YTV Bumpers!

So yesterday I got to do my FIRST agency job! Considering it was my first I'd say it was a pretty big one. I got called last minute on Monday to fill in for another MUA who was sick. I got to be the Key MUA/Hair for a bunch of YTV Bumpers (promo ads) all revolving around a young magician. For those in Europe YTV is a kids TV network in the US and Canada...it's pretty big (at least to me).

So I was a bit nervous the night before b/c I literally had no info except my call time and location on Tues. Thankfully, my nerves were quickly put to rest once I was on set. Everyone on set was totally nice and what I had to do was super easy. One lead guy (the young magician Neil) and 3 sort of background teen actors. The magician Neil was a really nice young guy and he did some really cool tricks for us.

Thankfully the weather held out for us too. I was afraid of rain and in the morning it was super hot but it did cool down thankfully. So after the initial makeup I literally just had to powder all day (how easy is that)! Plus the food on set was AMAZING! I'm so use to doing crappy indie film work where they feed you crap food that it was so nice to have some great catering on set!

I was actually kind of hoping the MUA would be sick for the next two days of scheduled shooting but unfortunately for me she was fine for Weds. Still YTV is a great first credit to add to my agency resume and I was Key which is totally cool. I mean I didn't even have to assist anyone.

On another positive note I got my second agency job tomorrow! I'm working on a music video which is cool. What's scary is that I've actually agreed to a Key Hair Position. Not even doing makeup...JUST HAIR! This is beyond scary to me if you must know b/c hair is definitely not my strongest area. I've been trying to get better of course but I am after all still a makeup artist first and hair second. But guess what for all those newbies out there sometimes that happens. Sometimes even as an MUA you get called in to do Hair! So everyone wish me major luck tomorrow and I'm sure I'll have a story to tell :S ...hopefully a good one! I just need to keep tell myself - Fake It Till You Make It!

2 Weddings, 2 Cities, 1 DAY!

Last weekend I had the stressful pleasure of actually pulling off two weddings, in two different cities in 1 DAY! Oh did I mention one was my half brother's and I was doing the makeup for it lol!

Yeah so I had one wedding in London, ON - my brother's. I went to the rehearsal dinner and ceremony for that one (full Catholic service 1.5 hrs later :S lol) and then hoped on a train to Windsor, ON (my hometown) for the reception of a second wedding that my boyfriend was standing up in. I actually knew the groom from high school too. Definitely a LONG DAY. I was up at 6:30 am getting ready for the one b/c I kind of had to get ready before the bride and bridemaids arrived to my hotel room. Plus the ceremony happened to be unusually early - 11:30 and the girls (2 bridesmaids and the bride) were arriving from getting their hair done at my room at 9:15 and had to be makeup ready and dressed by 11:00. I did another bridesmaid earlier in the morning at 7:30 before she went and got her hair done.

Overall, it went really well and the girls were so easy to work on. I mean all of them were naturally beautiful so it wasn't exactly hard work to make them look their best. All of them wanted a pretty similar look which was fine w/ me b/c I never actually got to perform my usual mandatory trial on the bride b/c she lives in Montreal. I did a bronzy/brown smokey eye w/ more of a nude lip and a peach gloss. Added lashes to the bride and I really think it opened up her eyes a lot. She had never had false lashes before so it's always funny when a girl sees herself for the first time w/ them how different she thinks she looks. All the girls were super happy w/ their makeup which made me so happy b/c w/out a trial the last thing I wanted was for Ania (the bride) to hate her makeup on her special day. Can't wait to see the pics and add them to my bridal portfolio. I just hope the makeup lasted throughout the whole day b/c I wasn't their for touch-ups, but I did leave a touch-up kit w/ one of the bridesmaids w/ lip gloss, translucent powder and a puff and oil absorbing papers for oily skin.

The Windsor reception was nice and the food was great (definitely indulged A LOT too much lol). Next mth I have to do it all over again and go to Montreal for my other half brother's wedding. Yes, they both decided to get married in the same Summer. Of course I'm doing the makeup for this one too. Should be a little easier though. The wedding ceremony starts later and I don't have to rush off after the ceremony to another city I can actually enjoy the reception of this one. The only stressful part is this will be the first time the family will be meeting the bf :S lol! Anyone, who knows me knows this is a BIG deal as I NEVER introduce the family to anyone lol!

Me doing my thing...btw I put hair extensions in my hair if anyone was curious (suppose to be more curled but damn wind). Also I got the dress in the pic above in Thailand if anyone was wondering.
In the Church
New Happy Couple outside the Church - Gorgeous Dress!

Never Use Print100.com

So this is just a little rant of mine. I figure I write a blog this is what they are for sometimes lol. Plus I just want to warn ppl of this company b/c they DO NOT stand behind their 100% satisfaction guarantee offer that they have and that pisses me off even more.

