how to prevent unwanted kisses on New Years

Yeah...New Year's is all fun and great....til every girl, secretly in their mind, is dreading the midnight strike (well unless your with that special someone that all you wanna do is feel their "soup-coolers" against yours)...

midnight brings out every drunken man that sees New Year's as free game in prime kissin season...

EXAMPLE: many new years moons ago...

I spent those few minutes dodging drunken guys....warning them of my imaginary,"big, scary, and really jealous" pretend boyfriend...ha ha ha...the "don't kiss me" request hadn't worked...and if one more old guy with  beer belly attacked me....!!!

NO KISSING TIPS:

how make-up can be your first line of defense!!!

#1 wear lots of lipgloss

-most guys hate lipgloss

#2 I was going to say wear bright red lipstick BUT

-most guys would think it's cool to have your red lip-print on their face....so, moving on.

#3 i guess we'll just go back to the ridiculous amount of lipgloss.....maybe add sparkles to draw attention to the "don't mess with my lips" factor...

hope this helps...and no one spreads cold sores of herpes...ha ha ha ha

keep on kissin on'...just not with all the randoms on new years....!

HAPPY FRESH YEAR!!!!

No Rules Allowed

Pet peeve #1   when people throw rules for coolness and style at you     

for example: right about this end of the year time..every MTV-VH1 special....and don't get me wrong...I like these channels...they have given me nice paychecks for doing make-up for them...(thank you Phil for getting me jobs....I like always liked the airstream trailer in the lobby of the MTV building)...

but, I just watched a clip from a show prbobably called "101 tops style mistakes of 2008" or something....and they were dissin' all the girls with defined eyebrows...saying the "full" bushy look is back.......the "bushy" anything will probably not be in style anytime soon...

style and fashion and make-up....are all about you...what you wear or do that makes you feel confident and happy and totally you...

To this I give you this rad picture.....I love defined eyebrows....I think they add dimension and definition to a face...this photo is one of my favs....it's got a hint of retro, the modern style of the matte face and pale mouth, with a touch of freshness- the glittery gold eye with a few swipes of black liquid liner (MAC's new fluidline is so fun...it's like a felt tip pen!)

and lashes add something fun...these ones are separated,like if you really glopped on masacara and they clumped up together!!!

so for new years...try some of the things on all the "don't"'s lists...like define your lashes....wear a pale lipstick.....whatever sounds or looks fun...do it!

mistle-toe schmistle-toe

as I was cleaning up a Christmas painting project (painting a wooden snowman)...I thought of ideas for all the left over glitter.......I thought it would be so rad to use this "so-fun" red glitter on lips....and then highlight with the iridescent white glitter.....
so off I went to color my lips in a test it out.....MAC pigment in cool red.....with a bit of gloss to be the glue....and then packed on the glitter.....then more on the highlight spots...the fattest center of the bottom lip and the top "cupid's bow" of the upper lip......
it looked so much better in real life than in the pictures....but that's what happens when you just have a digi-cam....and not some fancy camera....on a shoot under lights..this would've looked awesome!so after I rinsed my mouth and spit out all the glitter....I realized this..as many other artsy ideas I come up with for make-up...are best for a photo shoot when you're not gonna be drinking or kissing anyone...or maybe if on New Years you don't want to kiss anyone...put on even more glitter!!! ha ha ha
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! and may the mistle-toe treat you right!!!!

tne gangster of makeup

for those peeps that aren't on my "people I work with that need Christmas / promo cards"....here's some "kandee" for your stocking....and yeah, with a name like Kandee, I am allowed as many "candy" name inserts as I want.....no matter how cornball it is....you know how many years of teasing I put up with...I"ve earned some good times with my name now....

