I don’t know what it is about the change in seasons that makes me get all introspective but, I once again find myself bursting with ideas and anticipation now that Spring has fully arrived and Summer is practically here! I feel like this…
You know when you are right on the edge of change? Or a big decision? Edges can be scary and edges can be exciting…right now I’m experiencing the exciting aspect of the edge. New season, new opportunities, new chances to be different, to be better. I will not be afraid, I will simply toss my perfectly curled hair and jump right in!
I’m eager for more sunshine, wedding season filled with makeup and hair on lovely brides, vacation, changes in my own life, and exciting growth for Polish and Pout…
Isn’t this model lovely? Her name is Jess (too!)…You will definitely be seeing more of this amazing shoot I did with JennaRae and Ashley over the next month…and later this week more tips on how to get this look and a peek into Jess’ life as a personal trainer.
So Cheers to Sunshine, Anticipation, and The Edge,
May 1, 2012
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,
April 3, 2012
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,
March 22, 2012
Remember my hair stylist friend Ashley? Well this past weekend was her birthday, and what better way to celebrate than with some girlie glam fun?!!
Part of our girlie fun was sushi for lunch followed by a trip to the salon to get our nails done…now this is a huge treat for me. Weird, I know, considering how fanatical I am about nail polish. Truth be told, I usually just do my own. I picked out a pretty minty shade by OPI called Hey, Get In Lime! Absolutely in love with this shade right now!
On the docket for the evening was dinner and karaoke…so much fun! Ashley asked me to do her makeup for her day and night of birthday fun and naturally I recorded what we did so you all could follow along and learn how to do the dramatic smoky eye she wanted for yourselves!
You will need black, purple, green, and blue eyeshadows, I also used some basic shades from the Naked 2 palette, black gel eyeliner, mascara, and false lashes! This smoky eye is a personal fav of mine because when you layer the shades you get a peacock/oil slick effect on the eye that is so pretty! So here we go…
Cheers to Birthdays, Smoky Eyes, and Karaoke,
March 12, 2012
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,
February 23, 2012
Well it’s month number 2 and I am even more in love with Birchbox! For those of you who don’t know what that is it is a monthly beauty subscription…$10 a month gets you a box of beauty treats! This month definitely did not disappoint!
Here is a snapshot of my treats this month!
This arrived last week…talk about a Valentine’s Day treat!! I was extra excited this time because my Birchbox had a couple of things that I’ve been wanting to try specifically! I cannot wait to try those temporary lip tattoos!!! Yep, you heard right 😉
Join me for a quick 5 minute peek into my box…I didn’t even open it until I hit “record” on my camera so we could see everything together for the first time 😉 hehe…
Brrrr! It is so cold in my house right now…time to curl up with a cup of tea and a magazine I think!
So Cheers to Birchbox, Treats, and Tattoos for your Lips,
February 21, 2012
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:
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,
January 24, 2012
So now that we’ve kicked those bad beauty habits last week we can move on to adding in some other good habits right?
Beauty encompasses many things: it’s not just the makeup you wear or how your hair is styled…things like lifestyle, attitude, personality, and a kind heart are other things that make up someone’s beauty. Heidi is definitely someone I think about who is not only beautiful, but leads a beautiful life…I thought we all could benefit from taking a peek into her routine and grabbing some tips from her!
Profession: So, technically, I am mostly a “stay at home mom” to my three little boys.That is what I spend MOST of my time doing. My “other job” is a Fitness Trainer/Instructor.
How long have you been doing this: The mom gig is fairly recent….been at it now for 4 and a half years. 🙂 I have been working in fitness, either as a personal trainer, group exercise director, or instructor for 18 years. I actually had to do the math on that!!! It has been a LONG time. I feel old.
Education: I majored in Nutritional Science at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. I decided to study Nutrition after having so many personal training clients that really just needed help with their diets, not their exercise. The food is the harder issue for most people.
It takes me______about two___ minutes to get ready in the morning
My beauty mantra/philosophy/words to live by: Less is more
Best change someone can make to better their health: This is a hard one, because I would have to know what they are doing before I could suggest the best change for them…..BUT a general improvement is to get at LEAST 30 minutes of good, heart pumping exercise a minimum of 5 days a week. If you are already doing that, make a very simple goal of eating 5 servings of fruits/vegetables a day (french fries don’t count). It sounds simple, but many people DO NOT do it. 🙁
3 things you’ll always find in my makeup bag:
Any other health advice? Find a well-rounded exercise routine that you ENJOY. If you don’t like it, you won’t do it. There are SO, SO many ways to exercise, it is silly to force yourself to do something you hate. If you like it, you will do it. If you do it, you will get results. Putting forth effort to exercise is easy. It is putting forth sustained, consistent effort that is hard. So finding something that is fun makes it way easier. 🙂
Want to work out with Heidi? She works at TruFitness! It is in Roseville, CA: www.Trufitness.com
Cheers to Fitness, to a Less-is-More Attitude, and to Leading a Beautiful Life,
January 10, 2012
I have successfully maintained all of my New Years resolutions for years…it’s true! I have ALWAYS accomplished them. How you might ask? Every year I resolve not to make a New Years resolution. I’ve been quite successful at it 😉
I suppose why I do not make resolutions is because I feel that I am setting myself up for failure. Also, I like setting goals on a regular basis when I need to. It’s not uncommon for me to make mini-resolutions on Saturdays for the following week, on the first of the month, or even on my birthday.
Don’t get my wrong…I love the feeling of a clean slate that the new year brings, and I definitely have things I am wanting to accomplish this year! But I simply refuse to call them New Years Resolutions! And while plans are good (I am the QUEEN of planning!) you know, there’s something exciting too about imagining what sort of surprises this year might bring.
I wonder what those surprises might be?! Love these pics by JennaRae by the way…this is from a shoot this fall that I did with her and AshleyB. Our model Katie was so awesome and I just knew I would want to blog these for New Years! Watch the video below to see a quick behind the scenes peek of that shoot!
Big plans tonight anyone? I am under the weather so I will be at home taking it easy…the only bubbly in my glass will be my Emergen-C! Haha!
So Cheers (quite literally this time!) to Clean Slates, Plans, and unforeseen Surprises,
December 31, 2011
It’s Christmas Eve and I am snuggled up by fire perfectly content…and I cannot think of a single thing I am wanting or wishing for…all I can think about are the things I already have and I the things I have enjoyed this holiday season that I don’t want to end!
Like Christmas lights! And being all bundled up with my Sweetie as we walk around and see them!
Hot Chocolate with whipped cream…and better yet: shared with a friend!
And this little blurry memory of me and my little sister (Not sure how that red splotch got on the pic! So bummed about that!) Excited over Christmas in our little jammies…and I thought it’d be so fun to put the stockings on our feet!
How nice it would be to enjoy every holiday like I did then…no sense of rush or worry, not concerned with whether I bought enough or planned everything just right…just soaking in all of the Christmas delights…faith like a child! That is what I wish for each and every one of you.
So Cheers to Hot Chocolate, to Bright Lights, and To Child-like Wonder,
December 24, 2011