Make up and hair by Tiffany Chiang of Design Her Image for Ju.Lee / Iridescence Bridal Couture photo shoot.  Photos courtesy of Chyna Darner Photograpy and Karl Ko Photography.

How do you get the prettiest flush for your next big event?  Beauty Expert from Allure Magazines shares their secrets and I’m sharing them with you.

1. Keep it believable

Find the right shade for your skin type.  How should you go about doing this?  Makeup Artist Jillian Dempsey of Avon suggests that you gently pinch your cheeks and match the shade to your blush color.  I guess that makes sense but I haven’t pinched my cheeks since I was 5.

2. Find the right formula

Jillian Dempsey recommends cream or powder blush because they blend more easily for those who have normal to dry skin.  But if you have oily skin, gel blush is your best option.

3. Learn proper placement

Apply the blush at the top of the apple of your cheeks and blend outward toward the ears.  Not sure how to find the apples of your cheeks?  The best way is smile to lift the apples up.

4. Choose your tools wisely

If you are using a powder blush, use a fan or a big fluffy brush.  They are great at blending.  Avoid big brushes as they can be too dense for applying.  But if you are using a cream or gel blush, your weapon of choice should be your fingers.

5. Powder first

Layering translucent powder as primer will help evenly distribute the color and keep it on longer.

6. Layer if necessary

Follow this sequence to apply blush: cream blush > translucent powder > powder blush.  The cream and powder blush should closely match.  This is definitely something that I have never considered.  Never had it crossed my mind that I should use both cream and powder blush together.

7. Pick a Finish

Shimmer blushes work well with normal to dry skin while matte blushes are better for oily skins.  Totally agreed.  The shimmer brightens up my face.

8. Don’t overflush

If you have skin redness, apply an opaque foundation first.  For purplish tone rosacea, peachy or soft bronze blush is the best.  Rosy skin should use muted or peachy rose color blush.  For dark rosacea, brownish rose should be your choice.

Many people (men and women) are confused because fashion brands set their own measurement charts for their clothes.

As you can see, there is difference in size 6 from company A to company B.

What is even more confusing is when the advertised sizes resemble the waist measurement when it reality, it is not!  This is particularly true in the denim category.

In this example, a pair of size 27 jeans does not necessarily fit a 27” waist woman because she might not have a 37” hip.  Her hips might be between 34” – 35” so this company’s “size 25” jeans will be the right fit, but she does not have a true 25” waist.

For many years, companies have been using “vanity sizing” as a marketing tool to attract customers to buy their clothes.  Why?  Because research found that if you feel small, you will more likely buy their clothes.  As Americans have grown larger over the years, vanity sizing has become increasing important to appeal to their core customers.  In general, mass fashion brands use vanity sizing more than high end designer brands.

The problem with vanity sizing is that you no longer know your true numbers unless you know how to measure your body accurately.  But you might ask, “Why do I want to know?”  If you want to order clothing, whether it is custom-made, online, or internationally, these basic measurements will prevent you from ordering the wrong size.  Knowing the right numbers will save you time and money for unnecessary returns and alterations.

Want to find out if you have the right BWH?  Use our guide to help you know your numbers!

Questions?  Please leave your comments below.

The always gorgeous Jennifer Aniston.

Picture perfect Sarah Jessica Parker.

As I have never taken a professional photo shoot session before (unless you count my senior high school graduation picture), I figure that I owe it to myself to have it done.  After all, I am the face behind Iridescence Bridal Couture and my new line Ju.Lee and I should put my best face forward.  I always wonder if I can look a fraction as good as these celebrities.

Maybe you can be the judge.  Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Dress:  ”San Francisco” from the Ju.Lee collection in black silk double georgette.

Dress:  ”San Francisco” from the Ju.Lee collection in rose polyester double georgette.