So recently I ordered some new business cards. I went w/ this company Print100.com that had been suggested to me by another MUA. I had ordered business cards from them before and I was relatively happy so I wanted to go w/ them again. They are a Hong Kong company w/ really affordable rates, free FedEx and a money back (or reprint) guarantee so I thought how can I go wrong.

Well anyway, I ordered my cards and this time I even ordered a heavier stock paper so I was expecting a decent card. That was not the case at all. In fact my card w/ lighter and flimsier then the last set of cards I got from them! I don't know if they have changed their paper quality since the last time I ordered from them or something but I was not happy. I mean these cards just feel cheap so in all honesty I can't even really hand them out to anyone. My friend did a great job in designing them but the paper quality is just crap.

I figured that since they had a money back or reprint guarantee this wasn't really that big of a deal but guess what they reneged on their guarantee even though it is clearly stated on the website as such - NOT COOL AT ALL! So anyway, I thought I would just take this opportunity to put them on blast and say NEVER USE print100.com They DO NOT stand behind their GUARANTEES!

Btw here's the design my friend came up w/ for me. I like it. It's very simple and sleek.

Front

Back

Aumnie Athletics

Finally got some of the advertising pics used by Aumnie Athletics in Shanghai. Some of you may remember this was literally the last shoot I did before I left Shanghai so it's nice to finally get a few of the pics. I think they're good lifestyle/advertising pics. Nothing crazy of course just good solid clean makeup.

A lot of times newbie MUAs tend to forget that clean makeup and advertising campaigns are what pay the bills at the end of the day not gluing rhinestones and gold leaf on model's faces. It's important to build a strong commercial book b/c that's what a lot of clients like to see when they go to hire you. Sometimes that really wild stuff might even scare them off a bit if you don't have the clean stuff to show too. So even though it's not the most exciting stuff in the world there is a skill in learning how to pull back and just accentuate the natural beauty of the model you're working on.

Btw finally decided on an agency...now just been meeting w/ them and discussing things like pics for their website, career goals and what I need to do next!

Makeup Used For Underwater Shoot

So I've had a few ppl asking me what products I used for the Underwater Shoot so I thought I'd go through some product suggests and tips for doing waterproof makeup.

I started w/ moisturizer and primer like I always do.

For Foundations I used a few different products depending on their skintone and coverage that was needed.

I highly recommend Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Face & Body foundation if you want some w/ a light/med coverage and it's sweat and water resistent. I have a feeling Face Atelier's Foundations would work well too b/c they are also silicone based but I didn't try them on this shoot so I can't say for certain.

If I needed a little more coverage I got out my Graftobian Hi Def Cream Foundation but I mixed a little Face Atelier Transforming Gel in w/ it to help make it water resistant. I also did this w/ my Keromask Concealer if there was a stubbon spot that needed more coverage.

I didn't powder anything b/c of course you can't use face powder or powder blush. If there was extra shine that I wanted to minimize I used a mattifying gel product in areas like the T-Zone.

For Highlighter/Bronzers or any Cheek colour I recommend any sort of liquid or cream based product - or even a Cheek Stain can work nice in situations like this. I also again mixed a bit of the Transforming Gel w/ my cheek products just to give it that extra staying power.

For lips any lipstick sealed works fine from what I noticed. I used Benefit She-Laq to seal the lipstick onto the lips but there are other similar products on the market.

I should also mention that underwater shoots are also a great opportunity to pull out your MUFE flash colour palette - you can use those in a million different ways for cheek, lips, eyes etc. (Just make sure to read the labels b/c some colours shouldn't be used near eyes or lips). Again just to play it safe I added a bit of Transforming Gel to my Flash Colours.

A great product for the eyes is Yaby Pearl Paints. They have a very soft texture and gorgeous colour selection. You can just scrap it onto your palette, mix it w/ the Transforming Gel (do you see a pattern here ;) ) and paint it onto the eyes however you want. You can also still totally blend the colours in beautifully together even when it is in more a gel type texture. Of course waterproof mascara is a MUST HAVE in a situation like this but I'm sure that almost goes w/out saying.

One thing I learned through these shoots is that when doing an underwater shoot you have to pump up the makeup even a touch more than you normally would. The water diffuses the colours quite a bit so to make things stand out don't be afraid to go their w/ the colour lol...the Yaby Pearl Paints were really great for this!

So yeah just experiment and have fun...once that model dunks her head under the water once and you realize the makeup isn't running down her face you'll breath and be fine!

Underwater Shoot - A Few Pics

So here's a few pics from the Underwater Shoot I told you about. There's a lot more that I don't have yet b/c it takes awhile to edit them and Meaghan the photographer has been working like a fiend just to finish some in time for the Art Show. I only have a few from the Tyleen shoot and I'm really surprised and impressed with what Meaghan was able to accomplish w/ the Giselle shoot.