So now you see the use of the "chola" make-up....one of the photographers I work with already got it and had it up next to his computer monitor!!! He kept asking if I was gonna "cut him"...with my knife....ha ha ha ha...yeah, if he didn't light the girls face right...or if a 80's hair light popped up...ha ha ha ha...

but for reals.......MERRY CHRISTMAS is almost here!!!

before & after friday

I love me some before & after's...it can be a face....a house....anything... but my sister can attest that I have been doing make-up make-overs for at least 20 years now... I would do my sister's make-up and hair I would instruct her on posing and style the shoot....my fav spot was leaning my sister near my bedroom window....I shall post one of those "glamorous" shoots when I dig through all my "old....non-computer-stored" pictures

so here's for all those that love a good before & afta'.....

these models just so happen to have an older sister...who has known me since the womb...I love her and I love that her sisters let me take their pictures....they all have the most beautiful blue eyes that glow with greys and blacks

HOT COLORS FOR BLUE EYES: gold, pink, peach, and grey and black liner will make em' pop

HOT COLORS FOR GREEN EYES: lavender, plumb, golds, and the grey and black liner magic

HOT COLORS FOR BROWN EYES: golds, steel blue, pewter, greens, and one of my favorites is a slate grey-plumb (perfect for a smokey look I love SCENE from MAC) , and line away with black

til I find some more before and afters for next friday......happy friday before Christmas!!!

what to my wondering eyes should appear....

in a glossy, mag that I was holding so dear...

I posted these pics already, I know
but they are so nice I had to flash em once mo'...

as you will notice on the left side...you can even see the glare from the folded magazine center!

and I made sure not to get any of my dinner from the Border's cafe on my glossy page...

you can check out ian's blog...(he's the picture-maker of this visual stimuli)...

http://www.ianruhter.blogspot.com

check out his latest eyecandy:http://ianruhter.blogspot.com/2008/12/behind-scenes-personal-multiple.html

so that's what you get when I go to the bookstore and eat my dinner while looking at magazines...

things I heard and things I can't tell

on my shoot today I had to sign a confidentiality agreement so i can't talk about it.......the girl looked pretty hot when I was done with her, is all I CAN say....
next thing I can say
I discovered a super rad new product: girls you will love this for photo shoots or I was even told you can go swimming with this stuff on.......

this stuff is like having photoshop in a jar....

instantly tans you...makes skin look flawless and non-veiny, blotchy, or uneven

the description says "optically slimming"....I saw it work before my very own peepers....cellulite-minimized...white skin-bronzed....

dried in 60 secs....didn't come off...washed right off my hands....no orangey palms like with fake-tanner sprays or foams.....

everyone should own some of this magical paint....Sally Hansen Leg Spray...oh but it's for so much more than legs! I put it on arms...back, neck...everywhere!
next thing I can say:
Place: make-up trailer (like 7am) on Fly Wheels Commercial last week
Who: the talent (a little actor boy that was like 11 or 12)
What I heard:
I finished putting his make-up and chapstick (and let me tell you how much the boys love getting make-up on.......yeah no.) so then I am trying to make his hair look perfectly messy and his mom is re-fixing it as I do it....haha ha ha...gotta love moms....so I go to lock down his do' with some hair spray....and he says,

"oh, I wonder what my carbon footprint is gonna be NOW!"....
ha ha ha ha ha.....what kids says that!?! this one apparently

other funny things kids said on commercials last week:
"your hair looks all mooshy"- my lil Myles Brown dancer to another big-haired kid
"shimmy-shimmy-cocoa-puff" what was said instead of "rock paper scissors"
"I keep eatting my lipgloss off"......little girl with side ponytail
"sweat is running down my back!"...little girl on set with hot, hot lights
"they said if we do a really good job they'll give us a toy".....kids on set
"this lunch is gross!" all kids when we we're served falafel and tabouli and tahziki

hot shoot cold drive home

kandee has just gotten home from shoot- check

kandee is very cold- check

burn finger on curling iron at shoot- check

kandee wears jacket for 2 hours after getting home - check

make model lashes look like they are false with 10 coats of mascara -check

MacGuyver my hair clips to make models pants look tighter - check

cool all hot hair tools under cold sink water so I can leave FAST - check

TRICK & TIP for photo shoots..well and everyday make-up too....

make the skin look flawless and whatever you do with the make-up and hair will look great (pretty much.....)

