She opened the skincare products, demonstrating each one to Wu Liu'er, who watched with delight.
"Where did your proprietor get such wonderful things? These little items are made so exquisitely. What did you say this was called again?"
Wu Liu'er asked, twisting open a lipstick.
"This is called lipstick, which is essentially the lip rouge you usually use. However, lipstick is convenient to carry, comes in thousands of shades, applies evenly on the lips, and hardly fades. You can keep it in your pocket—it doesn’t take up much space, and you can touch up your makeup anytime!"
Yun Li patiently explained each product to Wu Liu'er. Finally, Wu Liu'er called over all the girls from her Huaxianlou.
A guard reported, "Madam, there are four young masters outside asking for Young Master Yun."
Without even looking up, Wu Liu'er was applying a facial mask while looking in the mirror and mumbled, "Bring them over!"
Yun Li had already told her earlier that some attendants would come to do the girls' makeup!
The girls in the room chattered excitedly, gathered around the table full of cosmetics.
Yun Li first applied hydrating facial masks to each girl. Now, with masks on their faces, they spoke carefully, afraid the masks might slip off.
"Young Master, are these lipsticks and skincare products expensive?"
Another girl said, "How could such good things be cheap? Just look at the packaging—it’s so exquisite!"
"I don’t care, I’m going to use all these things from now on! Especially that old lip rouge—compared to this lipstick, it’s like trash! This lipstick glides on smoothly and feels moisturizing, and the colors are so pretty and natural! Whoever invented this is a genius!"
Yun Li smiled. She knew that from ancient times to the present, no woman could resist the temptation to become more beautiful! Especially these flower girls who rely on their looks for a living!
"As for the price, our proprietor hasn’t set it yet, but you’ll find out when we open the day after tomorrow! Later, I’ll select ten of you and personally create a makeup look for each!
I’ve already discussed with Madam Wu that the ten of you will help promote our opening day! We’ll have you looking beautiful as living signboards for our Yueyan Fang!"
She had brought Ying Tao, Strawberry, and the other two mainly to practice and learn, as she couldn’t handle everything alone on opening day!
"Young Master, do you mean you’ll do our makeup the day after tomorrow and have us greet customers at the opening?"
"You don’t need to greet customers; just stand in the shop like vases! On opening day, there will be a parade with drums and gongs. You’ll walk at the front, holding promotional signboards for Yueyan Fang, and parade through the streets of the capital. Understood?"
The girls nodded.
"Young Master, can we buy skincare products now? How much stock are you preparing for the opening? I’d like to get a set in advance! I’m afraid they’ll sell out on opening day! Such good things are sure to be in high demand!"
"I want a set too!"
"And me, I want one as well!"
Yun Li smiled as she watched the girls’ reactions. She could already predict how bustling the opening day would be. Raising her hand to quiet them, she said, "On opening day, we’ll have one hundred sets of skincare products and two hundred lipsticks in stock! If they sell out, we’ll accept pre-orders!"
"What? Only one hundred sets? I want a set now!"
"Me too!"
The girls raised their hands one after another.
"Ladies, don't rush! The prices haven't been announced yet!"
"Sir, no matter how expensive, I want a set first!"
"Me too! Sir!"
Yun Li sighed, rubbing her forehead: "Seeing how enthusiastic you all are, and since I'll be relying on you to showcase and promote our Yueyan Fang with your best looks the day after tomorrow, I promise each of you a set. When I return, I'll request the owner to give you all a half-price discount for your first purchase!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the girls swarmed around Yun Li, surrounding her. "Sir! You're too kind!"
"Sir, you're truly generous! Thank you so much!"
"Sir, I love you!"
"Sir, if you ever visit our Huaxianlou in the future, I'll give you a free service!"
"Sir, from today on, you are the most handsome and dashing man in my heart!"
Goodness, with everyone talking at once, the constant chattering in her ears, and the overwhelming scent of rouge and powder all over, Yun Li felt like she was suffocating. She pushed through the crowd of girls and walked to the window to catch her breath.
Perhaps because of her pregnancy, she had become particularly sensitive to smells. Just then, Ying Tao and the others were brought over by the guards.
She reached into her bag, using her body to shield her hand, and retrieved a bottle of foundation liquid, an eyeshadow palette, and blush from her space, placing them inside the bag.
She didn't plan to introduce color cosmetics at Yueyan Fang just yet. Why reveal all the good things at once? Take it slow—scarcity adds value. She wanted each new release to stir up some excitement, keeping everyone intrigued and maintaining their interest. This way, she could build long-term loyal followers.
The room was too crowded, with no space to even sit. She selected ten girls with good facial features and pretty looks to stay and asked Madam Wu to dismiss the others who weren't chosen.
The girls left reluctantly.
"Don't be upset if you weren't chosen! You can visit the store the day after tomorrow for a free skincare and makeup look experience!"
"Really, sir?"
"Of course!"
Only after Yun Li said this did the girls reluctantly leave.
In the room, including Madam Wu, chairs were brought in by the guards. Yun Li asked them all to close their eyes and rest.
Then, she instructed Ying Tao and the other three to watch her steps as she began applying makeup on the eleven girls.
The four of them started by each taking care of one person, while Yun Li handled the remaining seven. First, she trimmed each girl's eyebrows.
In between, Yun Li pointed out mistakes to the four assistants and corrected them on the spot. Gradually, they got the hang of it, and she assigned each of them to take care of two girls.
Each girl had different facial features, so the makeup looks were tailored accordingly.
Some girls suited bold makeup, while others looked better with a natural look.
Modern skincare products made the process twice as effective—they were simply too good to be true! Just the foundation cream alone covered all their skin imperfections.
Their common flaw was overly dry skin, with long-term dehydration leading to sagging and aging.
In ancient times, ordinary women couldn't afford skincare. Only the daughters of officials and palace consorts regularly consumed nourishing foods like bird's nest and bathed or washed their faces with cow's milk, which slightly improved their skin condition. But even that required money and long-term commitment.
Once the makeup was done, Yun Li made further adjustments for each girl. By the time they finished, it was almost dinner time.
"Alright! Girls, go take a look in the mirror!"
"Ah, finally done! My back is sore from sitting!"
"Wow, you look so beautiful! Much prettier than before! Absolutely stunning!"
One girl exclaimed loudly while pointing at the girl next to her.
"You're so beautiful too! Your skin is absolutely flawless!"
The girls eagerly grabbed the mirror to look at themselves, each one overjoyed—they had never realized they could be this beautiful.