Can't wait to see more Tyleen pics...as you can see she definitely wasn't afraid of the water like the other female model. Just see the difference Tyleen's whole body (including her head lol) is actually submerged in the pics lol! Although I think Meaghan got some great pics of Giselle too.

Water World Part 2

Today was Take 2 for Underwater Series and I'm SO GLAD we got a chance to work w/ the wonderful and talented Tyleen. She was AMAZING! Seriously, she swam laps around any expectations I might have had or hoped for. In all honesty, she probably could have sat on the bottom of the pool like a rock and I would have been happier then the last shoot lol...at least her whole head would have been underwater unlike the other model!

But in all seriousness I can't even tell you how excited I am to see the pics from today's shoot. I KNOW they are going to be breathtaking little pieces of art! In fact the Outdoor Exhibition featuring them is actually happening next wk - Fri. July 10 - Sun. July 12 in Nathan Philips Square (it's free!). If you're in Toronto w/ nothing to do I highly recommend checking it out and not just b/c of Meaghan's exhibit which I know will rock (she won a ppl's choice award last yr at the exhibition). There will be over 500 exhibitors so what have you got to lose. Gorgeous Summer days, free art show, lots of talented peeps - Can't Beat That!

Btw I did get some of the shots from the last underwater shoot and they are Gorgeous! I don't want to put them up before the exhibition b/c that's not fair but I can tell you I know what we had to work w/ that day and seriously Meaghan pulled off a miracle w/ this one. I don't know how she made a model that was terrified of water and almost wouldn't get her head fully emersed in water look like art but she did! I can only imagine what she'll have to work w/ on the Tyleen shoot...in fact she's working on those pics RIGHT NOW in hopes of getting them done for the art show this weekend!

So here are some behind the scenes pics from today...seriously I can't wait to show you guys the real stuff I KNOW you'll LOVE it!

One Shoot - 4 EDITORIALS!

First off to anyone that was wondering I'll post some of the finished pics from the underwater shoot as soon as I have them and as soon as I'm allowed to post them...might even be tomorrow.

So another new editorial of my work came out late last mth. It was published in a magazine called Lifestyle Asia...surprise, surprise - I'm sure NO ONE reading this has EVER heard of it lol! I lived in Shanghai and I don't think I ever saw this magazine but to be honest I wasn't really looking for it before. So the pics from this shoot were shot on the same day as the blurry editorials I posted a few posts ago from Fantastics Magazine (North America) and Baccarat Magazine (Hong Kong)...another magazine named Mega in the Phillipines also ran the blurry version of the shoot just different pics but I haven't seen that editorial yet. Basically this is more of a commercial, classic editorial type shoot as opposed to the blurry style which was a little more avant garde/cutting edge. I don't mind this shoot, it shows of the makeup pretty decently and overall it looks okay. It's not amazing or anything but not bad either. Btw Todd is allowed to have the same editorial in various magazines as long as they are not in competing markets if anyone was wondering how that worked...kind of nice b/c then I get more exposure and credits off of the same shoot :)
Btw if anyone was curious the lip and eye makeup in this shoot was courtesy of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC for short). I love their line and the loose colours and pigments are to die for! I even put an editorial credit for OCC in the Fantastics editorial and David Klasfeld (owner and creator of OCC) was nice enough to give me a editorial gratis credit for more OCC makeup. I think I've mentioned this before but mentioning cosmetic brands in editorials is a great way to make editorials more financially worthwhile b/c let's be real they are NOT where the money is at lol! So I'm putting my gratis towards some lip tars which I've been DYING to try and an airbrush starter kit (another thing I've been dying to experiment w/...esp. since I want to get more into bridal for the $$$).

Underwater Shoot

So a couple of wks ago I was asked to be involved in a really cool concept shoot - an underwater photoshoot. The photographer Meaghan Ogilvie experimented w/ the concept last yr for an art exhibition and it went really well and she won a people's choice award at this exhibition so the people that ran the exhibition invited her back this year to show her work.

I've never done makeup for an underwater shoot before so I looked at it as a great opportunity to experiment and try something new. I knew and understood the basic concepts and products necessary for underwater makeup but like I said before I've never actually done it. Plus Troy Moth (photographer I've mentioned many times before) mentioned possibly doing an underwater shoot at my new apt. (see already luring the photographers in w/ my cool amenities lol) when he got back to Canada so if nothing else I saw it as a great way to practice for that!

