Elicia

Hello All!
It's been awhile since I've posted anything, and since most of my work wont' be coming out for a little while, I thought I'd post something fun. It's just some beauty shots that would just go into my port, but Elicia is super pretty and I think it's a nice break to see something a little more "natural" (Although I know we all love teal lips every now and then ;D )

Savvy Magazine

Hello All!
I thought I'd pop in and post the story I did with Maiara Walsh from Desperate Housewives for the latest issue of Savvy Magazine. The photographer was the talented Paul Sebring. Enjoy!

Chiffon Magazine "Red" Issue

Hello all!
The "Red" Issue for Chiffon Magazine is live! Here is the beauty section, but you can check out the entire magazine at www.chiffonmagazine.com

AIRbrushing made easy

This past Friday I received the new Temptu AIRbrush Makeup System (Thanks Fawn!) and I must say I was quite impressed and happy with the initial results.



I've been airbrushing models and clients on a professional level for the past 4 years. I must say that for the seasoned artist, it only takes a couple of hours to pick up the basics and the more practice one gets the better. So when I heard about Temptu's new system designed for the savvy cosmetic consumer to use on herself, I was a little skeptical. How would the customer be able to choose the best setting for her so that she doesn't get any product in her eye? Will she be able to tell if she has the gun too close to her face and create a tell-tale sploch of makeup on her otherwise flawless face? So many "what if's " were swirling around my mind that honestly I didn't know if this system would take off.

I should have known better! The good people at Temptu are the masters of airbrush and know what they are doing. This system was created by pro's who were inspired by professional airbrush systems and make tweaks in design to make it virtually fool-proof.

Used in conjunction with AIR pod™ makeup, the AIRbrush system delivers a wide range of shades, from cool and light to deep and warm, making it appropriate for all women, regardless of age, ethnicity, skintone, undertone, style, or preference. And it's true. The compressor is cleverly designed with three setting. The lightest one would be perfect to apply blush or a highlighter. The medium setting is great for a light coating of foundation. The highest setting is great for a heavier coverage, especially for those with alot of redness or uneven skin tone.

The only qualm about the system (and it's actually not the system itself) would be the scent of the products in the AIRpods. It has a slight baby powder smell which some people love, but I could see just as many others who aren't so hot on it.

All in all, I found this to be a fantastic system. I can't wait to try it on myself soon. The model definitely gave it a thumbs up!

Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week

Hello all!

I'm sorry for the lag in posts (again!), it's just been a busy month! Last night I had the pleasure to work with some great people (hair, makeup and models!) on the fashion shows for Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week.

My favorite designer of the night was Louis Verdad and his Spring/Summer 2010 Louver Collection. I loved soo many pieces! All the models in his show were all African-American women that ranged in skin color and the effect was so stunning. Verdad was inspired by the "Black Out" issue of Vogue and his show started with images of strong, influential African-American women. I also have one from the "Emerging Artists" show, designer Krys N' Jack.

While I did makeup for four models, it seems the cameras loved one in particular! So I have posted a couple of pictures of them. Don't you just love the navy blue dress? If you want to check out some images of the gorgeous outfits, you can do a google image search or log onto wire image, Getty Images or Life Images to sneak a peek.

I was also supposed to be working today, but it started raining yesterday and I even though I had an umbrella my feet got wet and I had to drive home that way, and I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and slight chills. So I had to bow out for tonight.

I hope I will be able to blog a little more frequently as some great projects are in the works :)

Desperately Gorgeous

Hello All!
I am sorry it's been so long since I've updated the blog, but lots of things have been going on!

Firstly, my niece Alexandria was born on September 14th (The Drs. induced my sister-in-law) and she came out weighing a whopping 11 lbs and 1 ounce and just shy of 2 feet long! Big baby :D Unfortunately, she was born with PPHD (hypertension in newborns) and was transported to UCLA medical center and admitted to the NICU. On Friday she was moved to Miller Children's Hospital in Long Beach and if all continues to go well, she should be coming home later on this week! We definitely some scares along the way, but she has made a turn for the better and we are all pulling for her!

Secondly, I had the opportunity to meet and work with Maiara Walsh, who plays Gabby's niece on Desperate Housewives. Not only was she gorgeous on the outside, but a really lovely person on the inside as well. We were shooting for Savvy Magazine (www.savvymag.net) and here are a few "behind the scenes" pics. We shot 7 looks total. I will post the spread from the magazine once I get sent a physical copy.

