Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Diamond Face

A few months before my wedding, I volunteered myself to be a "face model" for some friends. They were going through a course teaching them how to use the make-up products they were selling and had one last task to accomplish before they would be deemed "pass". It was sort of a competition whereby 10 artist would be selected to go to the final round the week after.

So there I was, rushing from work, totally excited about getting tips on how to put make up (since I don't even wear it to work). My face was cleaned up, eyebrows plucked and sat ready to be worked upon. Then the expert/si fu walked by and gasped upon seeing me.

She looked at my face and declared, "Ah, this is what we call a Diamond Face". Immediately I was surrounded by the other students gasping oohs and aahs, albeit towards horrification. I felt like a freak in a zoo. Obviously having this face shape is undesirable as the si fu started giving more detailed instructions as how to hide my diamond flaws.

After the given 45 minutes, all made up, the speaker summoned me and another girl up to the stage. Since they spoke in Cantonese, my mother tongue which I don't understand, I had no clue as to what I was up there for. Initially, everyone clapped when I was summoned so I thought my artist had been chosen to go to the final round. I was beaming for her when I was suddenly
plonked on a chair. Swiftly, two experts came up and started removing make up on half of my face. Dread filled me but I held on to the notion that she's probably just trying to make it slightly better than it already is.

By the time this expert was done, it was clear and apparent that the 2 of us on stage were selected because we looked like total clowns. I had 2 different make-ups on my face and I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself in the ground when the rest of the participants passed me by with a pitiful look, pretending to examine my make-up and diamond face. As quickly as I could, I excused myself and went home.

When I looked in the mirror, I liked neither of the 2 designs on my face. Two of my cell group members dropped by and one exclaimed that I looked like a clown while the other was a little less harsh with a mere "I don't think the make up suits you". Immediately after they left, I scrubbed my face of every trace of that humiliating experience.

Thank God I never felt like that during my wedding as the experts who worked on me did a MUCH better job. And no, I don't have any photos. Even if I did, think you that I would expose it??

No comments: