Every Day Makeup

I constantly come across women who claim that they either hate makeup or they don't like how it looks "caked" on or they like the "natural" look, the excuses and responses are endless. It isn't until I dig deeper by asking questions like what exactly don't they like about makeup, the answer usually comes down to them not knowing how to apply makeup. If makeup is caked on or looks to heavy, then yes there is too much on. This process does not have to be frustrating or scary.

There are so many different foundation and concealer formulas that aren't heavy at all. Many times the formula has nothing to do with the way your makeup looks, it can be the way that you have applied it. Having a heavy hand will ensure a cakey look. A little bit can go a long way, if you need more add a little bit at a time. Add foundation or concealer wherever you NEED it, not all over your face. Make sure you are blending so you're not creating a mask or patches of an uneven complexion. Only use powder where you need it and to set any foundation or concealer that you have used. Once again do not use it all over your face.

Another alternative is to mix a little bit of foundation into your moisturizer but a little trick I do is to use two different foundation colors. Depending on my mood or the way I want to look I may also add a little dab of liquid illuminator (has a little shimmer but not too much). Make sure your brows are groomed, if they need a little fill in you can use a pencil or you can use a tinted or clear brow shaper.

For the day time, use a liner that is darker than your eye color to make your eyes POP on the top. If you're not good at drawing a straight line, draw smaller lines along your lash line and connect them when you're done. Add a little mascara, only to the top of your lashes (I like using two different type of formulas).

For cheeks, you can either use a bronzer and/or blush. The bronzer will warm up your complexion and only apply it around your hairline, chin, underneath your cheekbones. Colors like pink and corals will instantly brighten your face. Choose a lip product, it can be a tinted lip balm, gloss, or lipstick.

So these are the steps:

1.  Skincare is important: Cleanse, tone, moisturize, SPF is always last!!!
2.  Spot concealer/foundation where needed.
3.  Use powder sparingly, to set concealer/foundation.
4.  Groom Brows
5.  Use liner & add mascara
6.  Bronzer & Blush
7.  Lip product: Gloss, lipstick, or tinted balm

On any given day, you can bypass a step or two but never step #1. I hope that this help those of you who have a hard time with Makeup. Makeup is fun, and it's not a replacement for natural beauty only an enhancement.

Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes!

This movie was nothing but pure heart. I won't spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it but this is a must see movie and will be a great addition to anyone's DVD collection. John Lithgow's performance was superb to say the least but it was Andy Serkis who played the main chimp as Ceasar who stole the entire movie. His performance brings a whole other understanding when it comes to acting without verbal dialogue. There are some nice surprises in this film that will make the transition into the sequel seamless. Rupert Wyatt's vision for the prequel of this franchise was beautifully executed and the writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, created a powerful story full of characters that completely draws you into what is happening throughout the film.

I haven't seen the original Planet of the Apes from 1968 with Charlton Heston, and I can't remember all of Tim Burton's 2001 remake with Mark Wahlberg and I didn't see the T.V. shows either. With saying that, this movie is a great way to get acquainted with the brand.

2012 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim Wear in Miami!!!!

The backdrop to this amazing show was none other than Miami South Beach, Florida. Very different from where I'm currently living which is Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was beautiful and hot but I enjoyed the pleasant breeze that the ocean brought, it reminded me a lot of Santa Monica, California.

I arrived in Miami on Thursday in the afternoon and stayed at the Marriot Biscayne Bay Hotel in Miami, which was a 10-15 minute drive across the bridge to South Beach. The hotel was beautiful and this was the view from my room:

That's my friend Maria Barreda, who also worked the show. Here's another photo from the balcony

The hotel had good food and our breakfast was included which saved us a pretty penny. After settling in we met most of the team for dinner that night for sushi! We worked on the Make Up For Ever team with James Vincent as the Key Makeup Artist. Other members included: Orlando Santiago, Bethany Townes,  Stephanie Flor, Francisco Cathedral, Angelique Velez, Roshar, Mari Shten, and Maria Barreda. It was amazing and an honor to work with a group of talented artists. I worked five shows beginning with Beach Bunny Swimwear.

