Bridal makeup | Consultation

 

Monday I had the pleasure of working with this sweet bride to be! She was such a doll and seemed as though she waited on Mr. Right! She had such a great personality and brought her Mom along as well who was just as sweet.

She had some pics to show me that she had pinned to Pintrest. I have a lot of brides who seem to pin their inspiration looks there. The look she showed me on Pintrest had mainly gold on the lid. She also showed me different lip looks she wanted. She didn't want a bold lip but some pink. I will insert a pic of the first look we did with the gold.

After seeing the gold it wasn't quite what she thought it would be and I had showed her several different golds to choose from, including some from all of the Urban Decay Naked palettes. She wanted to add some mauve/pink to the gold. I showed her Buzz from the Naked 3 palette and she said that was it! We added it to the outer V, half of the lid and to deepen it some I added Bitten by Makeup Geek and she loved it! She also loved the lip choice. I used Cocomo lip liner by Milani and MAC's Please Me lipstick. It was the perfect pink nude pout! I like to pick lip colors for my brides I can purchase to add to their touch up kits if need be or a lip choice that isn't hard to duplicate or find if they ever wanted to continue to wear the lippie after their wedding.

 

Her Before

The Gold look

The final look

A Happy Bride to Be!!

Here are a list of products I used(per my notes):

 

Highlight eye rice paper/saddle

Embark crease

Gold mac lid

Down brown transition

Nw50(foundation)

Buzz naked 3

Bitten makeup geek...outer v

Coccomo lips

Please me MAC lipstick

213 lashes

Smolder eye liner

Waterproof mascara

Highlight nc50&nc45 set with Carmelo powder by Ben Nye

Improper copper cream base as a highlight

I think the end result says BRIDE!! Lol. Needless to say...Guess what?!.....She booked me on the spot to be her MUA for her wedding!! I will add she was referred by a previous bride from 2013. My last Bride in fact! I look forward to working with her on her special day! I almost forgot...she is also booking me to do her and her Moms hair and possibly a bridesmaid as well! Woohoo!
If you all haven't guessed yet, I love doing brides! I love behind the scenes work but I really enjoy working with Brides! I'm looking forward to bridal season!!

 

My January favorites | 2014

 

Here are a few of my favorite Beauty products for January!

One product not shown is the Milani nude eye primer. I love this primer as much as the urban decay primer potion.

What are some of your monthly beauty favorites? What products did you find yourself using over and over? I'd love to hear your favorites as well!

Rimmel Stay Matte Primer

 

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was very relaxing. I managed to hit up Walgreens and CVS this weekend and last week.

 

While in Walgreens I saw the display for the Rimmel stay matte foundation and primer. Unfortunately there were not a huge shade selection in the foundation collection but I did pick up the primer. I had also picked up the new covergirl primer as well(I will have a seperate review of that later). Why did I buy two different primers? I have no idea! Lol. I'm just always on a hunt for a great primer for my oily combination skin and really anything to combat a little sweat here and there. But can I tell you all that this primer right here is a winner!!

 

I wanted to wait until I did my haul video to brag on this product but I could not hold my excitement in any longer! Of course the day after buying it I had to give it a go! Immediately I liked the texture of it and could tell by the feel of it that it would pretty much do what it described to do. I will be honest and say that I thought initially it would only hold up for about five hours. Can I tell you that I know I got at least nine full, long hairdresser hours out of this! OMG! Normally during the day I get oily in my T-zone and on a busy day my forehead may sweat and my foundation begins to slip. Well honey, let me tell you!!.....I'm going through my day as normal and around let's say my six hour after putting this on, I was at work and had finally got a break and looked in the mirror and I couldn't believe what I saw. My makeup looked as it did when I put it on first thing that morning! I started to touch my face just to be sure I wasn't crazy...lol and yes it was still in place! I was like WHOA! I really couldn't believe it! I thought about what I had did different to my routine. I had also picked up some of the B6 spray by Urban Decay last week and had spritzed my face with that prior to my moisturizer, the rimmel primer and foundation. So I assumed the combo must have did the job. Well I wanted to see if this was really the case. The following day I used the primer again and my regular moisturizer's(I've been mixing 2.) and the same result. Actually I wore my foundation longer this particular day and didnt take it off till I was ready for bed. I normally take my foundation/makeup off as soon as I get home.

 

I'm really considering going all of them off the shelf before they're gone! I'm just joking! But I do think I need to go get a back up!

 

Price: $4.99 ($1.00 coupon at Walgreens )

Long lasting

I have no cons for this product! I hope they keep it in stock and keep it as a regular item!

