Inspiration - Chanel Inimitable Promo

During the past year or so, I have slowly developed into a devoted Chanel fan. I used to love Dior and Guerlain and think that Chanel is boring and for old people, but my attitude has changed 180 degrees. Now, I am in love with the texture of Chanel eyeshadows and blushes (haven't bought one of their blushes yet though) and am curious to try Chanel lipsticks (though I don't really want to spend $30+ on a lipstick since I don't use them very often). In any case, I guess my love for Chanel extends to their promo pics because I am totally in love with their promo pic for the recently released Inimitable Mascara. Though honestly, the foundation/powder on the model's face looks too thick to me when you see a larger version of the picture, but her eye, blush, lips, and hair are just gorgeous. I wouldn't be surprised if her eye had some help from false lashes, but I think half the beauty is in the color of her eyes, which has nothing to do with makeup, of course. I guess it helps that Chanel finds pretty models 'cause this makeup look can make a normal person look like a ghost =P (...it sounds like I'm not really giving much credit to the makeup artists at Chanel...)

Inspiration - Guerlain Fall 2010

As apparent from the three pictures I chose to put on the blog for Fall 2010 makeup collections, I not only like to contradict myself (the part about not liking most promo pics for Western brands), I also tend to like makeup looks that don't look good on me. I think I'd do okay with the heavy black eyeliner, but red lips is definitely not flattering on me. Or maybe I just have my-lips-look-too-big-phobia. In any case, the black eyeliner and red lips combination seems so cliche and overplayed, but I guess I'm just a sucker for retro chic. I think my love for this promo pic also has to do with Natalia Vodianova's expression and pose. Everything just looks so divinely...French. (except for Natalia herself, of course =P)

Inspiration - Chanel Fall 2010

I've become a HUGE fan of Chanel ever since getting the Mystic Eyes quad a few months ago. I'm also usually not drawn to the promotional pictures for Western makeup brands, but Chanel has been putting out some good ones for the past few seasons. The latest promo pic I saw of Chanel's Fall 2010 collection caught my eyes due to its cleanness and simplicity. The palette consists of too many dark colors for it to be practical for me, but I must say that it looks great on the model. It's strange how even with the smoky eyes, the model can still look so girl-next-door and not overly dramatic. Wish I could pull that off...

Inspiration - MJ Fall 2010

Reminder to self: I.WILL.NOT.BUY.THIS.PALETTE. I'm such a sucker for a seafoam/turquoise blue and gold combination, which is one reason why I love the promotional image for Majolica Majorca's fall 2010 collection. I've learned that turquoise really doesn't look that great on me though, so I've also been repeatedly convincing myself not to buy any more eyeshadow palettes with the turquoise + gold combination (I already have a very cheap one from L'Oreal HIP). Also, another reason why I love this promo pic is because the MJ model hasn't looked this good in a really long time. Seriously, I don't know what the creative director of MJ was thinking with the promo pics for most of the past year...

Inspiration - Maquillage Spring 2010

For Maquillage's latest spring campaign, the brand chose a new spokesmodel and stuck with this one person instead of the usual 4-5 models they use for bigger releases (spring & fall). The new spokesmodel is ICONIQ, a Japanese artist who grew up in Japan but started her entertainment career as part of a Korean girl group (kind of confusing). Honestly, I'm not a big fan of the hair, but I'll admit she still looks really pretty. I'm also kind of ambivalent about her eye makeup in the ad, but the limited edition palettes (one was used in the ad) are adorable and I like her lip color ^^

This is slightly off topic, but I think that most female artists can be divided into two types: the type that looks prettier in pictures and the type that looks prettier in videos (or you can say still vs. moving). I consider ICONIQ as the former type; for some reason she just doesn't look as pretty when she's not posing ^^"' An example of the latter type (for me) is Ayase Haruka, who looks pretty in dramas but somehow off in her MaxFactor ads. Same thing with Shinohara Ryoko, who is a great actress and a long time MQ spokesmodel (though maybe not anymore...I wonder if MQ will use the original models again for the fall campaign). The only exception I can think of to my two types of female artist rule is Ueno Juri, who looks different in photos vs. videos but pretty either way ^^

Inspiration - Chanel Bird of Paradise

As I've mentioned in my review of Chanel's Mystic Eyes quad, the promotional picture of Chanel's 2009 winter release really caught my eyes. Out of all of the department store brands, I would say Chanel stood out the most to me, mostly because they chose to use springy resort colors for a winter release instead of the standard smoky and/or silvery/gold colors. Another reason I really liked the promotional picture was that I've always loved multicolored eye looks but have rarely ever seen it done well. Most of the time, multicolored looks can be overly makeupy and not at all like the spring goddess image I want to see. Chanel, however, succeeded in making the model look ethereal, kind of like a tropical rainforest goddess ^^

Inspiration - Ueno Juri for Maquillage Holiday 2009

I really like the makeup look on Ueno Juri in the promo pic for Maquillage holiday 2009. The contrast between the bluish silver gray eyeshadow and the Barbie pink lips is very mod, and it's definitely more daring and vibrant than what I remember usually seeing from Maquillage. Yes, the expression on Juri's face is kind of funny, but she is still really pretty ^^ And those are really cool earrings, very space age-esque.

