Bohemian Summer Shoot

I had the pleasure of working as a Makeup Artist and Hairstylist on a Bohemian/African Tribe inspired photo shoot recently. I love what I do, and recently I have found another passion of mine, and that is styling the overall theme and also wardrobe for shoots. For this Particular shoot I worked together with Owl Garden Styling to come up with these three different outfits complete with Jewerly, Makeup and Hair.

The pictures of this shoot were taken by photographer Diana Santisteban. To view more of her work visit her website at: www.dianasantisteban.com 

The First Look- Teased Hair emulating a Lion's Mane

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Fun, Colorful, and Playful with a cute side Braid

Whimsical makeup and A messy side bun

Here is a short Behind the Scenes Video taken by Diana Santisteban:

To view lots more pictures click here

Photo shoot: frilly, dreamy, vintage, & sweet...

This photo shoot was done by yours truly! The girl seen in these pictures is a future graduating senior of the C/O 2011. She was interested in getting her makeup done and having her senior pictures taken. However she didn’t want traditional senior pictures, rather pictures that reflected herself and the theme of her party, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. So, I found the perfect opportunity to shoot my own photo shoot! I love photography! Problem is that I don’t own a professional camera nor have training. But, a good friend lend me his camera and gave me a crash course.  

 

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Style 1:  

Makeup: Soft makeup with rosy lips and false lashes for a flirty effect

Style 2: 

Makeup: 50's Inspired Wing'd eyes paired with dramatic red lips

Style 3:

Makeup: Purple and Pink eyes paired with frosted lips and glowing skin

 I really enjoyed styling and staging this photo shoot and I hope you all enjoy the pictures and makeup. My message to all is to be creative, challenge yourself, and find your inner Picasso! Always remember "Art is not so much expressing oneself, as it is discovering oneself".

Before the Magic of Makeup

**By Eleni**

Here are more pictures of the shoot!

Color Me Arabic!

I was in a real good mood today so I was inspired to do a wild Arabic look. I used coastal scent 88 color palette to create this look. Matte eye shadows are a little more difficult to work with compared to shimmery shadows, but they photograph beautifully! When using bright matte colors it's best not to over blend because the colors will turn brown. I used a flat brush to apply my eyeshadow on my lid and an angel brush for the outer corners. To create the sharp edge on your outer corners you can apply a small piece of tape that when removed, you'll have a clean straight edge. I hope these tips help! Have fun trying this look at home.

“Makeup now should be really maximalist. It’s a way to express yourself. Have fun with it!” -Francois Nars

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**To see more view the sideshow** 

**By Eleni**

Egyptian Inspired Makeup Look

Egyptian Royalty Inspired Makeup

Time for another Photo shoot where I let my creativity and imagination take control and come up with a more dramatic style makeup look. This time we "travel" to Egypt.

Here we have my assistant Eleni. I wanted to make her look completely different and I was inspired by Egyptian style makeup to create this amazing transformation. I took the pictures without flash, using low yellow lights to create a warm, mystical effect. Scroll down for more information, tips and ideas that you can use to recreate this look.

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Here is the Before:

And after the transformation:

Closeups:

Slideshow with lots more pictures:

Tips and tricks:

As you can clearly see Eleni is naturally pale so I darkened her skin tone about 4 shades for this look. Egyptians were known to be tanned and I wanted to make her look tanner and also give her that golden glow to her skin.

Tips on fake tanning with foundation:

• In this case I used a foundation palette that had shades ranging from 3 to about 6 shades darker than her skin tone. I used the different colors to contour and highlight the face so that the tan looked more realistic.
• If you want to try this at home I would recommend you make sure to buy a darker cream foundation that is not too orange. Make sure you blend it well into the hairline and apply it to your ears, neck and décolletage.

Tips on body Makeup:

• To tan her body I blended an inexpensive dark Liquid Bronzer with lotion and applied it all over her arms and her back. This gives the skin that coveted golden glow.
•  (You can also use this tip to make your legs look tanned and amazing.)
• I also used Benefit's Bathina to add shimmer to certain areas I wanted to highlight.

