After The Rain

It's seems like forever since I've posted some creative work I've done on here so I'm so excited to share w/ you a new beauty story I did back in Jan that is currently featured in Tantalum Magazine! It's really cool too b/c there is a lot of really good work featured in the magazine...always nice to be surrounded by other awesome artists and work!  Also awesome is that the magazine is available in online and in print!

For this look I really wanted to work w/ the idea of wet or glistening skin and wet strands of hair in the face.  I'm not going to lie it's not as easy as it looks to make it work and in fact in the beg. of the shoot I thought we were going to have to scrap the whole concept b/c it just wasn't meshing the way we (as a team) had envisioned.  It finally started to come together though when we realized it looked better if the hair was wet but being blown over the face gently using a bit of fan action versus being placed and stuck to the face.

It's always important to remember to not be afraid to make mistakes or try new things out as artists...sometimes what you originally had in mind isn't going to work but sometimes something even better comes out of it!

For the makeup I wanted the skin to being dewey and glistening and I used a lot of baby oil gel, clear lip gloss and MAC strobe cream for that.  The problem when doing any sort of "wet" look though is the up keep...it looks awesome but only for about 5 mins so you gotta work quick to get that shot lol!  I also wanted to get back into using some colour w/ Spring (hopefully) around the corner lol!  A lot of the products used were from Yaby Cosmetics, Face Atelier, OCC and MUFE...great shoot to pull out my flash palette and OCC pigments!

After The Rain

Photographer Ruo Bing Li

Model Julee (Elite)

Metamorfik

Lucky You, Lucky Me - Bringing you Two New Editorials in Two Days!  Unfortunately, after this one I'm going to be real there won't be anymore "new" work for a bit b/c I'm just busy doing weddings and things like that but don't worry obviously I'll still be writing fun and interesting entries.  Plus I think I am going to do a little video about the layout of my portfolio so you guys can see it all printed and maybe understand a bit more about portfolio flow and stories and all that stuff!

So here is the FINAL story from my epic shoot day w/ photographer Adamo de Pax that I've written so much about these past couple of mths.  Originally, we were trying to get this published but no one was biting :(  I still think it's gorgeous!  To be honest I don't always get magazine editors and the stories they pick up b/c sometimes I see some really boring or crappy stuff published.

Anyway, Adamo and I agreed it's better to just release the images and put them up on our sites then have them published in a subpar magazine.  Truth is (and I'm not trying to brag here) I've had a lot of stories published and the majority of stories in my book are published so I don't really care if I have some pics that aren't published in a magazine b/c to me it's better to have a book full of strong stories then to really concern myself w/ the fact of whether or not a couple of stories weren't picked up by magazines.  Plus having a story published in a crappy magazine doesn't really mean anything or get me any farther ahead this point so who cares.

I love this story b/c it is a progression of one idea and Andrea (the model) did an amazing job of capturing the mood which is sort of like the makeup is possessing or spreading across her like a disease and turning her evil.  Of course Adamo did an amazing job as per usual too!  If anyone is curious I mostly used OCC pigments and the Gold is from my MUFE Flash Palette.

I really love that you can see the texture of the makeup in these pics and I esp. love the bit of red that landed on Andrea's eyelashes lol!

Clean Beauty With A Pop of Colour!

Remember that amazing shoot I did a couple of mths back w/ that amazing, hot, new photographer Adamo de Pax.  Yes, the one where we did 5 Beauty Stories w/ 4 girls and it was the most productive shoot EVER!  Well I now have in my possession the next series of pics from this shoot!  I've shown you guys the complete Clean Beauty pics w/ all 4 models...I've also seen another set of pics from the series that I can't release yet b/c we're hoping they get picked up somewhere.  So now this is the 3rd series of 5 from the shoot...seriously it's like the gift that keeps on giving mths after it's done lol!

