Do Something Good Today

I don't consider myself a beauty blogger, more of a beauty learner. I read a lot of blogs, watch a lot of videos on YouTube and Beautylish, and look up product reviews nearly everyday. I watch, I learn, and write about it here.

While browsing tons of videos it's easy to get caught up in all of my own flaws and start thinking in very superficial terms. And then I stumble upon a post or a project like Gwapa 'Beautiful' - an Inspirational Documentary that puts things in perspective and reminds me what beauty really means.

Growing up, I knew that being intelligent was far more important than being pretty. And so I am by no means a glamour girl, nor do I want to be. I have Vitiligo which effects the left side of my face. I have large white spots all around my left eye and left cheek. I have an eye that is a little droopy, and a nostril that is slightly smaller. But as much as I pretend not to care about my flaws, I sometimes find myself dwelling on them. And so I pick up a makeup brush and start covering all those flaws. A few minutes later, and no ones knows.

When I work on film projects, I do the same for the actors. I take out the redness, cover small blemishes, slim the face and cover tired eyes. I try to make beautiful people more beautiful. A few brush strokes later, and they are a better version of themselves.

But what if it wasn't that easy? What if you woke up thinking you were not beautiful, not worthy of love, or shunned by society because of your appearance?

Gwapa(Beautiful) is a documentary by Thirsty Girl Films that "follows a poor Filipino family’s struggle for a healthy future and a mother’s remarkable journey to help her three kids with facial deformities."

Gwapa (Beautiful) ll Fundraising Video from Meg Pinsonneault on Vimeo.

"Children with clefts are often abandoned or shunned from society. The lucky ones are accepted into their families, but rarely leave home or attend school. Likewise, children with cleft lips and palates run a higher risk of dying of disease and illness. Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common and most curable of birth defects, but surgical repair is almost unheard of on the smaller islands. Sadly, most clefts go unrepaired in poor countries like The Philippines. Just one surgery can change a child’s life forever."

Thirty Girl Films is currently running an Indiegogo campaign in an effort to raise the funds necessary to finish filming this beautiful documentary. They plan on traveling with Faces of Tomorrow on their mission back to the Philippines in January 2012, to spend two weeks filming the Bulabos and Alac families.

This campaign is coming to an end and you only have a few days left to help make this project happen. This Holiday season, consider donating to this project and giving the gift of beauty and hope. "Because every child deserves the chance at a beautiful and healthy future..."

To donate, learn more and keep spreading the word please visit:

Indiegogo Campaign

Official Website

Facebook Fanpage

ThirstyGirl Films on Twitter

Week 4: Contouring and Highlighting

October (But really November)-Fundamentals

Face Contouring and Highlighting

Well I suppose, better late than never. First an excuse, then a confession.

The excuse: I have been super busy. Between the web-series, several networking events and a few other makeup related projects I have been working on and doing research for, I have been too pooped to finish out my 4th week of instruction.

A confession: While that is all true, the real truth is that I hit a bit of a block this lesson. I did the research, and worked on the look over two weekends and hated every picture I took. The contouring was either too heavy or not even noticeable. It's easy to say, "I'll post pictures of all my triumphs and failures." Turns out posting isn't as easy when it's about your failures. So I admit, I waited until I was able to get something I was happy with.

What I tried:



Jlo and Kim Kardashian are by far the "Queens of the Contour." Regardless of whether you are a fan or not, they are both stunning and who doesn't want to look and feel like a glamor queen every so often. It's no wonder there are so many videos and blog posts dedicated to getting that really sculpted look.

Below are some of my favorites:

KandeeJohnson



I mean who hasn't seen a Kandee Johnson video? Here she does a great job breaking down the basics of contouring. Make sure to click on the second video that shows you how to highlight. She uses concealer pencils, and a darker color powder. This one is totally wearable.


GossMakeupArtist



Here he is using lighter and darker cream foundations to sculpt the face and shows us the art of blending.

Pixiwoo



For a more dramatic runway type look, here is Sam's take on it. It is a bit extreme, but if you are new to it, it is a great video to see where the highlights and contours really go. She uses mostly powders for the contours and really explains what color you should use and why.

My first attempt was too light. I first tried with powder but it ended up too diffused and I was not able to blend it out completely. It made my face look dry and dirty, not glamorous at all.


For my second attempt, I used liquid foundation. The darkest shade I had was far too warm and orange. I took too long to blend it, and it ended up looking streaky. It was a little too, "hey look I contoured my face." But I suppose it could have been worse. Sorry Lindsay Lohan. (Allure.com)



As I sat there staring at my face wondering what I need to do differently, Finally an "ah-ha" moment. I noticed the hair casting shadows across parts of my face. I picked up one of my brushes, wondering if I could use it to cast a shadow strategically. Voila!! It worked.


It allowed me to see what color I should use to create the shadows. But best of all, it let me experiment with the shadows on my face without any commitment at all. I was able to move the shadow up and down or change the angle by a few degrees. I held it closer for a deeper narrower shadow, and further for a lighter, more diffused shadow. It was amazing to see what a tiny shadow could do to the shape of my face. I was able to experiment with contouring in a few minutes, what otherwise would have take me hours to apply and remove over and over again. With new resolve, I moved on to the "painting" portion of the evening.

What I Learned:

Big take aways this week - For contouring, you need a brownish color that is cool, not shimmery, and matches the shadows already in your face. There are several different ways to do it but you have to find what works for you. For me, it was cream foundation. Powder was too hard for me to control, but the cream was easy to apply and then blend. Also, I learned I actually work a lot better from diagrams or even just reading than a video alone.

Kevyn Aucoin had this great photo in his book Making Faces. So I copied it here using my Graftobian warm palette. The highlight color is Ingenue, and the contour color is Midnight Mariold.





I just like creams better. I am able to blend them better, and they look more skin-like than liquids or powders. The first picture is foundation only, it is about 4 hours old here. The second look is the look above blended out. I used a wedge makeup sponge for most of the blending here. The contour color was probably a little too warm still, but it definitely brings a depths to my face.


Here is the completed look. I added red lipstick, black eyeliner, filled in my brows and put on a red dress. Mostly I just walked around the house feeling glamorous. While I certainly won't be wearing this look to work on Monday, I really like this look. Now I just need somewhere to wear it.

Making a full size corpse

It isn't always pretty

If you have not yet watched Chutes and Ladders- Episode 1, do so before reading on. You've been forewarned.

I really pride myself on being a DIYer and finding the cheapest alternative for any project. So when I was asked to create a corpse for the big reveal at the end of episode 1, I was up for challenge. While a corpse is more of a prop than strictly makeup, I figured it was close enough. Luckily, I am a huge Bones fan, so I have seen my fair share of rotting and decaying flesh, well the television version anyway. Take a look at some of these rotting beauties featured in NYmag.com.

I don't like watching gory movies, I don't even like scary movies, and I don't like blood in real life either. But I like Bones, ozzy goozy guts and all. I think I appreciate all the work and creativity that goes into all the makeup, props and special effects. So I was pretty excited to get a chance to make a corpse.

I knew Backyard FX had a lot of really great tutorials, perfect for DIYers like me. I was able to find this one on creating a corpse.

I made a quick trip to Home Depot and was able to gather most of my supplies there, and charm my way into getting my PVC pipe cut according to the dimensions in the video. I made another stop at the 99cents store for pantyhose, a cheap barbie with black hair, and wire coat hangers. One final stop at a theater shop for liquid latex, and I was ready to start building.

I just needed to acquire a foam head. They have them everywhere around Halloween, but in March, they are surprising difficult to find. I only had two days, and Latex takes a while to dry, so I started building without the head.

I named him "Frankie" and here he is, just "bones." The drill I borrowed was too heavy for me, so drilling through the PVC pipe took forever. I enlisted the help of my friend Nahid, and she helped hold the PVC pipes steady. She also helped mold the rib cage seen below.

By the end of the night, I was ready to start wrapping "Frankie" in newspaper to build his paper body, wrap him in pantyhose, and cover him in latex.

