Our monthly Makeup Monday pro meetings are always so great! But this year we are upping our game with more education and going virtual! We started January off right with Napa Valley hair and makeup artist Rachel Lusk.

Rachel is a licensed cosmetologist with a decade and a half of experience. She specializes in bridal hair and makeup but also is a wiz at commercial work and is signed with the Look Agency out of San Francisco. She is the absolutely the queen of kit organization!

Having a strategic minimized kit is more important than ever! Here’s a recap of some of the things she shared with the group…

Want more kit inspo and tips? Then you have to follow Rachel on Instagram! https://instagram.com/rachel.luskhmua?igshid=rrax0ybmf8wt

She shares weekly peeks into her pro kit, what products you need to organize, and other ideas you’d never think of to make creating both safe and stylish! Thank you Rachel for sharing with us!

If you’re a pro makeup or hair artist and want to attend next month’s Makeup Monday meeting then email jessica@polishandpout.com to get the info!

Last year we did a few fun super simple Halloween DIY costumes and it was SO MUCH fun we just had to do more this year too!  

First up, an old timey bank robber! 

 

Here’s what you’ll need: For your outfit opt for black pants and shoes, a black and white striped top (go for all black if you don’t own stripes), black gloves. 

 

 

You’ll also need a bag for all your stolen loot!  An old white or cream pillow case will do the trick! Use a black sharpie to draw a big dollar sign $ on it…because otherwise how will you remember what’s inside?! 😉 

 

 

Ok now for your makeup. Start out from whatever point you’re most comfortable. Maybe that means a bare face or maybe that means your current routine, it’s whatever you want! On Izzy, we used foundation, powder, blush, bronzer, and highlight. So her basic  complexion was on point before we drew the mask! Ok now grab a black eyeliner and sketch your eye mask outline.   

 

 

Now fill in the mask! We used Mehron black cream makeup, you can snag it on Amazon for a few dollars! Not able to get ahold of black makeup? Fill in mask with your eyeliner or layer on black eyeshadow to fill in the mask. 

 

 

Now the fun pop of color! You really can wear anything lip you want but I just love the contrast of this bold red with the black and white outfit! Bank robbers like to be glam too! This is Fenty’s Stunna Lip Paint in red and it’s so creamy, smooth, vibrant, and ultra long wearing!  

 

 

Now you’re ready to pull off your master plan!!! 

 

Special thank you to Indulge Beauty Studio for these awesome photos of the lovely Izzy! 

 

 

Give this a go and be sure to tag @polishandpout in your look on IG so we can see it!! Happy {almost} Halloween!!  

 

We’ve all had those moments, when we feel ready for better. Often the beginning of the year is that moment for many of us. But what about when, let’s say, it’s March and the enthusiasm of early January feels like forever ago? When we don’t feel like pushing through? Excited to share with you this glimpse into a strong amazing woman who pushed through to achieve a big time personal goal! Meet our friend and wedding planner extraordinaire, Kristina Foerster!

 

What made you start this journey?

It was a normal day, I had been working out regularly but not getting the results I wanted. I had just gotten married and life had settled. Everyone was telling me I was fine–and I wasn’t fat– but I thought I could be better. Even though I was working out, I wasn’t being as consistent. My gym had a challenge and I decided to do it!

What made this time different from the other times you wanted to make a change?

I’d say 3 main things were different this time. I was…

Committed

Seeking advice and

Looking at the scale differently.

It wasn’t just about the pounds anymore. This changed my perspective about what I should eat. Also this was something I was doing for ME. My hubby and family were happy with me as I was and loved me, which is great, but they don’t live in my skin, I DO. Confidence in your own skin is what gets you through the day. I needed to make a change for ME.

OK TODAY IS THE DAY…

My gym had a challenge. Weight loss wasn’t the goal, but being committed to the routine even though the process isn’t fast. So many days I felt like I was regressing. People want that one or two week fix. Really what makes the change is the momentum you build up to it. I didn’t want to yo yo, I wanted to keep it off.

The first three months had the most moments of doubt and usually in the evening after my shower being so aware of my body. I wanted my body to change as fast as I imagine it would in my mind. You think, I’m working out 5 or 6 days a week why am I not there yet? It’s hard to judge your own progress when you see ur body everyday. I had to tell myself to stop judging so harshly and push those thoughts out of my mind and focus on staying committed to the routine rather than examining my body.

It’s hard when you compare yourself to others. If I looked at the person next to me on the treadmill and compared myself that would discourage me. So wherever you are today, that’s your starting point. There’s no point looking to the left or the right. All you can do is look in the mirror and say this is what I’ve got and I’m gonna work with it. You have to love who you are first when you start. You can still love yourself for who you are but push towards better.

While Kristina was dedicated to weight lifting and high intensity interval training, she says that food made the most difference.

Here’s a peek into a typical day for her…

Wake up drink: ice water with apple cider vinegar–it wakes up my organs!

I make breakfast and eat it within 30 mins of waking up–1 egg, 2 whites, and turkey links Shake snack later that I made the night before

Coffee– I love it! The biggest change is I drink it black, no sugar or cream, it’s not dessert anymore!

Lunch salmon over a cup of greens

4 oz plain yogurt 15 almonds for another snack

Workout, either weights or interval training 3 days of each

Dinner with hubby is usually some chicken with a cup of veggies.

“The answer is consistency and commitment. True lifestyle change. Nothing long lasting comes easy.” If you want to chat more with Kristina about her journey or about your upcoming wedding day–we mentioned she’s an amazing wedding planner, yes?!–visit her site here.

And what better way to celebrate smashing your goals than to have a photoshoot (with a little hair and makeup of course!)! Love these pics by Dee and Kris Photography! Thanks for sharing your journey with us, Kristina! 

Ok folks…we have the perfect last minute easy-peasy costume for you!  

 

 

Wednesday requires 2 essential things: a white collar and double braids. Everything else is a little flexible!  

 

 

I’d like to think that black lipstick was a staple in her routine as she got older. We didn’t have the exact dress or even sweater…so what we did was put the white collar shirt under a black thermal long sleeve shirt!  

 

Classic three strand braided pigtails of course. Loads of lashes and strong brows for a more glam look. Paired her top with a skirt and there you go!  

 

 

 

Be sure to wear your serious face like Alyssa did. Special thanks to Indulge Beauty Studio for these awesome pics!  

The ultimate Halloween icon: the vampire! So many possible directions you could take this one…but I think my favorite is to go full blown dramatic on the makeup then add the fangs and blood! 

 

 

So here’s a glance at each step I took to get my undead glam on… 

  

 

Clean bare face of course! I used Painterly paint pot by MAC as my eye base and worked from the purple and black shadows in the Tarteist Pro palette!  

  

 

Start with a wash of color over your lid, the brightest purples should go in your crease, smoke out the edges with the black and highlight your brow bone!  

  

The far right row in the palette is all shimmery shades—use your finger to color pack the shimmery purple onto the center of your lid for an extra pop! I always use a makeup wipe to clean up after and create a sharp line to guide my wings! Dior has an awesome liquid liner, the felt tip makes it goof proof!  Lashes are a must, try using the lash trios by Ardell! They’re like training wheels for lashes— so much easier to put on! 

 

Now that you’ve cleaned up the fallout from the smokey eye, even your skin tone with your favorite foundation! I used Face Atelier ultra foundation and concealed and highlighted with the NARS creamy concealer.  This bronzing and highlight palette was limited edition, but you can snag the shades individually from NARS as well. A nice sharp contour and highlight definitely adds that necessary severity to this look.

 

 

 

Loving this look so far! Smoke out under your lashes and add liner in your inner rim for extra drama. 

 

 

 

Blush by Cargo in Ibiza, strong brows with my new favorite brow pencil from NYX…it’s called Precision Brow Pencil and the shade taupe works for just about everyone! NYX lip in Transylvania—how apropos! I set it with black eyeshadow for extra depth and hold.

 

 

There it is! Love! Of course I added fangs. I used the petite set from Scarecrow Vampire. The set comes with a kit to make custom molds but I opted to go the lazy route and use poligrip since I only was wearing them for a couple hours.  

 

 

 

Bonus step: Add a drip of fx blood in the corner of your mouth!  

 

 

Any outfit will do but I think all black is the way to go…leather, chockers, boots…the more badass the better! 

 

 

 

I’m not gonna lie, I kinda want to wear this look year round…fangs included!  

 

 

There you have it! You’re ready for your date with Dracula!  

Alongside the black cat, the witch is one of the easiest and best go-to’s for Halloween! It really only requires two things: black clothing and the classic pointy hat! Everything else is dependent on your imagination! 

 

 

And thanks to the Target dollar section, dressing up like a witch has never been easier! We snagged our hat for $3 and paired it with a favorite black maxi dress. Bonus points if you add striped tights! 

 

 

Another reason why I love this costume is because the makeup can be whatever you want! A smokey eye seemed like the obvious choice.

 

 

Build your smokey eye with black and then color pack some green shadow to the center of your lid for a witchy pop of color! I love keeping a colorful palette full of funky shades on hand for occasions like these. The morphe palette I used is sadly discontinued but they have lots of other colorful options and are super affordable! 

 

 

There you go! Super easy and super glam! Special thanks to Indulge Beauty Studio for taking these rad pics of the lovely Emma! 

2017 was the year of the unicorn for sure…they’ve been everywhere from T-shirt’s, to coffee mugs, and even our Frappuccino’s! So it should come as no surprise that it also happens to be an excellent do it yourself costume idea!  

 

Chances are you have most of these things lying around your house or can snag the things you’re missing for a few bucks!  