Today I used:

L'Oreal True Match foundation (1 for all over and one like 6 shade darker to contour the cheekbones sides of nose and sides of forehead....no one wants a movie screen size forehead!)

MAC fluid foundation

Dermablend Concealer (around nostrils, mouth, under eyes and all over eyelids- lashes to brows)

MAC powder compact

and MAC blush (i used 6 colors to get the right look)

after I was done with miss 15 year old....she looked almost old enough to get in a club....she needed to be "Aged"....and nothing like some heavy powder to settle into some pores to make you look weathered! ha ha ha

kandee in toyland

This was such a fun job....FLF Films does some of the most awesome kids toy commercials...from FlyWheels Toys to Hannah Montana...they have some of the best sets...this one looks like any little girl's dream bedroom...and FLF has one of the best crews, from Producers to the Art Department....everyone is like family there...and some of then nicest people to work with! (i loved that the art department guys were skateboarding around set!)

Even though kids have pretty great skin....especially because it's so new...they still need camera ready faces....and if HD is in the picture....look out...you can practically see inside each pore on your skin!

For kids make-up I use: (if you don't care...skip sown to the next picture)

*a foundation...a pretty sheer one (i like Laura Mercier or even L'oreal sometimes)Laura Mercier is buildable, so if you want more coverage...just go over it with another coat)

*a concealer for under the eyes and redness...I like Dermablend...it's also used to cever up scars and tattoos...

I contour, so they don't look flat on film...with usually a darker shade of foundation

*then powder...I like MAC powder or blotting tissues

*blush just so they have a natural glow usually in a petal pink (like flushed cheeks)

*light mascara on the lashes so they show up on camera better...it's all about the expression!

*and always chapstick or in this case a sparkly lipgloss...which is applied frequently cause kids either lick it off, eat or drink something...and it's gone

This little girlie was so beautiful...she's a supermodel in the waiting....very tall and and cute! She loved her hair..the side pontytail gave me flashbacks of me in my jelly shoes or studded white cowboy boots, circa 1985!

 But she loved it, helped pick out her barrette..we had like 50 to choose from....then I hair sprayed that sucker down with lots of Paul Mitchell hair spray in strong hold...and I can't even tell you how many times I brushed that pony tail smooth!!!

I love working on toy commercials....they are so fun....and I love kids...they are some of the funniest people you'll ever encounter!

Funny Side Note: this commercial was for Puppy In My Pocket...or it could abbreviated to P.I.M.P., and one of the little girl's moms told us when they went to check in they gave them their names and asked if the room was under FLF Films.....the guy said, "no, but I have a P.I.M.P. Girl One and P.I.M.P. Girl Two"....ha ha ha ha ha

blue on the green screen

these are some of my views from the Smurf's commercial...they are coming out with a Smurf's movie...hence the toy collection....and reason for commercial...


this little girl just shot a Ralph Lauren campaign...she was adorable....this was my reason for buying up all the blue Slurpee straws from 7-Eleven...and her blue sparkly eyeshadow (which was turquoise liner all over her eyelid and sky blue liner on the brow bone...covered in an electric blue pigment from MAC packed on...and lavender sparkles pressed ontop)..she had a set of false eyelashes on...putting lashes on kids is hard because they blink so much...



this was her beauty shot...her little face was in the center of the flower-like lights around her (you can only see her legs at the bottom)


here's a "blue-hair-in-training" in front of the make-up trailer
I spent hours trying to find a long-blue haired wig the day before....this lady at Wig World said she had one for a Production Assistant to pick up in the morning.....no wig in the am!!!!!! I rack up hundreds of dollars in 411 calls trying to find a wig on set.....and we just ended up using this one that I had!!! thanks goodness I come prepared!!! (and more exclaimation points to emphasize the thankfulness for having this wig with me)


here's all my little peeps on the green screen
we had just finished hours of "paper scissors rock"..which I kept losing...
they also had me sit in front of them in a chair while one of them would poke my neck or back and I'd have to guess who did it...but I think they were all on it because I "never" guessed it correctly

for some reason kids are like bugs to a light with me...they wanted me to eat lunch with them...and I got many hugs, pokes, hair pulls, and one little boy would crouch in a ball everytime I went to fix his hair...I lost count of times I told him to knock-it-off...