Once "Frankie" was dry he was ready for wardrobe. At the end of episode 1, Alejandro discovers his own decaying body, wearing the same clothes he has on now. So Frankie's wardrobe had to match but look much older. I added a few burn holes to mimic heavy wear and tear.

Here he is with Alejandro on the day of the shoot. I wish I had more time, and more latex, but overall I was happy withe the final product. I couldn't fit him in the car after the shoot, so I left him at my parent's house. My mom was so creeped out by it, that he was promptly moved and hidden in the garage. He now resides in my closet, but I can't wait to put him on display somewhere for Halloween.

Week 3: Foundation and Powder

September-Fundamentals

Foundation and Powder

What I Tried:

When I first started I really did not know what to look for in a foundation. I didn't know to look for high pigment, coverage, type of finish, or whether it is build-able. This was before going to IMATS, before realizing there were amazing people out there blogging about makeup, and sharing their expertise on you-tube.

So blindly, for my first project, I just went with L'Oreal True Match foundation. They were really inexpensive, and I had used them personally. I purchased just a few bottles: their lightest and darkest shade and a few in between. They are pretty blendable so they were easy to mix, but really they were so sheer it didn't really matter what color I used. In retrospect, it was probably the worst drugstore one I could have purchased. It was too sheer, had a slightly ashy finish and started to fade and break apart in a few hours.

After that, I went through a lot of videos on the topic and foundation product reviews, both high end and low end. Getting the skin right really is the most important part. Even if you don't like looking all dolled up all the time, everyone wants a beautiful, clear, natural looking complexion. And because it is so important, everyone has a video on it. Here are some of my favorites on this topic.


MakeupbyRenRen


I discovered MakeupbyRenRen recently and I think she is my new favorite. Here she covers everything for a whole face, from priming to finishing with powder and adding a little highlighting and contouring.


I ended up purchasing a smaller version of the palette used in the video so I could get a feel for it before committing to the full size palette. It is so much easier to find the right color by holding it up and then swatching, rather than going through individual bottles and comparing. Temptress blended right in (4th one down).

Pixiwoo


I like this video by Pixiwoo because she goes through a few drugstore brands. Not all of them are terrible after all, but they are sometimes hard to pick out since you can't test them. Ultimately, you buy a product for what is on the inside, not the brand on the outside. She takes you through what to look for on the inside. And I love that she actually tests them and lets you see what they look like, rather than just talking about what they are like.

GossMakeup Artist


This is kind of an older one, but it is true to the title. Basics of Foundation and Powder. I've been watching Goss for a while and have yet to find a video I didn't learn something useful from.

What I learned:

While I would love to own the entire Make Up For Ever HD foundation, it is not realistically in my price range. Considering it runs $40 a bottle, I couldn't even justify getting even one bottle in my own color. I practice every night, so I needed a cheaper alternative to play with. I opted for Revlon Color Stay after several reviews stated it was comparable to the MUFE line, at 1/4 the price. Its fairly pigmented and has pretty full coverage. But, you do have to blend quickly or it becomes impossible to blend. It doesn't feel cakey, but I definitely can still feel it on. But it does lasts longer than any other drugstore brand I have tried. MUFE obviously has a wider color range, and the option of trying it on before you buy. But when I took a sample home, I honestly didn't see that much of a difference, not a $30 difference anyway. It's not that MUFE isn't fantastic, it's just that Revlon Color Stay is just fine for what I was doing.

But I won't be toting around all 30 MUFE bottles, or even 15 Revlon bottles around with me. I needed something that would give me a full color range and was cheap enough to practice with. I love Kevin James Bennett's In My Kit. It is such a great place to start if you are looking for the biggest bang for your buck when stocking your kit.

That being said, Revlon was fine for practicing at home, and even a recent media promo I did, since the actors needed to look like regular people. However, I needed a more professional brand that I could use on various project. The nice people over at Frends in North Hollywood were great and helped me decide between RCMA and Graftobian. I went with Graftobian because it is a little creamier, so it is easier to handle. It also doesn't require a mixing medium. What a difference using a highly pigmented project makes. Just take a look below.

