OurColony.net

??????

Customer Rating:
I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS BOOK HAS SUCH GOOD REVIEWS! IT HAS NICE PHOTOS BUT NOT VERY MUCH TO LEARN.

Satisfied yet puzzled...

Customer Rating:
I just bought this book today, having looked at most of the pages at the bookstore. I love his suggestion about the basic color palette needed to create depths and midtones and highlights for the eye area - given on page 63. There are 13 shades all in the ranges of beige-brown-pink-orange group so it is all about playing with gradual tones working with your skin; no blues, purples, greens etc. which always come and go with trends and seasons basically!

I do love the contouring techniques that are consistent throughout the book - on all the various face shapes, hair colors, eye colors and shapes. I do believe that these subtle shading and contouring techniques are what separates normal everyday faces from the Hollywood divas!

I have two problems though however with the presentation of the book.
1. The images look like they have been digitally enhanced here and there with something like Photoshop SmartBlur. It MAY be that Mr.Jones's technique of contouring is so subtle and perfect that the skin looks like cheese(flawless, smoothed out), or maybe it's the specific lighting they've used - but something about the skin just looks so fake!

It's even more apparent since the before pictures look like they have been taken under a colder lighting with white backgrounds, and the enhanced pictures look like they have at least 3 different lighting sources to give that professional glow with a gradually varying tonal background that makes the faces pop out from the page, and also the hair is done to perfection also. So although the makeup he uses in the book DO enhance the faces, it's all these other little sneaky things that make the Before/After pictures look all the more disparate.

2. A lot of the contouring done seems to have that orange glow - and although they look good on flat paper with all the correct studio lighting and background that flatter the faces, I'm not so sure how these faces will ACTUALLY look in an average life setting. Will they look overly done, too orange, too barbie like, air-brushed like some 80s painting???

Anyway, those are my two complaints or doubts if you like. But I do appreciate a lot of the things shared in this book - the photos ARE quite amazing and beautiful. The colors do inspire me, I love the sensitivity of the subtle changes and variations and gradations Mr. Jones applied to the faces. They are quite picture perfect...

The explanations he gives are really sound visual advices I'd say. I've bought many books regarding makeup, I've taken some professional one-on-one classes with a Korean makeup artist who does a lot of top Korean actresses/models here, and yet, there are things I'd love to try out following the advice given here. I'd like to see how much all of these seductive illustrative images will do for my own face!!!

I just checked out his website too - and realized he had a DVD. I wish I had known that he had these before I bought this book though. It seems like the images in this book may have been recycled though; I saw that there was another book featuring the same photos with MORE detailed color chart with numbered steps on shading, which I'm a little disheartened about. So check out ALL his books before you settle on one!!!

OK. Just my two cents.

Good book to start with

Customer Rating:
This is a good book especially for people who want to learn the different makeup types for specific skin types. I expected more in terms of application techniques and shade examples for each of the face that was made up. The book describes the eye color used but (surprisingly) not the shade of foundation, concealer, blush used. It made good recommendations on what color works for each skin type, but it would have been nice to map the shades to each of the faces in the book. It's a good starter book but I wanted more.

He's a great makeup artist, but I can't recreate the looks

Customer Rating:
I have to agree with most negative feedbacks on this book. The pictures are beautiful, but it's impossible to do it yourself with his instructions. He did provide a tip or two, but not enough to make you look dramatically different. I believe those flawless skin pictures are airbrushed.

Worth every penny

Customer Rating:
This book is fantastic. I was going to set up an appointment with a make-up artist for a lesson, but came upon this book first. I'm glad I did! The difference in my appearance after using his advice is amazing. And I'm not talented with the whole hair/skin/makeup thing. Some have commented that there aren't step by step instructions. True, but there are plenty of diagrams and descriptions. I didn't feel a need for more explicit step by step instruction. And while it may seem like you are putting on a lot of makeup, it doesn't feel or look like it when you are finished. Together with advice and makeup from Lauren Hutton's line (laurenhutton.com) I feel much more confident in my makeup application. I'm 47, and Lauren's make-up is great for those of us over 40. I also highly recommend L'Oreal's Age Perfect Make-up, especially if you have dry skin like me.