I cleaned hot chocolate, root beer, and dorito dust off of clothes and faces...all day


this was myles brown....my new boyfriend...doing a break dancing trick for me
he is a dancer for Chris Brown and was featured in one of Madonna's videos...he was also the little kid that danced at the Video Music Awards with Chris Brown when he did his Michael Jackson dance...and he's only 10...
he had me laughing so hard all day long....everytime he'd go up on set he'd look over at me and say "majoooor rockstarrrrrr" (like the chipmunk form Alvin and the Chipmunks)


this was such a fun job....I heard the smurf song all day...which was like an electro-goldfrapp-remix....boxes of smurfs were all around...and the kids played all their Papa Smurfs and Smurfette's sayings for me...LA-la-la-la-la

blinded by the lights

this is where i've been for the last 2 days...i can't tell you how many hundreds of thousands of dollars of lights were in this place...

but i can tell you...when it's 24 degrees outside...standing next to one of those babies is like having an "environmental-electric blanket" around yourself...

one little girl had sweat running down her back while they were filming...and the other one kept ducking down behind the table to escape the thermal lights...ha ha ha...

i don't care how little sleep I get, or how fast they have me sprinting from the make-up trailer to set and back, or how much waiting you end up doing...I love it...I feel at home when I'm on a set...I feel alive thay my heart and my creativity and ideas and skill are contributing to creating something.....it's like creating a living and breathing painting for others to see and feel something when they see it...and I miss it already....and it's only been a few hours since I got homespeaking of home...this is what it looked like when i left mine this morning...that's the interior light of my car trying to warm up in some toasty 11 degree temps on the bottom left hand corner....and that glowing ball is the moon setting.....it was so beautiful....i got to see a moonset! you see sunsets a lot...but how many moonsets do you see?

me and my posse of silver boxes

this is how i roll up onto location...well really only the sky-scraper box has wheels...

and missing from my entourage is my make-up chair...

(that I stenciled myself so no one will steal it)...

and my set bag...

(it's like my portable bag to run and do last-looks --which is your last chance to fix anything before they start filming or shooting)

I just re-packed these suckers...and loaded up on the vitals:

sponges - you can never have enough

gum- in sweet mint flavor (i'm like one inch from people's nostrils...I have to be wafting out minty freshness that close)

bonus goodies I'm hauling:

lots of blue hair pieces blue wigs (one has to be picked up by a PA -production assistant because I could get it in time today)

blue sparkly mascara

blue lip gloss

blue nail polish

blue pigments, eyeshadows and liners

blue straws (for a crazy hair do I wanna convince them into doing)

blue hair goodies (rubberbands, headbands, clips, you name it, I got it)

....did I mention it's a Smurfs commercial....

I'm gonna go smurfin' smurf em up!

must sleep....have to be there early...

getting make-up off of make-up haters

much like the cowboys dislike of make-up...I frequently encounter many others that can't wait to scrape, scrub, or smear it off...

namely men, kids don't seem to care, and women who wear no more than chapstick...

so on my journey I've dicovered some make-up removers I love:

here are the winners:

if you have access to water...then I love the disposable washclothes from Huggies

they fold open like a real washcloth size

they are textured so it really cleans your skin

they are hypo-allergenic and smell nice

Kandee tip: I take them with me when I travel so I have a sanitary means of washing my face...I am kinda a mild germaphobe...so I don't really like using hotel washclothes on my face....who knows what those things have scrubbed...yuck)

