MUA for Portfolio Filler Shoot Part 2

Photo courtesy Venkata

What: MUA for a Portfolio Filler Shoot

When: Saturday, July 20

Where: Santa Clara Studio

Model: Vanessa Leigh

Vanessa was the second model for the Portfolio Filler Shoot that George had set up. Click here to read about the first model, Christine Lea. Vanessa had arrived to the studio before I finished Christine's makeup, so we got started on her first makeup look as soon as possible. We had a blast! I was in such a rush to get Vanessa started on her makeup though that I forgot to take a "Before" shot. Shucks!

We had fun though. I was REALLY excited because I knew we were going to do two different looks for Vanessa. The first one would be a really natural highlighting of Vanessa's features. Something that would turn up great in photos, accentuating her great bone structure. I still loaded on the eyeshadow and blush colors and added false lashes though :) A MUST for photography!

Really, there were moments when Vanessa would turn a certain way, and I'd see Jessica Biel! Do you see it too?!?

Vanessa in action while photographers get set amounts of time to shoot.

Photo courtesy Rennis Kauffman                Photo courtesy Felicia Hong

AND THEN!!! Once Vanessa wrapped up the first round, she came back into my makeup chair for her 2nd makeup look. I am SO pleased with how this look came out. Thanks George for giving me the freedom to go extreme with Vanessa's eye makeup! George had told me there'd be use of fabrics on the next round of shooting, so he wanted an eye look that would be able to hold up against the different fabrics that the photographers would be able to choose from. So... I went crazy! Well, no not really, it's just not often that everything lines up so perfectly where I could get the freedom create a look like this with a stellar model, AND be able to get my hands on the awesome creative shots from the photographers.

Photo courtesy Venkata

MAKEUP FOCUS:

- Out there edgy and clean eyeliner design

- Shimmery gold lids that pop

- Bold thick lashes

- Deep black lips

Creating the look, I used a black eyeliner pencil first to create Vanessa's eye design, then went over the design with gel liner and a thin brush. I also added some more extreme lashes to the existing false lashes I had already applied.

Natural makeup to Dramatic makeup

Eyes open, eyes closed

PHOTOGRAPHER GALLERY

Special thanks to the photographers from this meetup for being patient as we switched Vanessa's MU look! The photos turned out super :)

Photos courtesy Venkata

Photo courtesy Rennis Kaufman

Photo courtesy Gail Rinard                      Photo courtesy Bob Stine

Photo courtesy Vinny Arrigali

Vanessa, you had the perfect look and attitude to pull this look off! Best wishes to your film writing/making!

If you'd like to see more photos from this event, click here!

MUA for Portfolio Filler Shoot

Photo courtesy Venkata

What: MUA for a Portfolio Filler Shoot

When: Saturday, July 20

Where: Santa Clara Studio

Model: Christine Lea

Thanks again to George, (who is just the coolest guy to work with), who also so happens to organize these photography meetups! He contacted me again to see if I'd like to do a two model portfolio filler shoot.

The first model, Christine, was super sweet and warm with everyone on the set. Easy smiles and laughs come from her, and makeup application was a lot of fun. We first talked about what she was going to wear. Based on previous e-mails, I was initially going to try for a a golden lid look. After talking a bit with Christine though, seeing what her first outfit would be, and getting a "bold but sweet" vibe, I ended up going with a silver/pink lid and bright fuschia lips instead.

Before and After

I was also so happy to see some familiar photographers coming into the shoot :) I love continuing conversations with them from previous shoots and love the energy they bring to these meetups. Of course, it's also nice meeting new photographers to the group too! Here are some of their photos.

Photo courtesy Gail Rinard

Photo courtesy Rennis Kauffman

Photos courtesy Felicia Hong

I really like how this one shows the natural false lashes I put on Christine.

Since this was a two model shoot, I had the chance to hang around for a bit. It was nice since I didn't feel like I had to rush out of there :) I could enjoy the company and was able to get to know Christine a little more. I cannot say this enough, all these photographers and models are SOOOO much more than their label of "photographer" or "model". They're really cool people and have a lot more going on in their lives. Best wishes to you Christine in your pursuit toward the medical field and pediatrics! Kids would be so easily drawn to your friendly personality :)

Photo courtesy Venkata

Transformation: Danei --> Great Gatsby/1920's Inspired Look!

