Slapping Faces and Pulling Hair

Lipstick, is Lipstick. While some are far superior to others as far as wear, they all photograph the same to me. It is generally the lip liner or lip gloss that can be the game changer. I palette all of my lipsticks so I usually can’t pinpoint the color for you if it’s in the neutral tones. However, I do carry very specific brands, and I can share that. I like these brands because the pigment is beautiful, they stay on, and they don’t wreak of added fragrance - providing the kind of taste that makes you think you picked up your grandmothers water glass by mistake.

Laura Mercier, Clinique

MAC, Lime Crime

I will add to this that is you want an otherworldly color and great pigment I recommend Lime Crime over any other brand, any day. Check out the shades, Cosmopop and D’Lilac are my favorite:

As for Lip Liners - all are not made equal. I prefer a kohl type pencil for fine, defined lines, and a creamy chubbier pencil for filled in, soft lip lines.

Clinique for a soft filled in look, MAC for a defined punch of color, and Chanel for a mix somewhere in between.

As for Lip Gloss, again, many will do the job. I prefer to keep multiple tubes of clear glosses, because I use it the most. Clear obviously goes with everything, and I tend to mix loose pigments in with it to make a gloss if I can’t find a color that is just right. I only carry a few colors, all neutrals and not all are true glosses. Sephora brand is one of my favorites in gloss - and they taste even sweeter when you get a good deal on them, which you usually can! I am not really picky with clear gloss, as long as again - it’s fragrance free.

Sephora

Ben Nye

I always add a hint of color to the cheeks after setting foundation, because it makes you look alive! Sometimes, when your not sure where to go with your makeup, adding your cheek color can determine how natural or dramatic you want to end up. I carry a few different types, a few different brands, and a few different mediums-all of which I like.

For highlight and contour I like the Makeup Forever sculptor kit

For powder blushes, I stock 10 shades across 4 color families. I prefer La Femme and Joe Blasco Blushes (price).

As for cream blushes, I like the compactness and the shades of Clinique’s Blushwear Cream Sticks.

They go on like silk, and the color is completely build-able.

I am not a huge fan of cheeks gels or tints. I prefer a bit more working time then they allow. I am also not convinced foam blush was ever a good product idea. It looked awful on oily skin and looked like a thin layer of frosting on dry skin.

I believe in primers. Primers fill in minor imperfections and smooth the skin texture. Primers can also work magic in evening out skin-tone concerns (ruddy, too-yellow, or discolored). I stock Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer, and Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer in my kit.

For foundation I carry a few products. Whatever the product, I need coverage I can count on- to even the skin tone, and reliability - to withstand heat, sweat, hot lights, and oil. My usual foundation choice is Joe Blasco’s cream foundation. I carry every color in a palette with me at all times. For tinted moisturizer, or a natural beachy look I prefer Laura Mercier’s Tinted Foundation Moisturizer SPF 20. The SPF in this case is appropriate because most beach shots are taken in natural light settings.

I carry a slew of concealer, but there are only two brands I trust to deliver the coverage I expect - Joe Blasco, and Ben Nye. Both are cream concealers and both impart the most coverage of all others in the business. You can neutralize, color correct, and conceal EVERY little thing with these products! I never leave home without Ben Nye’s Orange Highlight, and Joe Blasco’s Red Away and Dermaceal.

I always use a loose powder, or no powder. I prefer the finely milled texture of loose to the larger granulated pressed counterpart. Want a concealer/powder trick? Apply powder under eyes, on top of concealer with an eyeshadow brush for the best setting power - helping you avoid an unsightly and embarrassing under eye creasing. I use Clinique Loose Powder in Yellow Mineral Powder,Transparency Neutral-Transparency 5. I do not recommend any of their “glow” powders, however. I also use Ben Nye Loose Powder in No Color, Sienna, Chesnut, and Ebony.

I want to preface this set of blogs by saying that it generally isn’t only the product that makes the look, its the tools and the artist. All three are key elements, and all three need each other. I paint beautiful work with acrylic, but am completely lost using watercolor - and the same goes for product. All the same, a logger isn’t going to apply a perfectly blended eye shadow, and you can’t do blush with a hair brush.

Skin is the most important element of a makeup. I know it isn’t actually makeup, but it can absolutely ruin a look. You wouldn’t put lobster tail on a dirty dish, would you? There is no need to buy $100 creams and promising potions, but you do need some basics to cleanse, tone, and moisturize your clients (or your own skin) before you start covering anything up.

I carry a few options with me - including removers. You would be surprised how many people sit in my chair dawning a full smudged face of last nights makeup.

Premier Products Inc. Makeup remover is gentle, extremely effective, non-abrasive, and non-drying. It is gentle enough to take off eye makeup, but is also strong enough to take off alcohol based paints. I also carry Clinique’s Take The Day Off eye makeup remover. It is oil-free, fragrance free, and breaks down left over mascara like no ones business.

A makeup remover is not a cleanser. Cleansers break down dirt and oil in the skin, and unless removed, can make the skin appear muddy or dull. Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser is pH balanced so it doesn’t strip the skin of its natural moisture, but does cleanse thoroughly.