This was actually the first model of the day Sarah (Elite).  Sarah is So Fresh and So Young!  Really energetic and enthusiastic about everything.  Sometimes it's fun to work w/ new models b/c everything just makes them so happy b/c they haven't gotten jaded or bored of the industry yet lol.  Sarah had beautiful, soft features...very young and very innocent looking.  She also had very full, pillowy lips that I knew would be fun to play around w/.  For her "story" I wanted to keep the basic clean face look w/ the same high bun and just play around w/ her lips b/c they were so perfect and just calling out for pops of colour!  I pretty much exclusively used my OCC Lip Tars for this one...I just thought why not - they give great colour and in all honesty I don't actually use them that much.

I think this story is also a great example of the fact that you can still keep something really clean but still play around w/ it a bit and have fun!  Just b/c I'm giving her a strong lip doesn't mean I have to suddenly go in and start doing more to the rest of her face.  It looks really fresh and clean and a little more interesting to just give that one little tweak in every picture.  IMO this is still pretty much clean beauty...just clean beauty w/ an "edge" ;)

So here's the rest of the Sarah story - hope you Enjoy!

This pic and the 3rd pic are my FAVS from this story!

 LOVE This One! 

A Splash Of Colour

Here's a sneak peak of a quick beauty creative I did last wk w/ photographer Manolo Ceron and the beautiful Mikayla (Ford).  I've actually known Manolo since pretty much the beginning of my makeup career...great photographer but definitely an "acquired taste" lol (Manolo I know you're going to be reading this ;) ). 

Manolo is a very honest no bullshit type of guy which doesn't always go over well in the Fashion World which can notoriously be made up of phonies.  He's very blunt but I'm also very blunt so that's probably why I can take it and not really care.  He's also annoying as all hell sometimes and literally the ONLY photographer that I have EVER argued back w/...repeatedly...all the time...nonstop...but I know he doesn't mind that's just how our relationship works (and it's all in good fun...mostly) .  Actually, I imagine that's how a lot of Manolo's relationships work lol.

The concept was originally clean, glossy beauty...like this one shoot we had done back when we first met (can always use some clean beauty in the book...esp. in Toronto).  I did exactly what we did back then only to find out Manolo actually wanted clean, wet, shiny beauty...therefore sprayed her hair down w/ water and added a whole lot of glycerin. 

After that was all done we decided to have a little fun w/ some OCC pigments and the pic shown is the end results right at the end of the shoot before Mikayla had to jet to her dentist's appt.  Can't wait to see some of the other pics from the shoot...and to work w/ this team again.  Mikayla was a dream and such a beauty...and Manolo well he's lucky he takes such pretty pictures ;)

IMATS Toronto 2010

So this past weekend brought IMATS to Toronto!  Always an exciting time of year when I get to stock up on all the supplies I so desperately need at really good prices.  Like last yr I was working w/ Liz Yu and Ashley Readings at the Yaby Booth. 

As you guys all know I LOVE Yaby Cosmetics and really believe in the brand and know a lot about it so it's really easy for me to work at that booth and talk about the products.  Plus Liz is so easy going that it basically feels like friends just hanging around and talking.  It was also really great b/c I got to meet some readers which is always so much fun!

As per usual Sat. was insanely busy at the show while Sunday was a lot calmer and more relaxed.  What I always find funny is how "done up" some girls are when they go to a trade show...like more then club done up and this is at 8:30 am...there was a huge line up just to get in at 8:30!  I'm also always amazed at how much BAD makeup I see at a makeup show...and I mean BAD!  Seriously, sometimes all it takes is an extra 30 secs to blend out that eye and it makes a world of difference!  I know it's mean to say but it goes to show just b/c you love makeup doesn't mean you're good at it or have a good eye.  I mean I love to sing but no one is EVER going to pay me to do it lol!

The one thing that is disappointing about working the booth is I never get a chance to see some of the great demos and talks that happen on the main stage but what can you do. 

So this yr was a bit different then other years for me when it came to purchasing.  In the past it was a lot about building my kit and buying new products while this year it really wasn't so much about buying new products as just replenishing my old supplies and products.  Which is exciting b/c that means I'm actually working enough to have to replenish things lol!  One of the big things I wanted to replenish was sponges.  Every year I go to Alcone and buy a giant bag of sponges.  This year I wanted to buy 2 but they didn't bring any!  This literally was one of the biggest things I wanted to buy!  Thank god Embryolisse was there so I could at least buy my moisturizer!  I also bought a couple of new brushes, mascara wands, brush cleaner and a Graftobian HD Foundation Palette Warm #1 (my other one was almost done)...nothing really exciting I'm sorry to say.  Oh wait I also bought 3 new lip tars from OCC...that's pretty exciting lol!