If you need to get make-up off, on-the-spot style...then I like:

Pond's Make-up Remover Towelettes- they work really well, but I can't stand the smell...they are a lot cheaper than the MAC make-up removers..and when you go through as many as I can on a shoot...I just try not to breathe the stink in...

cowboys hate make-up

but they all obliged me...and called me ma'am...i loved it

it was about 100 degrees and we worked right in the way of all the cowboys, horses, cows, and sheep...it was pretty hot and very dirty...everynight I walked to my car with a fine layer of visible manure all over me...ha ha ha

we'd wait til the rodeo was over each night to start shooting...and go until 3-4 am

I applied pure vitamin E oil, Glycerin, and some greasy moisturizer in layers to make the sweat "look perfect"

Then I dabbed on my special mixture of "dirt" quite strategically to their faces and necks....

then I had to do my special ear trick...but I'll mention that in a sentence or two

this campaign recently won the  Graphis International Advertising Gold Award

we shot this during the "richest rodeo", the Reno Rodeo

I wish I had copied of the whole campaign...each cowboy had a cool theme shot that tied into their specialty (bronc riding, roping, barrel racing)

*this shot was in the middle of the day, but with the lighting it looks like night....I had to put a mixture of emollient and black eyeshadow and apply it to the backs of his ears so that the intense lighting didn't make his look all translucent and pink -not cute for cowboys- glowing pink ears

there was a crew from NY shooting a documentary on the rodeo life at the same time...it was a fun shoot and I enjoyed being served funnel cakes and corn on the cob as our snacks...

Chola Chola Chola

orale...fresh off my bicycle with the chain steering wheel...

this is from some of the pictures for my "It's a gangster Christmas" card

I hope my gramma will think it's funny...she actually has a lowered Impala...for real! Her maiden name, Rodela...means wheels... orale

Chola make-up gets a bad rap...it's kinda like a really cool art form...

For anyone who wants to see some chola-glam to inspire something else...here's some chola tips:

Start with heavy foundation- go to town contouring 

Emphasize the cheekbones with dark bronzer or deep rose blush

FOR THE EYES:

*use the lightest concealer or white eyeliner all over the lid -  lashes to brows

*pack on white or pearl eyeshadow lashes to brows

*contour the crease and blend upwards from crease to outer corner of eyes with a purpley-grey or steel blue

*bust out the liquid liner and line from the inner corner to the cat-eye wings...do  the same with the bottom and blend into outer wings to the liner wings from the  upper lid

DO NOT forget to draw some crazy eyebrows with liner or a sharpie (not really)

I was going to apply mustache wax to my eyebrows, then apply foundation and powder and you look as if you shaved them off...but I didn't have my make-up kit with the wax with me....

FOR THE LIPS:

you have 2 options....the pale...line your lips with MAC spice liner...and fill in with MAC Myth (a pale nude that looks like concealer) lipstick and use a gloss like MAC C-Thru

the option I went with is:

*MAC lipliner in STONE (a dark brownish-grey) line slightly outside your natural lips

*fill in with MAC Viva Glam I (a dark rose-plum)

*CHOLA trick- go over liner with black eyeliner and really get the corners of the  mouth Fill it in a little bit towards the center of your lips

 *go over the black liner with a dark burgundy-plum eyeshadow to soften it up and   make it look nice and dry

I know you won't paint it up chola style for your next date....but if you don't know what to be next year come October 31st......."put some highliner in jor aye"

viva la dark lipliner homes!