Inspiration - Chanel Fall Image Ad

This is long overdue, but I love this picture from Chanel's fall campaign! The eyegloss looks absolutely amazing, though I would never actually use it in real life since I'm sure it would crease on me in 10 minutes. Not to mention my complexion probably would not work as well with the red color. I find that I'm usually drawn to ads that have models wearing neutral colors, so this is really one of very few boldly colored looks that I like and I think would be wearble for people with pale skin for evening events.

Inspiration - Ueno Juri for Maquillage Fall/Winter 2009 Base Makeup

I've been tempted to try a number of Asian base makeup items ever since my obsession with makeup started. Eventually, I kind of gave up on the idea since Asian base makeup tend to be more powdery and matte than what I like to use and I don't like buying base makeup online for fear of getting the wrong shade. This new ad campaign from Maquillage may just change my mind, though. I know the power of photoshop, but Ueno Juri's complexion just looks so radiant and fresh in this picture! Does that mean I'm going to go online and buy the new Maquillage base makeup Ueno Juri is using the first chance I get? Not necessarily, but I would definitely check out the new items if I get a chance to see them in person ^_^

Inspiration - Retro Anna Tsuchiya

For its Fall 2009 campaign, Maquillage paired up with Alexander Wang to release some limited edition eyeshadow palettes as well as some new lipcolors. For this season, the lipcolors are catching my eyes more than the eyeshadow palettes, especially because the eyeshadows are mostly boring neutrals. To better express the retro theme of Maquillage's Fall 2009 collaboration with Wang, spokesmodels Anna Tsuchiya and Ueno Juri were given what I like to call ugly bowl haircuts in the ads. I was actually really impressed by how Anna Tsuchiya pulled this hairstyle off. It is a hairstyle I would never get, yet Tsuchiya was able to make it seem fashion-forward instead of just ugly. Unfortunately, Ueno Juri did not pull off the hairstyle as well ^^"'

Inspiration - Hamasaki Ayumi in Days PV

It's been a while since Hamasaki Ayumi came out with Days, but I remember the first time I saw the PV, I immediately fell in love with Hamasaki Ayumi's nail polish color. I admit that that is pretty random, especially since her nails only appear for like 2 seconds in the entire video. Of course, other than her nails, her outfits were also amazingly cute, though I don't think I would ever wear anything like that on the streets. For one thing, the Japanese/Asian fashion seen in this case is too different from American fashion, which means that if I were to wear Hamasaki Ayumi's outfit in the video on the streets, people would probably think I'm weird.

Anyhow, back to the subject. Ever since I watched the Days PV, I've been looking for an off-white nail polish with silver/pink shimmer/glitter a la Ms. Hamasaki. Then, a week or so ago, I saw this post on Taiwanese blogger Yuki's site about Chanel's fall collection and fell in love with the new Chanel polish 501 Intermezzo. (Please click on the above link to the post to take a look at the beautiful color.) However, now that I've re-watched the Days video, I realized that Hamasaki Ayumi's polish color is not really like that of Intermezzo, though I actually like Intermezzo better Hamasaki's polish color. So I dedicate this new lemming to Ms. Hamasaki. It is highly unlikely that I'll actually go out and buy the color though, since I rarely put nail polish on my fingernails since I'm lazy, and the Chanel polish is just too expensive for me to justify my purchase.

Here's is the PV for Days. If you're interested, the nail polish color I liked appears at 2:04.

EDIT: Because AVEX is iffy and removes any and all videos (or at least the audio tracks) of Hamasaki Ayumi, the originally linked video is no longer available on YouTube. If you're interested, you can still search for the video on a search engine and another video of Days may have been uploaded (but not yet removed). I guess Hamasaki Ayumi doesn't need to rely on YouTube for publicity since she's already very famous, but I cannot understand for the life of me what the problem is with having her PV on YouTube. Is AVEX being paid for high viewership ratings when Ayu's videos play on TV? Do they realize it's very annoying for people who don't live in Japan or want to watch old videos for them to remove everything? Grrr....

