Back To School Makeover: Getting schooled in the sartorial department

MANILA, Philippines - For this edition of the YStyle makeover, we selected two students from the hundreds who emailed that were under-represented in this season’s trends: the conservative dresser. Eugene and Sam, both 20, shared a similar perspective when it came to clothing — trying on new things frightened them. It’s the fear of the unfamiliar and the sense of wading through clothes that were, in their minds, hard to wear that made the prospect of shopping a gruesome one.

But on a jaunt to the mall, we propelled them towards younger, not-so-tedious pieces — avoiding the straight-cut jeans and shapeless T-shirts (a uniform for them) to the teenwear section packed with on-trend, bright clothes designed to lift them out of their sartorial doldrums.

“My brother said I look like Katy Perry,” Eugene says after the shoot.

Under the expert helm of makeup artist Ning Tadena and hair stylist Alee Benson, the girls got schooled in the art of having fun with their looks.

Eugene Bandoma

Age: 20

School: University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center

Her personal style: “I usually wear a combination of cute feminine top and straight jeans or skirt. I also add accessories such as dangling earrings, bracelets and long-chained necklaces to accentuate my outfit.”

Makeover objective: “I want to look more like my age. And have a fresh outlook for the coming school days.”

The Solution

Her clothing tended to be on the ill-fitting, drab side. The idea was to introduce color and prints — in a subtle, playful way — that was wearable and still age-appropriate. “I realized that I can carry fashionable clothes, too,” Eugene says. “I shouldn’t have been afraid to try being more stylish. I use to limit myself to basics. Now I’m more open.”

The Makeup

“I wanted to clean and shape her eyebrows and soften her eyes a little,” says Ning, consulting makeup artist for Etude House. “Her complexion works really well with peachy hues. I used Etude Proof 10 Super Washable Long-lash Mascara on her since she had beautiful long lashes that I wanted to accentuate. She can easily wash it off at night with just warm water. I used Aloha Glittering Sherbet Eyes below the eyebrows and the tear drop area — to highlight the eyes and give it a fresh back-to-school look.”

The Hair

“I wanted to minimize the fullness of her hair,” says Alee, creative director of Tyler’s Salon in Ortigas and Alee Benson Salon. “The most flattering style is one that keeps her hair off her face: to emphasize her cheekbones, jaw lines and eyes. She can wear long or short but it’s often advisable to add layers and wispy bangs to create volume at the top of her head which elongates and slims her face. I put side layers to make sure that hair isn’t too full on the sides, as this will only serve to accentuate the roundness that I’m trying to downplay.”

Sam Lim

Age: 20

School: University of Santo Tomas 

Her personal style: “Comfort over anything else. I usually go for simple blouses, jeans or shorts, and sneakers. My style is boyish or sporty.”

Makeover objective: “I wanted to look fabulous and feminine while still feeling comfortable.”

The Solution

Finding feminine clothes that were sporty and not too revealing (Sam is a very conservative dresser) and fitted her tiny frame (tops sized small looked like a caftan on her) was a challenge, but putting Sam in bright, peppy colors made for a dramatic change. “The clothes make me feel confident,” she tells me, “and great!”

The Makeup

“Her eyebrows needed a lot of shaping but I didn’t want to shade it too strongly to maintain a fresh look,” explains Ning. “I also needed to correct the discolorations (redness / red spots) on her face. I used Etude Dream On Base no. 1 (green) to counter the redness. I really liked her color (fair) which works well with a lot of the fun pink shades that Etude has. I lined her eyes with Aloha I’m Jumbo pen liner nearest the lash line so it won’t be so thick then used Aloha Two Two Kiss no. 1 for that gentle tint and gloss on the lips.”

The Hair

“I did a short crop,” explains Alee. “This style works for almost all face shapes — especially people with softer facial structures. It’s a winning style for students who lack the time to fuss with or pamper their short hairstyles: the wash-and-go set. Just use volumizing shampoo, towel dry hair, apply a spray-on conditioner for detangling and dab a touch of wax on select chunks of hair. If there’s no time for blow-drying, simply let hair air-dry.”