Ralph Lauren Shoot-mockery

kandee: waiting to make-up 2 adults and 3 kids

you know those Ralph Lauren ads were they show families clad in sweater, scarves, and perhaps a nice pair or corduroy pants... sitting in front of a fire placce or perhaps somehwere on the outskirts of their winter ski home estate...and none of them interacting with one another...just concentrating on their beautifully, vain eye contact with the camera....well that was the basid for this Ralph Mockery shoot...

man wearing obnoxiously, bright red pants, and an ascot holding  very expensive pair of glasses in teeth while sipping a glass of real bourbon (no ice tea fake-out here) 

+

woman in tall riding boots and white jodhpur pants with a vest and another ascot

I had to warn her not to be scared when she looked in the mirror...because the light was really intense on one side of her face....I had to add a lot of contouring and blush to one side and not the other....but in real light it looked a little scary..ha ha ha)

+

fancy mansion house with a 20 tall Christmas tree decorated in pearls and other sparkly ornaments that I loved

+

2 cute kids and one 5 year old that just cut a huge chunk out of the front of his hair that I had camouflage

+

hunting dogs that were in the picture for atmosphere

+

me catching the photo assistant sipping a Fat-Tire Beer(he said it was Non-Alcoholic)

+

the kids doing and holding the most "snooty" poses 

=

one of the funniest shoots I've seen in a long time

some good lip service

I love this stuff! My sister just gave this to me for my "Christmas on Thanksgiving" present...and it is so awesome...let me count thee ways for you:

1. it cancels out all redness around the lips which will make lipliner/lipstick look crappy because the redness from your lips will always make the color look different

(bonus fact: women's hormones naturally increase the redness around women's nostrils, and lip and chin area....i know...not very cute)

2. provides the perfect canvas for a perfect looking pout - because it is the perfect grey-ish pink color...

3. now I don't have to slather on concealer...which is what I've always done to get the perfect "no color" canvas to apply lipcolor/liner so it stays longer and looks perfect

4. lipstick won't feather or bleed color to the outskirts of your pout

and last but not least..it takes 2 seconds to put it on..

and those little tricks are the ones that make your make-up look like a professional did it...

so show off your professional smackers...

now off to make sure my kit is fully stocked for my shoot this afternoon....

and I have to hunt for a blue wig for a Smurf's commercial next week....if only the store's didn't keep all their post-October 31st clearance wigs out til now...ha ha ha

how to fix broken eyeshadow in 2 steps

unlike a broken heart...eyeshadow can be fused back together in just a couple seconds...

there are a bunch of other people with advice on how to do this...that involves grinding the eyeshadow back into powder...plastic bags...paper clips....ugh...way too many steps for such a simple healing trick...

What you need:

*broken eyeshadow (ofcourse)

*a finger tip (fingers are so amazing...I'm so glad I have 10 of em')

*rubbing alcohol (70% is what we be needin')

Step 1: sprinkle a few drops of the rubbing alcohol on the broken eyeshadow

making sure that the eyeshadow has evenly soaked up the alcohol (we want damp shadow...not soggy)

Step 2: press down on the eyeshadow with your fingertip - compacting the shadow back into the form of it's container 

you can use the kleenex for this part too if you want a "fingerprintless" pattern...

Extra Step trick: if you want you can go crazy...take a coin, wrap it in tissue,sock or t-shirt and press it into the eyeshadow for a more "fresh from the store" look

that's it.....wet, press, and you're good to go, well after the alcohol fully evaporates that is.....an hour or so should make it dry and ready for more abuse

Traveling with Make-up

whether your packing heat for personal make-up use or for a shoot....here's some tips that'll save your beautification investment....

this is just my personal make-up I brought to play with from my recent trip...

I put all my make-up (especially anything powdery - eyeshadows, blush, face powder...my brushes) in hard plastic containers that you can find at any store with a "plastic storage" aisle...

