Kristen Billings is an old China hand. Formerly the Mommy Matters columnist for City Weekend Parents and Kids, this mom-of-two is currently a kindergarten and Grade 1 ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher at the Western Academy of Beijing.
Billings is also studying to be a librarian through online courses at the University of Washington. She hails from the curiously-named town of Truth and Consequences in New Mexico, US. Billings didn’t have it easy for either of her two pregnancies; she gave birth to her first child, Henry (now 5) at age 38 and her second, Esme (now 11 months) at age 43. Both times, she experienced hyperemesis gravidarum (or HG), a rare pregnancy disease marked by severe morning sickness. By the time she arrived at MyStudio in Jinsong, Billings hadn’t colored her hair in a year and was showing quite a bit of gray at the roots. She got a well-deserved break with Salon Director Alex An and Makeup
Artist Hong Hao, who took her look from “blah” to beautiful over the course of an afternoon.
MyStudio
Daily 10am-8.30pm. Bldg 811, Zone 8, Jinsong, Chaoyang District (6771 4375, 137 0125 3148) 朝阳区劲松八区811号楼
Billings wanted to add shape to her hair while retaining ease of maintenance. Salon Director Alex An opted for a graduated cut in the front and neater edges in the back. He then parted her hair to the side and blow-dried it inwards for a classic look.
An matched Billings’ natural dark blond to cover her graying roots, then added depth to hair color with light blond highlights using dye from Schwarzkopf.
Makeup Artist Hong Hao evened out Billings’ skin tone by brushing on Chanel Teint Innocence liquid foundation in Cendré and setting it with MAC Blot Powder in Light. He combined eyeshadows from Bobbi Brown’s Nude Eye Palette and Chanel’s Les 4 Ombres to create soft, shimmery eyes. He defined them further with Chanel Jet Gold Duo Eyeliner Eyeshadow and Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Eyeliner in Onyx. Hong then brought out Billings’ long lashes with Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara in #10. Lastly, he brought a glow to her cheeks with MAC Blush Powder in Style and played up her bow lips with Yves Saint-Laurent Rouge Personnel Multi-Finish Lipstick in #4
photo by lova