Here's the look that was created for this beautiful line:

 

Now, let me explain something. All Key Artists are not the same, when working for/with someone for the first time, they may not have you work on a full face first. And that's not to say that you aren't capable of doing so but it's wherever they need you at that time. Some may have you just clean brushes, do only lips, body makeup, etc. For this collection, Maria and I were responsible for the liner and lash applications. Doing this allowed for us as a team to be able to get the models done in a faster time frame. 

From left to right: Maria Barreda, Bethany Townes, ME, and Stephanie Flor.

And here's the show:

The next day we did two designers. The first was Dolores Cortes, the look was colorful and vivid but lips were kept natural. 

The second designer was Aqua Di Lara. The look was so beautiful with a sultry sexy edge. This was the show that I did a full face, and this was my beautiful model:

 

On my last day, which was Sunday. The team worked two designers:

 The look for this show was very natural with gold, brown, and taupe colors. 

The last designer I worked was Luxe by Lisa Vogel:

 

This is also the day that the weather acted out on the fashion world and started raining like cats and dogs. We were all thankful that the tent didn't cave in, although we did encounter a leak or two. The show went on as planned. Overall, I had an amazing time and experience. The models were nice, the team I was fortunate to be apart of was the BEST!!!! Mr. James Vincent was an AMAZING leader who I can't begin to thank enough. 

Last but not least, if you're ever in Miami Beach, you MUST go to the Famous David's Cafe Cuban Cuisine. The food and flavor is so good, I went there twice once I tried the Churrasco, they have a small one called baby Churrasco and the next time I went I tried the Masas de Puerco which is marinated fried pork chunks, both were seasoned WELL!!! I hope you all have enjoyed my journey down memory lane. 

My Journey of Landing my 1st Make-up Job on a Movie Set!

That day seems so long ago, well it actually was, 10 years ago to be exact. My friend Tracy and I had done a couple of music videos, photo shoots, and a shoot for a hair magazine (which is another post all together). Around that time we had dabbled in makeup enough to pull off certain jobs but we didn't have any experience in the Film Industry. So our game plan was to submit ourselves as PA's (Production Assistants), which is basically running around and doing any and every thing. Such as getting coffee, running errands inside and outside of production, the possibilities are endless with that title. We figured we could at least learn proper movie set etiquette and build up a rapport with Producers, Directors, and other Makeup Artists.

We submitted to any and every movie on Craigslist, Backstage West, and other internet film job sites. When we got a call from a producer, who wanted to meet with us we were so excited! So we made the drive from Santa Monica, CA to the valley (North Hollywood), at that time it seemed far because when you drive on the 405 it usually takes forever no matter where you go. We arrived at a house, (which isn't uncommon for Independent Movies) gave each other a prep talk, grabbed our resumes and knocked on the door.

As we're interviewing with the producer, he gives us the word that we have the job. We started asking him questions about production and what positions he still needed to fill and he tells us that he hasn't filled the Makeup Artist position yet. We looked at each other and then at him, and at the same time blurted out, "We're Makeup Artists, we can do it"! He then asks us can we do Special Effects Makeup, we were honest and told him that we've never done it before but we assured him that we could handle what he was asking for the film. He asked for a couple of days to think about it, so we agreed and left the house.

Tracy and I talked in the car and we knew we didn't want to leave the decision up to him solely on just our word of being able to do Special Effects Makeup. We drove down to the popular bookstore "Samuel French" on Sunset Boulevard and purchased, "The Complete Make-Up Artist" by Penny Delamar. This book had instructions on how to do cuts, bruises, wounds, everything. We picked up Tracy's younger sister and started applying all of these cuts and bruises on her, and gave her a bloody lip. We called the producer on the phone and asked him could we stop by again to show him some of our work, and  he agreed. Little did he know we were bringing an actual person, who by the way received many looks in the car because she looked like a battered and bruised woman. We get to the producer's house, knock on the door, he opens it and we do this hand gesture like ta-da! Like look at what we did. He bursts out laughing because he couldn't believe that we were so motivated to do all of this on the same day that we had just met him. He gave us the job on the spot! It was the best feeling in the world, we walked out of his house calmly and got into the car and screamed our heads off. And then the phone rings, it's the producer and he says "I can hear you screaming in your car". We apologized, hung up and drove off and continued to have our celebration.