Make-up trends summer 2011

In order to properly spot and identify the latest trends in make-up it is always important to talk to the right people. People who have been working in the fashion world for many years, like Yola Hung - professional make-up artist in Hong Kong - often have a unique perspective on the latest trends, and are able to identify well in advance the new trends in make-up. We met Yola in Hong Kong, where she lives, and we talked about the latest trends in make-up for Asian women, the new trends for Spring Summer 2011. Read on for the full interview.

Make-up trends and colors for the Spring Summer 2011 season. What are the key trends you see emerging in make-up for the next season?
"Retro" and "Nude" are still the key words for the Spring/Summer 2011. The main trend is still the Retro make-up and Nude make-up, also for the Spring/Summer 2011. (With retro make-up I mean the 'cat eye look', powerful and sexy eyes in dark colors, especially black).

The difference between the previous Retro make-up and the one we see emerging now, resides mainly in the fact that the make-up artist will use bright and strong color contrast to create a full visual impact of the retro make-up, use bright colors instead of somber ones.

Despite the fact that nude make-up has been the most important trend of the past two years, many people still cannot understand the main point of nude make-up. They don't know how to create the feeling of nude make-up.

The most important thing in nude make-up is the use of 'naked transparent' color on the skin, nude lips, even "nude eyebrows". Spring Summer is a dynamic season, that's why nude make-up is important, to make your healthy skin stand out.

What about the eyes?
Blue, green and bright pink color, those brilliant colors have won wide acceptance for the upcoming Spring Summer 2011. Saturated colors are very bold, eye-catching and also an important symbol of retro make-up. Smokey eyes continue to dominate the fashion stage, their influence has not decreased.Some advice on the 'new smokey eyes'?
Abandon the thick 'smokey' of the traditional make-up, dark color on eyelashes and double-fold eyelid and use instead a light color on eyelid, the inside corner of the eye and eyebrow. Use black eyeliner pencil to sketch the upper and lower eye line when using a thick eyeliner. After that, use a brown eyeliner pencil to apply the final touch, this 'small' smokey eyes make-up is better if you want to model the three-dimensional shape of the face.

Combine nude lips with flimsy make-up base, basic but not simple. You will get a 'retro' look if you will use red lipstick. No wonder smokey make-up seems to continue to be an important trend, as it is for the black color.

Let's talk about the lips…
Nude lips give the impression that there are no contours, natural, healthy, low key and moderate. Natural soft touched, true shiny skin is back, in the natural make-up trend.

And the cheeks?
The 'cute look' has always been very valued in Hong Kong. We don't want to do too much on our eyes in daily life. We prefer to pay more attention to the cheeks. Colors: light pink, and light orange will be good choices.Eyebrows?
For eyebrows, it is a good idea to use a product that matches closely the real eyebrow color.

False eyelashes: yes or not?
The false eyelashes trend has been very popular for quite some time, almost a must for many girls in their daily make up, they use them everyday, some use "eyelash extensions". However, I personally prefer a more natural look. Over exaggerating false eyelashes are just too much in my opinion. To me beauty is natural, for everyday life, in any case. If you want to look energetic and modern, do not use them. For fashion shows and photo shoots it is a different story, of course.

Nails are becoming more and more important lately, with new materials, techniques… do you see a main trend in nail decoration, what is "trendy" right now among the girls in Hong Kong?
Japanese and Korea determine a big part of the trends here in Hong Kong. The nails technique isn't developed as much as in Japan and in Korea in terms of the detail. It is separated into two main nail decoration styles here in Hong Kong: one is a lot of 'bling bling' and the other is the more traditional 'French nail'.

What is currently the ideal of beauty among Hong Kong girls?
Most of the girls tend to follow the same trend. Right now the most popular trend among girls in Hong Kong is the 'big eyes doll' from Japan. They will be 'equipped' with big eyes contact lenses, thick false eyelashes, thick black eye line on the top and on the bottom.

Who is the "style icon", the singer or actress or TV personality which inspires most beauty trends right now in Hong Kong?
I do not see any local 'style icon' these days, in Hong Kong. Internet has changed also this aspect of our life, and style blogs, online magazines, Facebook, are determining the trends also in makeup more than ever before. I would say Lady Gaga is the style icon who inspires many local artists nowadays. She is confident, original in her look and outfit. I guess that's the reason why she is so outstanding to have many followers.