Appfinity AppDrive Unboxing Gone Wrong

Thought I'd share w/ you a cute web commercial I worked on a couple of mths ago w/ RUNE Entertainment Inc!  It's a clever take on the the "unboxing videos" that are so popular on YouTube.  I'm not going to lie...I didn't even know what an "unboxing video" was until this commercial.  My YouTube knowledge is limited to Makeup & Hair tutorials and reviews pretty much lol!

Anyway, here's the video...wait for the end (it's the best part ;) )

Todd Anthony Tyler - Asia's Next Top Model

I always LOVE to see my friends and family succeed and this is no different.  My old photographer friend Todd Anthony Tyler - yes, the one that gave me my first big break in the biz and the one that invited me to give Shanghai a try so very very long ago (btw May 14 I'll have been back 3 yrs...where the HELL does the time go) is going to be the resident photographer for Asia's Next Top Model!

This is pretty exciting and I think he is BEYOND a perfect fit for the job!  1. He looks great on camera ;) 2. He use to be a model himself and was for 10 yrs before he became a photographer and I think overall it has really helped and influenced his work b/c unlike most photographers he can really know and understand what it's like to be on the other side of the camera and he can bring that knowledge to the show and really help the girls out. 3. He's just a damn good photographer so why not!

Man it's moments like this where I wish I was still back in Shanghai working sometimes!  He's asked me if I'd ever think about coming back and at various times I'll admit I've given it great consideration but it's just SO HARD now!  When I left my career was in a VERY different place - aka I didn't have one lol!  I was brand new and I learned so much there...now I'm more established and I have clients...not so easy just to up and go again!  Esp. b/c it's China...kinda far...not just like I can go for 2 wks do some shoots and come back lol.  If I'm going to do it it's got to be for at least a couple of mths...but and this isn't a bad thing I keep booking work so therefore WHEN would I go!  Ugghh I never thought I'd say I miss it there...trust me...but after a couple of years you do get nostalgic plus I've grown so much as an artist I'd LOVE the chance to take my skills and experience there now and really rock some great shit out!

Anyway, here's Todd talking about what he's going to bring to Asia's Next Top Model!  Enjoy ;)

He's coming here at the end of the mth...hopefully we'll get a chance to shoot some stuff on this visit b/c I really miss working w/ him!

Canada's Best Beauty Talent - My Entry

So some of you may or may not be familiar w/ the reality TV casting call that went out across Canada looking for the Best Beauty Talent - Makeup Artists and Hairstylists.  Basically, to enter you have to submit a little bio, some pics of your work and a video audition tape.  From this they will choose 6 Makeup Artists and 6 Hairstylists to compete to be named Canada's Best Beauty Talent!

I hemmed and hawed over whether to enter for a couple of wks...just wasn't really sure if it was my thing or I was up for it...or maybe I was a little too scared to be up for it.  Finally, I decided to take the plunge and enter...I figured what do I have to lose!...and in truth the chances of me actually getting picked are probably very slim...I mean who knows what these ppl ever look for in the castings.  I'm not really crazy or eccentric after all...but I do think I'm talented and real...and I do have an opinion and I'm not afraid to share it lol.

So w/ the help of my very good friend and fellow MUA Ashley Readings (who also made an entry video), I made a little video one day...thank you a million times to her b/c my skills are seriously limited and it would have ended up this poorly lit little video where I probably would have looked like shit lol!  This is also why I've probably never ventured into YouTube instructional videos before lol.

So the deadline for applications is tonight and they'll be deciding the finalists in the beg. of March.  Here's my video in all its glory...hope I'm not making too much of a full of myself lol.  For some of you this might be the first time you've heard my voice...I don't know might be kind of weird lol.

Enjoy!

Again thank you so much Ashley...couldn't have done it w/out you!

Wow...I Actually Get Hired To Do JUST Hair Sometimes!

Wow...what a turn around from a yr ago!  I remember one of my BIG New Year's Resolutions at the beginning of the year was to get better at hair...esp. Bridal Hair.  And you know what, I have - Big Time!  In fact not only have I gotten better at bridal hair.  I've gotten confident enough to do jobs where I'm ONLY doing hair...not makeup JUST HAIR!  In fact 3 of my bridal jobs this past season have been just hair and I imagine next year there will be more.  The truth is if a bride can only afford one and she has to choose between hair and makeup 9 times out of 10 she's going w/ hair...same goes for bridesmaids.  So why not cash in on that...I like money...I like paying my bills...I like eating (too much lol)...therefore I want to make myself the most marketable I can!

I have to admit a lot of the improvement comes from just being more confident and not freaking out but of course a lot of it is practice as well.  I have to give countless props to my friend makeup artist Ashley Readings who has helped me out a lot and given me a lot of tips and tricks that she's picked up on the job at Blo Salon.  Also, YouTube has helped me out a ton...I've even gotten some great ideas and  learned some great techniques and styles just off of reg. girls doing videos.  The bridal hair DVDs I got also have helped too!

