Asian Beauty [Hardcover]

Margaret Kimura (Author), Marianne Dougherty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

Asian-American women are finally having their day. Their beautiful faces grace the covers of magazines, the runways of fashion houses, and the big and small screens. Yet there hasn't been a guide that addresses their unique beauty needs -- until now. In Asian Beauty, Margaret Kimura, veteran makeup artist to the stars and AsianAmerican herself, presents the ultimate beauty guide for all women of Asian descent. In these gloriously illustrated pages, you'll find step-by-step guidance on how to enhance lips, eyes, cheeks, and brows using Margaret's unique Shadows and Light technique. You will learn how to pick the foundation that's right for your skin. And you'll find exciting and surprising things you can do with color from daytime to after dark. Before and after shots of women representing almost every part of Asia will be a revelation, and the chapter on role models will inspire you. Asian Beauty is a must-have for all women of Asian descent who have had to make do with beauty tips tailored for women of European descent.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Margaret Kimura is a veteran image maker and a professional makeup artist who has worked In the fashion and entertainment industries for the past twenty years. During her career, she has worked with such celebrities as Audrey Hepburn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, and Andie MacDowell. Recently she launched her own makeup line, Margaret Kimura Cosmetics. Margaret Kimura is a native Californian who lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Collins; 1 edition (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060184736
• ISBN-13: 978-0060184735
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,429,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars why don't we knock off kevin aucoin like we knock off LV's, June 29, 2002

By 

Candace A. Gee "dilettante" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asian Beauty (Hardcover)

I got this book for my birthday, and I wish I would have chosen a different book. I'm full chinese and this book is primarily for mixed asians or asians with eyelid jobs. There is a lot of text and a lot of pictures, but not many tutorials. i think that what would have made this book a sucess- is more tutorials with different models. I really don't feel like there was enough representations of the various races i.e. chinese, japanese, korean, indian, vietnamese etc. I think the author should have chosen a few models of each race to display technique. I also think the writer should have shown more models with different facial structures. I thought her eyes section was pretty funny, she said "Smoky eyes like this look great on Asian women because they add to our mystery" insert close up of an eye thickly lined all the way around with kohl liner. The way that i and other asian girls put on their eyeliner because they can't figure out what else to do!

Her makeover section before/after photos was disappointing. All talk... i guess she couldn't totally copy aucion's book and put in photos or drawings of the "process".

Her "get a new attitude" at the end of the book should have been entitled "Notes to myself" ... "make time for yourself, set goals, start a journal, learn to forgive, take responsibility, dare to do something different, learn to love yourself naked"....

All in all, this book was a HUGE disappointment. Kimura prefers to tell you what she likes to do in this and that situation but doesn't want to SHOW you. You might as well go read allure if you don't have a crease in your eyelid.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Asian Beauty by Margaret Kimura, December 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Asian Beauty (Hardcover)

I wanted to check this book out at my local book store first before I bought it,thank goodness I did. I thought this book would discuss and show different techniques on how to apply makeup and different looks you can achieve with makeup, but it didn't. It vaguely discuss how Asian features are different, which is nice, but it doesn't discuss on how to play up those features. The pictures and the models in the book were pretty but some of the makeup is a little strange (orange lipstick?). The book claims to have all types of Asian women in the book which it does but it doesn't discuss or show how to apply makeup to different people and the explainations on how to do things were skimpy. This is a nice book to look at while waiting in line someplace, but as for reading and it's usefulness to anyone Asian or not, very little. I think anyone thinking of buying this book should look it over before making any irrational decisions.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Style Over Substance, December 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Asian Beauty (Hardcover)

The description of this book claims that Asian Beauty contains "step-by-step guidance on how to enhance lips, eyes, cheeks, and brows" and that the book would be helpful to people like me, those "who have had to make do with beauty tips tailored for women of European descent". This is terribly misleading. I won't deny that Asian Beauty contains some stunning photography of beautifully made-up Asian women of all types. However, I don't think this book would be terribly helpful for someone looking for detailed make-up application tips accompanied by photographs demonstrating specific techniques. For example, I had hoped the book would finally be a source of tips on how I could enhance my eyes, which like those of many Asian women, lack eyelid folds. Wouldn't this be one of the classic questions many Asian women would have? I hunted through the book to find the answer, but found that Kimura gives only a brief mention of this particular feature, and offers no real helpful hints on what to do with it. There are a few series of photographs which purport to be "how to" shots, but Kimura offers frustratingly vague descriptions of many other techniques which are not illustrated with photographs.

You might find Asian Beauty interesting and helpful if you like to see glamorous photographs of Asian women made up in a variety of styles, both classic and cutting edge. But you will be sorely disappointed if you are looking for the guidance to get to that end result. Browse this book in the store before ordering.