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Makeup expert Louise Zizzo’s beauty tips for Chinese New Year

SINGAPORE — “Women don’t sweat, they glisten”, as the saying goes; but try telling that to the busy Singaporean woman, who has to traipse across our sunny isle on her Chinese New Year visiting rounds.

The M.A.C RETRO MATTE LIQUID LIPCOLOUR collection- lippy that provides a splash of colour in a liquid-suede finish that lingers. Photo: M.A.C

The M.A.C RETRO MATTE LIQUID LIPCOLOUR collection- lippy that provides a splash of colour in a liquid-suede finish that lingers. Photo: M.A.C

SINGAPORE — “Women don’t sweat, they glisten”, as the saying goes; but try telling that to the busy Singaporean woman, who has to traipse across our sunny isle on her Chinese New Year visiting rounds.

To find out how you can tailor your beauty routine to cope with Singapore’s hot and humid climate, and prevent your make-up from melting into your pineapple tarts, TODAY spoke to M.A.C Senior Artist (U.S.) Louise Zizzo — the make-up artist who has been doing make-up for famous actresses, models, and magazines for 21 years — to share her bag of tricks on how to seriously up your makeup game this festive season.

TAKE TIME TO PRIME. The key to long-lasting foundation and colour is the most commonly skipped step: Adding primer.

“Use a primer to help keep your foundation on without looking shiny,” said Zizzo. “This also great to use instead of a powder for touch up throughout the day.”

DO INVEST IN WATERPROOF MAKE-UP. Make-up has come a long way since the bulletproof-but-heavy wares from the ’80s; so you should choose a waterproof mascara to avoid ruining or melting. Also, Zizzo advised applying a long-wearing eyeliner, such as the M.A.C Pro Longwear Eye Liner, which has a 12-hour wear, so you don’t have to babysit your eye make-up and worry about creasing.

GIVE LIP SERVICE. It’s non-stop eating and drinking during the festive season, but what is the secret weapon to keep that lippy bright and perfect throughout? A long-lasting lip colour such as the M.A.C Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour. “All you need is to apply one clean layer. It has an 8-hour wear and is non-feathering or bleeding,” said Zizzo.

Choices like Fashion Legacy (fire truck red), Feel So Grand (deep true red), Quite The Stand Out (bright orange red) are perfect for Chinese New Year.

EYE SPY. Asian eyes are typically very small, so what can we do to make the eyes look bigger? Zizzo said: “Start in the inner corner of the eye and draw a line getting thick towards the outer edge (of the eye) and then pull out slightly past the edge (of the eye).

“Take a brush and smudge the line to create a smokey effect. This will ‘open up’ the eye. Line the inside of the eye with a nude eye pencil. This will brighten the eyes and make them look bigger.” Her recommendation? The M.A.C Risqué Technakohl Liner.

FACING FACTS. Singaporean women come in all shapes, sizes and colours. For those who have darker skin tones, you can use a bronzer to warm up the skin on the cheeks, temples and jawline, said Zizzo. This will prevent the foundation from turning chalky or ashy, especially in our weather.

MEN AT WORK. Men and make-up: Yes, it’s a real thing. And yes, said Zizzo, men can wear make-up — subtly — to look presentable. “I recommend a primer first to help keep skin less shiny-something like the M.A.C Prep + Prime Skin Refine Zone works. Use it through the T-zone especially on a receding hairline or bald head to stop the skin from looking shiny. Men prefer this to a powder. Then matte it down with a concealer diluted down with a spray, such as the M.A.C Select Cover Up and Fix + Spray, on areas where needed. Then blend the under-area and cheeks with a soft brush cheeks to achieve a little rosy look, and don’t forget to brush the brows and use lip conditioner.”

MAKE-UP SECRETS to fall back on. Zizzo offered make-up secrets anyone can always fall back on, all year round. For smooth lips, especially with the matte trend, Zizzo recommended to gently exfoliate the lips with a tooth brush after brushing your teeth in the morning, and then apply lip balm to hydrate.

If you want a blush that looks like it is glowing from within, use one that has a slight sheen and apply to the apples of the cheeks. “Then dust over with a sheer face powder to blur the colour slightly,” 
said Zizzo. 

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