One thing I have to admit though is I'm still not amazing at coming up w/ things on the fly like I am w/ makeup.  That's the one part I still get nervous about...that some bridesmaid is going to show me a picture and I'm going to go "Oh FUCK" (in my head of course).  Fortunately, that hasn't happened yet (knock on wood).  The truth is nowadays most Brides and Bridesmaids want very similiar things...loose soft curls or a lot want the really soft, romantic, bohemian, loose or unstructured updo or half updo styles that are really in right now.  Which is great b/c they don't have to be "perfect" like a lot of the old bridal style updos of the past.  Let me tell you I can do a really awesome unstructured side bun updo a la Taylor Swift or Lauren Conrad!

Another way I have made myself more marketable (and profitable) for hair is I can also make clip-in hair extensions for the bride or bridesmaids if they want.  I made the most beautiful extensions for my one bride Justyna this past Summer and they looked gorgeous in her hair and blended perfectly!  I actually took two colours and blended them together and it created the most gorgeous highlights and lowlights and really helped to blend everything together and make them really multidimensional. 

Another way I try to make myself more comfortable on the job is preparing before the job.  I ask the client for as much information as possible.  I always get pictures of the style the bride wants and I try to get pictures of the styles the bridesmaids want too if possible.  There is nothing wrong w/ asking for pictures beforehand so don't be afraid to ask!  It shows that you are on top of things and I find the client usually likes to have as many details in place beforehand too. I find that as long as I know or have an idea of what I'm doing beforehand I feel a lot more confident.  It's when I'm going in blind that I get a bit nervous. 

So yeah last weekend I actually did a wedding (yes ppl are still getting married in Canada in Dec!) where a bridemaid contacted me to do 3 bridesmaid's hair.  Oddly enough I didn't even really meet the bride.  She was in another hotel suite w/ her personal makeup & hair person.  I gave the bridesmaid my rate for the 3 girls and I actually didn't hear anything back for a bit but then I was contacted about 5 days before the wedding and I was still available so score for me!  I got pics of what the 3 girls wanted and the hair went great that day...esp. my signature side, unstructured updo I did on the one bridesmaid...everyone kept going on about that one!

Also, sidenote...they did hire a makeup artist (she was a friend of a friend).  It was actually kind of weird working a wedding where someone else was doing makeup.  Esp. when her style of work was SOOOO not my style...AT ALL!  They were happy enough w/ it but to be honest there were some things that made me cringe...and I don't just mean the technique...she didn't use disposable mascara wands, didn't clean brushes between girls (at least that I saw) and she undercharged.  In fact she did makeup for 4 girls and I did hair for 3 girls and I still made TWICE as much!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - DON'T UNDERCHARGE!  Seriously, it's too much work and stress to not get paid a decent rate for!

AND

PLEASE BE SANITARY...no one wants herpes or pink eye!

Bride - Ali

So I just got home about an hr ago from my early morning bridal appt...you know the one I was packing for last night lol!  Anyway, it went fabulously and I think the bride looked gorgeous and angelic.  It's funny b/c before I met Ali she kept going on and on about having bad skin and could I cover it....I was paranoid and expecting pock mark scars and acne.  The girl has gorgeous skin...fair, no pores...and yeah maybe one or two pimples but nothing a little green concealer can't cancel out.  Seriously, I think her skin might be better then mine lol. 

For the makeup look Ali wanted the drama on the eyes so we did a grey/black smokey eye w/ black liner and a wispy full false lash...shes likes big lashes and even her natural lashes are quite long.  I contoured her cheeks a bit and added a bit of highlight to the cheekbones along w/ a bit of pink blush to give that rosy glow.  I finished everything off w/ a pink/nude lip and pink gloss.  Her maid of honour (who I did hair for as well) kept raving about how great she looked while I did the makeup...exactly the type of audience I LOVE lol.  Ali has SUPER long hair and wanted it all up...I learned in the trial that when hair is almost reaching the ass this is NO EASY feat.   I'm not going to lie I wasn't happy w/ what I did at the trial.  But then I came across this great YouTube hair tutorial for super long hair and I knew it would be perfect for Ali b/c she didn't want anything too structured. 

So here's a quick snapshot of Ali before I left...ignore the bad lighting and the hotel room background lol.

Here's the hair tutorial if you're curious:


Also now that I have a new computer which makes my life a million times less stressful (you seriously have no idea).  I'm thinking about maybe doing some YouTube Videos of my own...what kind of stuff would you guys like to see or be interested in learning about?

