Ahh, it kind of scares me how long I haven’t updated! It scares me even more how many pictures I have yet to upload and share! 
Anyway, the last two weeks of my internship have been really fantastic and busy. I think the last time I updated was some time before I went to the Bella Beauty Awards, which is this ceremony/show that honors the best brands in various make-up/skincare categories. There are awards for like, best mascara (Maybelline VolumeExpress or something like that) and which “whitening” product is the best (I believe it was something by Clarins). It was fun kind of seeing the whole event go down, I had to go there early to set up and stay a little while after to help clean up. The journalists got the awesome giftbags! They were given like, large bottles of Calvin Klein’s Eternity Moment (which is one of my most FAVORITE scents ever) as well as a Cittá Bella bag, Olay moisturizing facial mask, free copy of the magazine, and some other stuff I really can’t recall. Nonetheless, I REALLY wanted a bottle of perfume. The whole event wasn’t huuuge but the host was someone pretty famous from Taiwan… her name is Tian Xing (literally Sky Star) and she was really thin and quite pretty. The event also honored a model (I think it was a model) who got the annual Bella Beauty Award or something along those lines.
The event has LOTS of wine and cute finger food, as is commonplace for these kinds of events, but nothing as cute as the finger food from Chloé! I didn’t drink, again, but it’s all good.
I know this is out of order, but in order for me to go to this event, I had to buy a black dress. Everyone from the magazine had to wear black and since it was kind of formal, I definitely didn’t bring anything to suit the occasion. Fortunately, I found a dress somewhere at Zhongxiao Dunhua and I matched it with my patent leather plum Lacoste flats. Not the best ensemble, but it worked. I got my mom to curl my hair the morning of, but my extremely straight (and sometimes frustrating) hair was only mildly wavy by the time I got back to the office which was like, 4:00 PM or something.
Let’s see… somewhere in between the Bella Beauty Awards and today, I went to five or so photoshoots.
The first one had a model that was born in Japan and spoke with a honey-sweet lisp. She was reeeeally petite (maybe a bit shorter than I am) and of course, much much tinier in frame. I went with a Beauty Editor that day, her name is Tina and we were mainly taking pictures of skincare, I believe. I felt the make-up artist was a little unfriendly but it’s possible that my first ever photoshoot with a model was more awesome than the average photoshoot… in the first photoshoot, both the model and the make-up artist were really talkative and really nice. Eh. I really can’t remember anything particularly amazing about that day but I remember at one point the model had to lie on the ground and look up while maintaining a kind of… loungey pose. The photographer (who is like, over 6 feet tall) then climbed an industrial ladder to take the pictures. That moment really reminded me of ANTM.
The third model photoshoot I went to was was with Sophia (Fashion Editor) and it was also my first ever photoshoot where some shots required outdoor scenes. We went to a really pretty part of Taipei where there were some trees that shaded both sides of this sidewalk. The model was a little… I dunno. I kind of felt like she was wooden or something. Not very… expressive? I guess being a judge on ANTM is harder than it looks, I can’t even describe this model’s on-cameraness. >..< The EIC also borrowed some Fendi bags and shoes which were so delicious. The Fendi boots were very very nice as were the bags. Kind of heavy, but a lot better than some of Fendi’s remixed Spy Bags which are plain fugly.
Yesterday, I went to a photoshoot with a different Beauty Editor, her name is Nesha. I think she’s SO pretty. She has a really short haircuit and really pretty eyes. (She later told me that her eyelashes are actually permanently glued to her real eyelashes, giving her this really lush doe-eyed look.) Anyway, we went to a different photo studio to shoot her stuff, which was bright/candy-colored make-up. I thought the model was kind of ehh for this photoshoot, but she was marginally funny and kind of outgoing so I guess I can accept her. (Yes, that’s right, every model wants to be accepted by me!) I thought her face was a little weirdly shaped and the only reason why she’s a model is because she’s THIN. She’s not even tall (my height) or strikingly beautiful. The worst part of photoshoots I think, is waiting. So much time is spent in between make-up/wardrobe/light adjustments! It’s pretty aggravating, but not much can be done about the whole process. Random anecdote, but on the way to this photoshoot, I had to take a taxi and my driver was soo sketchy. His car was old and smelled weird, plus his license picture made him look like a pedophile. I guess I’m being rude, but he REALLY sketched me out. I made him stop like, a block early because I couldn’t wait to haul ass out of his creepmobile. :/ By the end of the day, it was POURING and so I took a taxi back to the office and whipped out my umbrella, which I now carry everyday. I have also picked up the really Asian habit of using an umbrella to block sunlight.
