East Meets West - Difference Between Western Makeup And Asian Makeup
Whether you love a soft no makeup-makeup look or enjoy going full glam, there is no denying that different makeup products and application techniques can give you dramatically different results. And the best example of this is the difference in western vs Asian makeup. From Kim Kardashian’s bold western makeup look to Park Min-young’s dewy Asian makeup, the makeup trends, styles, and practices differ a lot across the world. Read on to understand more about these unique trends and beauty standards that govern the east and the west.
• People in the west love having a flawless matte base which they achieve using a full-coverage foundation. They prep their skin with a mattifying and pore blurring primer and then go in with the foundation to achieve a smooth and even base. Koreans and other Asians are known for their dewy, glass skin and Asian makeup looks are dominated by lightweight, luminous foundations that enhance their natural skin and complexion.
• Western makeup looks are all about brightening concealers that don’t just cover blemishes but also highlight and illuminate the face whereas Asian makeup looks are achieved with natural-finish concealers that add very light coverage to the skin.
• Contouring is an important step in most western style makeup looks whereas Asians add just a touch of bronzer to the perimeters of their face to add some warmth.
• When working with blush, western makeup styles place the blush high up along the cheekbones to create the illusion of a more lifted face. The Korean or Chinese makeup lovers prefer giving their skin a naturally flushed look with a rosy pink blush.
• Highlighting the high points of the face with a powder highlighter is an important step in western makeup looks. Asian makeup looks rely on liquid highlighters to give their skin a luminous radiance.
• Dramatic smokey eyes, cut crease, graphic eyeliners, you name it and the westerners would love to experiment with the style. The eyes in Asian makeup looks are kept almost bare, with just a touch of orange or pink eyeshadow along the upper lash line and a peach eyeliner on the lower waterline.
• Western makeup is heavy on the mascara – they love their bold lashes! Chinese makeup and other Asian styles go for just a few swipes of a curling mascara to keep their lashes fluttery and wispy.
• Bold, Instagram brows, are common in western makeup looks where the eyebrows are dark and filled from the start to the tail. Asian makeup is characterized by natural-looking brows that aren’t too intense.
• When it comes to lips, most western makeup looks are incomplete without a matte, liquid lipstick. Whether it is a bold red lip or an everyday nude, they prefer having a long-lasting lipstick that won’t budge all day. The ombre and gradient lip trend is a popular eastern makeup style that involves minimal colour and lots of lip balm.
Makeup must haves for eastern and western makeup looks
Now that you know how different these two makeup styles are, here is a list of products to have at hand when recreating either of these looks
• Western makeup
o Full coverage foundation
o Brightening concealer – get your exact shade match using the Maybelline Foundation Finder tool and then choose a shade or two lighter to achieve the brightening effect
o Setting powder
o Contour stick or powder
o Coral or peach blush
o Powder highlighter
o Eyeshadow palette
o Eyeliner
o Volumizing Mascara
o Matte lipstick
• Eastern makeup
o Dewy foundation (mix a few drops of your moisturizer to transform any liquid foundation to a dewy foundation)
o Lightweight concealer
o Pink blush
o Pink eyeshadow
o Peach eyeliner
o Curling mascara
o Liquid highlighter
o Pink creamy lipstick – use the Maybelline Virtual Try On tool to get a lipstick shade that enhances the natural colour of your lips
o Lip balm
