Girl, Decorated

Aww, memories! OK, so, this journal is defunct (duh, right?) - BUT I still do blog! I've been working as a freelance makeup artist for the past two years and REALLY loving it!



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xoxo,
Liz

OK, I stand corrected. I've never really been drawn to those clunky plastic palettes filled with cheap makeup... I don't like how the powders sprinkle all over the lipstick and, I dunno, I'm just picky. The Sephora Blockbuster palette didn't impress me at all, quality or execution-wise. Just... clunky and sloppy.

But then I found out about this one from Smashbox:



ZOMG. OK, let's break it down. You get:

64 Eye Shadows (I'm new to Smashbox shadows but I played a bit and can't complain! These are roughly dime-sized - if dimes were square shaped. Great color selection, including mattes, LOTS of shimmers, and a few glitters. Payoff is good - not like Makeup Forever good, but MAC good. I wish there were more mattes, but it's still a great selection.)

8 Cream Eye Liners (I've used these before, they're really easy to apply and it's great to have a color selection. Layering eyeshadow on top makes them even more opaque and longer lasting.)

6 Brow Tech Powders (Smashbox is famous for their brow kits, and this is an excellent color selection of matte brow powders that can also double as neutral eyeshadows.)

1 Brow Wax (I tend to stick with clear mascara, but sometimes wax is more effective to hold stubborn hairs in place.)

8 Lip Glosses (I'm also new to these, but they seem nice enough. I recommend keeping this section tucked in when applying eyeshadow; hopefully that will minimize product cross-pollination. Same with the cream liners on the other side.)

2 Blushes, 1 "Complexion Brightener" (basically just a pale peach blush), 1 Highlighter (pale shimmery powder), and 1 Bronzer. (This is the center section of the box. Next to the brushes, this one's my least fave. There's not much color selection here and the shades really only suit lighter skin. Also, they're all very shimmery, except for the bronzer. It's definitely useful to have a matte bronzer kicking around... I'm sick of everything being shimmery, ye gads. Cute in person, annoyingly obvious in photography. Mineral foundations, I'm looking at you.)

4 Mini Brushes - Shadow, Liner, Brow & Lip. (About the same as the brushes you get with such kits - crappy, but useful for on-the-road. The white flat eyeliner brush performs well with the cream liners, but the others are kinda meh.)

The construction of the palette is where you can tell the money was saved - you have to be gentle with the shelves, because I can imagine they'd be pretty easy to yank off or misalign if you aren't careful. And you'd have to be careful with the whole kit, because it would be MESSY if dropped.

In conclusion? You could do a LOT worse for $59. (Total. Shipping wuz free.) This is one of those rare products that builds a collection instantly, and the quality is better than what you'd usually get in an all-in-one. Highly recommended for your holiday wish lists or a self-indulgent splurge: http://www.smashbox.com/WISH-FOR-THE-PERFECT-PALETTE.

Also, hi! I've been swamped with my new job (which rocks) and my makeup gigs (which also rock). Hope everyone's enjoying their Autumn.

On Friday, I'll be starting a new (non-makeup) job that I'm both excited and terrified about - it's a huge leap in responsibility and oversight, in the industry I've been wanting to break into (higher education), and I am lucky to have found it, especially in this job market. I am excited, nervous, and driven to make the most of this opportunity. So my already sporadic blogging is likely to become even moreso. I can only offer apologies and recommendations for beauty writers far more prolific than myself!

That said, I've been spending the last few months networking with photographers and aspiring models in order to put together some semblance of a portfolio, and I've made some great headway - so if my OTHER career blows up in my face again, I'll have something I also enjoy to fall back upon. I even have business cards & a website in the works. Can you believe the timing? JUST when I start to get comfortable with the idea of freelancing, I get a fabulous job offer. c'est la vie.

( Some recent photoshoot images...Collapse )I'm waiting on some MUCH better ones, too... two wedding shoots, one multi-model outdoor shoot, and one amazing studio fashion shoot with a photographer who liked me enough to book me again this weekend. Oh, and photos from an amateur clothing designer's fashion show.

Being privy to the wannabe-pro-fashionista world has been an interesting ride, to say the least. I have been on shoots - and one (tiny) fashion show - where I had to speedily crank out makeup for model after model like an assembly line worker. I've seen bizarre sibling drama blow up on set, dealt with incredible flakiness, and am patiently waiting for images from at least four photoshoots (one of which I suspect I'll never get, because the photographer and model have since had a falling out over usage rights). Welcome to the wild world of non-pro internet modeling. :P Somehow, I made the makeup work, well enough anyway that I've been getting requests from all over the state - I'll even be doing a paid shoot this weekend. I've been overall pretty impressed with myself, considering how green I am. It's been fun, most of the people have been honestly great, and I plan to continue to do it for as long as it holds my interest.

I feel like that photo just needs some advertising copy on the left... "How bright is YOUR world?" or something to that effect, maybe advertising fabric softener or something. Totally commercial!

( Three more...Collapse )

I love how cooperative my friends have been about my attempt at racking up photoshoot experience. It's a good thing, too, because I'm scheduled to make up an "agency-standard" model in Boston on Friday for an editorial-fashion-inspired type of shoot. Eek!

