Category Archives: Professional Makeup

Keep it On Like the Clowns Do

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You don’t want people to say your makeup looks like a clown’s, but you do want it to stay on like one.

Let me explain.

Dermacolor Fixier Spray has been used for years to set the makeup of professional clowns who need their makeup to stay on so they can properly scare the life out of children (and me.) I guess the only thing worse than a clown in full, pristine makeup is one with it smudging down his face a’la Heath Ledger in Dark Knight. It’s on my wish list to pick up so I can’t vouch for it, but if it’s good enough for the scary guys in the Volkswagen, it’s good enough for me.

Beauty Big 3: Eve Pearl

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5 time Emmy Award winning celebrity Makeup Artist (who’s also Meredith Vieira’s personal Makeup Artist for the Today Show) has a fabulous line of cosmetics customized to fit the needs of both celebs under the hot lights, and us girls looking for an easy routine with beautiful results. Here are Eve’s Beauty Big 3 that she didn’t have to go very far to find.

Beautiful Eve, she looks like she knows beauty right?

Foundation:

Pearl’s best-selling HD Dual Foundation (I use it in my kit) is of course her pick for fav foundation. She said she developed it for those with sensitive skin as not just a makeup, but as a treatment as well. It has “powerful antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, peptides, and proteins with a natural sunscreen equivalent to an SPF 20, an alternative to those who are allergic to SPF.” It’s a versatile coverage that can go from sheer to full depending on how it’s applied, and all ages can enjoy wearing it.

Mascara:

Her go-to for everyday wear is her Glamour Lash mascara. She loves it because, “it’s completely smudgeproof and tear proof.” When she’s looking to create dark lashes with tons of drama, she goes for Lancome Definicils.

Moisturizer:

I think moisturizers are usually the hardest pick because there are so many out there. Pearl agrees, but favors her own Priming Moisturizer with Astaxanthin because it’s “multifunctional and gives you all the benefits of a moisturizer, primer, sheer tint of color and sun protection… without using SPF or perfumes and chemicals. It works great for women and men.” And just what is Astaxanthin, you ask? It’s a very powerful antioxidant 500 times stronger than vitamin E.

Here is her short vid of Eve explaining how to be a part of their big upcoming promotion.

You can check out the complete line on her site HERE, where you’ll also find tons of videos on application as well as before and after photos that show the products in action.

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The No-Makeup Bride & The Wedding Makeup I Did in Mexico

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You’d be surprised how often I hear it, ‘I hate wearing makeup, but I want to hire you!’ Girls who favor the more natural look end up being my easiest brides to work with. Using airbrush and professional makeup are key in getting color without heaviness since weight is the last thing you want when you’re sweating in a hot dress and taking photos outside.

Katie, the beautiful bride who hired me to do makeup for her wedding in Mexico, (the trip I took in May where I was sneaking photos of Heidi and Seal) was the typical anti-makeup girl. She warned me ahead of time that she may want to wipe the makeup I applied off if she didn’t feel comfortable since she didn’t wear makeup ever.

After we chatted a bit about how exactly she wanted to look, I started by evening out her skin with Dinair airbrush makeup which gives undetectable coverage, and then I went to her eyes. I wanted them to stand out without using a lot of eye shadow so I used a Loose Shimmer Powder from BECCA which gave a light sparkle and color. For her eyeliner I made a slim black line on the upper lid only for some contrast that also disguised where the false lash met the eye. I used my go-to Ardell #110 lashes which blended perfectly with hers once I curled them and added L’Oreal Double Extend mascara so smudging wasn’t an option. I airbrushed her cheek color as well using water-resistant Dinair so her face wouldn’t have anything powdery on it, key for natural looking photos taken outside in the hot, humid weather we had in Costa Careyes. Lastly, we used a light lip stain with just a hint of gloss for natural looking pout with a kick.

Here are a few snaps of her, you can see why she doesn’t wear (or need) a lot of makeup.

I love the white space in the photo.
You can just see a hint of depth on her lash line from different angles. I also love that whatever was hanging on the wall in the background gave her sis the illusion of a cone hat.
This is why you want to wear false lashes. Just a hint of a swoop from the side is so romantic and pretty. The day before this she swam in them all day and they didn’t budge. Oh, and those are her sweet doggies Chuy and Taco. 

There isn’t just one way to wear makeup for your wedding. I always tell girls that their face should be as dressy as the gown and the day itself, but that doesn’t mean piles of thick color. Don’t be talked into a look that isn’t you, Katie didn’t want something heavy and we came up with a look that was perfect for her – and she loved it.  If you don’t like it in person you won’t like it in photos, don’t believe the hype that something photographs so differently that you’re talked out of how you don’t like what you see. It’s your face, your day, and your dollars. Get exactly what you want.