Inspiration - Shibasaki Kou II

I recently encountered this picture from Coffret D'or's Fall 2009 and was seriously blown away. How did they make Shibasaki Kou look so doe-eyed and adorable? I've always thought she had a tougher and more fiery image rather than the sweet, cute type of image this picture conveys. In any case, the ad tempted me into checking out what eye products she used, but I will most likely refrain from buying anything since I'm not big on buying eyeliners or mascaras and I don't want to buy any more single eyeshadows since I like sticking to palettes. Still, if Shibasaki-san is truly not wearing any false lashes in the picture as the Coffret D'or website implies, I would definitely consider checking out this miracle mascara, which, by the way, has been receiving good reviews on a couple of the blogs I read.

Inspiration - Will I ever get sick of Ms. Chiling?

As you can deduce from the title, here is yet another cute picture of Chiling Lin (The repetitive-ness of her name doesn't really start to annoy me until I have to type it up in English ^^"') since I rather like her take here on what I'd call the classic Audrey Hepburn look. Sometimes, just eyeliner and fake eyelashes with no apparent eyeshadow color can make for a very elegant but fresh-faced look ^_^

Inspiration - More Anna Tsuchiya

I suppose I'm a little late in making this post since Maquillage is about ready to release their fall collection =P Anyhow, even though I was not really tempted by any products released by Maquillage for their summer 2009 collection, the promotional images of Anna Tsuchiya modeling the different products are absolute perfection. I really like all of the looks she models here, though especially the first on the left and the second from the right. I also really like her manicure in most of the pictures, which added to the attraction of Maquillage's nail polish, though I would never consider spending that much for a bottle of nail polish.

Inspiration - The Other Side of Chiling Lin

To contrast with the sweet look Chiling sported in my previous post, here are some sexier pictures of her. I especially like her makeup in the first picture since it is an interesting mix of warmer colors above the eyelids and cooler colors below the eyes. The second picture shows a more generic sultry lined eyes kind of look, though the makeup is still awesome. (Note: I decided to cut off Chiling's body in the first picture since she's showing ample cleavage in the original and I'm not sure if that level of "nudity" is allowed on blogspot =P)

Inspiration - Chiling Lin

After Faye from FIR, Chiling is another Chinese/Taiwanese female entertainer who I really love. If I had to pick a person from the entertainment industry, I would say that Chiling is, without a doubt, my number one role model. She is successful but humble, and she almost never gets mad at anything or anyone (at least in public). She is very articulate and has an elegance reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn. Nonetheless, she dresses like chameleon, pulling off sexy, bohemian, and cute on different occassions. Usually, though, her makeup appears minimal but really makes her shine (not literally) in a very natural way. I rather like her makeup in the following picture since she just looks so bright-eyed and awake but not at all overdone or makeupy. Then again, she probably looks beautiful even without makeup *sigh*

Inspiration - Hamasaki Ayumi

How can I do a list of makeup muses without mentioning the one and only Hamasaki Ayumi? She can be considered the icon in Japanese entertainment in terms of makeup and fashion. Though, admittedly, her makeup is pretty much always the same. Nevertheless, the shape of her eyes and how she does her makeup to emphasize the outline is truly iconic in the world of makeup (at least IMO). In addition, despite what many may say about Hamasaki having done plastic surgery, her eyes are truly gorgeous, even if bordering on alien largeness =P

Inspiration - Amuro Namie

Amuro Namie is undoubtedly one of sexiest pop stars in the Japanese entertainment industry. I love her MV for "Do Me More" (although it sounds sketchy), including her two makeup looks and outfits. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a high resolution screenshot of her makeup from "Do Me More", but the makeup on her in the following picture is also stunning. I just love how her makeup here looks sexy but with a hint of innocence. I wish I could get lavender eyeshadow to show up sheer but pigmented on my lids like in the picture.

Inspiration - Sawajiri Erika

Despite her attitude problems, I still admire Sawajiri Erika as a cosmetics spokesmodel even if only for her looks =P However, unlike Shibasaki Kou, her Coffret D'or looks could be hits or misses. I've definitely seen really weird makeup (and expressions) on her as a model for Coffret D'or. However, the following picture shows a look that I really like on her.

Inspiration - Shibasaki Kou

My favorite spokesmodel for Coffret D'or has to be Shibasaki Kou. There is rarely a makeup look that I don't like on her, and I became interested in the Coffret D'or line after I saw this picture of Shibasaki at a department store in Asia. I even wanted to buy this palette (3D Lighting in 03 Silver Variation) because of how good it looked on Shibasaki. However, in the end, I restrained myself since I have similar eyeshadow colors already, and I'm actually not that into the color combination of this palette.