It covers beautifully, photographs great and a tiny bit goes a long way. For a natural day look, you can just use your fingers to apply it, since the warmth from your hands helps blend it. You could also use a foundation brush to buff it in, like you would with any liquid foundation, for a ultra polished look. I used a dry sponge in the store and loved the coverage. But I like my foundation to take drab skin to just more radiant and even skin, so I use a damp sponge. I then set by dusting on translucent powder, not colored pressed powder which can look a little too made up. The wet sponge helps sheer it out and make it look more like skin, and since it has so much pigment to begin with, it still deposits a lot of color. Even when sheered out, it is still far more pigmented that any drugstore brand, or even high-end department store brand. And the best part is, it is super affordable. Graftobian, you have made a convert out of me.

Week 2: Color Correction and Concealer

September-Fundamentals

Color Correction and Concealer

What I tried:

I tried researching color correction and came up empty handed for a few days. I've seen the little green and pink and yellow tubes in several stores, and I kind of knew the basic concept. Use green to cover red, yellow/orange/ salmon for under eyes etc. But honestly, I didn't really know why. This video was one of the first I watched on the topic. I appreciate this video because it shows just how far a little color correction can get you.



I immediately wanted to buy the wax based palette featured in this video, but I knew I shouldn't, not just yet anyway. I think that when you are first starting out it is easy to get into the mentality of "if I just had this one thing, then I could really do it." I've made that mistake too many times already. I have a drawer full of cute workout clothes- it certainly has not made me any better at working out. I got excited about gardening too and bought a bunch of flowers and gardening tools. But they all died because I really didn't know what I was doing.

The point is, makeup for me is just a hobby right now. This blog is my attempt to look at it more professionally, but there is a chance my excitement will wane. And if it does, the last thing I want is to be stuck with hundreds of dollars or products I won't ever use or do not know how to use.

That being said, I paid a visit Frend Beauty Supply Store in North Hollywood. I picked up a Mehron Nuetralizer Pro Color Ring for $12 instead. I was familiar with the brand, it's cheap, cream based and it sheers out really nicely, which makes it easy to apply.

(Mehron.com)

What I learned:

What I really learned this week is that color corrector is just a fancy name for concealer, or rather it was my fancy "incorrect" name for it. There are two types of concealers, neutralizing concealers, and color concealers. Color concealers are the skin toned ones.

Neutralizing concealers are the green, purple pink and yellow concealers you see in the store. Several makeup lines carry them, from the lower end like L'Oreal Studio Secrets Professional, to the higher end like Make Up For Ever. (Both examples given here are primers, but the corrective color principle is the same).


Color correction is based on the color wheel. The color directly opposite will cancel out the other, meaning that when mixed together, you get brown. That's why green works to neutralize red, yellow neutralizes purple, and purple livens up sallow, yellowish skin. But it actually isn't as easy as picking up a tube of pink or purple or yellow, because everyone's skin tone is different. The yellow that works on my purplish under eye circles is definitely not the same that would work on someone else with blueish under eye circles. Whether you are buying the super pricey correctors, or the the lower end drugstore brand, the color is what matters most. That is why I like the Mehron color ring, because the colors are bright enough that I can mix them together to get the right shade.

However, I will admit that this is probably the most difficult part for me. I know I have somewhat of a purplish hue under my eyes, but as you can see, there are several shades of purple. And in order to neutralize, you have to get the right corresponding color. Right now, I am still working on the right shade of yellow green for myself. Below is my work in progress.

On the left, I have no makeup on. On the right, I am only wearing the neutralizer color ring. I covered the pink in my cheek with a little green. I used purple to cover the brown spot near my eye, and I mixed yellow and green for under my eyes. I have a little bit of purple still coming through, but it should disappear once I apply foundation and set with powder.

The other thing that is difficult is that I don't have the color wheel emblazoned in my brain yet. I think of it kind of like trying to memorize a complicated formula in Calculus or Econ. Right now, I have to constantly reference the formula (color wheel chart) and use it as my step by step guide. With some practice, I'll eventually have it memorized and will be able to use it without actually looking at it.

But just like in math, formulas aren't really what you need to learn, they are just a way to remember all the principles of what you are doing. But once you really understand the concept, the formula disappears and becomes nothing more than a shorthand description of something you already know. I've only really gotten there a few times in math, I hope my learning curve here is a bit faster.

