Quill & Quire Magazine - Alison Pick

So I got myself another cover...and I wasn't even trying or even knew I was getting hired to do a cover until I arrived on set that day lol!  About a mth and a half ago a woman named Alison Pick contacted me about doing her hair and makeup for a photoshoot.  She's a Canadian author w/ a book coming out this Saturday - "Far To Go".  I thought the shoot and pics very just for publicity purposes for her new book.   I told her my rates and she hired me so I was happy enough. 

When I arrived at the photographer's house that day for the shoot I found out I was actually doing her makeup for the cover of Quill & Quire magazine...which is actually kind of exciting b/c it seems like I almost NEVER get paid for actual magazine work...even if it isn't fashion lol. 

What's sad is that the author herself had to find, contact and pay for a makeup artist if she wanted one for the shoot...the magazine didn't supply or even suggest one at all :(

Alison was really nice and a pleasure to work w/.  I reallly love the pic inside the magazine by her piano (we also went to her house to shoot a few pics).  Her book actually sounds really interesting and although I'm not totally up to date on the Canadian literary scene it must be somewhat anticipated if she's getting the cover of a magazine that advertises and reviews Canadian literature.  If you're interested here a little blurb about the book that I took from her website ;):


Alison Pick’s newest book, Far To Go, launches on September 4, 2010. Far to Go tells the story of an affluent Czech Jewish family at the onset of the Second World War. The lives of Pavel and Anneliese Bauer are observed through the adoring but misguided eyes of their son’s governess, Marta. A second, unnamed voice addresses the reader from the present. Part mystery, part love story, Far to Go asks question about the legacy of secrecy and answers them with incredible heart. It is a beautifully written book that appeals not only to the history buff but to anyone who has loved deeply and lost.

Here's the cover of the magazine...sorry it's not better quality but I couldn't save it from the website properly.

Shanghai Bride

I got the pleasure to work w/ another wonderful bride on Saturday.  It was actually kind of funny b/c she's originally from Canada but lives in Shanghai now so I joke the only reason she hired me was b/c she saw that I lived and worked in Shanghai as well lol. 

Amy and I only met a couple of wks ago for a trial b/c of course she was in Shanghai until very recently.  That meant that we had many many emails between each other just going over details and concepts and just making sure we were both on the same page w/ things. 

That's one thing a lot of ppl including new MUAs don't think about - when you make your rate it's not just about what you do on the wedding day.  You also have to make your rate w/ the consideration that it covers all the time you spend corresponding w/ the bride before the trial and even after the trial...if you send 10 emails to a bride and each one takes approx. 5-6 mins to write that's another hr.  Plus of course there is the travel time, kit packing time, brush washing time...it all adds up and needs to be added to your rate!

Amy looked gorgeous for her wedding...beautiful skin, gorgeous hair...can't wait to see the pics!  I also want to give a special shout out to my partner in wedding crime - Ashley Readings.  She assisted me w/ Amy's wedding and totally rocked the hair for Amy's sisters, mother and maid of honour...as well we added a couple of extra family members last minute (hey if I have time who am I to turn away more money ;) ). 

I think the funniest part of the day was doing the Makeup & Hair for Amy's Maid of Honour - Karen.  What a riot!  Karen was actually at the trial and I think her words after the makeup trial were "Well you don't look awful"...that's actually a big compliment coming from her lol...I didn't even take offense, if you met her you'd understand!  I think this might have been the first time Karen EVER wore makeup!   So of course I kept it really light and natural...I just wish she would have let me shape her brows lol!  Karen is a natural beauty - great skin, full lips, great bone structure.  I thought it was super nice that she was willing to play dress up for her friend Amy on her big day b/c you could tell it was SOOOO NOT her thing lol!  What a friend!

The first part of the wedding was a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony hence the red Chinese dress.  It started w/ these fun games where the groom has to do all these things to try to "win" the bride.  He was singing songs, drawing pictures of her...all sorts of things.  The traditional Western ceremony was later that day...wish I could have seen her in her white dress.  I'm sure she looked gorgeous!

