Travel Lightly!

So I'm about to do some travelling during the next couple of months, so I figured now would be a good time to blog about what to pack makeup-wise when travelling.  

For those that know me, know I like to be efficient about what I pack.  Of course, that doesn't always work out....  But here are a few things I like to do to be a bit more efficient in how I pack.

1) Make a List

Ideally, I like making a list of what I need to pack for my makeup.  Because my makeup routine and style changes with the seasons, and sometimes just my mood, I do make new lists every time I go

somewhere new.  This helps me to figure out what I really need.  :)  Like, do I really need both bottles of moisturizer?

2) Go Small

With all of the carry-on restrictions with air-travel, carrying travel-sized items of everything is just a good idea.  As well, it saves space, and you don't have to worry about losing a whole bottle of your favourite night-cream.  If I can, I decant my favourite items into smaller containers.  Small containers are really cheap to find as well.  usually I hit my local dollar store them.  

A lot of makeup companies give sample sized things when you buy a certain amount from them.  Keep those little items for when you travel!  Also, save those sample packages that you get in the mail and in magazines, especially if you're just going away for a weekend.  I have a large zipper plastic bag that I've stored all my sample packs in.  I just take out what I need for my next trip.

3) Re-purpose

I have a fairly basic makeup/skin routine, but even then, I know I won't bring everything that I usually use.  So I re-purpose a couple of items as needed.  I use a pencil for both lining, and for my brows.  I just use a brush to blend it in as needed.  Lip colour can also be used as cheek colour too. 

This goes for your tools as well.  If you don't have a good travel set, and plan on bringing your full-size brushes, take a look at what brushes you really need to bring.  Can your brush be used to do something else too?  This will cut down on the number of brushes you need to bring.

4) Palettes Are Your Friend

Quite a few makeup companies have these awesome small palettes that contain lots of eye colours, as well as cheek and lip colours!  I have one from Sephora that I used for many trips before I decided to rely on my small Z-palette instead.  I try not to take too many different packages along my trips, so I find palettes to really help with that.  Make sure you find one that has shades and textures that you will use.  In other words, don't buy that pretty sparkly palette if you don't wear sparkly makeup on an everyday basis.

5) Test!

Test out the makeup you want to bring on your trip.  Make sure you really do have everything and haven't cut out that one thing that you know you'll regret leaving behind.  

6) Lay Out

So lay out everything the night before, so you can just pack it up when you've finished using it.  Again, make things easy for yourself!

So that's my general advice on packing for travel.  Any other suggestions?

Summer's here!

So it's the first of June, and I realized I hadn't posted in a few MONTHS!!  Oh my gosh, where does the time go?

I've been off being busy with weddings (it is wedding season after all), and having a lot of fun with them.  I'm looking forward to some outdoor shoots this summer too, which ought to produce some great looks.  I've gotten some great inspiration from Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest.

Stay tuned!

Review for this post:

Eyeliners.  I've gotten a few questions recently about eyeliners.  Everyone has a preference as to type: pencil, liquid or gel.  I myself prefer liquid on myself.  I have a monolid, so liquids won't smudge on my eyelids.  I do like using gels when I apply makeup on someone else.  I end up with great control, and some smudgeability which is nice.

I've tested quite a few eyeliners recently, and I'd like to mention a few.  As always, I purchased these myself, with no pay.


CoverGirl Line Exact

This is a nice basic eyeliner with a felt tip.  It's inexpensive, and small, so you can buy a couple for popping into your purse and makeup bag.  I find the colour lasts quite a long time, and is pretty pigmented.  I really like the black, which lasted the best on me.  I didn't like the grey as much, as it faded quickly, and seemed to dry out quickly.


Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Eyeliner

These are good eyeliners.  I've only tried the black one though so far.  It goes on super pigmented, and the applicator is pretty easy to control.  It's more of a brush-type applicator, and the brush will pick up a lot of product, so make sure to wipe some off from the sides before brushing it on.  It does take a tiny bit of time to dry, but not enough time to really be a bother.  It does flake off though if you rub your eyes, so be warned!


Stila Eyeliner

One of my faves!   The colour goes on nice and dark, and stays on pretty well.  It does fade if you rub your eyes too much (which, I do).  The eyeliner is the felt pen type, which makes it easier to control.  It lasts a long while, by which I mean you'll go for long time without having to buy a new one.  It doesn't take long to dry either, all of which are pluses for me.