Week 1: Face Shapes, Skin types, cheeks and blush placement

September-Fundamentals

Face Shapes

What I tried:

I have only taken one art class, and it was about 8 years ago, so sometimes basic concepts like shape and shadows are difficult for me. I tried to determine my own face shape by eyeballing it, but couldn't decide if it was oval, round or heart shaped.After some time on-line, and at the bookstore, I settled on this face chart and diagram from Our Vanity.
My first idea was to trace my face in the mirror, using a sheet of saran wrap. Turns out that was a terrible idea. I had to close one eye to do it, and I kept moving. I don't know who this person is, but it isn't me. But I think the face shape is right.

Oval shaped is considered the ideal, and any other shape is a based on mathematical deviation from that. You'll see it sectioned in thirds in art books all the time. But since I can't copy my own face on paper yet, I decided to actually section off my face, on my face.















What I learned:

I am actually really glad I sectioned it off, because I saw things I never would have seen otherwise. I've always felt my face was not symmetrical at all and my left side was much smaller than my right. Turns out, it actually is pretty symmetrical. After sectioning it off this way, I realized my left side isn't really smaller, the curvature is just different, it falls away much closer to the center. I can see curvature on other peoples faces, because they are 3-dimensional. But with my own face, I can only ever see a 2-dimensional version. Adding the lines helped envision the 3-dimensional version.

Skin types

What I tried:

I'm kind of lucky because I have normal skin, it's not very oily and I almost never break out. Normal skin is great for practicing makeup because I can play with lots of product and not really worry about it. In fact, it's even gotten better since I've been practicing, mostly because I am so meticulous about washing it off now and taking care of it. I was a bit of slacker with my skin before. But it also meant I didn't spend much time really studying this topic this week.

What I learned:

But I did find this helpful article on All Women's Talk. I like that it included a tissue test to actually figure it out. So I slept in late and did the tissue test in the morning, yep...normal. I still need to do a little more research on products for different skin types.

Cheeks and Blush placement

What I tried:

Blush usually goes on after foundation, but I wanted to include it this week as an add on to face shape. I spent some time at the book store, copying what I needed to study out of books and watching a few YouTube videos. Why not try it all.


Goss Makeup Artist has some really great videos and I particularly like this one for finding cheekbones and creating a lifting look. I like his finger to ear method for finding cheekbone. Alternatively, you can place a pencil against you cheek to find the line as well. Because he is a male, its almost easier to understand what he is doing, because you can look past just the "pretty" and focus on the technique.


What I learned:

Along the cheekbone is great when I want a more polished or when I want to look my age. Slightly above the cheekbone will create lift, while slightly below cheekbone will create some depth and accentuate bone structure. Below the cheekbone wasn't a good look for me since my cheeks are pretty full, so there wasn't any structure to accentuate. I had to contour my face first to make it work.

I agree with Goss, that placing blush on the apples of your cheek is a very young look and will otherwise drag your face down. But I realized that since I still have a youthful appearance, it still works for me.

Planning Makeup Curriculum

I don’t know if you knew this or not, but the internet is kind of, well, vast. I could probably spend countless hours on-line researching makeup techniques, watching videos and reading product reviews. In fact, I have spent hours doing just that, only to walk away feeling overwhelmed by what I still need to learn and wondering why it is now 2 a.m.

But as with anything that is new, the key is to stay focused, take it one skill at a time, and fit in as much practice in between. You can’t really expect to learn in a few hours what has taken people years of experience to master. So it’s time to do what I do best: put all my academic skills to good use and study.

I like learning with a purpose, so I had to plan it out. I actually used to be a teacher, and every summer I would take out my calendar and tentatively fill in what I wanted my year to look like. I would then go back and fill in week to week, and eventually day to day as I became more familiar with the curriculum. Below is my projected curriculum:

Sep-Nov: Beauty Makeup (Fundamentals, Modern Looks, Techniques for various mediums)

Dec-Feb: Out of Kit Special Effects (blood and wounds, appliances, characters

March-May: Sketch Work (Faces, Costuming, Sets and Room Perspective,)

June-August: Sewing (Fundamentals, Period Fashion, Major Alterations)

Final Examination: 5 Test shots which combine all three skills. These will be based on character breakdowns from books, scripts, comic book images etc.)

