Happy Adoption Month & Fall Fashion Tips from NYC Fashion Week

(l to r: Richard Ray and Jennifer)

(Cross-posted from One World: Chinese Adoptee Links Blog.)

Fashion Week, NYC: Interview with Make-up Artist Richard Ray

One Worlders went backstage to check out emerging artists and designers at NYC's Fashion Week this fall.  As many transracially and transnationally adopted women and girls will attest, learning how to choose colors and make-up styles can be a challenge when we often look so different (colors, hair types, ethnicities, complexions, body shapes) from our (adoptive) family members.  Here's what one up-and-coming designer and artist, Richard Ray, shared with us at Vogue's Runway Retreat.

Why Visit Fashion Week:

I like to look at the street style and find my inspiration there.

On Fashion:

I have been playing with my mom's makeup since I was 6, and I love how it can change a person's confidence.  It's a party on your face.  The first thing that I read was Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin and it is a great book to learn the structure of the face and the basics of make-up.  It teaches you about contouring and highlighting and the importance of bringing back the dimension to the face and bringing it back to looking more natural versus product that makes you look fake.

On Make-up:

Learn the basics by practicing the basics first and then you be creative.  Have fun it's makeup.  If you don't like it take it off.

On Career Goals:

In five years I would to be working backstage at Fashion Week in NYC.  I would also like to create a management group for artists from make up to styling to wardrobe and hair.

On Fashion Rules:

Don't listen to a lot of rules, especially Utube community. Use them as guidelines. But find what works for you.

Final Fashion Tips:

I wasn't always good at makeup. Practice and you'll get better. If all fails, take a lesson. It's a good investment.  Start with the basics, and get more creative as you progress...

Thank you, Richard Ray, for your fashion tips!  We look forward to seeing you again at future Fashion Weeks.  Special thanks to Vogue Magazine's Blogger's Bar, where this interview took place.

Contact Richard Ray for consultations at K3richardray@gmail.com, or follow on Instagram@richardraymua.