Feeling A Little Blue - CHCH Avatar Premiere

I just wrapped up a really cool 3 day promo makeup job for CHCH for their BIG Avatar promotion.  CHCH is a local TV network in Toronto and they are premiering Avatar on Sunday May 6 at 8 pm and they've been doing a HUGE promotional push to get the word out there about the premiere - Newspaper, Billboards, Commercials and Live Avatars out on the street posing w/ the public and spreading the word!

I obviously had a hand in the last part - creating the Avatar promo ppl!  This was a BIG job as I mentioned and required a lot of skill, speed and patience to paint 20 Avatars blue - head, neck and arms!  They also had Avatar shirts and Avatar wigs which REALLY helped complete the final look!  In the end it went amazingly well and I can't thank everyone that helped enough b/c it was A LOT of work!  My hands/nails will probably be blue for weeks lol...I can only imagine how the actors feel lol!  They were all such a great group...no egos or drama...such a pleasure b/c I'll be real what I was doing to them wasn't really "nice".

I was actually really nervous going into this job on Thurs b/c the work before I did a "mini promo" w/ only 2 Avatars and to say it went horribly on my end would actually be an understatement of epic proportions...I actually ran out of makeup after making up 1 ACTOR lol...I had to take the other actor in a cab to a makeup supply store and then finish his makeup back at my apt!  The makeup I had ordered specially for the job hadn't arrived yet so I was just using what I had on hand and I thought it was enough...lesson learned!  I actually would have completely understood if they would have wanted to find someone else to do the job...it was bad...I've never been so embarrassed and apologetic about a job!  But thankfully, they were all very understanding down at CHCH and they believed in me enough to know that I could do a complete 180 and do the job right the following week...and I did of course ;)

In actuality I'm SO HAPPY we had that mini promo day b/c it just made me realize what was possible and what wasn't in the time we had.  At first I thought I was going to airbrush them b/c I thought that would be quickest...but it wasn't at all!  And to get the opaqueness I needed I would have needed SO MUCH product to do 20 ppl 3 days in a row...it would have cost me a fortune...that I didn't properly budget for in my quote!  Lesson learned let me tell you!  But sometimes you have to fall flat on your face to learn the biggest lessons!

In the end I ended up using Kryolan Aquacolor in Blue and just activated it w/ water or Ben Nye Liquiset.  It went on so opaque and beautifully smooth...not streaky and made my life a dream in comparison...plus it was A LOT cheaper than the airbrush would have been...and I could get it locally ;)  At first I thought a sponge would be the best application b/c that's what I was told in the store but after a little trial and error I realized a foundation brush was the quickest and smoothest application...by the end of Day 3 I was a Avatar painting machine!

I've included some behind the scenes pics of me at work and a couple of the Avatars out on the streets w/ the ppl!  So happy for them (and my makeup) it only rained on the Thurs later into the night!

Other bonus of switching to brushes instead of sponges...MUCH cleaner hands lol!

Look...Rare Photo - I'm smiling while I work lol!

Apparently some of the actors even took the subway home at the end of the night like this...would have LOVED to have seen ppl's reaction to that lol!

If you're around on Sunday night at 8 pm make sure to watch the premiere of Avatar on CHCH!

Ben Nye Banana Powder

So I heard about Ben Nye's Banana Powder yrs ago...like literally when I was in makeup school!  But I for some reason never actually went out and bought it...until recently.  And I have to admit I don't know what took me so long I wish I would have gotten it yrs ago!  I LOVE it!

In the Summer I assisted makeup artist Vicki Millar on a couple of weddings and she had it and it reminded me that it was something that I always wanted to try.  It's a great alternative to the traditional translucent powder that I always use to set my makeup.  I've used Ben Nye's translucent powder since I was in school and I've always found it to be pretty good and inexpensive (which is always a bonus). 

What's great about the Banana Powder is that it has just a slight yellow tint and it adds just a nice golden touch or glow to the face.  Not like bronzer or anything like that so don't think it gives that much colour...it's basically just like a translucent powder but w/ just a hint of yellow which I actually think is great b/c you don't have to worry about that sometimes white powdery cast off you can get a bit from traditional translucent powder and I work w/ a lot of ppl w/ yellow undertones so it compliments their skin tone nicely  and it doesn't alter the foundation colour or lighten up the skin at all. 

Don't think about this powder as adding any real coverage though...it's not a powder foundation.  So don't layer it on.  It's just used to control shine so use it like you would any translucent powder.  I will definitely be using this on set and w/ my brides next season (btw booking up quick so if you're looking for a bridal artist contact me now ;) !)

Also if you needed anything else to tell you what a MUST HAVE this product is it's listed on Makeup Artist Kevin James Bennett's In My Kit - The Ultimate Makeup Artist Must Have List of Products!  Seriously, if you've never checked out that site before go NOW and read up!  There is a wealth of information about all the best products for your kit from Moisturizer to Foundation to Eyeshadow etc.