This is obviously still a tentative schedule, but I like having a trajectory. I’ve actually worked out my entire workload week by week. I am sure this schedule will change, as I learn more about each of these mediums and start to see what I need more time on. But for now, I thought I’d show you a little closer look at what each week looks like for September.

Course 1: Beauty Makeup

September-Fundamentals:

Week 1: Face Shapes, Skin types, cheeks and blush placement.

Week 2: Color principles, the color wheel and color correction

Week 3: Foundations, powders, face contouring and highlighting

Week 4: Eye shape, eye lining and eye shadow, eye brows, false eyelashes, mascara

Each week, I will be scouring blogs, forums, books and magazines, researching each topic and then applying the best strategies. I will be sharing what I’ve learned and highlighting how I learned it, as well posting pictures of my progress. So check back often and happy studying!

My "Classroom" Work Space

I cleared out my sewing area in my craft room and re-designated it as my makeup area. Although, this area will continue to be re-designated over the next few months. But I figured it was better to have one permanent place that served one purpose at a time, rather than one area that had a random assortment of "craft stuff."

Since I don't have that much right now, I keep most of what I own on the desk. I picked up a few cute bowls from the dollar store and use one for small eye shadows, one for blushes and bronzers, and one for lipsticks. I lined an old chocolate gift box with pretty paper and use it to store my liquid foundations, concealers, primers etc.






I pretty much re-purposed containers from all over the house, including an old shot glass that was perfect for q-tips. My brushes keep moving from my roll out case to a cup because I can't decide how I want them yet. I keep extra sponges, wipes, makeup remover, tissues, and disposable items in the shelves of the desk, along with my makeup case, and a scrapbook carrier that I also use for storage.


I set up a mirror behind the desk and stole one of my husband's clamp lights that I attached to the top of the mirror. I would love to use natural light, but I work during the day, so I have to practice at night. I read that lighting that is too cold will lead you to over apply, but if the light is too warm, you will think you look great when you don't. (You know you've been there, getting into you car and seeing a line or a streak you couldn't see in your bathroom.) Luckily he helped me pick out a natural light bulb from his collection.

I was going to add two smaller clamp lights on the side, but apparently Home Depot decided they are not safe and doesn't carry them anymore! The lighting I know is not perfect. I can't always see what I am doing perfectly, and sometimes it is a real problem for pictures. But this is where I have been practicing and I hope that as I keep working and develop a better sense of what I need, I can make adjustments as needed.

Committing

Committing to a project, piece of cake! Committing to a look, well that's a bit trickier. I think part of the reason it is so hard to commit and just go for it, is because when you are working on your own face, it's really hard to stay objective. Not every look is right for every face, and when you know a look is so wrong on you, its hard to keep working and really commit for the sake of practicing.

I've been working backstage on "Chicago" with the Torrance Theatre Company, so I was inspired to try a 1920s look.

Here is the image from Glamour Daze that I used for inspiration. Below that, is what I ended up with.

Glamour Daze


I like how glowy my skin looks and I think it's a pretty look, but it's not what I was going for at all. I tried a much darker eye and sloped my brow down, but you can barely see either in this picture. I could blame the photographer (me) but really it was my inability to commit to a look that wasn't exactly "pretty." I washed it all off and resolved to try again, and not let my personal aesthetic get in the way. But I had to commit, and take it much further than I was actually comfortable with.




In stepped Clara Bow as my new inspiration. She had the 1920s look I wanted, but was too afraid to try the first time. Not pretty, but beautiful in its boldness. (NNDB)

So here is my version of Clara Bow. It wasn't intended to be an exact replica, just a way to push beyond my comfort zone. I used glue and powder to block out my eyebrows this time, so I could draw on a sloping brow. I made sure to darken the inside of my eyes to really drop the eye and went for the full cupid lip. My blending around my brows was not great and my lips could have been a little sharper. I also had a hard time lighting my face properly. But overall, I was much happier with this look because I stepped out of my comfort zone. It doesn't have to be perfect the first time, I just have to do it. The bold, the grotesque, even the ugly is not something to be feared. It is only makeup after all...it always washes off.