AND. TODAY. I WENT WITH SEAN ON A FULL DAY PHOTOSHOOT.
IT WAS AMAZING.
He is soooo adorable. Like, now that I’ve spent more time on the job with him, my crush has lessened somewhat, but I still think he’s sooo cute. He’s really like a big kid. The great thing about going on a photoshoot with Sean is that he ONLY deals with designers. And if he doesn’t the stuff is still decently high-end. Today’s photoshoot was a great experience. He took me, the photographer (whose name is Armani, by the way…), the photographer’s helper, the model (named Liv, she’s half-Asian), and the make-up artist/hairdresser to this boat on Danshui River for about 4 hours to take pictures of 7 different outfits. I got to handle fabulous stuff from YSL (clothes and shoes), Gucci (clothes, shoes… more like boots, belts), Louis Vuitton (shoes and clothes only, unfortunately), Prada (shoes, bags, clothes), Miu Miu (shoes, bags, clothes), and Dolce & Gabbana (shoes and clothes). There were SO many Prada/Miu Miu bags. I was in heaven. The bags are glorious. There was this one greyish-brown Miu Miu tote that is SO heavenly. And Prada’s shoes. My god. I’m so in love with the stuff. Anyway, it was pretty awesome how there were just bags and bags of this stuff, it was like… coming home from Costco. It sucked that I had to help move these huge and extremely heavy bags from the van/Sean’s car to the boat (the walk took like, 7 minutes too and back seriously) but it was worth it just to pretend that I had all these fabulous bags for a few hours. Being a model DEFINITELY sucks though. Because publishing magazine-stuff is always a month ahead, we had to take pictures of Fall fashion… which is usually heavy on the wool, knits, and leather. At one point, the model had to wear a cotton long-sleeved blouse (Gucci), wool capris (Gucci), a heavy knit sweater (Gucci, and this sweater was GIGANTIC), stockings, and knee-high leather boots. Sean also wanted her to wear two knit scarves (for color, of course) and one of the scarves had a little hat. His theme for that particular page was “knits.” Lucky model. The humidity was definitely at 100% today (if not more) and it was REALLY hot. She had to wear a lot of knits/wools and knee-high boots as well as stockings. I guess I would feel bad for her, but I was the one that had to fetch bags, shoes, clothing, pick up after her, and help Sean choose what to wear for the next set. The great thing about working with him is that he’s always positive and really happy. He’s definitely kind of disorganized and indecisive, but I’m pretty much the opposite so we worked well together. I even got to pick which outfits to take pictures of, which shoes to match, and best of all, WHICH BAGS went with WHICH OUTFITS. It was lots of fun. It was like playing a really deluxe version of Barbie. The polaroids of the shoot came out really really nicely. I can’t wait to see them in the magazine! It was pretty funny because at one point, Sean needed me to move his car (he was parked somewhere illegally) and after freaking out about his request 20 minutes prior, I agreed and moved his car for him. I was SOOO nervous, since I haven’t actually sat behind a wheel in like, 2 months now. I even have pictures of his car and the steering wheel. After the four hours or so on the boat and frantic cleaning up/loading the bags onto the car, we headed back to the photo studio to take pictures of just outfits/clothes. Again, Sean and I worked very speedily. He is seriously the best person to be an intern with. The whole day, I felt busy and needed and it was just so amazing touching all that yummy designer stuff. We actually managed to finish before 6 (which is the time I’m supposed to go home) and I have a feeling that I’m going to have an amazing night’s sleep.
In other news… my role as the resident Ugly Betty has officially been fulfilled with the Fashion Editor and Director both asking me to buy beverages/food for everyone while shooting. I was given company money to buy lunch and drinks from Seven-Eleven and some coffee place on two occasions. I had to haul like, 20 bottles back as well as a few boxes of food to feed everyone. I’m so proud!
Anyway. I know this is a long update and chances are you won’t read all of it, but I need to get it all down so I don’t forget say… a year from now. 
Pictures will come eventually and boy do I have a lot of them!