Have you tried this primer? If so tell me your experience! If you haven't tried it and your an oily girl like myself don't walk but run to your Walgreens!

 

Juxt or Brill eyelook!

Hi ladies! I try and remember to blog once I've done a video but as usual I forget because I seem to be uploading in a hurry. Anyway here is a look I posted on Instagram the other day and decided to do a tutorial on it.

Products used:

On my nails: Butler Please (Essie)

Face:

Cover girl Queen foundation, Mata Hari blush(NARS) and uninterrupted pro long wear e/s by MAC as a contour.

Lips:

Cork lip liner(MAC), Please me lipstick(MAC), Pet me please lipstick(MAC) and clear lipgloss

Eyes:

Ruby kisses eye primer, painterly paint pot, juxt or brill e/s(not sure..it was depotted), uninterrupted prolong wear e/s, plumage e/s and rice paper e/s.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Bridal consultation

Whenever I get a call about a bridal consultation I get excited and nervous all at the same time! I love doing brides! But at the same time I want to give them the best consult/trial they have ever gotten. Also I want them to love it!

Drugstore Haul: Rite Aide

Today I went to Rite Aide just to do some browsing. Actually I went looking for the NYC loose powder. Well this is what I came out with. Lol . At the front of the store they had bins with reduced items.

Clinique's Take the Day Away

This bottle of creamy, milky and goodness is the best way I can describe this awesome product! It does just what it says....."Takes the day off/away"!

BH cosmetic 120 Palette eye look!

I did an eye look last week some time using the 120 palette. I had forgotten all about this palette as I stated in another post and had to pull it out and try some of the colors. Here lately it has been my go to palette. So I've been experimenting with different eye looks. Especially the warm colors. Here is a look I did. I took pics to do a pic tutorial but decided not to put it together.

The colors I used were all the warm colors in the palette. I used Painterly paint pot by MAC as a base along with my UDPP. I hope you like it.

Drug Store Favorites!! Back Opal Foundation Sticks!

I'm sure many of you have heard of Black Opal foundation Sticks. These foundation sticks were some of my first foundations in my kit. I love, love, Love these sticks! They offer great full coverage. I have used these sticks on photo shoots to give the model great full coverage and they can also be thinned out with just a tad bit of fix plus on your sponge and stipple away any extra foundation on the skin you may not need or want.

When a photographer wants a model done in a snap and the model may have some areas that may need to be covered up and there is no time for concealer this is my go to foundation. These foundation sticks are a great staple for your kit or even your personal makeup bag. I highly recommend Back Opal foundation sticks to anyone who are just starting in makeup or just looking for great coverage.

Pros:
~Great full coverage

~Reasonably Priced $9.99

~Can be found at any drug store, Wal-Mart or Target

~Easily depots or can fit in your kit or makeup bag

~A little goes a long way


Cons:
~Not really great for Acne prone skin

~May tend to be too oily(Set with a loose powder to avoid this)

~No shades for caucasian skin tones


I hope this has been helpful. Have you tried these foundation sticks? If so how do you like them? What are some of your drug store favorite foundations?

Drug Store Favorites!! WNW Vanity Palette!

Many of you may know that I just absolutely love the "Vanity" palette by Wet N Wild! This is my go to palette when I'm in a hurry or I'm going on vacation and I want to condense my makeup bag.

I recently took this palette with me to NYC for The Makeup Show. I used it for my eye look, highlight, contour and also for eyebrows! Can you say this palette is the business!! Lol

I love how this palette offers great pigmentation. I've had it for over a year and I've used it quite a bit. Needless to say I still haven't hit pan on this palette! Not yet! So this palette also offers a pretty good amount in the small pans.

The pro's:

~You get alot for your money

~Great pigmentation

~Beautiful neutral colors

~Great price...$4.99

~Easy to find. Every drugstore has it!

~Can fit in your makeup bag or purse

~Can serve multi uses

The Cons:

~Sells out fast(Hey its popular)lol

~If dropped it may shatter or break(I've not experienced this but I have seen broken ones in the store)


I actually have all of the 6 pan palette's by WNW but this would be my favorite! I think what I like most about it is it's multi use! Here is another palette by them:

Have you tried the WNW palette's if so what's your favorite palette by them? Any suggestions? Stay tuned for more of my drug store favorites!

Blog and Facebook Contest!

Hey everyone!  I'm excited to announce my first ever contest!  Yes Contest!  It's over do really.  I wanted to give my readers and those of you who are on my fan page something just for your support.

**DISCLAIMER**: This contest is not sponsored  by no affiliate company or cosmetic company!  I'm sponsoring this contest with my own hard earned money!