 

 

Ok so first things first you need to make a horn! A piece of paper will do the trick…a glittery or metallic piece of scrapbooking paper is even better! Simply roll it into an ice cream cone shape and secure it with hot glue! 

 

 

Punch two holes through each side of the end of the cone and put ribbon through it so you u can tie it around your head like a headband! The best hairstyle for this look will be pigtails or better yet twist your pigtails into double buns! 

 

For makeup, the brighter the better! Use a bright pink blush and apply it everywhere you’d normally contour, bronze, or blush your face. This will add dimension and color in a fun way!

Added bonus points to use glitter or metallic eyeshadow on your eyes and down your hair part. I used my favorite metallic powder and mixing liquid from Mehron!  And for the paint flecks on the forehead, dilute your shadow with setting spray and flick it onto your forehead.  

 

Toss on your twirliest fluffiest dress or tulle skirt! And there you have it…your unicorn dreams have come true!  

Thank you to Indulge Beauty Studio for capturing these photos of the lovely Katelyn! 

Allow me to introduce you to my friend Selena Navarrete. Words like “art” and “artist” get tossed around often but Selena and her work magnificently embodies these words. Seriously people, she makes me want to remove the word “artist” from my title because she brings an entirely different level of meaning to the term.

 

I was super fortunate to enjoy a long conversation with her about her life and her craft–which are one and the same–and was left marveling at how a single person can possess such ability and imagination! Selena creates Mexican folk art and also happens to be an amazing makeup artist (she even does permanent makeup!)…Did I mention she is entirely self taught?

 

 

 

 

“As far back as I can remember I’ve always thought of myself as an artist. We were pretty broke growing up, but my mom would always think of fun projects like going to the beach to collect things to glue to paper. Instead of spending money we made art, would paint, would draw.”

 

 

 

“I started out in fine arts…I loved photography and even had my own dark room. I also painted with oils and acrylics. I started working on gourds after becoming a mother. Once my daughter and son were born we went to Apple Hill every year. One year we went and there were Apple gourds . I thought they looked like a box of skulls…so I got a box and started painting!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I learned there was a local gourd farm in Folsom. So I went out there and realized there were so many different shapes of gourds. So I started sculpting with them. Blue (her son) suggested cutting them in half for two masks.”

 

 

 

“My father is Puerto Rican, mom is Mexican and creole. The Day of the Dead connection in my work…comes from dealing with death, not from necessarily the cultural root of the traditions. I wasn’t born in a small Mexican town. I grew up in south central LA.”

 

 

 

“It’s not that I have a fascination of death, but more how society deals with death. In western culture, people die and you put it away quickly and move on. People are practically like, ‘Aren’t you over it yet?’ I love Mexican culture because death is just an extension of life. You bring the mementos out, you remember those who pass on a regular basis and it makes things not seem so final like it is in western culture.”

 

 

 

“Apparently in Puerto Rico, mask making is foundational in their arts. I thought that was so interesting. I look back and wonder that some things are innately inside of you…part of the connection you feel to things that weren’t necessarily part of the culture you were raised in.”

 

 

“I feel like my love of makeup came from my grandmother. My grandmother was gorgeous. She was a diva. Purse, shoes, outfit…all put together all the time. Never left the house undone. She let me play with her makeup and wear her jewelry. It just was a part of my art.”

 

The first day of 7th grade was the best day of my life. It was the first day I could wear makeup. My mom bought me a little palette and I wore every color in it! Lash line to brow stripes of the shadow colors. I thought I was the sh*t and I looked crazy! Since that day, makeup was a part of my life. I’m currently taking on permanent makeup (at Sidney Le Beauty)…taking my makeup skills and understanding of color and art so I’m able to impact someone on a permanent basis.

“I don’t know how not to make art. I cannot live without it. There are always things I’m thinking of. I can see things in my minds eye, completed. Whether it’s a makeup or a sculpture. I see it before I finish it. Because of that, I have to do it. I see it already completed, so I’m compelled to do it.  It’s not what I want tomake, it becomes what I need to make. Pain, grief, and sorrow are universal themes. Not everyone understands my art but when I see the people who are impacted by it, it makes me happy.”

 

“As I get older and I sculpt more faces…I think of all of the faces that I’ve touched. People share their vulnerabilities with you when you’re doing their makeup, they tell you sad things. That has helped me become a better artist. And those skills are incorporated. Like my sculptures even get lashes and I paint on their makeup. It gives it a special aesthetic because of my makeup background.”

 

 

 

“Doing someone’s makeup is important. It changes them and they can feel good about themselves. You have the chance to negate what they think. Everyone sits down and has something bad to say about themselves. I get to say, ‘What are you talking about? I don’t see that, I see this…’ That keeps me doing what I’m doing.” 

 

 

Cheers to Masks, Makeup, and the Abilty to help someone see their true self,