*it's like having insurance for your make-up...nothing will shatter (well it shouldn't) if you drop it

*it prevents your brushes from getting smashed and mis-shapen

*and it's easy to see everything

( i know this is blurry)

this is my personal eyeshadow palette...which I've labeled "PEEPERS" for my eye shadows

I label all my palettes so I don't have to waste time opening and checking what's inside

(a label-maker is a fun little investment for situations such as this-and it looks neat)

*for make-up kit palettes you can label even further...with eyeshadow palettes broken down into browns, purples, neutrals...you get the idea)...same with blushes and so on

I happened to be driving on my trip...but if you're going by plane...I always take my palettes on board with me.....I once got off the plane for a job...and after checking my make-up case...I opened it to find every color eyeshadow and blush....had cracked and turned into a rainbow of powdery broken pieces EVERYWHERE! (note: shimmery and sparkly eye shadows will crack easliy due to the large sizes of the "glittery" particles)

I did drop one of my favorite discontinued eyeshadows on this trip and it broke...so I will give you the magic trick to fix those in my next blog...

what a heavenly shoot

things i love about this shoot:

#1- i got to work with my most favorite photographer Ian Ruhter, (who also happens to be one of my most favorite of friends as well) and be a part of his huge crew of talent...it took around 30 people meshing their skills for this shoot for Heavenly Resort in Lake Tahoe...

check out his how he pushes the envelope (right off the table) with his brilliant work at: ianruhter.com

or for the even curiouser, peek into his blog at: ianruhter.blogspot.com

#2- i got to have a team of hair...my friend Bettina that worked on some tv shows with me...and 2 assistants for her..and I had 2 assistants...well, one couldn't ride his vespa up the mountains...so really just one...i like it when I get to have a posse of my own

#3- i got to do fun make-up...like putting on double sets of eyelashes... this is a trick that gives the eyes that brigette bardot look (like the old Guess ads with Claudia Schiffer and Anna Nicole Smith) and this is a trick that Pamela Anderson requests for her sexy-mamma-cat-eye look 

Ian had given me some references for the make-up from the pictures in W of Angelina Jolie (the ones where they look like a family from the 50's)...and I love doing make-up from the 40's and 50's....it was so pretty...and girls look beautiful...it was fun to bring in modern tricks like the double lashes....don't try it if your going out...it feels like 10 pound butterflies have landed on your eyelids

how I got started..kinda

I watched this show and didn't even know that Myke was going to be on it...and I had just talked to him a few days before it's premiere...

so this is the fast story...

I was almost done with beauty school (didn't like doing hair..but I'd have tons of make-up applications on my completion lists for each week in beauty school...) and by the way Bonnie is amazing because she let me go to beauty school for free at her school International Academy of Style.......

I go to a hair show in LA....I start talking to Myke Michaels (who has won Emmy's for make-up, has done everyone from Janet Jackson to Demi Moore to everyone......) he asks of I want to work on a movie....and within a month I'm on set, in a make-up trailer, on location in the desert...

I also got offered a job that day, by Laurent D, owner of Prive salons and products in Hollywood....

I was so excited leaving that hairshow......and then I got rear-ended on the 101 freeway going home in my mom's new Lexus that was just a few weeks old!!!! Ahhhh, what's a little airbag smoke, compared to what I had just been offered! ha ha ha

so anyways....I like this show....because it makes me think of what I would've done for the assignments they are given....my friend had told me about the show looking for make-up artists...and I didn't really think too much about it...I had other things cookin' in my life...

Myke is a really great guy....no matter how the show tries to make him look....he's the nicest 7 foot tall man...he's not that tall, but this biggest make-up artist I've ever seen....

Toolbox-brushes

i have a LOT of brushes...these are just my personal brushes...not my kit brushes.....
but they say..."you're only as good as your tools"...
so here'e my top 5 must have tools.......

#1- (i know it's not a brush but......it's right at your fingertips...ha ha ha)
your fingers- yes, i read an article a long time ago by a famous make-up artist from Hollywood's glamour days (40's-50's)...that said his fingers were the best tools he had...
foundation and concealer are best applied with yor fingertips (they are soft and warm...and help emulsify the make-up and "melt" it into your skin...where a sponge, brush, even airbrush...can't duplicate what the human hand an do.... But as a make-up artist, for sanitary reasons, you wouldn't want to really use your fingers, although I do know of lots of make-up artist that do!