A Voyeur's View

Last Thurs. I had the pleasure of seeing A LOT of hard work and planning finally come together. Photograher Dexter Quinto, Stylist Alexandra Loeb and myself have been discussing a High End Fashion Lingerie themed shoot for a couple of mths now. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I Don't Do Last Minute CREATIVES and I insist on working as a team to develop all the aspects of the creative so that we're all on the same page the day of the shoot and there are no surprises. Taking these measures ups the chances of a good creative worthy of submission by like a million percent!

Trust me if we wouldn't have done all this planning there could have been some serious miscommunication on ideas or styles. We originally were planning on a different location but once we changed locations we needed to change some of our ideas. We ended up using Alex's parent's house which was beyond GORGEOUS and the PERFECT location for what we were doing! Seriously Stunning!

Originally, Alex and I were thinking something a little more crazy w/ the hair and I wanted something darker w/ the makeup but then once I saw were Dexter was going w/ his style I knew it had to be changed or it just wouldn't mesh. This is where reference pics are so useful. Dexter originally used the word Romantic to describe something and when I heard that I groaned a bit b/c the last thing I felt like doing was another Romantic makeup look...b/c I've been doing that a lot lately...I wanted to get back to my edgy roots a bit more ;) But once I saw his pics I got what he meant by Romantic but it wasn't how I was taking Romantic. I could still do a bold makeup look...just not the dark edgy look I was originally going for. What I think we ended up creating was something that was Romantic but also Raw, Voyeuristic and Sexy at the same time. Our biggest inspiration was this lingerie shoot Steven Meisel had done w/ actress Eva Mendes for Vogue Italia...but don't worry I think we put our own stamp on it ;)

After we had all our ideas on the same page we then had to go about the daunting task of finding the PERFECT model for the shoot. Finding a lingerie fashion model isn't like finding a reg. editorial fashion model. She has to be sexy, curvy and even have some breasts (of course a pair of chicken cutlets can always help w/ this one ;) ). Whenever Dexter is looking for a model for a creative submission he makes up a very thorough outline to submit to the agencies so they know exactly what we are trying to achieve and what we are looking for. This really helps them send us the best suited girls and it shows them that we are taking this seriously. Dexter includes theme and lighting concepts, styling, makeup and hair all illustrated w/ pictures. By far Sutherland sent us the best girls for this shoot. Being the anal person I am I thoroughly looked through all the girls and immediately when I saw Bayan I knew she was PERFECT for the project. What was funny though is her comp card main pic was really not a great representation of her real style and beauty so originally Dexter and Alex passed over her. Once I mentioned her and they took a second look they both agreed that she was our girl!

And what a girl! Seriously, I cannot say enough about what a well spoken, professional, friendly and amazing model Bayan is. If she wasn't so friggin' sweet and good spirited I'd hate her b/c she's 5'11, gorgeous skin, beautiful features, legs for days and 22 in. WAIST (yes you read that right 22 in waist...and 35 in hips - CURVY)!! Oh and did I mention she can eat whatever she wants and lives off candy...bad for me to be around b/c I have little self control around the candy lol. Seriously, she's like perfect...plus she teaches herself to play piano just by watching YouTube videos lol!

The hair, makeup and nails look took almost 2 hrs that day so it's great that Bayan is such a great sport and great to work w/. For makeup I ended up doing a vintage winged liner (very big for Fall), big lash, bold eyebrow look. I also contoured/highlighted the cheekbones b/c anyone that knows me and my style knows I LOVE a good cheekbone...thankfully so does Bayan lol. Throughout the shoot I changed the lip according to the look - anything from nude to bright pink to deep burgundy. For Hair I wanted to go w/ a flat smooth top and then huge, billowy curls...as they day went out it morphed a bit to back combed, ratted bigness but it still worked. This was the first time I decided to do something more then just a typical paint job for the nails. I really wanted to challenge myself as a full artist - makeup, hair & nails. The night before I made false nails that we attached that day (Alex makes an amazing assistant ;) ). I painted the nails a beige colour and then I applied black lace over the polish and sealed it w/ clear polish and then trimmed it to the size of the nail. It looked really cool for the shoot but I'm going to be really - totally NOT practical for real life. The lace even w/ the sealer left the nails w/ texture therefore when you're doing a lacy, sheer lingerie shoot you have to be even more careful when changing...don't want to snag anything!

Alex really out did her self on the styling. She had this great connection to this high end lingerie store and pulled some amazing French lingerie. Plus the jewelery...OMG...she had it flown in from all over and probably had over $10 000 in accessories. Also Alex has one of the sickest shoe collections I know! She wears a size 10 which might suck for real life but is amazing as a stylist b/c guess what - the models can wear your shoes! The shoes were HOT - Manolo Blahnik, Mui Mui, YSL, Stella McCartney, Laboutin etc. See this is what I'm talking about when I say you need a stylist that has connections and can pull the REAL SHIT! This is how you build a story that is worth publication!

Here's where it was all laid out!

