Say bienvenue to our friend Maya! She’s a double threat: a professionally trained and accomplished makeup artist AND a licensed cosmetologist who is amazing at styling hair!

I’m not sure if it’s the Mona Lisa smirk she always has on her face, or her sultry French accent…but we just love her!!

She’s lived in places like France and India and traveled the world sharpening her art and skill, studied under renown artists, and worked for lines such as Dior and Laura Mercier…here’s a peek at what products are her fav’s right now!

   

photo credits: top Paul Ferradas, bottom Jeremy Montemayor

 

Should you ever book P&P for your wedding or special event you’ll most likely meet her in person, as she often joins our beauty adventures! From Suburban Mothers to International Models, Maya has done it all! We are so excited whenever she joins us!

Chin Chin (Cheers!) to Mothers, Models, and Maya,

Meet Gina Scheiber, makeup artist extraordinaire! Gina studied makeup and special FX at Make-Up Designory, and you’ve seen her amazing work on music videos, commercials, TV (like a little show called American Idol) and has collab’d on major motion pictures (like Pirates of the Caribbean!)!

She can do everything from monsters to movie stars!

I am honored to have her on P&P today and excited that she is letting us take a peek in her makeup bag! Here are the things she cannot live without…

 

 

 

 

Gina’s advice? “Know your tools. The better they are, the better your application will be. You’re only as good as the tools you use, so spend a little extra on durable high quality products!”

 

Cheers to Makeup, Movies, and Monsters,

 

 

The Makeup Show is an annual pro-only event put on by The PowderGroup (if you’re a makeup artist, do yourself a favor and google TPG!) Last year was amazing so I knew I could not miss this year!

The show is in a handful of major cities (NYC, London, etc) and luckily Los Angeles is one of them! So I took a roadtrip with fellow artist Maya and fellow beauty vlogger Tree!

The body art and special fx were amazing!

Of course with all of the shopping I was on cloud nine! Clockwise from left: shopping at the Inglot booth, Tree examining part of her loot, even though I knew I’d be buying more I couldn’t resist packing a decent amount to go with me, you never know right?

I was able to meet some amazing artists: clockwise from top left: Alex, me, and MJ meeting celebrity makeup artist Troy Jensen (who’s worked with a ton of celebs including JLo, Rachel Bilson, Megan Fox), Me and Momma Makeup Sharon Gault (has worked extensively with Lady Gaga), Me with the lovely Lori Taylor from Smashbox (I just LOVED her sequined jacket!), and legends Byrd Holland and Maurice Stein (They’ve worked on legendary actors and movies including Jimmy Stewart and Planet of the Apes).

It was so incredible to hear from all of these artists, and the perspective of the last older artists was invaluable! Hearing about how Byrd motioned and fought for female makeup artists to be allowed into union and industry gave me chills!

Snippets from the trip, clockwise from top left: Mario Dedivanovic (Kim Kardashian’s personal artist), the big wall of FB statuses (I had to add Polish and Pout to the wall!), our room at the Marriott, me and Maya striking a pose!

One of the highlights from the weekend was hearing from artist Bill Corso. You know his work from Lemony Snickets, The Grinch, and recently John Carter. He explained the creative process behind the makeup in John Carter, even showing us the concepts that got tossed! Clockwise from top pic: sketches of the tattoos drawn onto the actors, the princess of Mars before and after makeup, the artist himself speaking.

The show has a heavy educational focus, which I love! So much information, advice, and ideas swirling in my head now! So this week I will catch some time on the beach to process it all!

The plan is to attend next year in NYC! I cannot wait!

Cheers to Makeup, Movies, and the Marriott,

I’d like to introduce you to my dear friend MJ…

MJ is a professional makeup artist living in LA. She’s worked for many amazing makeup lines including Dior, Laura Mercier, and MAC. She has done everything from bridal to red carpet and from runway to film. She even has worked with the D-O-Double G himself!(Umm that’s Snoop I’m referring to haha)

Most recently she worked backstage at NYC fashion week! So she is giving us the scoop today on what it’s like backstage!

MJ: I was running on not a lot of sleep! It was a very looong day flew in and hit the ground running the morning! Early call times! But then really, who sleeps during fashion week?