Plus for working Yaby I also got a shit load of products which is always fun and exciting!  I practically have EVERY Yaby product at this point but there were definitely a few favourites I needed desperately to restock on like Powder Foundations from the Med. Palette - LOVE!  Some Yaby Powder Highlight shades, Liquid Foundations, some eyeshadows and lip colours.  Plus I actually bought a bunch of stuff for myself to make my own palette to take w/ me for the gym and stuff. 

I NEVER actually buy makeup for myself anymore beyond mascara I swear.  I always just take my cast offs that I don't want to carry in my kit anymore so to actually make a little Yaby palette just for me was actually pretty exciting lol!

Here's some pics from the Yaby Booth as well as "My Makeup Haul"

Ashley striking a pose at Yaby!

 The Crowd on the much less busy Sunday!

 Liz working the booth!

 Ashley & I - Btw I'm wearing my new Lip Tar in Pageant!

 Me being silly...and slightly perverse lol eating one of the yummy Korean cucumbers Liz brought us to snack on!  Btw the lip tar lasted all day!  I even ate an apple and it stayed!

 My Haul!



The Power of Red

So Fall is officially here which means I can start pulling out one of my fav. makeup trends - "The Red Lip".  Although, I hate to call it a "trend" b/c IMO a great red lip never goes out of style and always has it's place in Fashion.  It is the easiest and quickest way to bring your look from casual to glam in less then 30 seconds.  Everyone is always about the smokey eyes when they want to look done up but I really believe we have to give more credit to the Red Lip! 

With the popularity of shows like Mad Men on the rise I find a strong lip for Fall is even more popular.  I mean lipstick was an essential part of a woman's wardrobe back then and a well done lip can be a great accessory to any look! 

Nowadays, we don't put as much effort into getting ready like back then and I think that's often why lipstick is pushed aside for it's lighter, less formal counterpart lipgloss.  We often tend to look at lipstick...esp. Red Lipstick as a very formal thing that can only be worn out at night or on special occassions but I don't think that's true at all!  I frequently rock the Red Lip during the day and yes I do get a few glances...I think they are good glances ;).  But that's what it's all about.  You have to have confidence to wear a Red Lip b/c it does call attention to you but what's wrong w/ a little attention every now and then. 

One of the biggest things I hear all the time is women saying I want to find the perfect red or oh yeah it looks great on you but I CAN'T wear it!  I'm hear to say YES, you can WEAR red!  You just have to find the right red!  And in truth you just have to get use to yourself in it.  When I first started wearing Red I'm not going to lie I felt really self-conscious and uncomfortable like ppl were staring at me but now I feel empowered and in control...amazing what a little lipstick can do ;)

Yes a Red Lip is a little more high maintenance then say your usual gloss but that's not always a bad thing...on a positive note I eat and drink less b/c I don't want to mess up my lipstick lol!  Although, a great tip is to drink from a straw...I drink everything from a straw and it removes a lot less lipstick then drinking straight from a glass or gently lick  your lips before you take a sip from a glass it will help stop the transfer of
lipstick to the glass.

When rocking a Red Lip one of the most important things is to have CLEAN and EVEN lines!  You can use lipliner to help w/ this but another great tip I find is to define your lines and boundaries w/ a bit of concealer.  I use a square tip brush and take a bit of concealer and just mark my edges around my mouth a bit and blend...this cleans up any red that might bleed outwards and it allows you to achieve really sharp edges which I'm super anal about on set for shoots!  Another important thing to remember...always exfoliate your lips if they are dry and flakey before wearing Red Lipstick...dry, chapped, flakey lips NEVER look good esp. NOT w/ Red Matte Lips!  Plus this is a big prob for a lot of ppl in the Winter so something to watch out for...always moisturize you lips!

Here's some pics of me using the concealer technique.  Sorry I'm no model and the lighting wasn't great in my bathroom lol!  I also should have powdered a bit more before I started to remove the shine...but whatever lol!