As for toner, I prefer something that removes dead skin cells, and tones. For this, I use Clinique Clarifying Lotion. If your a professional, you will need to carry one in each skin type, but at $12.50 for 6.5 oz it’s worth it. I also recommend skipping Clarifying lotion #1 and using Mild in it’s place. #1 doesn’t actually do much in the way of exfoliating while mild is alcohol free (great for rosacea patients), and does remove dead skin.So mild for dry and sensitive skins, #2 for normal skin, #3 for Oily. You can also skip #4 because rarely will you run into skin that’s so oily it needs to be rung out (like mine!), and #3 will do the job for the day.

Now for moisture. You’ve got your normal/dry skins, and your oily skins. I carry a few options. Kiehl’s Ultra Face Moisturizer is great for normal to dry skins, and also comes in a version with SPF. I don’t recommend SPF for flash photography however, especially for brides. I carry two oil-free options for a very good reason. I carry Keihls Sodium PCA Oil-free moisturizer for a normal skin that either breaks out, or the owner of the skin swears she can only use oil-free products. I carry Rare Earth Pore Minimizing lotion for actual oily skins. It will help reduce shine and oil production throughout the day. It also makes pores appear a bit smaller.

I also like to keep Benefits Dr. Feelgood Lipscription in my kit for exfoliating super chapped lips. My first suggestion is to buy this product at Sephora or online to avoid Benefit’s pushy sales people…unless you want to leave with waxed brows, 5 lips kits, 4 blushes, and three brow kits. Squeeze a very little bit out onto your models finger, or yourself, rub around the lip area, remove with a tissue, and apply the lip conditioner that comes with it. If you do this before skin care, the pout will be ready for painting when you are!

A lot of people want to know what professional artists stock in their kits. It really does vary between artists - there are so many choices to make! In a multi-billion dollar industry where your favorite new product was discontinued yesterday we are constantly shopping for the next best, or better product. Even if your not a pro, and follow us ( I hope you do, were pretty fun!) I hope this makes it easier deciding what to stock in your own personal makeup bag.

I will start this blog series by sharing what kit I generally use. I try and limit myself by carrying a smaller kit, because lets face it - I would carry everything and the kitchen sink with me. I picked this cute mint green assistant up at IMATS from Monda Studio a couple of years ago. I have owned four different kits in the last three years, but I always find myself going back to this one. It is super sturdy, and hasn’t ever buckled in on itself, tipped over from too much weight, or made me want to throw it out of a studio window- like the other mentioned kits, haha.

I need only write the name, the iconic image makers vision will do the rest. The brand is one of the first we think of when “ultimate luxury” comes to mind. It isn’t breaking news that this spring will be blooming with pastel shades, as we previewed in the Spring 2010 fashion weeks. Born in 1969, the Dior cosmetics line has been slapping couture on faces for 40 years - establishing itself as a staple in many makeup bags around the world.

Now, Pat McGrath - the makeup artist that created spring 2010’s Dior trademark look- put together a combination that took me slightly by surprise. It is very rare that you find a pastel eye paired with a bright red lip. In fact, it isn’t a combination that I have ever considered. When I first saw the show photos I thought, “why do I like this so much, but feel so weird about it?” It is just simply breath taking, and new. I am a sucker for vintage looks, and the sophistication that comes with a red lip is reinvigorated with a young, fun, and very pastel spirit.

How do you feel about Dior spring?

Ben Nye Lip Gloss Tubs.

These stackable little pots contain a product I would say ends up in just about every single lipstick mix I do. For shoots, I generally do not just use one shade of lipstick. If I do, It is usually a glossy lipstick, or a liner filling in most of the lip with one of these bad boys on top! I wont go near a face with a sticky, smelly, goopy, dripping gloss - so I think it is now obvious why I am in love. The color tint is minimal but will enhance anything underneath it, including a bare lip. Throw the gold tint in any lipstick shade to warm it up, a little more gold tint to spice it up, and gold tint over the top to make your models lips look like they should be on a “we buy gold” ad. Okay- that was a little dramatic, but you get the point. It comes in these awesome shades:

Where to buy? I recommend online at Ben Nye

Sometimes you just get lucky.

I got email a few months ago from photographer Michael Yates asking me if I was available for an agency test. Yes Please! It is a real pleasure working with agency girls (usually), and the pictures from that shoot remain the first two pages in my portfolio.Yates called upon me again - only this time with a girl he wanted to throw in to a high fashion editorial. Jenya - the doll. She doesn’t look like a conventional model - she reminds me of friends I adore from my punk rock/hardcore influenced circle of friends, without the anti-social stigma. All week I have been awaiting the results, with teaser shots here and there. Today was the day! I am so excited to share these…

Hair and Makeup: Alisha L. Baijounas

A few KEY products I used for her eyes:

Clinique Cream Liner in True Black, MAC Eyeshadow in Pincurl, MAC Shadestick in Sharkskin, Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows in Deep Brown

I made the edging of the winged liner with a super fine angled brush.

We transformed Jenya into a fierce high fashion piece of art, and she worked it out.