Meet my new friend Kali. Kali at the ripe old age of 21 is an accomplished makeup and hair artist. I met her last month at the Adesign Brush Party, she was demo’ing body art techniques using those awesome brushes. I was completely wowed by her abilities and asked her to share her story and some products she loves. Her strengths and interests (math, anyone?!) intrigue me…take notes people, this girl is going places…

“So lets see, where do I begin…Well for starters my name is Kali Lorenzo. Born and raised in San Jose, CA. I was always a creative kid and somehow I ended up putting it to use through makeup. I loved painting and math. So those 2 skills served me well when it came to hair and makeup. I’m a licensed cosmetologist. Believe it or not theres alot of math in hair! I’ve been professionally doing makeup for about 5 yrs, hair 2yrs.”

“As far as body painting goes, I’ve only been doing that for a year. My first time doing such thing was for a Hair show competition, which I won first place for ;). The theme was “time warp” doing anything from the b.c. to present involving hair/makeup. I did futuristic of course. I converted my model into a robot from head to toe. Never did I have previous training for this, but it was how my mind worked. I had this vision in my head so I would quickly draw it before it left my brain. Sketch it out & then bring it to life on a human body as my canvas. Sometimes I dont even know how my brain works…but it does…in a crazy way. I love doing what I do, and I feel more than blessed to be one of the few that gets to do what they love as a career.”

“My interest in makeup began shortly after my 15th birthday, my friend had a photography project and asked me to be in it. I knew how to do makeup, but not like those girls at MAC. That day I did a look that changed my life forever, it was simple but gave me the idea that “Hey, maybe this can take me somewhere”. So I started reading books, watching youtube videos, and eventually having clients. I posted all my stuff on myspace (back then lol) then facebook, and then eventually started attending shows and networking…”

“May I add I was only about 18or 19? I was determined, and I still am.”

“I know what I want and I do not stop until I get it. I feel like I’m still at a young age where I have plenty of years to achieve my goals, but of course I give myself a deadline. I need to push myself harder every year to achieve that 25yr deadline. So I have 4 yrs to go :).”

3 must haves (or else I’d die!!):

1) Ben Nye Setting Spray, I dont care what anyone says best setting spray ever!
2) Urban Decay Supercurl Lash, I kid you not best curling mascara I’ve used by far.
3) MUFE’s Flash Palette, need I say more??! Everything in 1!

Wow! I don’t know about you, but Kali’s amazing talent and determination (at such a young age too!) is incredibly inspiring! Follow her work on Facebook…and find out there how to book her services!

 

Cheers to Math, Art, and Determination,

 

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,