Also you want to be very careful to not walk around w/ Red Lipstick on your teeth...which I unfortunately have done before :(  An easy trick to solve this is to put you finger in your mouth and pull it out.  It will remove access lipstick from your lips.

See all the excess lipstick!

So I also took a bunch of pictures of myself w/ a variety of Red Lipsticks...some flattering and some not so much lol!  I also took a picture of myself w/ no lipstick and one w/ a nude lipstick and gloss combo...another popular look in my repetoire.  I did this so that you can see the difference just a touch of colour and lipstick can bring to the face and how it changes everything about how I look.  There is nothing different about my makeup in any of the looks other then the lipstick.  Even if you look at the pics above you can see my foundation is pretty natural, just some mascara, touch of cream blush and my brows filled in (this is a necessity).  In fact I don't even really wear eyeliner anymore during the day and yet when I wear Red Lipstick everyone thinks I'm "done up"...no eyeliner or eyeshadow and I still look polished and fancy...wow that's impressive to me!

No Lipstick

Nude Lipstick/Lipgloss Combo

This is the FIRST Red Lipstick I EVER bought for myself and still my Go To Shade on MANY occasions!  It is also the Red Lipstick Featured in the first 3 pics!  I also used a lipliner in this pic.  It is a very Matte lipstick which can be a bit too dry for some.

MAC Viva Glam I

Without a Lipliner

Another Fav Red of mine and Featured in the Finger in the Mouth Pics lol!

MAC Cremesheen Party Line

Okay here's some other Reds

This ones a bit too much on the browny side for me personally but that doesn't mean it might not look FABULOUS on you!

Yaby LC025

The next one is a bit too bright for me...it's okay but I prefer my reds a bit more deep. 

Don't know the colour sorry.

Too orange IMO

Yaby LC020 Chilli Hot Hot

Here's a Really Deep Red...Doesn't Look Amazing here but I really like it actually w/ a Vampy Smokey Eye for Night's Out!

MAC Media

If you want to ease your way into Reds you can always start w/ a pinkier, lighter red

Yaby LC255

Another Great way to start wearing Reds is w/ a Lipstain...here are two of my Favs

Yaby LC267

OCC Lip Stain in Vanity (This product also works great as a blush in a pinch)

There are a million other shades of Red out there but that gives you an idea about how different Reds can look from person to person.  So experiment and find the Right Red for YOU!  It's only lipstick afterall...if you don't like it rub it off and start again!

Oh one final image of me Rocking the Red...this is out in the "Real World" at Dinner last wk not just my Bathroom lol...not the best quality sorry taken w/ a Blackberry Phone.

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 ;)

Kit Organizing!

So for x-mas I got a new makeup kit from my bf Alistair! Thank God b/c my other one was literally falling apart. It was actually quite embarrassing and had been ripping at the seams pretty much from the first wk I got it. It was like a Frankenkit w/ all the ghetto stitching I had sewn on it. My old kit if anyone is interested was the MUFE Professional Bag which was great b/c it was lightweight, clothe over the shoulder bag w/ lots of pockets which I like b/c I do take public transportation so I pack light but the stitching just isn't reinforced enough...apparently it's a big prob w/ the bag I found out from MUFE (they ended up giving me the bag for free b/c they didn't have any in stock when it ripped at first for me and I was leaving for Shanghai).

The new one is a bit heavier but it does seem a lot sturdier and well made but it is still an over the shoulder style bag. I have a ton of room in it and I think for a lot of simple jobs I might be able to pack light and carry a small hair kit in it too! It comes w/ trays in the bottom section but I personally took them out and I'm just putting pouches w/ stuff in there (one good thing I kept from the MUFE bag was all the removable pouches). It's from Yazmo.com if anyone is interested and they sell a ton of great makeup kits whatever your style is.

So I took a bunch of pics of kit so anyone that is interested can see how I pack for a shoot and the kinds of products I like to take w/ me. The stuff I'm showing in the pics is a lot of makeup for me and truthfully most of the time I wouldn't pack all this stuff...as mentioned before I usually like to keep it as light as possible and pack for that specific job if at all possible.