Photographer:  Michael Soo, Soo Photography

Makeup / Hair:  Tiffany Chiang, DesignHerImage

What?!  Yes, that’s right.  Google has recently launched a new fashion website called Boutiques.com.  Unlike eBay or other fashion retailers, Boutique.com is not an e-commerce site but a place for retailers, designers, celebrities, and bloggers to connect with fashionistas around the world.  It is a fashion search site and community where members can check out and follow your favorite fashion styles.  Boutique.com is very similar to Polyvore and Shopstyle in terms of functionality and style.  It is Google’s attempt to dominate the online fashion world.

My personal Boutique.com page.  You can also upload your own personal pictures too, which I have yet to do myself.

After learning the launch of this site from WWD, I am eager to find out what it is all about and to share with you if it’s worth your time to use this site.   When you first sign up, it prompted a short quiz to find out your personal style, and it’d show you a series of pictures for you to pick.  Don’t worry.   It’s not an IQ test and it is actually fun to do.  After you finished the quiz, it will evaluate your responses and tell you what your personal style is.  You are now part of the Boutique community where you can make friends with other online fashionistas like you and me or search by trend, designers, retailers and even celebrities who have created accounts.  My favorites are Carey Mulligan and Nicole Richie.

How about follow your favorite celebrities and see their styles?

If you follow your favorite designers, you can see their current products and find the retailers that sell them.

Do you want to know the current trends?  Try exploring the site by trends and see the latest and greatest.

Because one of the purposes of Boutique.com is to promote retailers and hopefully purchases, the site makes it very easy for you to purchase the products that you love and will recommend similar products.  You can also save your favorites and share them with friends.

Overall, I would say that it’s a good styling resource for fashionistas everywhere to find great fashion pieces from a wide variety of designer brands and retailers, get inspiration, and learn how to style outfits together to get the look that you want.  In my opinion, the site is not as dynamic as, say, Polyvore but it is a great start for Google to get into fashion.  Google is also working on integrating YouTube and Google search to the site as well.  I’m curious how Boutique.com will evolve in the future.  Try it out and see what you think of it!  Do you think it is useful for you?

Ju.Lee Lifestyle Fashion shoot – Behind the Scene from Van Hsieh/Ocean Blue Creative on Vimeo.

I notice that I don’t take as many pictures as I used to.  Maybe it’s because I’m always so focus on my work and forget about the little things that make me happy.   But I think it’s time for me to recapture precious little moments that I often overlook everyday.

Instead of my usual walk at the park, I took my camera with me this time.  I’m not a professional photographer and don’t own a fancy high tech camera either.  So, bear with me on my amateur photos.  Here I am sharing with you some of the lovely roses that I saw at the Rose Garden.  No matter how busy you are, remember to always cherish every moment of your lives, my friends!  Check out the Rose Garden in San Jose and take some time to smell the roses…  Cheers!

I enjoy reading blogs because they’re personal and they talk about topics that I care about.  So, what I want to bring to the readers with love·lee style is to express my point of my view of the topics that people are curious about.  Whether it’s fashion, home, lifestyle, travel, entertainment, or weddings, I want love·lee style to be the place where I can contribute to things that matter to our everyday lives.  I want to share what know to other people like you who are passionate!  Sometimes I might want to give you some tips or ideas while another time I just want to have my voice heard.  It’s my way to exercise my right as a citizen of this wonderful country.

If you’re wondering who I am, all you have to do is to read a few posts or check out my profile.  You’ll realize that I’m a fashion fanatic (after all, this is what I do for living) and that I can sometimes be very opinionated.  Well, ahem, I like to think that I’m just passionate.  From time to time, you may disagree with me and that’s OK.  That’s what makes each of us unique, different, and special – we have our own likes and dislikes.  Argue with me in the comment section of the post if you want.  I want to hear what you have to say and why you think a certain way.  And if you like it, let me know too.  Talk to me.  I like to make new friends.  But I do hope that you find at least one or two things in the blog that you find useful and helpful.