So originally it was suppose to be on a Sat. but unfortunately that got cancelled b/c of the rain and another big unfortunately meant that one of the original models Tyleen couldn't do it so we had to find a replacement. So we ended up meeting up on Sunday and overall at least on my part it went really well! I was a little nervous about the makeup b/c even though I did everything right you still never quite know how it's going to go until that model really dunks her head under the water you know. But everything stayed wonderfully actually. I was using MUFE face & body which is water resistant for the foundation and then for the eyes I was primarily using Yaby pearl paints and mixing them w/ Face Atelier transforming gel to make them waterproof. I also set the lipstick w/ Benefit She-laq. So from a makeup point of view I was definitely happy w/ the way things turned out...esp. the final look I did!

There were two model that day - a male and female. The guy - Matthew was AMAZING. He's an actor and dancer and he totally gave it his all in the water. No FEAR...even after a slightly scary almost drowning event involving some loose fabric around the neck..EEKK! The replacement girl on the other hand...not so great! I can usually get a feel for the model the second they sit down in my chair and I start talking to them...and usually my feeling is not off and it wasn't. She was just very quiet and not in a good way. I kind of felt that she might hold back once she got to the water and unfortunately she did. She just couldn't get comfortable in there and we all hoped that as the shoot would progress she'd get more comfortable but she didn't and it was really putting us behind schedule. It was almost impossible to get a shot w/ her head even fully emerged in the water. I mean is you aren't comfortable in a pool and can barely swim don't agree to do the shoot you're just hurting everyone in the end!

Meaghan was really patient w/ her and was actually really nice. I actually had to go inside for awhile b/c I could just feel the frustration building up inside of me. I'm just not the most patient person. I just wanted to hold her head under the water and yell "STAY UNDER GOD DAMMIT YOU WON'T DROWNED". I mean there were like 4 of us there watching her nothing bad was going to happen. She just lacked energy and had too much fear. But then what really pissed me off was she refused to pose w/ the guy model. She KNEW there was going to be a guy there...and hell he's GAY for Christ Sake what's the big deal! That made me really angry b/c now you're messing w/ the whole artistic vision of the piece and if you don't want to pose w/ male models and you're afraid of the water DON'T AGREE TO THE SHOOT! Plus she had to leave b/c of work so the last look - the BEST look was totally rushed! I didn't know she had to leave but just when I was finishing the makeup she tried to make it like she couldn't even stay for that scene and I was going to blow I mean don't let me sit there and change your makeup for 20 mins and then say oh I have to go before we even get some shots in!!

We're actually doing another water shoot w/ the orignal model Tyleen this Sun. and I'm super stoked about it for a number of reasons. Tyleen has an awesome look and I'm really hoping she'll bring it unlike the other model...please don't let her be as afraid! Plus she's black and I'm in desperate need of some black models in my book b/c let's be real there aren't ANY black models in Shanghai unfortunately! She has the most amazing afro too...I'm really curious how it's going to look in the water and she's so tall and lean I think she'll look amazing. So hopefully Meaghan can get these pics done in time for the exhibit too b/c I definitely think Tyleen is going to bring it more than the other girl did (which to be honest wouldn't be hard lol). Just to give you an idea of how frustrated I was getting - I literally offered myself as a model for these...YES ME!!! I said hey I'll throw on some makeup and put on the flowly material and go in the pool I don't care...that says A LOT trust me lol!

I'm also trying to get Meaghan to submit this as a story to some mags too b/c I think they would be interested and it would be super cool! Well anyway, here are some behind the scene pics of the water shoot. Meaghan is also giving me some edited ones on Sun. that I'll be able to show you guys!

Me doing my thing!

See - We Couldn't Even Get Her in the DEEP END!
At least her head is fully emerged here lol!

Matt was AWESOME!

New Condo...What A View!

So about a mth ago when I got back to Toronto I moved into a new condo w/ the bf. It's an AMAZING downtown location and has some AMAZING amenities including: indoor and outdoor pools, rooftop bbq, squash courts, aerobics room and classes, gym, sauna, whirlpool etc. We're on the 25th floor and technically our place is referred to as PH5 (penthouse 5) but don't get too excited...it's not actually a penthouse lol...just a really nice apt. and really big esp. for downtown Toronto standards. The bf did an amazing job in finding the place and we definitely got a sweet ass deal I can tell you that! I'm hoping to use my sweet pad, view and amenities to lure some cool photographers here to shoot w/ me lol! Plus my little breakfast nook area has two floor to ceiling windows w/ great natural light - can you say perfect place to do makeup! The bedroom also has two floor to ceiling windows as well...gorgeous and the perfect way to wake up every morning! So anyway, here's a few pics of the view from my apt...enjoy a bit of downtown Toronto in all its splendor!

A bit of lakeview

Air Canada Centre and Royal York Hotel
Some other buildings
Breakfast Nook AKA Perfect Makeup Station LOL