Anna's H&M Trial!

Who: Anna

What: H&M Trial

Where: San Jose, home studio

Anna had found me on Yelp and had called me a couple weeks ago to set up a hair and makeup trial. I'm so glad we had a chance to talk on the phone and discuss the specifics to her situation and what she was hoping for! Every client has different needs and I'm always happy to talk or e-mail back and forth to get a better understanding of how I can be of help :)

MAKEUP

Before and After

Eyes open, eyes closed

We went for warm and neutral tones in Anna's makeup. Based on her skin tone, I made sure to load on the blush. I also added some light false lashes that helped Anna's eyes pop without being too dramatic with the makeup. I always appreciate it when clients are honest with me about how they feel with the makeup. Although the adjustments take time, I'd much rather know about anything that doesn't sit too comfortably with clients and have a chance to tweak and rework certain looks. I want the client to be happy! If I can help it, I will! :) In Anna's case, we ended up going a little lighter on the brow fill in, and switching the lip color to be more neutral.

HAIR

Before and After

Anna wanted a loose, pulled back updo that would be out of her way for her special event. We were aiming for a romantic look that didn't look too structured. We also wanted to include the gorgeous headpiece she had ordered from Etsy! Using her asymmetrical dress as motivation AND not wanting the hair accessory to look too much like a Greek Goddess like crown, we pulled the back section of Anna's updo a bit toward the left, allowing for the headpiece to rest slightly tilted as Anna had requested. 

Thanks for calling Anna! I was super happy with how everything turned out and I always welcome the communication for tweaking and adjusting looks for the ultimate winning combination :)

Jayme's Studio Portrait Headshot Makeup

Who: Jayme

What: Headshots for professional business webpage

Where: San Mateo

Photographer: Bob Stine, Graphic Communications Co.

I met Bob at a couple of photography meetups where I helped as the makeup artist for the models. He's like a mischievous Santa Claus! A laid back, jovial, and warm character that definitely helps to put anyone at ease. He contacted me a couple weeks ago to see if I'd be interested in doing the makeup for a client who'd need headshots for a professional business webpage. All the details were worked out, and I headed over to San Mateo to help with the makeup prep.

Before and After #1

Chatting with Jayme was a lot of fun! She was open to whatever I wanted to do with her face (which is always nice), but I also mentioned that I'd use her skin tone and hair color to base my colors off of. I also kept in mind the intent of the photoshoot, which was to enhance Jayme's features for a professional business' webpage.

Before and After #2

Makeup look:

- Filled in brows

- Flawless face airbrushed foundation

- Bronze colored eyelid color

- False lashes

- Coral blush

- Natural lips

Photos from Bob:

Thanks so much for contacting me Bob! These photos of Jayme turned out great and I really appreciate the ease in which it was to work with you :) Lots of fun for sure.

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! :)