Also, the shoot I did with Jessica Kinni and photographer Paul Sebring should be coming out the first week of October so I will definitely post those tears once I get the magazine.

For now, enjoy the pics I snapped with my Iphone of the lovely Maiara Walsh!

Chiffon Magazine Cover and Beauty Story

Hello All!
No new niece yet (while I cannot wait to meet her, the longer she stays in the oven, the better!) but some more new stuff to show!

I know I've spoken volumes about Courtney Dailey, an amazing photographer who is also my dear friend. Well, Courtney has created a new magazine called "Chiffon" (www.chiffonmagazine.com) that is described as "an artist created and run fashion/culture magazine".

I am honored that she has chosen me to be the beauty editor of this fabulous magazine. Courtney of course is the senior editor and our other friend Giorgia Severino, who is a fantastic fashion stylist, is the fashion editor.

Our first issue just launched a few days ago, so I thought I would share the cover and the beauty story that Courtney and I created that features Ford model, Beau Dunn. Enjoy!

SCRATCH Magazine Spread and Jessica Kinni shoot for UNIQ Lifestyle Magazine

Hello All!

Lots of things going on around here lately! Firstly, the August issue of SCRATCH magazine finally came out and I can now show you the lovely cover and spread! Fun times :)

Here is the cover. This was the sneak peek picture I showed you a couple of months back.



Next is page one. Don't you love the green??



And here is page two. There is a collage of the remaining pictures. Bright colors for summer is always fun :)



Secondly, I had an incredible shoot with photographer Paul Sebring last week for an editorial in his magazine UNIQ Lifestyle. We were lucky enough to shoot the lovely and super sweet Jessica Kinni (you may have seen her on "Rock of Love" and "Charm School" as well as a host for VH1's internet shows). We shot at the drool worthy Chic Little Devil studios in Downtown LA with some really incredible views. Here are a few "behind the scenes" pics:

The fabulous view from the roof



The aforementioned drool-worthy racks and racks of clothes, shoes, bags and jewelry at Chic Little Devil



Jessica's first look. What an amazing view of the buildings of Downtown LA



Jessica's second look. Love the couch and accessories!



Paul and Jessica



And last but not least, Jessica's final look. So glamorous!




Hopefully next time I come on to blog, my sister in law will have already delivered my newest niece (and first goddaughter!) Alexandria! My sister in law has been going into false labor for a few days now, but hopefully in a week or so little Alexandria will be ready to say hello to the world :)

Oops!

Just a quick update, some followers said they couldn't see my Hawaii and On-Set pics, so I have fixed those for ya in case you couldn't see them either. Thanks!

Summer Vacations and Getting Back To Work

Aloha Everyone!
I am so sorry I've been sort of neglecting my blog lately :( These past few weeks have been incredibly busy yet wonderful, and I just wanted to give an update and rave about a new product or two!

First of all, I was busily preparing for my birthday/big summer vacation trip to Oahu, Hawaii namely Waikiki Beach! I had never been to Hawaii and was very excited to go. This is the view from our window as we were preparing to land. Isn't it beautiful?


This was the view from one of our balconies.


It was incredible! We were able to see the largest fireworks show on Oahu perfectly from here. I couldn't have asked for a better 4th of July!


I was very sad to leave, but I know I will go back soon :)

Anyways, I've had quite a bit of work lately (which is great!) so that is why I haven't really had the energy to blog, but I'm fully recharged and ready to go with a couple of product reviews and a shot from yesterday's commercial shoot.



I recently fell head over heels in love with Too Faced Cosmetics Metal Eyed Liquid Metallic Liner. What I love about it is that it isn't a glittery liner like Urban Decay's (although we all know a good glitter liner has it's time and place and can be quite wonderful!) but this is rather a highly metallic liner. I love to use it all over the lid as a basis for an incredibly smokey eye.



I am also digging Gerda Spillmann Bio-Fond foundation. This little gem is what American Idol's key makeup artist uses on the contestants, and I can see why. It's a creme foundation that delivers a heavy medium-to-full coverage without looking or feeling heavy. An added bonus? They petite sizes that are perfect to de-pot and stick into your Yaby palettes (Freestyle or the 8-well ones) are only $16 this month. Joy! You can get the most popular colors for under $80 and they will last you forever as you don't need very much of the product at all.

