Learning How to Paint Your Face

Their office look so chic and classy. I just can’t wait to hop right in!

ZA cosmetics is one of the unbrella brands under Shiseido. Other brands like IPSA and NARS are under this Japanese beauty giant corporation.

In the beauty studio, they had several glass cases like this,showcasing their premium and priceless products. Hammer, please! It’s time to stash away all these fabulous stuff in your bag!

This is where all the magic happens. The best classroom I’ve ever entered with so much anticipation in my life.

Pretty in pink! Each student has their own set of makeup tools.

Light refreshments like sandwiches and hot beverages are provided too. MILO!!! Singapore’s all-time favourite hot chocolate drink!

The big brush on the far right is the blusher brush,followed by the lip brush, eye shadow applicator and a sponge for applying foundation. Lastly, the eyelash curler is found at the top half of the photo. Do you know that Shiseido is famous for their eyelash curler for Asian eyes? Sadly, they didn’t supply us with one of the top eyelash curler.

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There are actually two parts to this workshop. In the first half, the beauty trainer brought up about skincare and maintenance of a healthy,glowing skin. For the second half, he went on to teach us about the basic steps for adding the dashes of colours to your face. The instructor is a hilarious guy who speaks with a funny and one-of-a-kind accent.

A bunch of makeup tools for students to play and experiment with. This is probably one of the most fun and exciting science experiments for girls! And some guys too. Instead of Dilute Hydrochloric Acid, Sodium hydroxide and test-tubes on the benches, we have black sexy eyeliners, sweet candy lipgloss and shimmering eyeshadows.

ZA cosmetics has recently come up with a new cleaning product:Double Cleansing Gel is gentle on the skin  and it does not require the use of water to clease the skin. Perfect for travelling!

Basic Skin Care Routine : Cleanse,Tone & Moisturise.

Under our skincare bible, we need to first cleanse our skin with a good foaming or water-based gel cleanser before snuggling under warm pillows and blankets. There are different types of facial cleansers in the market but the three main types are : CREAM, GEL or EMULSIONS.

Delicious Creamy Cream
Cream-based facial cleansers are thicker and creamier in texture so it is more suitable for cleansing oily skin which would remove all the excess sebum and dirt particles effectively. During the cleansing process, it is recommended that you cleanse your T-zone thoroughly in a circular,upward motion to uplift your facial muscles. The cream formula could sometimes caused your skin to feel taut and dry so it’s essential that you moisturise your skin after cleansing.

Emulsions for the EMOs
This is a rather new type of facial formula in the current market. In the past, cream and gel-based facial cleansing products are formulated for oily or dry skin-type consumers. However, the truth is that most women have a combination of both skin types. The T-zone areas ( forehead and nose) are usually oilier then the regions around the cheeks or the jawline of the face. If you have a combination of both skin types and you were to use a cream-based cleanser, the regions of your skin which are dry will become even drier. On the other hand, if you were to use a gel-based formula, then your pores in your oily skin regions are not fully cleansed. There is a dilemma for all those people with a dry and oily skin combination. But, don’t EMO! Thankfully, cosmetic scientists have now created the emulsion formula which has light cream water-based texture. It has the best of both world: not too rich and not too dry for the skin.

Good news! ZA’s latest TRUE WHITE range has a emulsion-form moisturisers which is great for oily-dry combination skin types like myself!

The gel water-based cleansers are best suited for people with dry and sensitive skin. Sensitive skin is a term to describe a skin type if it reddens easily when pinched. Pinch your skin now to see if it reddens. As you grow older and your skin aged, your skin would become more increasingly sensitive if you over-exfoliate with skin with facial scrubs or if you are constantly using Retinol-A creams which could thin out the skin. Our skin type can change over the years. Therefore it’s important for you to take note the changes of your skin and use the right products for your own skin type.

Before this workshop, my knowledge of toner is that it further cleanse the skin and temporarily minimize the enlarge pores on the skin. But after this workshop, I was glad that I knew a little more about this toner which most people who skip and hop over to the moisturiser. This amazing clear liquid is actually a skin softener. The toner contains ingredients that would soften the top layers of the skin in order to faciliate absorption of the moisturisers. Thus, if you do not tone or prep your face for moisturiser, the skin cells may not be effectively absorbing all the moisturizing ingredients found in the moisturiser.

The toner is best used with a clean cotton pad which can further pick up remaining dirt on your face during the toning process. A few years ago, cosmetic companies usually add alcohol as a astringent agent in toners to tighten and minimise pores but the inclusion of alcohol can easily dry out the skin. Therefore, nowadays, most cosmetic giants actually remove this ingredient from toners so that it is less drying on the skin.

I was the unlucky student who was chosen as a model for the makeup workshop when everyone else refuses to come forward. The instructor was explaining to us how you could use the ZA TRUE WHITE PRISMIZER (toner) as a mask. And this is how he does it…

The white little lookalike panadol fluffs up upon adding ZA TRUE WHITE PRISMIZER. Once the little tablet bloats up, it will unfold itself into a mask! I was truly amazed by this little white tablet and I really want to get my hands on this. If anyone knows where to buy it, please do let me know !

ZA cosmetics’s range of concealers suited for different skin tones. Concealer No.1 is for the fair-skin princesses and No.3 is for the sexy golden bronze goddesses.

When purchasing foundation cake powders, you should purchases two colours tones which are best suited for your skin. The lighter tone could be used for highlighting and the darker tone, for contouring.

Before adding concealer and foundation, it is always best to use a foundation primer or an eyeshadow primer so that your make up can last longer on your face.

When you get an opportunity to meet a beauty guru, remember to ask them lots of questions and doubts you have about putting make up on your face! Everyone has a different face shape with different facial features and thus, the way the makeup brushes swiped on our faces are different. For instance, if you have smaller eyes, you might want to use a black eyeliner outline and highlight your eyes so that it would “pop” out of your face,bring more attention and focus on your eyes! And our beauty trainer is very skillful and knowledgeable about applying makeup on different face types and shapes. He taught me how to solve my droopy eye problem and I can finally wave “goodbye” to my droopy-looking eyes.

The instructor only demostrate the make up techniques on one half of my face and I have to complete the other half of my face on my own! Applying eyeshadow can be really tricky if you do not have enough practices!

Every dab of colour can brightens and liven your face. Your skin turns into a canvas and prepare to swipe beautiful colours on it.

A 3-piece kit of ZA’s latest range of products : ZA TRUE WHITE which includes Cleansing Foam, Prismizer (softener) and Emulsion (moisturizer).

This workshop has greatly enhance my knowledge about make-up even though I wasn’t amateur to make-up. Prior to this, I read tonnes of fashion magazine and picked up makeup skills from Youtube,beauty shows on TV and beauty gurus like Michelle Phan. But still, there are just so much things to learn about beauty which keeps re-inventing itself!

For more information on the workshops provided by ZA Beauty Lab, please visit their website @
http://zabeautyschool.com/