Trip to Philly and Browsing Magazines

I took a few days off to attend a friend's wedding in Philadelphia. The bride was beautiful as always, and it was amazing getting to see old college friends. The humidity was not nearly as bad as I anticipated, but still worse than I would have liked. Living in LA, I very rarely have to worry about the humidity so my personal makeup choices generally don't take humidity into account. However, I would like to find a few new products that can withstand the heat, especially heat from professional lights. Bright lights don't really make things humid, but they sure do make it hot and sweaty. "How to avoid the makeup melt" will now be adding to my makeup curriculum.

On our flight home, I had a chance to browse through the September issue of Glamour. I flipped through with new eyes this time. I wasn't looking for clothes I can't afford or even a standard of beauty I couldn't personally achieve. I was looking for makeup trends and looks to try. I flipped through slowly, evaluating each face and paying particular attention to highlighting and contouring. I was looking at blush placement and color combination. I dog-eared my favorite looks, some bold and some very natural, like this beautiful coral lip on Selena Gomez.



(Glamour.com)

I never once felt envious, only creative and excited to get home and get started. Good thing I already have this little guy (NP gloss in Tangerine Slice). Now I just need a nice coral lipstick to go on the bottom.

Photo Shoot Tests

We spent most of last Sunday at a park called, La Tierra de la Culebra. It's a tiny little park in Highland Park, but it has a great arts vibe.


A friend and I are planning a hair and makeup "Test for Print" shoot next month. We spent the day scouting locations and taking a couple test shots. Thank goodness our photographer came along, because I am useless with a camera. Here are just a few samples.

I am excited to see what this becomes, once we add hair, makeup, wardrobe and a few bounce boards to the our shoot. Stay tuned for uploads from the actual shoot.

Using Color to Create Symmetry

This is the first dreaded "No Makeup" test shot.
My face is clearly not that of a model, nor of an actress. I do not have amazing bone structure nor do I have perfect symmetry. One eye is slightly smaller and a little droopy, my nose is slightly crooked, and I have Vitiligo (absence of melanin) which affects the left side of my face mostly around my eye, but also my cheek area. When you practice makeup on yourself, you tend to notice these things a lot. Even so, with all my flaws, I like my face and it's a canvass all the same.

I have learned to appreciate the things I do have. I have really clear skin, and I have never had to deal with acne. That is also probably why I fell into makeup late. While everyone else fussed over covering blemishes, I used to pop on a little gloss and and maybe the occasional smokey eye for parties. It was not until a few years ago when I developed Vitiligo that I started looking for ways to cover it. The truth is, no one is perfect. Everyone has hangups about tiny little imperfections that in reality no one notices or cares about at all. That's why I like working on faces, because I am reminded that everyone is imperfect. My job isn't to mask that, rather to smooth out those imperfections so people can focus on your best features.

That being said, the following picture is my own face corrected for symmetry. I went in with a darker foundation color to thin my face a bit and used a bit to contour my face a bit. (Kandee Johnson had a great video on this). I didn't spend too much time on this part, because the real focus was straightening my nose and a bit of work on my left eye. ( I didn't work out all of the symmetry in my eye, my eye brows or my lips).

I used the same principles of contouring on my nose. I added darker foundation along the sides. I used my right side as my standard, and duplicated the shadows I saw on that side onto my left side. I went back in with a really light concealer stick and highlighted down the center of my nose. It is definitely a little straighter and narrower. Could I do this every day? Sure, but luckily, I am not a model so I don't have to. I'm not trying to fool anyone into thinking my face is perfectly symmetrical. I'll keep working on it though for the sake of learning it. Because while I may not need to do this for myself, symmetry on screen and in photographs does matter.

Thrift stores = Biggest bang for your buck

For this scene in Chutes and Ladders, the hair was kept pretty simple, a thin braid that started on one side and wrapped around to the other. I'm lucky to have a friend (Ella Maria) who is an amazing Hair Dresser that I can call up before a shoot and make sure I am fully prepared.