Now that that's out the way here are the rules!:

1) You must be a memeber of my FB fan page
2) You must live in the United States
3) You must be a subscriber to my blog

The deadline for the contest is April 23, 2011 at 12 noon!

All entries must be submitted by that time via a pic to my fan page or video to my fan page.  If you like you can also email them to me.

Now here is the tricky part which really isnt tricky or a catch but for those who don't subscribe to my blog would have to find it.(Which isnt hard because I've listed it on my fan page many of times)
Those who are subscribers to my blog may not know where to find my fan page but I will give you all a hint : It's the  name of my makeup business!  So I wish you all luck! 


Questions you may have:
How I will go about picking a winner:  I will narrow it down to 5 of my favorites.  Once I have narrowed it down to my favorites I will use an online random system to pick 1.  Giving each of those a number 1-5 and let the random site pick the winner. 

What is the prize:  The prize is a $25 gift card to MAC!

Once again I wish you all luck and if you have any questions please feel free to leave me a comment or a email.  XOXO

Skin Care!!

Hi everyone!  I had a few days off from blogging but oh how I do enjoy blogging now.  Hmmm go figure.  I've been wanting to touch on the subject of skin care something that is so important in the makeup field and community

It's a topic I feel is not discussed alot.  I really wanted to do more research and study my facts first before doing this blog but I've been well aware of skin care for many years now.  I learned alot while in cosmetology school and being that some of my class mates sold Mary Kay I really had no choice.  Lol.  I also wound up selling Mary Kay like 3 times!  Anywho I've always been interested in skin care being that growing up I didnt have the best of skin.  I have very sensitive skin and sometimes certain things may cause  me to breakout.  With that being said I do try and take good care of my skin.

Speaking of Mary Kay.  It is a great line for skin care.  It is one of my favorites as far as skin care and not due to the fact that I used to sell it.  Its due to the fact that it does work and leave your skin nice and radiant.  I've since over the years have tried different skin care lines but somehow always find myself still in love with Mark Kay! 

Lately I've been using the green gel cleanser by MAC and I do like it.  For one, using my pro discount its not too expensive for me.  I like the feeling it gives my face after I've used it.  It feels very clean and I feel as though I've removed all traces of makeup, oil  and dirt from my face. 

I've had a conversation wth a coworker and we have a few mua friends in common.  Two of which I would say are very successful in the makeup realm.  Well we are having a discussion one day and she said that one said that mostly new mua's wear a full face  where as mua's who have been doing it for a while are more into skin care.  I thought about what she said and realized most mua's who have been doing makeup for a while really do have nice skin.  Well for the most that I've seen , not all!   They may have on a tad bit of foundation but not to the point where you can tell.  Hey maybe they don't. But honestly  I've always  been into skin care.   I no longer have the bad skin and certain things that I eat that I know will break me out I try and stay away from as well.  Which leads to other issues of the skin which is our diets.  Things like sodas, fried foods, not enough water, chocolates and so much more could lead to skin issues. 

If I have a client who may suffer with acne or skin issues my first question is their water intake.  How much are they getting.  Are they drinking alot of sodas more so more than normal. Depending on the answer is where I will go with the next question and advice for treatment. 

When prepping a client for makeup I always start off with my makeup remover wipes.  I try and cleanse away any excess oil, makeup or dirt from the skin. This is key!  This should be done regardless if they said they washed their face prior to!  Depending on what they used to wash their face it may have left a film on the skin or didnt completely cleanse the face. 

Also depending on the client next I would go in with a toner.  Any brand is good.  I use one by Loreal right now but willing and shopping around for more.  I like to use the toner for clients with acne or a small breakout.  Acne usualy occurs when there is alot of oil to the skin.  The toner can take away the extra oil.

I then proceed with a moisturizer.  Also depending on the skin type I will determine which type of  moisturizer I would use.  Oil Free or a more moisturizing cream moisturizer.  I highly recommend cetaphil. 

The steps I listed above some consider a mini facial.  I consider it a must!  Good skin prep is very important for good makeup!  Plain and simpe! As a Mua I want to have flawless skin without makeup. Yes I have freckles and some moles but thats fine.  I want my skin to be flawless before my makeup is flawless!

If you have any recommendations for a great skin care line feel free to share.  I do hear that Clinique is good as well.  Thanks for stopping by! XOXO 

Bridal Consultation

Today I'm making  a post about a recent Bridal consultation that I had.  It was my first Bridal consultation of 2011.  I had touched on some bridal tips a few weeks ago and said that I would continue to do a series of Bridal tips as we head into the bridal season.  With that being said what better way to start the bridal season with a consultation. 