Julia & Julia

After lots of hard work, planning and a few prayers my photoshoot w/ photographer Zach Hertzman FINALLY came together!  We've been trying to get something together now for a couple of mths but things kept getting delayed and postponed for various reasons.  I'm happy things finally worked out and I can't wait to see some pics from the shoot b/c I definitely think it has the potential to be AMAZING :)

We shot in Bronte Park in Oakville which is this awesome location and perfect for our concept.  The concept was a two model shoot - one playing a sort of Fortune Teller character and the other playing a sort of Spirit character.  Sort of a blend of light and dark.  Great concept for me as an artist b/c it allows me to both play w/ an edgy, dark look and a lighter, softer, prettier look all in one shoot. 

We got some amazing models from Elmer Olsen - Julia K & Julia C...very easy to remember their names lol.  We shot some of the story apart and a couple of the outfits together and the girls played off of each other really well.  Both great girls w/ great personalities...esp. since we ran just a couple of hours over our original end time lol. 

I find w/ fashion it almost always happens that we run a bit late...but usually it's not b/c of me lol.  Well I had some big concepts planned (makeup, hair, nails) and even w/ my amazing assistant Cassandra I had NO IDEA my hair concept for Julia K was going to take SOOO LONG!  But I think it will be worth it in the end ;)  Plus we hit some traffic so that put us a bit behind too lol.  But b/c we started late we did miss a HUGE rain storm...I'm sure stylist Alexandra Loeb was thankful for that one since she pulled some amazing pieces as usual...the girl has got connections!  Plus starting late actually ended up giving us some amazing light so maybe it was all meant to be lol!

So as usual here's my fav part...behind the scenes pics!

Me touching up Julia C at the Park...so Hot & Humid...definitely wasn't the best for the hair which originally I was going for an Old Hollywood style...but you know me...I made it work ;)

Doing some touch-ups on Julia K...did the Black Lip w/ OCC Lip Tar...amazing product but major touch-ups necessary in that heat!

Love this dress that Alex created herself...so perfect for the shoot!

Look into my Crystal Ball...btw I made & shaped those nails myself!

A lot of the accessories were courtesy of Headmistress Accessories...amazing local Toronto designer.  Love this Feather Headpiece...so Perfect!  Btw for the hair I did a bunch of techniques - braids, crimping, curls and also this interesting technique involving wrapping hair around hairpins and heating it up to set it...it took forever thanks again Cassandra.  You can see the intricate details of it a lot more in bigger pics.

So that gives you a taste of the shoot...hopefully it leaves you wanting more now ;)

It's Good To Be My Friend ;)

So there are a lot of benefits to a girl to be friends w/ a super cool, nice and talented makeup/hair artist like myself lol.  I'll do your makeup on your birthday when we go out.  I randomly give away free makeup and beauty products when I'm bored w/ them or a company gives me stuff I'll never use in my kit.  I'll answer any makeup and hair questions and I'll go makeup shopping w/ you.  Plus I'll practice hair techniques on you and give you a super hot hairdo!

Which is exactly what I did on Sunday w/ my dear friend and fellow blogger Christine Estima.  As many of you know I'm really getting into hair lately...esp. bridal hair and updos b/c 1. it's very useful and makes me much more marketable 2. it makes me a lot more money then just doing makeup alone...and I can always use more money ;)

So I ordered a bunch of bridal hair dvds which are really great and go step by step through the hairdos...and they give written instruction throughout the dvds...so far they seem pretty easy esp. when everything is broken down step by step.  It's really helping  me get over my hair phobia...I've realized before I just didn't know the steps to take and that's where I was getting frazzled plus just understanding that some things do take time and you just have to take the time to do them...before I just always thought I'm taking too long.

I have a mannequin head that I practice on to sometimes but it really is better to practice on a real person...the hair parts better, it's smoother, you can work on pressure and tension more and Christine's hair is very long.  So Christine and I had a great time just hanging out while I played w/ her hair, practiced a few curling and pinning techniques and worked on some backcombing and styling.  Mostly, I just wanted to practice some half updos for a bride I had today coming to me for a trial.  The trial went fabulously btw and I can't wait to share some pics of her on her wedding day later this mth b/c she is going to look gorgeous! 