I will be back in a few days with some exciting updates!

I love a good highlight

For those who do makeup (whether on yourself or on other people's faces for a living) regularly, you will understand where I am coming from. There are certain aspects of the face that you become semi-obsessed with. It might be the brows. I was pretty obsessed with full, thick, luscious brows a couple of years ago. If a model had ample brow hair, I would be there brushing through them, adding a little brow powder here and there, more brushing, and then finally lightly gelling them into place. *You can see a good example of this phase below*


I know someone who is currently experimenting with the perfect foundation-to-luminzer ratio that will give the skin a healthy glow without looking dewy. You would think she is trying to prove a molecular theory with the amount of work she has put in. But it's important to her nonetheless, and I know exactly where she is coming from.

These days, I am obsessed with highlighting. And not just the act of highlighting but finding the products that impart that almost natural sheen to the high points of the face. After much experimenting and product testing, I have found some products that I realize I must always have in my kit just for this purpose.

Make Up For Ever Shine On Compact Powders


These are absolutely gorgeous highlighting powders and I really don't know what I would do without them. The give the skin a luminosity that is not sparkly or glittery. I will describe it as almost iridescent. If you are able to play with them you must!

Smashbox Soft Lights in Tint

Wow. Just wow. Tint is a fabulous color for medium-t0-deep skin tones. It's a mixture of peach, pink, gold, apricot and champagne which looks just heavenly on warmer, deeper skin tones to highlight, and even more so when the light catches is just so. I daresay you could use it as a blush on lighter skin...

Benefit Hollywood Glo


While I am a huge fan of powder highlighters to gently sweep across cheekbones and the bridges of noses, I am definitely all for mixing a highlighting creme with foundation. I love Hollywood Glo when I am not only applying makeup to the face, but the body as well. It's as if I crushed dark beige colored pearl and sprinkled it into foundation. It's creamy and dreamy and I love it!

Kevyn Aucoin Beauty Liquid Shimmer in Gold



For beautiful, deep complexions with a golden undertone my go to product would be Kevyn Aucoin's Beauty Liquid Shimmer in Gold. Again, I mix this more into the foundation rather than actually applying it on top of the skin just because a drop or two adds just the right amount of luminosity and the pure gold color is spot on. Gorgeous!

Until I become obsessed with another aspect of the face, I will revel in sculpting my talent's faces with highlighters and allow myself a little moment of "ooooh" every now and again ;)



Model: Brandie
Makeup: Moi
Photographer: Courtney Dailey

Let's Go Viral!

Wow! Two blog posts in one day? This has got to be a record ;)

Just a quick post - Remember when I posted about the gorgeous model with the fabulous lips? Well, Courtney Dailey worked on those images and made them into cool little pics to be passed on to friends or those who just love a pretty picture :)

Here they are and feel free to forward them to anyone you would like! We want them to go viral :D

SCRATCH Magazine

Good news!! The photograph I posted under the title "Nailed It", along with the rest of the series (there are about 5 other pictures) were picked up for the August issue of the UK magazine "SCRATCH" !

We will get the cover (the turquoise nails and lips) as well as an editorial inside.

As much as I want to share the rest of pictures with you *they are gorgeous* I cannot until they come out in the magazine :( But I promise to post them as soon as the mag comes out :)

Behind the Scenes - A Week of Shoots

Last week was quite busy for me as I had three shoots scheduled. Two were tests with models and one was a commercial shoot.

The first of the week was with a model for possible stock photos (yay for $$$!) and also for portfolio building purposes.

Here is a quick behind the scenes shot of the first shoot of the week (stock):


We also did some on-location that day, but because I was helping hold the reflector, I couldn't snag some photos with my phone.

The next shoot of the week was with this GORGEOUS Australian model who relocated to Los Angeles and had the most gorgeous face. At certain angles she reminded me of Angelina Jolie.

We did some really clean looks and then we did a creative lip series. Since she has such fantastic lips, we did a look with some red glitter, super shiny iridescent gloss and one with about 7 or 8 different colors melded together. I cannot wait to get the pictures from this shoot back! I was so excited I didn't want to take any phone pictures as that would just not have done the looks justice.

Last but not least was a commercial shoot on Saturday. It went very smoothly and I think they will be a good set of commercials. Here are a couple of pictures from my vantage point on set:





(In the photo above you can see my lovely set bag. I love it so much! If you are wondering the brand, it's from Luxor Pro. It is so light but hold LOTS of products).