A consultation is so important when dealing with a a bride to be.  The consultation should be centered around what the bride's vision is for her makeup for her big day.  With the consultation you find out important things that you need to know such as :  Do she have any allergies, what foundation can't she wear, does she want airbrushing, does she need tatoos removed, where is the wedding located, how many bridesmaids will you be applying makeup for, colors of the wedding and of course the date and time of the wedding.

With my Bride to be she wore absolutely NO makeup.  I figured she'd like to look like herself but just a tad bit enhanced.  But here is were the consultation comes in and usually I find interesting once you ask the bride is there any particular eye color she'd like or anything specific.

Well my bride said her colors were a deep purple and yellow.  She picked a pretty purple and it was a plumish dark purple.  It shocked me being that she didnt wear makeup at all!  But I'm here to please the bride.  She picked the dark purple and when I swatched it for her she said it looked a lil dark.  But she had also picked a lighter purple with gold reflects to go with it.  I showed her a way to get the dark purple without it looking like a black eye!  Lol  she loved it.   I also put a lil bit of goldmine by mac in her tear duct area just to brighten her eye up and add that touch of yellow gold that she described in her color's of her wedding.

Here are a few pics of the Bride at our consultation

Items used:
Foundation: Mac Studio tech(NC40 & NC42)
Eyes: Rice paper e/s by Mac(highlight under brow arch)
         Agate e/s by Mac (outter V and crease)
         Trax e/s  by Mac (on lid and top of the agate e/s)
         Black liner on bottom and top lid(pencil liner)
         Mascarra: Falsies by Maybeline(waterproof )  
Contour & Highlight: Shadester, lightsweep, Ben nye bannana powder & emphasize
Blush: A mauve color out of my 28 bush palette
Lips:Milani lip liner pencil , Revlon Mauve creme lipstick and Oyster girl lip glass by Mac

I thought the look came out very nice considering she doesn't wear makeup at all.  I've looked at the pics several times to critique my work.  After looking at them I decided when the wedding day comes I will give her more  setting powder  and maybe warm her skin up just a tad bit more.  But all in all she was pleased!

Makeup 101 Class

So I had my first Makeup 101 class of 2011!  It definitely was an experience!  This was my first class that I had ever had and was really a little nervous but everything came out great!

I wanted to fill 15 seats but I didnt and that was truly fine being it was my first class.  I enjoyed the few that did come and it allowed me to be more personal and give that one on one attention. 

I don't know which one I was more excited about my new banner that I desgned myself, my new director's chair or the cupcakes that a client of mines daughter did just for my class!  Lol

But even I the teacher learned from the experience.  It helped me to broaden my horizon and learn from any mistakes that I may have made or see differently.  But all in all it was a great experience!

Here are a few pics of the two models that I used:

Day to Nite Natural Beauty look!  I covered her red Acne scars!  You can't tell she had them!

Smokey Eye

The Flawless Beauty Makeup 101 Cupcakes

                                                      

Plum Eyes

Today I did a look which features some plum colors. Yes it's still sort of in the purple family but I find that I'm drawn to these colors for some reason.

I used mainly two neutral palettes to achieve this look. I used my MAC neutral palette and my neutral palette that I got from Ebay which is very similar to Coastal Scents neutral palette. These are two of my everyday go to palettes. Especially when I'm on the move!

With a neutral palette you can't go wrong. This video was actually made on yesterday 2/24/11. But being that I had such a busy day yesterday I uploaded it today. I hope you enjoy and if you have any comments or questions feel free to comment below! XOXO

Products Used:

• NYX hd primer
• Coastal Scents Metal Mania palette a shimmer soft beige e/s in the inner corner
• MAC's Antiqued e/s  on the lid and outter corner
• MAC's Curduroy e/s in the crease and outter V
• MAC's Kid e/s sightly above the crease for blending
• Ebay neutral palette soft brown shimmer e/s as a highlight underneath brow arch

Last but not least I used My Loreal Carbon Black Mascarra and Nyx eyeliner also I used Loreal leuner liquid liner for my top lid!



SANITATION!!! A MUST!!

When servicing a makeup client are your hands clean?  Have you sanitized them?  Or do you just jump into applying makeup on someone and touching their face?  If so Houston We Have A Problem!!! 

Ok maybe I'm a germophobic and maybe not.  But sanitation is a must amongst makeup artist!  I take sanitation very, very, very serious!  I'm semi OCD with it especially when it comes to my hands and my makeup.  Our hands carry so much bacteria from handling money to scratching our scalps and so much more.  If you are a makeup artist and even if you are not you should sanitize your hands before applying any makeup to yourself or either a client.  Why is this important you may ask? Ummm let's just start with germs and then we will lead into bacteria!  Two words everyone should be familar with! 