The costume was a lot of fun to work on too. The vest started as an ugly puffy vest with fur trim on the hood (Think J-Lo circa P. Diddy). I promptly removed the trim and sewed the hood back together. I also wanted to add a little edge but had to find a way to do it cheaply. Taking a bit of inspiration from Project Runway a few seasons ago, I purchased the longest black zipper I could find, and broke it apart. 2 dollars well spent to add a metal trim up the front of the vest.

My favorite part however was the belt. I cleared out the rack of belts at the local thrift store. Four black belts, some with broken parts, were fasted together into this giant mega belt. To save time, I ditched the task of sewing through leather, and went straight for my card hole puncher. I snuck into my husbands desk and stole a few of the little brass fasteners used for scripts. Turns out, they are great for fastening pretty much anything. I told you I was resourceful. I was pretty pleased with the overall look of the final product. I think she is ready to kick some ass, don't you?

Making use of my bruise wheel

This was for a project I worked on recently, Chutes and Ladders, a web series my husband created and I helped produce along with one of the actors (Datta Dave).

Cuts and bruises have always been one of my favorite things. I am pretty clumsy myself, so I generally have plenty of real life samples to base my work on. I watched a few tutorial a few days before this particular day, but I didn't really find anything that was different from what I was already doing. I also searched for images I liked of fake bruises. If you can stomach it, I recommend searching for images of real ones too.

I used Ben Nye's Cuts and Bruise Wheel, layering on the blue and red tones with a nylon stippling sponge. Layering the two helps create the uneven purple tone found in real bruises, pale in some areas and almost green in others. I went back in with a little extra red to create fresh scratches and a little yellow in the center to make it look a bit swollen. I used a basic translucent powder to set it, also from Ben Nye. Brushes won't work here, bruises call for velour powder puffs so you can really press it into the skin. A little stage blood and in our case, a little bit of dirt and ashes, and you are ready to go.

Creating this look is fairly easy, because it's ok if it looks a little haphazard. However if continuity is going to be an issue, plan ahead and practice on your own face a few times. Getting it just right and exactly the same each time takes some practice. I like my cuts and bruises, but there is definitely some room to grow, so it's back to my make-up area until I get it "just-so."

Why crowd learning? Why now?

My mother is a Jill of all trades, and she taught me well. I grew up writing, doodling, sewing, and generally crafting my way through summers. I made some of my own clothes and even took a floral design class once. But at some point in High School, I arbitrarily decided that that part of me wasn't worth keeping. Maybe because I didn't have time, but probably more so because it didn't fit in with my image of a "smarty-pants." And so I went to college, got a BA in History and Span Lit. I ended up teaching High School English for a few years and then went back to Grad School to get an MPP.

I've always been a bit of a workaholic and a part of my kind of enjoys being stressed out. I kept dabbling, but always with a purpose. I took on a DIY attitude and played with other mediums like painting, drawing, makeup, costuming and re-purposing anything from thrift stores and craigslist. I painted my bedspread, added a trim to the shower curtains and hung them in my bedroom, and transformed dusty picture frames into jewelry holders. I never knew what I was doing, but that never mattered. And then I found myself on a set, where I was able to put all those years of practical dabbling to good use. I was a true DIYer, and I spent hours on-line learning to make things, mix things and do it cheaply.

I do a lot of things, and I do most fairly well, but I am certainly not an expert. I thought about maybe starting over, going back to school, but I honestly don't know where my true artistic passion lies or what I am really good at. I don't know if there is something out there I could potentially make a career out of. But I plan on spending the next year discovering what I can do and how far I can go, using easily accessible resources. This means on-line tutorials, websites, books I find on amazon etc. I am going "back to school" but I will be crowd learning, taking bits and pieces and creating my curriculum as I go. This will include beauty makeup and out of kit special effects, sketch work, and sewing.

This isn't new obviously, lots of people are self taught in a variety of fields. I'm taking that same journey, but I am documenting it and will be showing you my progress along the way. I hope you enjoy it and maybe pick up a trick or two. "Classes" start September!