I'm sorry, but I just can't find the chipped nail polish trend to be cute:



Even on someone who's completely adorable:



So ladies, if Sebastian the (apparently genderqueer) Toy Poodle looks disheveled in chipped frosty pink PAWlish, how do you think YOU look?

I rest my case.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to remove the chipped Essie Huckle Buckle polish from my tips...

I had two shoots scheduled this week - pretty productive, eh? The Wednesday shoot was with the photographer I met last month who got this whole portfolio-building project rolling. The shoot was wedding-themed and I can't WAIT to get the CD.

Yesterday's was with an amateur photographer that I'd contacted on a networking site. (Bet you can guess which one.) I had contacted a number of photographers offering to do makeup for shoots in exchange for images, and she jumped at the opportunity. I found the model, who is actually a friend of a friend and not a "pro" (she just looks like one)... I had done a fast-and-dirty makeup job on her back in March for a performance, and she said she'd love to help me out. I arrived at her place hours before the scheduled shoot and had the luxury of plenty of time to do her face. Then she grabbed a few wardrobe options and we headed into Holyoke, where the photographer's studio was located.

Now, I'm not especially naïve. I know people are flaky and forgetful. So I confirmed the date, time and location with the photographer the night before, and we exchanged numbers. She said we were a go and that she'd meet us out front. So we arrived on time, and there was no way to buzz in, so I called her. She answered, said "hello?" twice (leading me to believe she couldn't hear me), and hung up.

I tried calling back and got voicemail. Repeatedly. We even managed to get inside the building and talk to some guy who recognized the photographer's name but didn't know where she might be. We waited outside awhile longer, me with my makeup bag and my model glammed out with two dresses on a coathanger, looking conspicuous. I texted, politely, asking what was up and if we should wait or just take off. No response, of course.

Damn. Well, I knew I'd encounter flakes in this process, especially for unpaid, mutual-portfolio-development projects, but you think she'd have the decency to cancel, whatever her stupid excuse might be, so we're not left standing around on the street. I sent an email (again, polite) asking what had happened, but I don't expect a response. Nor do I intend to ever work with her in the future.

Anyway, the afternoon wasn't a complete wash, because not only did I get more makeup practice, but I had my camera with me. It's no pro camera (Canon PowerShot A630, 8.0 megapixels) and I'm no photographer, but we did the best we could right there in town. And it was actually a lot of fun!



( Lots more, and what I used.Collapse )

I found a local guy who mainly shoots... well, frankly, he mainly shoots "bait pics" for guys' online dating profiles. I thought he might be a good match for a particularly buff friend of mine (who happens to be a personal fitness trainer and bodybuilder), and he was eager to diversify his portfolio.

I was right; we had a blast.





( Lots moar, including some bad-ass muscle pr0n.Collapse )

Of course, since the theme was very Personal Best, you have to look pretty closely to tell that she's wearing makeup at all. And she is - a full face, in fact. (Foundation that was invisible even close-up in Photoshop; SO GLAD I bought the Graftobian HD cream foundation palette!) I spent about 45 minutes making her up... her eyes were very neutrally enhanced and her lips stayed bare, but I had to match her face and neck to the deep tan of her arms and chest, so that was a good exercise. (So to speak.) The no-makeup look is a good stretch for me. (Again, with the gym puns.) The photographer kept saying "don't overdo it - she wouldn't wear makeup to the gym!" (well, unless she were me, because I'm insane). I think that the results bring out her features JUST enough without looking particularly makeuppy. What do you think?

It was definitely an unusual experience from a working-with-a-photographer perspective. Very few photographers would encourage us to hang out for a few hours while he sorted through the images, picked out the best ones, and edited them in Photoshop. In terms of face 'shopping, we kept him honest - just a few skin bumps here and there were smoothed. But being able to collaborate on that whole process was a rare treat, especially because I didn't want her to be completely pore- and line-free, since it wasn't a glamour shoot or anything.

It was so much fun, and I'm psyched to do lots more - different themes, of course. Makeup you can actually see, at least sometimes. Whee!

Thought I'd try making a collage-tile-thinger of my favorite eye pix...



It'd be nice if I could make one without it BLINKING at me and having a big ol' Photobucket logo on it... surely there's an easier way that wouldn't require me to purchase Photoshop! But, hey, fun.

I gotta say... I've owned traincases, and I'm just not a big fan of them. They're heavy, awkward to carry, and they really don't hold that much because the telescoping tray mechanisms take up so much room. I'd already sold off my old MAC case; it just wasn't getting used.

At the 101 seminar I attended, I was impressed with James Vincent's simple approach: essentially, a duffel bag filled with clear plastic zip bags. I know that The Powder Group's bags sold like crazy at the last Makeup Show in NYC, and Sephora carries similar bags as well, but I was sure I could find something cheaper. After a bunch of searching, I lucked out on Amazon - a company named Cosmetic Solutions sells sturdy, inexpensive clear zipper bags in exactly the dimensions and shapes I was looking for. Shipping was fast, too. Score!

So, my kit - as it is thus far - now lives in a bag I've owned for ten years:



( In we go!Collapse )

For once, I'm not feeling the need to take advantage (I have plenty of eyeliner already!), but this is a pretty good sale so I thought I'd pass the code along:



Redeem at UrbanDecay.com.