#2 fluffy eyeshadow brush-i use it to put the base color all over the lid, blend, and to do the crease blending

#3 rounded blending brush-use it to soften up the edge of your liner and to do the corners of the eye....(making a sideways triangle from the outter corners of the eye)...and to to the crease of the eye...and for a soft smokey effect under the eye

#4 angled brush
i use it to do my eyebrows....and to go over liner...or just dampen the brush with water, dip it in my eyeshadow and draw on liner with it...and to darken the rims of the eye with black shadow

#5 flattish curved blending-this brush will blend colors for a smokey eye..i use it to dab on a highlighting color on the eyelid.....towards the inner part of your eye (where the lashes start)

all of these are MAC brushes...the numbers have long been worn off, but I think they are 223 (big fluffy), and then 220 and maybe 210.....I really can't read em' anymore.....or for an even cheaper option....my favorite angled brush is from the art store and cost a 4th of the price.....you can get good ones at any art and craft store like Michael's...

happy brushing!

Tweezers in Taiwan

This is the scene of my "vanity table" in my hotel room, located in the "fabulous" city of Taipei, Taiwan...yes, unbeknownst to many people...they ship American models over there, they love blonde hair and blue eyes.....I possessed neither of those...but I did have something they didn't....a pink pair of Tweezerman Tweezers...ha ha ha....these babies are still keeping my eyebrows sharper than a Ginsu knife....and that was almost 15 years ago.... I haven't ever sharpened those suckers either... so what if they cost $30 dolla's... you'll have precision in your brow er-rea for the next 20 years...

and you'll be looking in your old pictures and flip-upon a vintage picture of your "vanity table"...and see it's time for your tweezers 15 year reunion....

you betta' raise an eye brow...okaaaay

dude, where's my eyeshadow

even though on this shoot it looks like she has no make-up on....she actually has lots on...this was the idea....but for everyday...you kinda want your make-up to stick around...so...

this is a make-up melt-down intervention......the first in a series of Make-up Mistake Interventions....

#1 where'd my eye make-up go?

first....before putting any eyeshadow/liner, anything!!!

you must put foundation all over our eyelid - from lashes to brows

why? because the skin on your eyelids is so thin and red/pink, that any, and all veins ans redness will show through and ruin any eyeshadow or liner......

second...you have to prepare your canvas (eyelid)...so apply powder all over (from lashes to brows) making sure your eyelid is totally dry

why? for your eyeshadow to go on evenly and so that it blends...you have to have a powdered eye area..... think about it....it's like when you bake a cake...you grease the pan, then you put flour (powder) so the cake won't stick....same thing with eyeshadow....your eyeshadow will stick all unevenly and blotchy if you don't powder it up.....and it takes like 1 second anyway

now throw on as many shades as you like.....put your liner on and for extra staying power....put the same or darker color over your liner to make it virtually water-proof....

example: black liner...black eye shadow over it applied with an angled brush

now you'll be as good as if you tattooed it on...almost

J-Lo and Mascarry stories

Where: Hollywood (just north of sunset) in a make-up trailer on the set of J-Lo's movie "Monster-in-Law"

Who: Another make-up artist

What: talking about how much she loves Dior Show mascara....as it think..."you only like it because it's expensive...and sounds good to have in your kit..."

and then my opinion:

i don't care how expensive your mascara is....$5 bucks from Target....or or $24 from Dior...

and I've tested them all.....I have discovered the most amazing mascara......don't let the description gross you out.....DoubleExtends Beauty Tubes.....

i have NEVER seen a mascara that really makes it look like you have lash extensions...and it won't flake off at ALL! It coats your lashes with a "glove-like" coating...and when you wash it off the whole "glove-coating" (i can't use the word tubes, i grosses me out)...slides right off with warm water...

I love this stuff.....the one thing you should know....wash it off before you go to bed....or as I realized one lazy night...that your face can heat up the "glove-tube" and then it tries to bond with your bottom lashes...not so fun....

But, by far the most amazing mascara I've ever used! Try it..you'll like it...and no, I don't have any ties with L'oreal...happy eyelash batting!