Why I Don't Airbrush

 

Brides' number one question to me when asking about my services is "do you airbrush".  I do not.  I don't care for it.  I have airbrushed in the past, but I just don't think that the effect is any different than using a foundation brush.  However, for body makeup and special effects, airbrushing is fabulous.  CNN began using airbrush machines exclusively when the switch to HD happened, and some swear by it now, but some feel the same way I do.  It cannot be denied that it's influence is so great that TEMPTU even has a small one that people buy for personal use.  I find TEMPTU is the easiest to use and control, but I feel strongly that there is no difference in the finish.  I think it makes a stronger impression to present an airbrush machine and that is the draw, but I feel most in control and capable of the finish that reveals the best skin when I blend by hand. 

The Best Eye Makeup...Sunglasses

The greatest makeup when you are in a hurry, hungover, or had too much salt the night before is sunglasses.  My greatest investment ever was not an airbrush machine, not the latest flatiron and not even my beloved (and since stolen) brush set, but my over sized Gucci sunglasses.  But now since my glasses are destroyed on a regular basis by my son, I have had to keep a stash of affordable sunglasses as he has the desire to take them off my face and sometimes they are returned to me slightly bent...  Being that my husband I made a documentary about Elvis fans a while back, I was psyched when Foster Grant contacted me to see if I was aware of their sunglasses; of course I knew that Elvis' trademark sunglasses were Foster Grants and that's good enough for me.  I really liked them as did my husband and I have gotten a lot of compliments on them.  They are really affordable (right around $15 and $20 bucks!) and they passed the test which many do not for me- they did not sit crooked on my face.

They are having a cute promotion right now- here is a little blurb about that:

Foster Grants skyrocketed to fame in the '60s with the "Who's That Behind Those Foster Grants" ad campaign featuring celebs like Mia Farrow and Raquel Welch. Now, YOU can be the star behind the brand.
Enter the "Isn't That You Behind Those Foster Grant Videos" contest on Foster Grant's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/FosterGrant)

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To enter, become a Fan of Foster Grant on Facebook and upload of a video of you wearing Foster Grant sunglasses for a chance to win! (U.S. residents only).
Grand prize is a five-day, four-night trip to New York City or Los Angeles, winner's choice! Five second place winners will win a Flip UltraHD camera.

Let me know if you enter and I will be sure to vote for you!

What is Noxzema Anyway?

Wikipedia tells me Noxzema was "Originally developed as a sunburn remedy, it is popular among women as a facial cleanser and make-up remover. It can also be used for cleaning chapped, sunburned, or otherwise irritated skin."  I and millions of women know it as our very first beauty product, possibly along with 10-0-6 by Bonne Bell.  I stopped using Noxzema when I was in my PETA stage of teendom and heard that it was made of whale blubber.  That grossed me out.  Then someone compared 10-0-6 to furniture polish and I was through with that. Now it is off the market. I missed feeling like I wasn't clean until the 10-0-6 burned my skin and left it red, but it wasn't long before someone convinced me to use Neutrogena instead and that being clean didn't have to hurt. 

If you look at the ingredients, Noxzema is terrible on paper.  Camphor, Eucalyptus and Menthol are all in Vick's Vapor Rub and can you imagine putting that on your face?  Yet it is true that it knocks out eczema which is how it got it's name (No-Eczema).  So my question to you is this; what did Noxzema do to your face when you used it because 100% of you did.  It turned my face red and made my teenage skin tight which equaled exactly what I wanted.  And for extra credit, I would LOVE to know if there is a single adult out there who uses Noxzema... I doubt that there is, and why is that?  Thoughts?

The Business of Being Beautiful

Well, Smashbox was bought by Estee Lauder.  I was sad to hear this not because I dislike Estee Lauder, but I have noticed that it means something big for the line that gets bought when this happens.  I was working for MAC when it was bought by Estee Lauder and for Benefit when it was bought by LVMH.  Now, I was just the lowly counter girl, so the only changes I noticed were in the product.  For MAC I can remember we were to a attend a huge meeting about what this meant.  We were told it meant we had access to amazing labs which is absolutely true.  When Estee Lauder bout MAC, I remember a great skincare line came out of it as well the best foundation in the world for people with great skin already called Hypereal.

However, I remember the number of products became overwhelming.  It was a goal to have something new at the counter every time you visited.  Yes, that is a lot of fun, but I did notice the quality of these products went down.  Most of the lipsticks were now "frosts" and "sheer" which was conveniently pitched as a new trend.  The new trend was very inexpensive to pump out.  And once you get the magazines behind it you are golden.  Everyone will flock to the counter to load up on the new trend and the product will have a short life so you have to replenish more often.  To be more specific, you have to reapply sheer and frost products whereas a highly pigmented product like Ruby Woo usually is applied once, maybe twice a day. 