I was backstage for 2 days with 3 shows per day so it was a lot of work! The shows I worked on were at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC. Bebe, EMU Australia, Theia, and Malan Breton were among the designers I was able to work with.

Beauty Control was the beauty sponsor so they provided the makeup, skincare, foundation and all the color to use on the models! (Which she got to keep! Jealous!)

It was very intense…station prep, demo from the Viktorija Bowers (the lead artist) and then everyone just attacks the models…I always had to make sure that I had someone in my chair. Everything gets done at the same time: hair, nails, makeup. So you have to be focused and quick! No time for stargazing. Ahaha.

I was able to actually watch most of the shows!

There was barely any time to sit but you don’t really notice until your done because the energy is so high! Theia was my favorite show…everything was on point and perfect. After that particular show, they received a standing ovation…some people even had tears in their eyes…I thought: this is the reason I do what I do…moments like this…its not always this way but I felt so lucky to experience a moment like that…everything was perfect and I was able to be a part of that!

I was fortunate to be partnering with a great team, which really can be attributed to the lead artist… She was so down to earth and encouraged us all to not be afraid or hesitate, that we are good artists, that why we were there so just trust our skills and go for it!

Here’s a video backstage at a show MJ worked at! Can you spot her?

BC NYC Fashion Week 02.12 Recap from Jason Smith on Vimeo.

Did you spot MJ? She was at the :42 mark! Stay tuned for another post from MJ as she gives us the scoop on the beauty trends she saw on the runway!

Cheers to Fashion week, to NYC, and to Perfect Moments,

Today I want you to hear from Jess…no I’m not speaking in the third person…my friend Jess Burden is an amazing makeup artist with over 10 years of experience under her belt! She is a member of Laura Mercier’s Northern California Artistry Team, with additional experience in film, theater, and commercial work.

I think a peek into her makeup bag and her beauty routine might do us some good…

You can only pick one beauty product to use for the rest of your life…what is it?: “One beauty product for the rest of my life? I think I’m cheating with this answer…but…bath products. My current obsessions are:
Lush Bath Bombs, fizzy and delicious. For Strange Women Bath Salts, in Lichen. They smell amazing, and are great for soothing sensitive skin. And Laura Mercier Honey Bath, in a Almond Coconut. Very hydrating, and smells like a beach vacation!” (This is one my [Polish and Pout’s] FAVORITE scents of all time! It really is like vacation!)

Jess says, “It takes me 30 minutes to get ready, but I prefer to take at least an hour. Making time, to take time for yourself, is essential to feeling beautiful.“

Her beauty mantra: ” Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it” ~Confucius~

Five Things in her makeup bag:

• Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer “I love the light weight feel, and the finish is beautiful.”
• Laura Mercier’s Primer “I wear this even when I don’t wear makeup.”
  
• Wet ‘n’ Wild lipliner in Chestnut “It’s only .99 cents….best contouring pencil ever for nude/ peach/ or deep red lips!”
• For Strange Women Lip embellishments “100% natural, from the ingredients, to the packaging. Great texture, with unique flavors, and completely biodegradable packaging!”
• Shiseido Eyelash Curler “Perfect for all eye shapes, and they sell replacement pads.”

Jess’ thoughts on makeup routines and how to get your best look possible: “Having a beauty routine, is the quickest way to end up bored, and in a rut. Beauty habits, typically end up bad ones. If you are going to do any kind of grooming, makeup application, or just generally put your best face forward, consider calling it a beauty ritual. A ceremonious occasion, that you perform for yourself, to honor your beauty. Look at it as time you take for yourself. Spend time on your skin, and treat it gently. Get up a little earlier. sit down, somewhere with good lighting, to do your makeup. In the bathroom,rushed, standing under florescent lighting, does not feel pretty.“

Final thoughts from Jess, “ A woman’s confidence in her natural beauty, and how she relates that to her makeup application, will ultimately help, or hinder her. As women, we can become so caught up, in what we see, as flawed aspects of ourselves, physically. Unfortunately, this cause us to use cosmetics as a “mask”, which we hide ourselves behind. Looking into a mirror, and seeing what is truly beautiful about one’s self, is key to utilizing cosmetics to flawlessly enhance, not hide, ourselves. “

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Cheers to Confidence, Confucius, and Cosmetics,