My Kit
The empty bottom where I took out the trays
One of the side pockets. If I do bring hair stuff in this kit this will be a good pocket...otherwise might use it for cellphone, water, apple etc.

Packed Kit
Inside the top of my Kit
Pouches in the Bottom Container (where trays were originally). Can you tell I like Yaby already lol. Seriously condensed my kit SOOO MUCH! I Normally wouldn't bring all the palettes in the pouch to EVERY shoot.
Brush Pouch

Big Pouch #1 - Yaby Palettes and MUFE Flash Palette - 3 Yaby Powder Foundation Palettes (Light, Med, Dark) and Highlighting Palette (Love). 1 Homemade Lip Palette (just took all my lipsticks, cut and smooshed them into empties and put them in a Yaby Freestyle Palette (many different brands). 1 Freestyle palette w/ Yaby Blush and 2 Nixie Blushes w/ a few old MAC Shadows. 3 Eyeshadow Palettes - The one on the far Right is my Neutrals Working Palette w/ cake liners and eyebrow colours too. The others are more fun. They are all a mix of Yaby shadows (pearl paint and reg) and I pressed a bunch of OCC, Face Atelier and Fyrinnae pigments into shadows...plus there's a few old MAC shadows.

Big Pouch #2 - Foundation Pouch - I have another pouch inside that one which holds my Face Atelier Foundations and my Keromask Consealers. 2 RCMA Palettes (which to be honest I don't use that much). Graftobian and Cinema Secrets Palettes and Yaby Liquid Foundations.

Side Pouch Randoms - Mixing Palette, MAC Brown Shadow Palette, Blush Palette w/ La Femme and Nixie Blushes. Benefit Leg Moisturizer (creates a nice sheen on the legs and smells nice :) ). Not shown but also carry hand towel and wipes here too.
Pouches inside the top section of the kit...and there's still more room!

Small Black Pouch - Random Tools - Eyelash Curler, Tweezers, Sharpener, Nail File, Disposables (Lip/Mascara/Spatulas), Scissors, Eyelash/Eyebrow Comb, Tide Stick, Eyebrow Razors Etc.

Bigger Black Pouch - Eye Stuff - Mascara - Black, Clear, Brown, Face Atelier Transforming Gel, Under Eye Brighteners - Benefit and Smashbox, Urban Decay Primer, DUO Eyelash Glue, MAC Matte and Glossy Gel, Fyrinnae Eye Primer and Pixie Epoxy (helps glitter stick)
Lip Pouch - Face Atelier Lip Gloss, OCC Lip Tar in Clear and OCC Lip Balm in Tarred and Feathered, MUFE Glossy Full, Random Smashbox Lip Palette, Face Atelier Lip Putty and Lip RX, 2 Graftobian Lip Palettes, MAC Lip Exfoliater and Benefit She-Laq

Med Black Mesh Pouch #1 - OCC Lip Tars - Black/White and Primary Colours, Alcone Sponges, Smashbox and Benefit Luminizers, Eyelashes, Camera Ready Cosmetics Cream Blush Wheel and Empty Bowl

Med Black Mesh Pouch #2 - Nail Polisher Remover Pads, Makeup Remover Wipes, Eye Makeup Remover, Q-Tips, Various Primers - MUFE, Fyrinnae (Cream and Powder) and Benefit, Cotton Pads, Makeup Puffs, Yaby Translucent Powder, Eyedrops, Mouth Wash, Mini Sewing Kit, Embryolisse Moisturizer, Vaseline, MAC Strobe Cream Etc.

Liquids Pouch - 99% Alcohol, Water, Toner, Glycerin, Final Seal, Brush Cleaner, Hand Sanitizer, MUFE Elixir, MAC Fix + Etc.

Okay so that's EVERYTHING in my kit...and I'm not lying there is still a lot of room in there! Plus like I said before I normally wouldn't bring ALL of this stuff to every shoot. I highly suggest everyone condense their kits...it just makes everything quicker to find and therefore you are quicker on set. I really don't even know what I would do w/ a rolling kit anymore...I don't know if I could fill it lol!