I could go on and on about this, but this is a blog and I know there are rules about attention span and research about how long people can focus on a post.  Well, if anyone wants that documentary about this that I fantasize about let me know... I am slightly obsessed with this subject.

How I Met Rimmel London

For the best job I ever had it's a tie.  The MAC Counter at Bloomingdale's created some of the fondest memories I have in my makeup career.  I had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented people I will ever meet and occasionally makeover a celebrity... who could ask for anything more?  Well, how about selling Rimmel makeup on a double decker bus traveling from Walmart to Walmart across the US and Canada?  Oh, you'd pick the MAC job in NYC?  I don't blame you.  But the memories the Rimmel Bus created have been unsurpassed.

A promotional company, US Concepts, hired me as a national makeup artist for Rimmel London.  At the time, they were exclusive to Walmart and every item was under $5.  The Double Decker bus would play great music, provide makeovers and samples for shoppers and you could do a "virtual makeover" on the computers upstairs.  I hadn't heard of the brand, but that was precisly the point- make them a household name.  At the time, I was young, newly single and subletting from a friend so I had no ties.  I left my job at the new Kevyn AuCoin counter and took off on the road.  My job was to travel to unheard of corners of the earth and sell Rimmel makeup out of this Double Decker bus in Walmart parking lots.  I traveled with a driver who also DJ'd, and a tour manager.  We became friends (thank GOODNESS) immediately and I sometimes did 200 makeovers a day on the bus.  Sometimes it was so cold that the lip gloss literally would freeze and I had to head into the Walmart to buy unfrozen product to use, sometimes it was so hot that the foundation would separate.  We stayed in the country's finest Extended Stays and ate at all the best Applebee's.  I did the tour 3 times with a different amazing manager and fearless driver each time.  I will never forget when we would arrive at an overpass that didn't provide enough clearance for the double decker.  Once we had to close down rush hour traffic and back up along the freeway guided by police.  We were late to that event.

It was such an amazing experience to meet the people I worked with who became life long friends, and also to do makeup on people who sometimes had never experienced a makeover in their life.  Traveling America this way was life changing for me and believe me, there is a reality show there.  You can steal that idea, because I am too tired to pitch it.

What one friend and I discovered who had the same job as me is that 50% of Rimmel is awesome.  Here is what rocks; their mascara, 60 Seconds Nail Polish, Vinyl Gloss, and Lasting Finish Blendable Powder Blush and Stay Matte Pressed Powder.  I use all of these products in my kit with no shame.  Yes, they are cheap.  And yes, they last.  The Vinyl Gloss is hands down the best gloss out there. 

Sun at Sesame

So I found myself at Sesame Place this weekend.  We had an amazing opportunity to go there and as a bonus the weather was awesome.  When I wasn't observing my son's obsession with stalking Grover,  I couldn't help but notice all the weird sunburns that were forming... I know it's fun to finally have sun on your skin but it is NOT WORTH the tan lines (or in most cases, burn lines.)  My favorite sun products are from Clarins for fake tans, but for actual sunscreen, I love Lancome.  I don't know what it is, but it protects your skin, but also allows for great color if you go with a 15spf.  I know, I know, you should be blocking with a 50 spf, but let's be realistic here... Their flash bronzer is also great for self tanning though I think Clarins is the best.  If you want to try a few different products, here's a fun inexpensive way to do it and all the money goes to charity.  If you don't have the dough, neutrogena's sunblock is exceptional, but get ready to look pasty, because it seriously does it's job of blocking.

For your little guys and girls, it's a no brainer, you need Neutrogena's stick for faces, and a stash of the lotion for legs and arms.  I tend to just put the stick everywhere though. For waterproof?  What's your favorite?  Because Waterbabies let me down...

And on a non-beauty note, if you have little ones, you must take them to Sesame Place.  We had such an amazing time there and it's not a painful drive from the city (thank you Jack Johnson for your lullabies and for being there for us through thick and thin car trips!).  They have so many amazing things to do there and it is the perfect size for infants to toddlers.  We will be back and back and back... protected from the sun of course.

Apparantly I Have Been Under A Rock

I had no idea about these two awesome sites Beautyticket.com and 3floz.com which I just found in a magazine.  Beauty Ticket has tons of products for super cheap.  The brands include one of my favs- Smashbox.  When I looked today, there were products for 50% off!  That's better than the pro discounts!  If you click on Special Offers, you can even save 10% more off the whole order.  What other sites do you love?

Purple...Yes...Purple Eyeshadow

I am sure she didn't think of it when she was preparing for her event, but the choice to wear purple eyeshadow in this picture resulted in Julianne Moore being the image that comes up many many times when you google "purple eyeshadow".  She doesn't look too thrilled about it in this picture, but she should be!  Purple is an awesome way to look fabulous really quickly.