What: Transformation

Who: Danei

When: July 10, 2013

Photographer: KathalynCelestePhotography

I've been dying to get my hands on Danei's hair for a while now :) She loves trying all different looks with her hair from cuts, shapes, styles, and even the occasional updo. They always look good on her and I'm always inspired to try different things with my hair... although more often, I end up going out of the house with same look every day :)

Quite a few months ago, she completely chopped off all her long hair and got a semi pixie cut. As it started to grow out, I figured it would make for a really nice length to try a finger wave look. At the same time, my sister Jen had sent me a photo for a Great Gatsby inspired look. Perfect! I decided to meld the two and the 2nd look of transformations of the day was born.

Online photos for inspiration:

Click here to read about how the Transformation Day started with Carmel --> Flowerchild, along with how I met Lynn, the awesome photographer who was able to stay and take photos of Danei as well.

For transformations, I've been requesting my models to arrive without any makeup or hair done, along with bringing some clothing they feel might work with the look I was thinking of. This completely helps to tie in the looks :) Danei brought several outfits, including a flapper type dress (which I was REALLY hoping to be able to use, but ended up not being able to since the color scheme didn't work). The black lace dress ended up matching well, along with the long strands of pearls.

Before and After

MAKEUP FOCUS:

- Dramatic grey/black smokey eye

- Bold rimmed eyes all around

- Double false lashes

- Highlighted clean brows

- Healthy dose of blush and contouring

Lip Chameleon!

Look closely - I changed Danei's lipcolor THREE times! I wanted to see how the different colors would show up in the photos. The first color (left) was more natural, I was trying to match it more to the inspiration photo. For the second color (middle), I went with a brighter, almost cherry tone for some pizzaz. I wanted the last color (right) to be dark and dramatic. I added black powder to deepen the shade. Which one do you like the best?

HAIR FOCUS:

- 1920's big finger waves to frame face

- Large voluminous curls

- Good all around head shape

Before and After

Thanks Lynn for capturing this action shot. Lynn had just come in with Carmel after taking photos outdoors for the Flowerchild look. At this point, I had already pin-curled all of Danei's hair and had already gotten started on the makeup.

After releasing all the pinned curls,  I rearranged Danei's curls, framing her face to form a continuous "S" shape. With each bend, I placed a pin to help hold the shape, then went over and super sprayed them with hairspray!

Hair before and after taken with my iphone

GALLERY

Photos courtesy KathalynCelestePhotography

So regal!

Leaving you with something a little more on the playful side :)

Reminds me of something out of a musical/broadway show or something!!!

Thanks Danei for letting me play with your hair and face! We'll have to wait to see what your next haircut is and I'll probably come up with another transformation look for you! :)

Transformation: Carmel ---> Flowerchild!

What: Transformation

Who: Carmel

When: July 10, 2013

Yay for the summertime! This is normally the time of year I can start having tons of fun with my transformations. I love thinking up different looks that I wouldn't normally get to do on my bridal clientele... for obvious reasons :) and then asking my friends to help me pull off the looks as models.

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to get two completely different transformations done in one day! This blog entry will be dedicated to the first transformation for the day. I knew my friend Carmel was available and I immediately thought of this "Flowerchild" idea for her.

Key thoughts I had floating around in my brain to accomplish this look were:

- sweet

- dreamy

- fairy-like

- caught in the middle of lush green backgrounds

Here are some photos online that I found for inspiration:

A huge difference this year is that I had the help of an awesome photographer! I met Lynn at a Retro Photoshoot. I LOVED her photos of the event after she posted them and sent her an e-mail to see if she'd be interested in collaborating with me for the two transformations I had in mind. Lucky me she was available! Not only that, when Lynn showed up, she brought additional accessories, flowers, and props that might work with the two looks. Lynn also brought her camera equipment and lighting umbrellas. She fit right in with my friends and I, and stayed the entire day. I had a blast with her, super fun, friendly, easy to work with, and professional! Check out her webpage here!

Onto the photos:

Before and After

Makeup focus:

- Bright, big and bold eyes

- Fat fluttery lashes

- Super rosy innocent cheeks

Thanks KathalynCeleste Photography for the following beautiful photos :)

Hair focus:

- Incorporated crown of braids

- Relaxed loose waves

Before and After

This is what my home studio looked like for a while... it was so much fun :)

Oh yes, so as you may have noticed, my friend Carmel is a happy, glowing, mother-to-be!!! We ended up having a little bit of time in between the transformations with my next friend, so I tweaked Carmel's hair, added an additional hair accessory (actually a necklace supplied by Lynn), and had Carmel change into another dress she had brought. Here's what we came up with:

Glowing maternity shots:

I'll leave you with these last two shots... so dreamy :)

Thanks Carmel and Lynn for letting me have so much fun with this Flowerchild inspired transformation! :)

Stay tuned for the next Transformation: Danei ---> Great Gatsby, 1920's inspired look!