I also have to say that I was so incredibly happy to meet and work with Fer Juaristi, a fantastic photographer from Mexico who travels all over the world capturing weddings and events. He was as nice as he was talented and his photos are incredible.

You can see more breathtaking (their reception was at the same spot where Heidi Klum and Seal have their annual event) photos from the wedding HERE.

To learn more about Fer click HERE.

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What Tattoo? Cover it With Cover FX

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Maybe you weren’t thinking of your wedding day when you got that tattoo, but here it is and here you are, all dressed in white with a tattoo that looks out of place against the backdrop of the dress and the day itself. Covering tattoos on brides for their wedding is something I do a lot so having something on hand to make it easy to do saves me time and makes my job a lot easier.

Cover FX skyrocketed in popularity when it was used on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith to cover Angelina Jolie’s tattoos. Their Cover FX Cream Foundation (pictured below) is the  heavy-hitting tattoo cover specialist. Their site shows you what you need to cover not just tattoos, but vitiligo, birthmarks, eczema, and other skin discoloration issues.

I enlisted a volunteer so I could see for myself exactly how well it covers. I used their Foundation under the Cover FX Cream and set it with a little powder.

Before…
…After

Although the color wasn’t a spot on match to her skin, you can see that the coverage is considerable enough to disguise the tattoo. Remember to set the creme with a powder for a long-wearing finish that won’t rub off.

Cover FX

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Temptu Airbrush Makeup

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When I was in LA I visited Temptu with the same enthusiasm most kids have for visiting Disney Land. The popularity of their at-home airbrush kit at Sephora along with their professional airbrush line exploded in recent months and put the line firmly on the map as a heavy-hitting contender that gives great face. I’d heard all about their silicone based airbrush makeup with a beautiful finish and just the right amount of coverage. It’s an airbrush line with a twist because you can spray it though the gun or use it the traditional way with fingers, brushes, or a sponge. I have several airbrush foundation lines in my arsenal, but this is my absolute go-to on skin that’s dry, mature, or damaged since the silicone formula rests beautifully on even the most challenging surfaces.

Whether I’m working on brides or on set, this formula stands up to lights, heat, and many hours passing by. Now this is the professional S/B (silicone based) formula I’m talking about, it’s also what I used to make the video below. You can get a flawless airbrush makeup look every day with this at-home system that’s blowing up at Sephora. It’s a smaller, more manageable compressor that’s perfectly sized for everyday use with easy to manage cartridges that you buy in your shade of foundation and blush.

Temptu is a smart, modern cosmetic company that understands the needs of artists and everyday women. If you’re a makeup artist, check out their pro line, otherwise you can try out their at-home airbrush system at Sephora stores.

Here’s a few pics I snapped from their LA store.

They have an impressive list of pro artists who use Temptu and have photos showing their work using the products.

My video using the line.

Temptu

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Set Your Foundation Like the Pros Do; Best Professional Setting Powders

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Since the 90′s powdery revolution, matte skin has been a thing of the past. Don’t confuse those old powders with today’s versions which invisibly set foundation and can even be used on dry skin. If you want your foundation to last hours longer, look into a setting powder that’s used by Makeup Artists for a professional looking result. Here are a few I carry in my kit.

KohGenDo has a big celebrity following (I hear it’s a favorite of Sarah Jessica Parker) and I like everything I’ve used from the line. In my kit, I have their Maifanshi Face Powder which lightly sets makeup, reduces shine, and matches all skin tones since it’s invisible on the skin (an important thing for a setting powder to be). This loose formula even works with dry skin because it’s infused with hyaluronic acid so it mattes and sets without creating dryness.

If it’s good enough to be used with airbrush foundation, it’s good enough for your foundation too. Kett has a generously sized Kett Sett Powder that was designed to maintain the integrity of foundations under hot lights and tell-all HDTV cameras. It’s invisible on the skin and keeps even the creamiest eye concealers from creasing and sliding around.

It’s a common marketing tactic for mainstream lines to announce their products to be for Makeup Artists, but they rarely are. MAKE UP FOR EVER is an exception. M.A.C isn’t a line that I would suggest women (or Makeup Artists for that matter) use, and most Makeup Artists I know agree it’s not that great.

But I digress.

The point is, MUF’s HD High Definition Powder is a solid choice for setting makeup because it lightly mattes out shine without looking powdery on the skin and it allows the natural texture of the face show through so you don’t look like a corpse. It gives the face a soft focus look that’s so pretty, women wear it solo on days when applying foundation isn’t in the cards.

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