So after all of this elaborate planning we finally got to get down to business and shoot. This ended up being a really long day...like 9:30-9:30 but Bayan was so professional and didn't complain once. I swear her energy and spirit was higher then mine at the end of the day. She could see where we were going w/ things and loved the direction so she was totally willing to stick it out and make it work and I thank her for that. Can't wait to see the finished results from this one!

Here's some behind the scenes pics from this amazing day! We ended up shooting an amazing 11 Looks that day...the norm is usually 6-8. How Dexter is going to pick is beyond me...esp. w/ so many amazing double pagers!

Me Doing My Thing
Doing An Even Winged Linger On Both Sides is Secretly My Weakness...Shh Don't Tell ;)
If you look closely you can see her nails a bit...I don't think we have any close ups on the behind the scenes pics
First Look

Don't Hate Me B/C I'm Beautiful
Tiny Waist!
Amazing Colour
We Ended Up Shooting This Look Somewhere Else
Here

I'm Not a Lesbian...But I Think I Have a Bit of a Girl Crush ;)
By the Pool Earlier in the Day

Buns Of Steel Bootcamp!

Not makeup related but it does have to do w/ my resolutions that I wrote about a few days ago!

So today I officially started my Buns of Steel Bootcamp (check out the link) and I definitely think it's going to kick my ass into gear and help w/ that lose weight/eat right resolution lol. If anyone out there is like me and watches Bulging Brides or The Last 10 Pds it's what I imagine Tommy Europe to do to those women (and anyone who watches that show knows it gets great results)! Lots of squats, compound exercies, multiple exercise sets w/ minimal rest time...you know the stuff that you HATE while doing but LOVE the results lol!

I saw the postings and ads for it and I thought why don't I give this a try. I'm one of those people that likes variety in my workouts and I like group classes w/ a trainer to push me on (plus I like group classes b/c I'm kind of competitive lol). The trainer Omar is really great and gives a lot of 1 on 1 attention during the class but doesn't call you out or anything in a way that makes you feel stupid or that everyone is now looking at you b/c you're doing stuff wrong, just gives you tips and encouragement to keep going.

Plus he gives a lot of support outside the class too. He has a Facebook Group and you can email him anytime you want and he has a lot of YouTube videos w/ tips and recipes. Also I really like his concept for the meal plan. You know w/ a lot of other plans they give you a meal plan of what you are suppose to eat whether you like it or not. Well Omar let's you email him your food diary and then he'll give suggestions or ideas for better choices. I think that's a lot more effective b/c it's working w/ something you already do. Also Omar is great at managing all his students...I didn't show up on to class on Monday :S and Omar actually emailed to ask where I was...I actually need that accountability sometimes when I know someone will actually notice if I don't show up.

I'm doing the early morning classes...and yes they are EARLY but you know what once I get there and do them I feel great! It makes my day a million times more productive b/c I'm up early and out when normally I wouldn't be out of bed and I find when I have a good start to the day w/ a good workout and breakfast it makes me want to be healthier and eat healthier throughout the rest of the day.

So yeah if you're like me and want to get into shape I highly recommend you check out the website...I'll keep you updated on how it's going!

Massari - Body Body

So here's the Massari music video I worked on about a wk and a half ago. They must be really pushing this song to get the post production done so quickly. The other music video I worked on in the Summer still hasn't been released yet.

Hope you all enjoy - btw I did the makeup and hair on the girl in white, the girl w/ the really curly hair on the bed (yes that took a long long time lol) and another brunette that I won't be able to distinguish to you.

YouTube

So basically I spent my Sunday watching A LOT of videos on YouTube. It's okay though b/c they're all related to makeup, beauty and hair so actually I'm doing "research" or "working" if you will. My favs are Smashbox, Johnny Lavoy (Ford Artists - Hair), Sephora Beauty Editors and Eve Pearl. Although, does anyone else out there feel Eve's technique feels a bit dated and heavy handed when it comes to the foundation. Every video I saw of her's I do admit they looked good but also a little tranny or mask like. Felt a little 90's to me but again maybe that's just me. If anyone has any other suggestions of YouTube videos they love I'm totally open...as I've mentioned before it's Chinese New Year and I'm really really bored w/ NO WORK!!

And on to Chinese New Year...can it just end already!?!? I mean do you really need 15 days of celebration?!?! It's getting back to normal now and stores that were closed have started to open again but still no work in the Fashion World right now...Boo :( Also, the firecrackers were neat at first I suppose but do I really need to be woken up at 8 am while they go off for like an hr. I mean it's Sunday geez! And before you say oh that sounds cool...it's not and it gets old quick trust me. These are firecrackers for the most part btw...not fireworks...no real pretty spectacles in the sky just loud annoying bangs and cracks. I definitely think everyone has done their part to scare off last years Ghosts or whatever it is they are doing it for.