I go to a makeup counter or brand-name store to get my “face put on” for a special event and it happens every time: I walk out looking like a clown from the 1980s. Either the foundation is too pink for my Asian coloring or my shadow is too “sapphire ocean breeze” on my dark-chocolate eyes. It also didn’t help that my makeup artist was blond with blue peepers and chose colors for her own face.

My experience with cosmetics is a familiar story for fellow Vietnamese American females, young and old. Our pickings from the drug-store powders are too cool and not yellow or warm enough for our skin. Nor do we know how to play with the layers of hues and shades for our almond-shaped eyes. Even the advertisements sport mostly Caucasian models whose appearance we cannot mimic.

Now as a member of the workforce, my daily duties require me to wear a little bit more to look professional and polished. Out with the clear, generic ChapStick and in with grown-up makeup.

Every woman has her own preferences. Me? I decided to give Mary Kay Cosmetics a try.

Why Mary Kay? For starters, our mothers most likely use at least one product, whether it be the lotion, foundation or lipstick. The 45-year-old company has a legacy inspired by its founder, Mary Kay Ash, and her entrepreneur’s zeal and is even part of our pop culture. It’s a classic, yet it continues to keep up with the changing cultures and trends.

“Beauté Made Simple,” a guide by makeup artist, Robert Jones, features its employees of all colors from peaches and cream to olive to golden. It is this keen observation of the changing faces of American women that didn’t dissuade me from trying its new collection of colors.

I sat down with Kim Phu?ng Vu, a Mary Kay senior sales director trained by Jones, as she instructed several brave co-workers and demonstrated on me how to enhance our Vietnamese American features.

Preparation

It is a common myth that a face looks flawless because of its foundation, but the secret is prepping your skin beforehand, Vu pointed out. I found the process detailed and important. My group of ladies, ranging from their early 20s to their 40s, went through a very luxurious hand-washing system before we even touched our faces. First, we applied a rich and oily emollient cream, then an exfoliator over it, and finally a hand soap. These layers of the Satin Hands set were then washed off, leaving the skin literally satin-smooth yet not greasy.

Next we exfoliated our lips with the Satin Lips Lip Mask to buff away dead skin. This was rinsed off like the hand set and finished with the Satin Lips Lip Balm. As a lip-balm junkie, I have no problem with chapped lips, but our oldest tester loved trying it.

Skin preparation was next, so we used the Miracle Set. To wipe off our makeup from home, we massaged a rich cleanser that has triple duty benefits  —  cleansing, freshening, and exfoliating. This was taken off with a wet cloth and followed with the TimeWise Day Solution, an SPF 15 sunscreen, and the TimeWise Age-Fighting Moisturizer. The normal-to-dry formula was a tad too much on my combination skin, especially on the cheeks, but did the job for my older testmates as aging skin is more dry.

Face

A creamy foundation followed as well as the TimeWise Age-Fighting Eye Cream, which wasn’t greasy, and the Signature Eye Primer to smooth the eyelid and keep eyeshadow on longer. Flipping through a company catalog, I immediately noticed that the colors were more yellow-based and warmer than other brands, as Vu noted. “Even our cool colors are a little more warm so that everyone can wear them.” This was a refreshing change from the pink-based foundations at the drug store and even department stores.

I always remember to use foundation and powder on my eyelids, jaw, and neck to avoid the foundation mask effect. Try not to test colors on your hands as your face can be a different shade due to sun exposure or lack of.

Vu, prompted by her mother to wear foundation at an early age, reminds us of its protective benefits. Apart from sunscreen, it provides a physical barrier to the sun and its damaging effects.

Eyes

As expected, our circle of women had different eye shapes. Even among Vietnamese American eyes, there can be a variety of sizes with a crease or not — something no makeup artist at the shopping malls cared to note when it came to my makeover.

For creased and larger eyes, Vu highlighted right under the eyebrow with a light shimmery shade such as Spun Silk. These neutral beige and white colors are what make the eye pop. Another trick to look more awake is to put some at the inner corner of the eye and follow the V-shape. Next we applied a medium tone right below the highlighting color.

With the darkest shade, Vu had the women with small creases swipe straight across on the crease. For my larger eyes, she followed the shape of the eyeball and drew a sideways V-shape near the outside corner. Our more mature tester had deep-set eyes and followed a completely different routine.

To make her eyes sparkle even more, Vu brushed the highlighting shade over the entire eye. The medium shade followed above the small crease. Women with deep set eyes shouldn’t use dark colors which will make the eye appear smaller, so she used a brighter lilac on the lash line. Dark colors also shouldn’t be worn by older women, she advised. “Focus on warmer colors. It’ll liven up the skin and make you look younger and fresh.”

Mascara is also great as Asian eyelashes tend to be thinner, shorter and less curled. If you are not afraid of an eyelash curler, go for it. It’ll make you look more awake.

Another trick to looking younger is to keep your eyebrow thicker and their natural shape. I see a lot of Vietnamese American women over-tweezing and getting permanent makeup. Our expert’s  best advice for a youthful glow? “Imagine a young girl running through a field,” she says. “What does she look like? Natural, healthy, a rosy color. Think young; think warm colors.”

Blush

The common mistake is to sweep a rosy circle of blush on just the apples of the cheeks, “since we see just the front of our face in the mirror,” Vu said. However, others view all angles of our face. It is important to use blush up to the hair line following your cheekbones.

Lips

For my lips, Vu used just a gloss. “You can get away with it because you’re younger,” she said. For our other beauty testers, she asked them use lip liner and lipstick with a dab of gloss.

She also noted that many Asian American women steer away from peach and pink lip colors. “They think they look bad in it, but it actually warms up their face more. They’re just not used to it.” She told me to not be afraid to experiment. With the more flexible return policies these days, I think I’ll be more adventurous.

Overall, the makeover experience wasn’t as painful as I expected it to be. My dolled-up coworkers left with more “stuff” on yet managed to still look natural and younger. I, a low maintenance kind of gal, sported a dramatic evening look without fear. It was all about balance — having the same amount of eye makeup on along with the same attention paid to lips.

After all, Vietnamese Americans can have fun with makeup. Just remember this advice, “It’s not how much you wear but where you put it on and how you put it on.”

To see more Mary Kay Cosmetics products, visit www.marykay.com/kimvu