• Germs are passed from person to person and are considered to be airborne
• Germs can be passed from hand shaking (you do use your hands to apply make up)
• Germs can be spread by sharing utensils so on and so forth 

Now let's get into that nasty word Bacteria:

• Bacteria can get in your makeup once you have encountered germs
• Bacteria can also be viral
• Bacteria also can spread like a raging forest fire
• Bacteria can get through the blood system and body through your cuticles and any open wound

Here I've just named a few common known facts about bacteria and germs.  There is plenty more but I just wanted to re-itterate the most common that should be known to most.  But if you are unaware now you are officially informed.

Prior to any makeup application I sanitize my hands either with alcohol or a hand sanitizer.  Either will do.  I also sanitize my makeup palette that I use to mix foundations or any creamy substance that may come in contact with my brushes, sponges or my clients face.

Its is aso important to sanitize your makeup palette's, lipstick palettes, brushes, utensils such as spatulas and even your brush belt and makeup bag or for pro artist your makeup kit bag or set bag.

For sanitizing these items such as my palettes which hold my blushes, eyeshadows, cream blushes, bronzers, lipstick palettes and cream shadows such as paint pots I use Beauty So Clean sanitizing mist.  But you don't have to  run out and purchase this to keep germs and bacteria at bay you can use alcohol in a small travel size spray bottle it will do just the same.  The important thing is that you SANITIZE! 

I can't tell you how many models I've worked on or encountered who may have had a small breakout or a cold sore and being the germaphobic that I am......I'm going to do one or two things afterwards.  I'm going to either throw the product away or utensil or either I'm going to sanitize it like nobody's business.  I may even double sanitize.  My biggest thing with sanitztion besides germs and bacteria is I'm concerned about my client.  I don't want them to have a reaction to anything that may have come in contact with germs.  

Im sure I've left out some other things that need to be sanitized on a regular basis but the key here is to be mindful of the germs and bacteria and how they can affect you or your client.  But not just you and your client but your business if you are a professional makeup artist.  I hope that this has been helpful!

Makeup Artist Reads and Must Have Books!!

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Insert of Bobbi Brown's Make Up Manual

 

Hey you all I'm back today with my Favorite Makeup Reads! I've been reading these 5 books for almost a year now. The Hair, Makeup & Styling Career Guide by Crystal Wright is the last book that I purchased which was in maybe October of last year and I'm almost finished. (Please visit: http://www.crystalwrightlive.com/). I normally can read a book depending on the book in a day or two or a week tops but when it comes to my make up books I've found that I need to go back and re-read a section or basically study a technique or get a better understanding of what I'm reading. Therefore it takes me a bit longer to read.

Actually I've finished Bobbi Brown's Makeup Manual. It was the first into my collection. When I decided to start my business I googled Makeup Artist technical books/handbooks and this is what came up and I purchased it off of Amazon. (http://www.amazon.com/). I also purchased Kevin Aucoin's books from Amazon as well. I still am looking to purchase Sam Fines "Fine Beauty" from there but I figured I needed to study these some more first before my next purchase. Plus I have Sam Fines Dvd "Fine the Basics of Beauty".

All of these books are very informative and go into great detail and explanation of contours of the face, colors, undertones and so much more! I really don't have a favorite out of these 5 books actually all of them are my favorite. But I will say that if you are an aspiring makeup artist and you are wondering how to take your skill to the next level and get your name out there and network and get your foot in somebody's door, Crystal Wrights book is the absolute best for this!! Hands down! My second recommendation if you just can't seem to understand how to get that seamless contour and highlighting to work for you or your client, Scott Barnes book delivers that and so much more! I love Scott Barnes book for the simple reason it's in color and shows great detail and has step by step bullet marks and guides. It's definitely any aspiring makeup artist's must have.
Here is some of the detail that is done inside of Scott Barnes Book! Amazing transformations.

Here below is some pics from Kevin Aucoin's book which also goes into great detail but half is in color and mostly illustrated step by step. But you get the picture and is very detailed and informative.

Once again all of these books are very informative and helpful when trying to master the art of makeup artistry. It's just not necessarily limited to a makeup artist but a makeup lover as well who just wants to look good and wear her makeup well! I hope you guys enjoyed today's post. I'm dedicating myself to posting more often. If you'd like to add a few of your favorite make up reads please by all means comment below. Thanks for reading!