Here's some pics of Christine and I hanging out, styling hair and being overall sexy ladies lol!  Btw it was bloody HOT and HUMID yesterday in Toronto...and no AC at Chrissy's place so excuse the shine lol!

After we finished the Bridal Hair we just shook her hair out for that Voluminous, Sexy Bed Head Look that Christine pulls off so well...what a Hottie ;)

Ali Updated

My beautiful bride Ali just forwarded me a couple of pics her photographer took while I was at the hotel on her wedding day so I thought I'd pass them on to you guys to see.  I really like how everything turned out...her skin just looks so luminous and glowing and her eyes look gorgeous.  Love it when my brides send me pics of their special day!  Plus Ali wrote me a really nice review on a bridal forum...I didn't even have to ask :P lol.

Me doing one last Powder of the Bride (I always look so serious..and in this pic really short lol)

Looks like my brush is in Turbo Mode lol

Stolen Solace

A new editorial of mine just came out!  Yeah...I  never get tired of seeing new work published!  Had to wait a day to tell you guys b/c at first they accidently credited another MUA for my work...booo!  Luckily, it's an online publication and not print so the problem was quickly corrected.  James Nixon the editor at Fantasticsmag.com is super cool about stuff like that...once a photographer forgot to credit my assistant for a shoot that was published on Fantastics and James fixed it (which was really nice b/c I always want my assistants to get the credit they deserve!).

Anyway, you may remember me writing about this shoot a few mths back under the title Sensual Romance.  Here's the finished product which I think turned out really beautiful!  I reallly like the title "Stolen Solace" as well.

This one is my Fav!

Bayan Outtake

So I've seen the final images from the Bayan shoot (finally) and they are GORGEOUS!  Really hope they get picked up somewhere b/c they are really hot!  It's interesting to look at the shoots I've been doing this year and the progression in my work and style...definitely feeling A LOT more confident in my hair skills among other things and I really think my work is maturing and growing.

Anyway, I thought I'd share w/ you one of the pics that didn't make the cut for the final story...still so gorgeous!  Enjoy!

Bet you can't wait to see the rest ;)

Girls Just Want To Have Fun!

So yesterday was a busy day for me.  Wedding in the morning, bachelorette party at night!  I had so much fun at the bachelorette party.  What a great group of girls!  I even stayed longer then planned b/c they were so much fun and sweet...plus as we found out in my other post I obviously have no life of my own I spend Fri. nights cleaning makeup brushes lol!

So yeah I arrived at the Bachelorette party around 5:45 and not all the guests were there yet so the girls offered me a cocktail.  Always a great way to start off a gig lol.  I wish all jobs started w/ cocktails!  They had arranged to have an on-site bartender there to make drinks throughout the party and also to teach the girls some tricks and history of different cocktails and drinks...it was very entertaining. 

Basically, my game plan was to do a demo/makeup lesson for the party guests using the bride-to-be as my demo model...therefore she get's her makeup done and everyone gets to learn some new tips and tricks.  First I did a day look and then we all took a break, ate some food, had a drink (not me I only had the one don't worry) and then I moved on to the second part of my demo...taking that day look and switching it to night.  During the demo the girls got to ask me any questions they had about products and techniques.

Lindsay, the bride looked great after and totally glam and ready to go out to the bar later that night.  After the demo one of the girls asked me if I could teach her about doing a smokey on her...she was Asian and I've had a lot of Asians in the past ask me about smokey eyes so I was more then  happy to show her...even though this wasn't part of the original plan ;) .  She looked great after and I even did a little contouring and lip gloss too.  Of course a couple of others then wanted to get their makeup done...how was I going to say no the girls were all so nice and I didn't have any plans on Saturday night so why not.

Here's a couple of pics of me at work on the bride-to-be Lindsay as I did some last minute touch ups before she went out...excuse how greasy I look lol.

So if you have a Girl's Night or Bachelorette Party coming up think about a Makeup Demo/Lesson.  Great way to do something a bit different, have fun w/ your girls AND get your makeup professionally done at the same time!