Interview with Yuko Kameyama, Japanese Makeup Artist for K-Palette
I'm fascinated about everything Japanese - their culture, art, food, and of course, their love for cosmetics! Getting lost in rows and rows of Japanese beauty aisles is one of my favorite things to do whenever I visit. One of the mainstays there is K-Palette. They make some of Japan's best selling eyeliners and eyebrow products, and their popularity has even spilled onto Philippine shores.
It's been four years since K-Palette was brought to the Philippines by Cheryl Tan-Chua, one of the loveliest, hard-working people I know. Now you can find K-Palette in all Beauty Bar stores, Rustan's, and select SM Beauty stores with a wide range of products from from eyeliner, eyebrow pens, eyeshadows, blushes, mascaras and browcaras in different hues.
To celebrate K-Palette's anniversary this year, Beautybox Corp. threw a bento-making and shopping bash hosted by Bianca Valerio. It was a fun creative afternoon at Hajime in Rockwell, filled with delicious Japanese food and a bufet of K-Palette products up for grabs!
I also got the chance to interview Yoko Kameyama who is K-Palette's official makeup artist. She flew in from Osaka just to share her fresh knowledge on Japanese beauty. Here's what we talked about. I learned so many things that I would love to try out for myself so I promise this is a good read. ^_^
Left to right: Yuko Kameyama, myself, Cheryl Tan-Chua, Agoo Bengzon
What is the biggest beauty trend in Japan right now?
The sweet and natural look has always been the basic trend but we also have a new trend called the 'Phero'(Pheromone)' look which features the after hot bath look which guys think is very sexy. The features are minimalist make up with red/pinkish upper cheeks that shows the features of an after-sauna effect and glossy highlights combined with the sweet look.
If a girl can only have three makeup products in her kit, what should it be? It would be Real Lasting Eyeliner, 2 Way Eyebrow Liner and 1 Day Lash Perm Volume Mascara.
Is there a little-known Japanese secret when it comes to making eyes look beautifully wide and awake? You should focus your eyeliner and mascara application only on the middle part of the eyelid and apply only a thin line on the bottom line. Applying thick lines doesn't mean you're eyes will look bigger. The main focus should be on making the iris appear bigger. For your mascara application, the upper lashes should be longer on the middle part and just apply lightly on the bottom middle.
What can girls do to make their eye makeup stay on longer? You must choose the right base-foundation and concealer then finish it off with a matte powder so that your eye make up will stay longer. There will be a huge difference on the color and adherence of the eye make up if the base is right.
What is the best way to achieve natural-looking eyebrows? What is the best eyebrow style (or look) Follow these three tips:
1. The shape should be round rather than edgy, especially on the brow arch.
2. The eyebrow color should be between the color of your eyes (including your choice of eyeliner shade) and your hair.
3. Have the right proportion, position and length. Instead of drawing an outline for the eyebrow shape and filling it in, you'll achieve more natural looking eyebrows by drawing hair strokes following the direction of your hair growth- inner brows with strokes going up, middle brows with strokes slightly slanted up and outer brows with strokes going down.
What is your absolutely favorite K-Palette product? It has got to be the Real Lasting Eyeliner, period!
So there you go, I hope you guys learned a lot from Yuko-san! I'm definitely going to try out the Phero look next time I do a full face. I also love the tip about making eyes look bigger - I hadn't thought of that before! It makes a lot of sense no? Let me know how it works once you've tried these techniques too! ^_^
