Thursday, June 18, 2009

Pompdour Hairstyle Tutorial

Here's some pictures of the final product:




Makeup School

Hey guys and gals!! Sooooo, I have a lot of people asking me on YouTube for advice on schools, or how do you freelance without a license? orrr how do you find jobs? Orr...Anything along those lines.

-I cannot give advice on school, obviously because I never went. And obviously you do not NEED to go to school. Lottie, is a much MUCH better example of someone who did NOT attend school and is now agency repped and has a fantastic, mind blowing portfolio. From my understanding, you only need school/license if you wish to work in a salon doing facials and such (esthetician-sp?) If you want to work in movies and do SFX makeup - then possibly take some classes. While I appreciate that artform, I am not interested in doing it. If I ever have the desire though, I will take classes. And even then, as Leesha (aka Xsparkage on YouTube) always says Google is your best friend. If you are truly committed and interested in learning something, anything!! - doesn't have to be makeup - you can and will teach yourself. The internet is a fantastic resource. Put your search engines to work! (I prefer google)

-Networking, networking, networking!! Every job I've ever had has either been through networking or craigslist (rarely, just for extra cash - nothing I would have in my portfolio) YOU must seek out your jobs until you become big enough that they fall in your lap or become agency repped (which is the same kinda thing) The agencies find you the jobs - but they also get a cut of your $dough$

-Expect to not be paid when building your portfolio. 9 times out of 10 you are paid in photos. So choose who you work with wisely (in regards to models, photographers AND stylists) If you spend 5 hours on a shoot and you HATE the photos - oh well! Artists building their book (myself included) rarely are paid for photoshoots. I was only paid with $$$ for about 3 of the shoots I've done. I've been paid for all fashion shows I've done aside from 2.

-Working for MAC. MAC once hired artists. This is not the case anymore. They hire sales robots that will look cute and push products on people. If you can do makeup - even better!! Although it's not a requirement. Artistry has taken a backseat to sales since Estee Lauder acquired them. There are absolutely NO requirements needed to work for MAC. Feel free to apply. They look for cutesy people, who will dress in a trendy manner and have a bubbly, extroverted personality. If you have sales experience - fantastic!! They're more apt to hire you with sales experience. Allow me to say this though. MAC is NOT the end all BE ALL of the industry. Working at a counter or store does not MAKE YOU A PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP ARTIST. They do have a great training program so milk it for all it's worth but don't for a second think that working at a mac counter or store will really get you anywhere in the makeup world unless you do everything one would do who doesn't work for mac to make a name for themselves - network, seek out jobs, build a portfolio etc. Sure, you can wait around and try and try to become a trainer. It *might* happen. You can also try to become a Senior Artist. But realize that at that point - MAC controls and runs your entire life. Senior Artists I know travel the world - attend/work fashion week in Paris, NY etc, they participate in photoshoots or music videos - Yay!! HOWEVER. MAC OWNS YOU. You are NOT allowed to use images from any photoshoot in your portfolio - MAC owns the rights to those images. So what? You have time to set up your own shoots on your day off! LMFAO! What days off?!? You're constantly traveling. Constantly representing MAC and having to be bubbly 24/7 even if you dont feel like it. Every trainer or senior artist I know - during their downtime, which is RARE - sleeps, hangs out with friends or goes on vacation where they can wind down. They NEED a break. And they are paid a salary. So they may work 12 hours a day - on their feet doing makeup for 2 weeks straight - and they're not paid any extra. Last I heard (and this could be very VERY wrong) they're paid somewhere between $50k and $75k Most retail managers for MAC make more.

And do you know just how competitive it is? How many stores/counters are in a region? Here, in a city as small as San Francisco - there's 6 - which is probably about 80 employees - that's just a city - not a region. So when and if a spot for trainer even opens up - you might be competing against at least 20 other people. And the spots don't open up too often.

I am not speaking for or against MAC - just giving you the info. It can be a very fun company to work - but realize at the end of the day, you're a salesperson, not necessarily a makeup artist. YES! You CAN be both. But the chances of you making it big while working for mac are slim to none. But it can be a great stepping stone as long as one doesn't get sucked into continuing to work there for years upon years because it can limit you *if* you wish to "make it" in the fashion industry. If you dont care and just wanna do weddings on the side - that's your forte - then rock on!!

Ok, I'm ending my rambling lol.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

New Channel, IMATS & new tutorial

I realized that a lot of people have channels just for fun stuff so I created a non-makeup channel that can be found here.

I'm super *excited* for the IMATS! After a lot of consideration and funding, I decided to go. I'm hoping it will be useful for networking on the west coast since I'm back over here for the time being. Now that I can edit videos, I will be posting a video when I return :)

Josh (Petrilude) asked me to do a tutorial to feature on his channel so here it is!