Tips on applying glitter as eyeshadow:

• To achieve the super glitter look on the eyelids apply a gold cream eyeshadow (I used the gold shade in the Make Up Forever 12 Flash Color palette of creams) all over your lid. Then apply a darker cream eyeshadow on the crease, creating a v shape at the end. Then apply your favorite gold glitter on top of the gold base (I used the Make Up Forever Diamond Powder in Gold) and a darker coppery one on the crease (I used the Make Up Forever Diamond Powder in Smoky.)
• Applying a cream eyeshadow under the glitter helps it adhere to your skin and it will make it last longer.

This is the makeup I used to create this look:

A lot of makeup for one look right?

I hope you enjoyed looking at all the pictures and I urge you to try this look at home. You can easily make this more wearable by using eyeshadow instead of glitter and applying a natural lipstick.

Jaday

Behind The Scenes- MFA Presents- New Generation III MMA

Hello readers,

This is a different kind of post from what I usually have for you guys. I wanted to give you a little insight into what it's like to work as a Production Makeup Artist. With all the time constraints, I normally don't have the chance to take pictures at the events I work for, but this weekend I was able to bring along a photographer to this MMA event. I really want you all to have the complete Behind the Scenes experience. So here it is... 

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The MMA event took place at the FIU US Century Bank Arena and it was recorded in HD for national TV. You can imagine the amount of pressure that puts on the makeup artist, because HD is a whole different game. The cameras show the most minuscule imperfections and the makeup has to be absolutely flawless. Not only that, but this time, the TV cameras were also on me and my team, filming us as we were working our magic. The event was a complete success for everyone involved.

Follow me along in this picture diary:
(Click on the pictures to view them larger)

First up here I am with my fabulous assistant, Eleni. None of this would be possible without her help and dedication to the task at hand. Believe it or not, this pic was taken at the end and although we may not look it, we were exhausted. 

Luckily baby Amelie behaved really well all night even though I was all over the place. She did kick my brush belt a few times, but other than that, she was great. ;) I have to say, for being over 7 months pregnant, I was able to make it through the whole ordeal without feeling too tired. 

Here I am ready for the first client. Do you see my little light in the back? Well, that was the only light we had available in our corner and it SAVED us. (Thank you awesome little light that is brighter than the sun. I promise I will buy another one of you ASAP.)

And I begin working right away...Here is the first model

And after I'm done working "the magic:"

Not even 5 seconds later, and I start to work on the second model.

But wait... I must stop what I'm doing, because the Ring Announcer has arrived, and he has to be ready ASAP for TV. So I ask the model to sit down and relax for a minute and I get to work on him.

And what's going on there in the background?

That's my assistant working on the performer who will sing the National Anthem. She needs to be done soon, because she is opening the show.

All done

Now back to the second model, she needs to be finished and this is when the power went out in our corner. I had to have the photographer point the camera light at me to finish her makeup, because there was no time left. She had to be ready for the press.

While I finish with her, my assistant Eleni applies body makeup to the other model.

Did I mention their whole body has to look amazing and flawless? Not that she needed much help in that department.

And we move our table to a different location, with light.

This is Jorge, the president of MFA Promotions. He needs to be ready for his closeup.

I start working on the commentator...

Meanwhile, Eleni puts the finishing touches on the singer...

And she is done!

There I am retouching the announcer while the show is on. 

Well, although we were not able to capture the whole night of our work on camera for you, at least you got to see some of what we do here. As chaotic and unpredictable as it is to work for big events, I would not trade it for any other job. The adrenaline rush you get doing makeup for a large amount of people on a time crunch, is truly indescribable. Not to mention the amazing people you get to meet along the way. ( Check the post below for more on  that.) 

I want to give a special thanks to Alluring Advertising, LLC and MFA Promotions for hiring me and my team. It was truly a pleasure working for you and we hope to work together again soon.

Jaday :)

Check out this slideshow for LOTS more Behind the Scenes pictures:

Click here to view these pictures larger