First, you have to pick the right one.  If you are conservative, look for colors like "plum" and "lilac".  Come on, they are purple.  But it helps it become a little more tolerable if you call them something different.  Trish McEvoy and Laura Mercier have the most beautiful purples for someone who wants to take it a little slow.  Of course Make Up Forever and MAC have the more bold ones as does Urban Decay.  My favorite thing to do is line the inner rim with a deep purple, almost black, liner as shown in the Makeup Forever videos I just linked to.  And Chanel makes a gorgeous violet mascara as does Benefit Cosmetics.

Make sure you pack on the eyeshadow on the lower lid just where the eyeball is with a stiff brush like the Talent Brush from Benefit.  The way to pick a good eyeshadow by the way is if you simply touch the shadow a significant amount of eyeshadow should be on your finger.  You shouldn't have to scrub it to get color.  Seems obvious, but sometimes it's not.  Next take a fluffy brush like the one from Smashbox and dip it in a deeper plum or a dark dark brown.  Gently apply the color in small circular motions while going back and forth like a windshield wiper.  You got a bad ass eye there!  Good job!  Now go get your picture taken.

How Did I Get Here...?

A "counter girl", the "makeup girl/chic/lady" and occasionally on film sets called "wardrobe" (what?) I sometimes have a moment where I am thinking "How did I get here?"  I thought I would tell you, as many of you are just getting started yourselves.  I have to say that I have been a makeup artist for a long time, and how things started back then may be completely different now, but I thought if I shared it may give some of you ideas of how to start yourself.

When I first moved to New York, it was with a musical theater degree.  The plan was to audition in the day and waitress at night.  But quickly I realized that I may have been the worst waitress in existence.  No seriously.  If I was not fired from a restaurant, I ran away during my break.  That happened many many times.

On one of my numerous trips to the Bloomingdale's Smashbox counter, I asked the girl how she got her job.  She asked why I was curious and I told her that I wanted to have her job.  This is where it gets a little far fetched- she said "we are hiring right now."  She asked me to come in the next day and do some makeup.  I had always done my friends' makeup for plays and headshots, so I was really comfortable with that.
"When can you start?"
"Yesterday"
"OK- this is how you sell this stuff..."

While at that counter I then stalked the MAC counter until I got a position there.  This was the best time I have ever had to this day.  I learned so much from training, the other artists, and even the customers sometimes!  It was exciting, outrageous, difficult, and fulfilling.  I saved my money so that I could quit and have free time to be on film sets.  I remember finding out through the Mayor's Office who was filming and then offering to work for the productions for free.  I learned quickly on the job- never saying no to any amount of bruising, scars, or glamour makeup.  I collected footage for my reel and met amazing people.  I also started meeting photographers like Craig LaCourt and collecting pictures.  Building your portfolio is without a doubt the most challenging part, because you will do a lot of free work, but the relationships, footage, photos and experience are invaluable.

I never assisted another artist, but I do know that is a great way to get started.  But I am a huge believer in starting out at the counter or Sephora.  You can build an amazing kit this way, learn from your coworkers and practice on clients all while earning money.  Once you get in the field, be specific about what aspect of makeup you want to do... corporate? (make connections in the advertising world), fashion? (make connections to photographers and models), film? (make connections to directors and producers), brides? (make connections to wedding planners and wedding vendors).  Above all, make sure you are having a great time because that is when you will do the best work.

Are You Pro?

Makeup costs a fortune. And I have spoken plenty of times about how drugstore companies are just as good as prestige companies in most cases. You probably know how this works; Estee Lauder, Loreal, and Lois Vuitton Moet Hennesy own the bulk of the companies. There are others of course, but these are the main ones. One day I will make a documentary about all this, but I would first need to win the lottery to be able to pay for the legal.

In any event, when you open your kit and your client sees a bunch of drugstore makeup she is dismayed. And it is difficult to convince her that the Loreal Voluminous mascara is just as good as the Lancome Definicils. So thank goodness for professional discounts. You have to prove you are a professional and be approved, but when the process is done, you are "in"! I don't know what I would do without Smashbox's, Benefit's, MAC's, and Philosophy's discount programs. Write to the companies or call them for the details about how to become enrolled.

Unfortunately, MAC's costs money to join. An annual fee of $35. I have a problem with this because it is professional makeup artists and actors who made the brand what it is today. However, the good news is that after the discount is applied, it's awesome products are actually less than Maybelline! Plus MAC products are fantastic. The other programs are free and I am a huge fan of all the lines. Make Up Forever has one as well I believe but I am not sure of the details. If anyone knows any I have left out- post them here.