeup class. I much prefer the au naturel look, so most of the time, I just use mascara. Since I bought a whole box of it from Fionna, I better get started with them soon. Perhaps for the next date with my hubby.. I can’t wait!
That's me and Fionna- I absolutely love the look Fionna has helped create!
Do you also like the makeup? What’s your makeup routine? What are some of your favourite cosmetic products?