Products Used:
Desirious Blush (MAC)
Beautiful Iris Eyeshadow (MAC)
Sundrenched cream color base (MAC)
Mango pigment (Calypso Mineral Beauty)
Sushi Flower Eyeshadow (MAC)
Whatever pigment (Calypso Mineral beauty)
Motif Eyeshadow (MAC)
Pink Bronze Pigment (MAC)
Burnt Burgandy Pigment (MAC)
Bright Fuschia Pigment (MAC)
Black Liquid Liner (Prestige)
Black Mascara (Maybelline)
Spiked Brow Pencil (MAC)
Red Cherry Lashes
Feather Lashes (bottom) - http://www.eeyelash.com

Lips: Magenta and Vino lipliner (MAC), Motif Eyeshadow (MAC) & Lustrewhite Lustreglass (MAC)

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Color Theory 101



Primary Colors (cannot be mixed from any other colors):
Red, Blue & Yellow

Secondary Colors (Two primary colors mixed together):
Orange, Green & Violet

Tertiary Colors (One primary color mixed with one secondary color):
example - Yellow &Green = Yellow-Green (aka Juxt or Bitter eyeshadow by MAC)

Warm Colors:
Red, orange & Yellow

Cool Colors:
Green, Blue & Violet

Tint:
White added to any color

Tone:
Gray added to any color

Shade:
Black added to any color

Complementary colors:
Combining any two colors (including their various tints, tones and shades) that are opposite of one another on the color wheel. Example: Green & Red / Blue & Orange / Violet & Yellow

Analogous colors:
Any colors (including their various tints, tones and shades) that are directly next to one another on the color wheel. Example: red-violet & red / Blue-violet & violet

All the science aside, if you want basic answers here ya go!!

Blue eyed individuals look good in warm tones, especially anything orange. Peachy lipsticks or blushes. Even orangey browns or copper tones. Anything warm based.

Green eyed individuals look good in warm tones as well, especially anything based in red. Pinks and coral will suffice, but the deeper the color - the more red it has in it - the more it will accentuate your eyes.

Brown eyed individuals look good in cooler tones. Most brown eyes have rusty undertones or golden undertones - wearing blue or purple will help to bring these out more.

Concealing...

When concealing a red mark on your face, use a green color corrector. For yellowing (age spots, jaundice), use a very light violet based concealer to correct it prior to wearing foundation.

Why does green conceal red yet they enhance each other? huh? Explain.

Adding green over red neutralizes it. Colors all have different wavelengths and the photoreceptors in your eyes view colors differently. there's certain receptors for certain colors (which is why some people are color blind - theycan't distinguish between green and red). So say you stare at something red for like a minute straight. A truly vibrant red. Then look at a white wall. You'll see a spot of Green (or rather Cyan) instead. This is because the photoreceptors in your eyes that receive red are tired from overload of receiving too much red! So rather than seeing white (which is made up of red, cyan & blue) - you're seeing solely the cyan & blue - which is greenish in color. So now instead of a white wall - think of the white of an eyeball. but instead of looking at a plain white wall - there happens to be a greenish spot in the middle (your iris) - now after your photoreceptors have been worn out by viewing that vibrant red lipstick or red-violet eyeshadow (hepcat-mac) - the green of your iris will only be enhanced THAT much more. Make sense?! Sorry I know it's a little intense scientifically - but that's the only way I can explain it.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Custom Color Faux Lashes



Products used:


Iris Eyes Fluidline (MAC), Beautiful Iris eyeshadow (MAC), false lashes.




^Flash


^No Flash

Contouring & a Classic Red Lip

...along with my own favorite variations on the classic red lip.







^With Pink bronze pigment and Lustrewhite Lustreglass


^With Sequin (Calypso Mineral Beauty)

Products used:

Lips
Cherry lipliner (MAC)
Roccoco Lipstick (MAC)
lipbrush
Pink Bronze pigment (MAC)
Sequin (Calypso Mineral Beauty)
Lustrewhite Lustreglass (MAC)

Face & Body
NW55 Studio Stick Foundation (MAC)
-0 foundation (Face Altilier)
Sunsparked Pearl Beauty Powder (MAC)
Taupe Blush (MAC)

Friday, June 5, 2009

Beauty on A Budget!!

All you high-end makeup lovers, give drugstore makeup a chance before you knock it! The drugstore has many hidden jewels just waiting to be discovered. Below are some of my favorite products.


^Without flash


^With flash


Products I used: Prestige Flushed eyeshadow, Wet and Wild #863 liquid liner, MIlani Mango Tango blush and Prestige Melba eyeshadow on cheeks. Prestige lipstick in Passion and Loreal Color Juice gloss in Strawberry Smoothie.




^These are the swatches from my video.
Liquid Liners (T-B):
Pop Star, Azure, Icon, Fame, Envy (all by prestige)and #863 by Wet and Wild.
Shadows (T-B): Silver, Bullet (milani), Flushed (prestige), Golden Retriever (Prestige), Melba (prestige), Moonlight (milani)

Hair Dye

So last night I finally dyed my hair (thank god, because it was looking pretty orangey). In any case, I took photos of before and after to give you all an idea. The dye I use is by Loreal-Feria #R37 Blowout Burgandy.

Before


^See the firey orangeness?!?

After

Monday, June 1, 2009

Mermaid "Mask" Tutorial







Previous years as a mermaid: