Girl Crushing on Shu Pei or How To Fake A Higher Nose

via Asian Models Blog

I usually drool over every editorial scoured by the lovely people of Asian Models Blog, but this one of Shu Pei in the June edition of Vogue China just evoked such feelings in me. The location, the styling, the makeup, and for goodness sake can Shu Pei be a more perfect specimen of the human race?

I'm not and can never hope to be Shu Pei, but that shouldn't stop me from having some fun.

The look is ridiculously simple. Eyes are Giorgio Armani Waterproof Eye Liner #1 (limited for fall) tightlined and smudged out with Shu Uemura 10F, a light touch of smokey grey eye shadow to blend the edges, Burberry Trench Eyeshadow on the brow bone and inner corners, and Burberry Effortless Mascara for just-there eyelashes. I shaded a barely-there contour with Chanel Orchid Rose Blush (think a sideways triangle) and highlighted with Burberry Fresh Glow. For lips, a slick of Cle de Peau Enriched Lip Luminizer #201.

More importantly, Shu Pei's nose. I've never seen her in real life so I can't say for sure, but I want to bet that it is flatter than it seems. If you've been here long enough (or have me on Twitter/Facebook), you've probably heard me say I have no nose. While obviously not strictly true, glasses or anything that requires a nasal bridge to function is a bane, if not impossible for me to use.

Since I can't alter the height of my nose, I'll settle for the appearance of one. Note: pictures show accentuated shading so you can, well, see it. I usually go with a much lighter hand.

here's a close-up, and mandatory funny

People with tall noses have different kinds of shadows on their faces, and as I've explained in my face contouring tutorial, it's all about manually creating light/shadow. I used a contour powder one shade darker than my skin to darken the hollows (the two triangles) by the nasal bridge, blending it into the eyebrows. Then, I shaded the sides of my nose (the two straight lines).

Also, a sorely-needed update to my brow tutorial (cringe). While the specifics of where your arch and tail should be have not changed, I've since found out where your brows start does affect the perceived height of your nose. A brow specialist at Shu Uemura told me I should only have the space of two fingers between my brows, and I realized it really does make a difference.