And there you have it! As promised, as soon (and I mean the minute they arrive in my inbox) I will post the lovely lip series from my mid-week shoot.

Lip Service

Hooray! I finally received the final pictures from a shoot I did about a month ago with Courtney. First we did some really clean looks, and then let loose with a fun beauty series focusing on just the lips, playing with color and texture.

I think they came out very well, and our lovely model Jolette did such a great job. I've posted them below.

As far as products, Surprisingly, I didn't use an actual "lip product" on any of the looks. I played scientist and mixed some products together to get what I wanted. For the pink and purple lips, I used my trusty Yaby eyeshadows mixed with Face Atelier transforming gel and topped with a clear gloss, while the yellow lips were actually Cinema Secrets creme makeup, and since it was super emollient, no gloss was needed.

Hope you enjoy the pictures! I will post a snippet about my quick and fun shoot today on Friday.

Picture #1 from "Nailed It" shoot

I was beyond excited to get the first photo from the shoot I mentioned in my "Nailed It" post this morning. I think it's gorgeous, but I will let you decide ;) I cannot wait for photo #2 :)

Nailed It

Last Thursday I was fortunate enough to do a shoot with Courtney, a beautiful model and a fantastic manicurist. It is truly rare to have a manicurist on set, unless of course nails will be featured or be a central part of the story. Other than that, I am usually required to have a mini manicure set on hand in case a little touch up is necessary.

Having Julie on board was fantastic! We did two looks, one with a vibrant turquoise nail color paired with long nails. We kept the look rather simple on that look with clean skin, no liner (just a few false individual lashes thrown in for a slightly more "oomphed" natural eye), groomed brows and no blush. Just a little contour powder and gloss topped off with slicked back hair. I think it turned out rather well with the nails and the lips stealing the scene.

The second look was pretty much the opposite. Jule trimmed the nails and gave them an "inverted half moon" shape topped with a shimmery granite color polish. It was fabulous! I created a smokey eye with slate and granted colored shadows as the lid and accent shades and contrasted the crease with a warm coppery bronze color. We also used extensions in black to give the picture a dark and mysterious mood.

I loved the way both the looks were executed and shot, and couldn't thank Julie and Courtney enough for the quick and fantastic shoot. These shots will definitely be going into my book. Below are some behind the scenes pictures of the shoot...Well, the first look anyways. My Iphone died sometime between the last picture and my completion of the second look. Enjoy!


Since we were shooting from the shoulders up, our lovely model didn't have to "strip down" and only needed to wear a flesh colored sports bra. Much easier to shop out :)

Below are some key products I used on the shoot. I am so happy to have them in my kit as they produced such stellar results.

Embryolisse 24 hour miracle cream


It truly is a miracle cream. Just a little dab on the 5 points of the face and you (or your model) will have creamy dreamy skin almost immediately. This product has saved my skin on more than one occasion.

Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Powder


While this powder looks to be an unusual shade, it is fabulous for creating natural looking shadows/contours. I've had more than one person call me a miracle worker because of this amazing powder.

Face Atelier Lip Glaze In Cameo


I thought I couldn't live without my Peach and Flamingo Lip Glazes from Face Atelier (Well...I can't!) and after the Makeup Show in March, I realize I can't live without Cameo either. This is a perfect shade to create the coveted "nude lip" in light medium to medium deep skin tones. Gorgeous!

Face Atelier Transforming Gel


What do we have here...another product from Face Atelier! It's a great line, what can I say? You might have noticed that gorgeous shade of turquoise on my model's lip. While I would like to say that I am fully equipped with every shade of lipstick known to man, my kit (and my back!) couldn't handle that load. So I do what any makeup artist who wants to really pare down their kit does: Carry this little baby! I actually mixed a Yaby eyeshadow and pearl paint together with the transforming gel and I instantly had a yummy aqua lipstick. Transforming Gel, I love thee!!

Yaby Pearl Paints


These little darlings are the basis of the fantastic range of colors in my kit. With my pearl paint palette, I have any color liner, lipstick, eyeshadow or whatever I may need at my finger tips (paired with my Face Atelier transforming gel of course!) One of my kit staples. Love them!

Stay tuned for some pictures of my last shoot and a behind the scenes from another shoot!