NYX liquid eyeliner

These ones I find very similar to the UD eyeliner above.  The color goes on very pigmented, and it uses a brush applicator.  You do have to wipe off some of the product, otherwise you'll end up with a big mess all over your eye.  Especially with some of the brighter colours, I like putting it over one of my black eyeliners, just for a fun look that isn't too bold.

So that's all the liners I'm putting up reviews for.  Hope you found it interesting and/or informative!

To Unpack or Not To Unpack

So there seems to be two schools of thought regarding a makeup artist's kit.

Many suggest that unpacking is the way to go.  This works especially works well when you have a busy backstage, and need to have all your kit spread out, and ready to go.  Some suggest that keeping it within a kit that you don't need to unpack as much is better.  This works when you have a tight space to work in.

I'm kind of in the middle.  I have most of my kit organized in a box, so I could work straight from it if I really had to.  That said, I do like having some of my kit out when I'm in a working frenzy.  Having my colours ready to dip into really helps on days when I start forgetting the number of faces I've worked on.  ^_~

Mini Review:
To keep my kit organized and compact, I prefer multi-use items, like chubby sticks.  These are great for lips, and eyes.  I especially like them as eyeshadow bases.  My faves right now are the NYX pencils, the Urban Decay pencils, and the NARS velvet gloss pencils.  All of these deliver great colour, are easy to sharpen and really help to give great impact on a look.

Flakes

So I was supposed to have a couple of photoshoots with a photographer last weekend.  Supposed to being the operative word.  Both models for the shoots flaked.  The first had car trouble, and emailed the photographer about it.  The second one had shower trouble apparently.

I can't understand why people flake like that.  I understand that you're not getting paid per se, but it's all about being professional and making a name for yourself.  If you are even remotely serious about being in this industry, then why flake?  Even if you can't make it, or simply forgot, it'd be nice if you could just admit it.

Fun times over the weekend!

So I got back into the swing of things with a couple of photoshoots this weekend.  I did one on a male model, and another one a pair of female models.  They were truly different looks.  The male model had these amazing cheekbones, so I made sure to emphasize them!  The female models were being made up to look like dolls, so that was some amazingly fun stuff to do.  Pictures to come soon!

Quick review!

OCC Lip Tar - amazing stuff.  A little goes a SUPER long way.  The colour does come out a bit more matte than a traditional lipstick, so it does look a bit fake.  I prefer to add a bit of a balm on top, or even to mix it in.  I also love to use it like a cream blush when mixed in with a bit of foundation.  Get a nice pink or pink/brown shade to make it really versatile.

And I promised not to do this again....

So, I had promised to not let this blog waver, and I failed, again.  >_<

So, new resolution for the year.  I will blog on this!  If I can't do this weekly, I will try for a bi-weekly thing.

Nothing much has happened since the last post.  I had a few photoshoots done, and those photos are posted up on the website.  I did go to Paris, and that was AMAZING!  Ate some terrific food, got to see some very cool fashions, and took a look at the beauty products there.

Funny enough, I didn't buy a lot of beauty products while I was there.  I think I was afraid of not being able to get more once I ran out.  :)

One last thing.  Quick review of a product I recently bought.  I was looking for a new lipstain, because well, I love lip stains.  I decided to try Revlon's Just Bitten Lipstain/balm chubby stick.  It's a great size, and so far, it's stayed on great!  The only thing I don't like about it is the smell.  It's sort of a toothpaste/medicinal minty smell.  I suppose it's part of the "Just Bitten" part, but I don't think it really does anything.  But the smell doesn't last long, which is nice.  :)

Ooops, it's August!

Uh wow, so it's been a month since my last post.  ;)  But there's been lots of fun stuff done lately, so I will have some fun photos up for you.

I think that's been one of my most favourite things about being a makeup artist.  The pictures that I've been a part of making have turned out amazing!

I seriously love how this one came out.  It really was just a matter of everyone's ideas and talents coming together to come up with an amazing shot.

The model had some damaged hair unfortunately, so it made it a bit harder to do anything with a heat appliance.  In the end, we decided that she could do a strong look, so I went and teased out her hair.  She ended up looking like she stuck her finger in a light socket.  But it worked!  I used strong shapes and colours on her eyes as well.  She had clothing that made her look very rock chic.  As well, the photographer used harsh lighting to achieve this effect.

Isn't it great when a single idea can blossom into this?