I've moved on...
...to a different domain. Why, what were you thinking? The truth is, I just woke up one day and decided it's time for a change—a metamorphosis, if you will; or, in layman's terms, if Britney can shave her head, then maybe so can I? Nevertheless, it's been a rather handsome 10 years of talking to you, and thank you for putting up with all my moodswings and terrible dad jokes. Fear not! The hormonal imbalance and jokes are more terrible on CUBICLE, see you there.

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Complexion vs. colour, with Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer

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Wearing: Top & skirt – Zara. Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons bronzer. Terracotta Kabuki brush. Parure de Lumiere fluid foundation. Clis d’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara. Rouge Shine Automatique Lipstick. Photos with help from Kit!

It’s hard to explain – especially how the sun is increasingly sexy (and it knows it) by day – that tanning is on the last of my beauty to-do list this summer. It seems ungrateful, doesn’t it, like declaring a water-diet while your mother pulls out a lasagna from the oven. I’m pretty sure you have/are that one friend from the Far East, who will walk in the shade and always carry a sun cream with SPF numbers appropriate for Count Dracula to play ball at the beach. And for those baffled few, it’s the Asian (oriental, to be precise) age-old understanding of beauty – the fairer your skin, the higher up the class you’re perceived to be, while tanned skin suggested a rice-paddy lifestyle. Think geisha, and clowns. Asian clowns are basically gods, yeah? My personal makeup resumée screams fairer: better ever since my first foundation purchase, and absolutely did not include bronzers until only recently. But as I get older I’m coming to understand, that while the whole theory is not all a load of bullpoop, it should be taught to people that it’s the complexion/glow of the skin that puts you on any sort of caste system. And if it doesn’t come out naturally (if you are what you eat), a good bronzer is the best tool to achieve this look. I tend to go with a palette that doesn’t look like it’s been in the oven for too long, always one with a slice of pink in the mix like the Guerlain Terracotta 4-seasons bronzer, which come in a six different intensities (I’m wearing Nude 00). For this little collaboration with Guerlain, we shot these photos with a general gold/brown/bronzy feel, to give the old Asian belief the finger, I suppose.

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30 Comments

  1. Danielle

    You look gorgeous Shini! x

  2. the last photo is divine

    xoxo from rome
    K.
    kcomekarolina.com

  3. So beautiful, love your make-up!

    http://www.laurablogmode.com

  4. Woooow you look so pretty! Love that top!

    Love,

    Rowan

    Personal Style Blog http://www.redreidinghood.com
    Hardloop Blog: http://www.chicksrunningonkicks.com

  5. girl, you are gorgeous

    http://www.vasilievablog.com

  6. Gorgeous pictures! People always compliment my little sister for her porcelain skin and I’m always a bit darker than she is. So irritating.. but my non-Asian friends are always a bit “jealous” of my skin color. So funny how the cultures are different.

  7. i can see where you’re comig from!

    THE MILANO MODE

  8. You have such great complexion! Gorgeous lady <3

  9. Alex

    lol hear hear! I was always the palest person I knew. And so self-conscious growing up in hot & sunny Texas. But of course, my Lao family would praise my super light skin because of the same old-school beauty ideals that I did not at all care about. Except my mom. Who once told me I was too pale and needed to tan “just a little bit”. Although she’s whiter than me so whatever right.

  10. beautiful makeup.
    – Janine
    http://theeoptimist.blogspot.com

  11. Well then, i guess i was BORN in a freakin rice paddy!

  12. i love how all your products are so pretty and grand looking!

    http://www.styleandshades.blogspot.com

  13. It’s okay, I’m not a fan of bronzer either. I actually just prefer the aesthetic of paler skin (plus my family has a history of skin cancer, so it’s in my benefit to not like the sun). You look absolutely gorgeous in these photos.

  14. Gorgeous pics !

  15. You’re beautiful!

    xx.

  16. Your photos are gorgeous, I wish I could look that good without any fake tan! I agree with you about the glow of complexion though, if your from Scotland like me you need a touch of fake tan to create that glow on whiter than whiter skin lol
    Lauren

    livinginaboxx

  17. Wow, so chic ! Kisses from Paris
    http://foodforthoughtdiaries.blogspot.fr/2013/05/at-sunset-in-trentemoult.html

  18. the sun-kissed look is definitely the norm here in Sydney, certainly for all the Aussie-born Asians too! Love all of the Kit + Shini shoots and the last shot is especially classy and sultry gorgeous – it looks like it’s a movie still!

  19. You are wonderful!!! I am big fan of Guerlain cosmetics too!!!! Perfect choice ;)

    http://www.hannoverfashion.com/

  20. Haha, I’m a Chinese American who loves getting tan! I got so pale over the winter that it makes me sad to look at myself, even though I’m not actually that pale-skinned.

  21. Sasha

    I’m from Morocco and we think exactly the same thing, the fairer the better. But this year, I bought my first terraccotta (from Guerlain, the classic one in 01) and immediatly felt in love with that natural healthy glow.

    Enjoy your weekend !!

  22. Love this makeup and makeup products!

    xx
    Théa Unknown
    http://theaisunknown.blogspot.fr/
    http://www.youtube.com/user/Theaunknown

  23. What a great set of makeup!! Great photography, and I love your outfit. Suits very well on you. :) Gorgeous!

  24. Beautiful pictures! I like the ambiance.
    I own that beautiful Zara skirt, one of my best buys of the year, it’s a classic, and I’m glad to have not seen it as much as the famous skort!

  25. Shini! It’s been a while — but LetsLiveFast (LLF) has relaunched and so you can peep your interview from way back when here…http://llfinterview.com/#/shini/

    talk about a throwback, huh :)

    Anyway, have continued to love and follow your site. Keep on keepin on! :)

    xx,
    MJ

  26. Oooo. I crave bronzed skin like no other.

    Beautiful as per usual. xx

  27. I share a very similar perspective to you when it comes to skin. The tanning culture baffles me, and it seems so offensive to both your body and nature. I’ve always embraced the paler skins, or at least the natural skins. What I like from the summertime is the dewy, luminous effect the sun has on the skin. I’ve been looking for a mild bronzer to translate into the winter, but nothing seems to work as I’d imagined yet. Love how it applies to your skin. :)

    http://hazylaughter.com

  28. Mina

    Love your blog, but your writing is often seriously nonsensical.

  29. so classy! love this post eonni <3

  30. The leather top rocks, like it.