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 :)

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 :)

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.

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!

A shoot with Allie

A few weeks back when it was still nice and sunny here in L.A., Courtney and I did a shoot with Allie Sims. She's a really sweet girl and was loads of fun to work with. What made the shoot even better was the fact that we got to choose wardrobe from a clothing designer just down the hall from Courtney's studio.

We picked out some lovely feminine dresses, and to compliment the wardrobe I created a look that was soft and delicate, yet sexy at the same time.

I first lightly curled and set Allie's hair. Once the curls cooled and I brushed them out, I sprayed a mist of shine gloss to bring out her highlights.





As a foundation (literally) I used my beloved Make Up For Ever HD foundation


For the eyes, I choose to create a smokey eye using a peachy-gold pearl paint from my beloved YABY palette

false lashes and a lightly smudged line on the top and bottom lids with Rimmel London Kohl Kajal Liner in Sable *love these liners!*


For Allie's lovely brows I couldn't use anything else but my trusty YABY brow powder


And Bourjois' Sourcil Animation in Brun *I have these in every color*


To Give Allie's cheeks a healthy glow, I opted to use Tarte's Cheek Stain in Tipsy


To top off the look I wanted a flirty pink pout and reached for my much loved Face Atlier Lip Glaze in Flamingo *seriously some of the best lip gloss I have tried*





As always, whenever I get to play with my makeup I have a great time and even more so when when it's my favorite all-girl team :)