Thank you 2011! Hello 2012!

Last few hours till 2012! 2011 has treated me nice and there has been a lot of memorable moments. There are a lot of people I would like to thank who has played a huge part for what I am now, a freelance professional makeup artist!

First of all is a huge thank you to Mr. Eric Kalugdan who helped to jump-start my interest. He invited me as a makeup artist for the hands on portraiture of their photography workshop. And been part of about three of their workshops. It was a fun experience and I get to expand my network and meet new friends.

Photoshoots after photoshoots, I feel like my skills isn't good enough or maybe I was not just confident enough? So I enrolled myself to a makeup school. I chose HD Makeup Studio and Academy and it's one of the best decisions I ever did! Thanks to sir Jeave Gabiana and miss Stef Chua-Sing for such cool and great teachers in this artistry. I've learned so much and thanks for all the knowledge you've shared to us aspiring makeup artists..

And a huge thanks to all the people who've trusted me and went under my brushes! You have no idea how much happiness you give me whenever you ask me to be your makeup artist. It is enough to give me the confidence I need.

And let's all together welcome 2012!

NOTD: Blooming Blue

Blooming Blue

How are you guys doing? How's your Christmas celebrations over the weekend? Mine's great, had family reunions and ate a lot! Ti's the season to be chubby *Fa la la la la, la la la la*. :))

Anyway, I just wanted to share what I have been doing this weekend... Nail Art! Been hooked reading Nikki's blog about nail arts. But I just wanted to start with the most simplest way to do this. Stickers! Yes, using only stickers. I got a bunch from my mom! Thank you mommy! The nail polish I used here is Caronia's "Blue Chill" then carefully placed the flower designs near the edge of my nails.

Excuse the poor manicure I did here, I think? Haha!
It is actually very rare for me to get a manicure from a salon mainly because I'm scared of hurting my cuticles or scar them. Yikes! So pedicure na lang madalas where I don't get hurt usually.

I hope you enjoy this Nail Of The Day post. You can share with me yours or if you have suggestions for designs!


Happy Holidays everyone!

What's up "brow"?

A nicely shaped eyebrows attract attention and frame our beautiful eyes. The shape can totally make a person's appearance look different. If you tweez too much and create a very thin line, it will make the person look weird or worse, OLD! We don't want a kontrabida look, right?

Kontrabida? Me?!

Shaping your eyebrow for the first time? I would advice that you have a professional shape it then do the maintenance by yourself every time there is a sight of stray hair. However, you can always go to a salon monthly if you're not very tight on the budget.

Here are the steps on shaping eyebrows:

• Look at the natural shape of your brows and then follow the shape on the photo

• With the use of an eyebrow pencil place it vertically at the side of your nose (see figure 1) then you can put a mark on your brows so you have a guide. Then remove any hair that is outside that line.
• Next, starting at the side of your nose again, tilt the pencil and cross the pupil of your eye (see figure 2). That is where your arch should be.
• Then tilt your pencil further more until you reach the corner of your eye (see figure 3). That's where your eyebrow should end.

Tips:

• The end of your eyebrow should be slightly higher to give a lift or make the eyes look "happy". 
• Never over pluck. Thin brows makes the person look old.
• The color of the eyebrows should be slightly lighter than your hair color.

Shaping a client's eyebrow used to take me ages! Once I'm done with the last brow, I feel like the other brow already grown already. LOL. But of course, that's purely exaggeration. Kidding aside, it simply takes a lot of practice!

Let me share with you an eyebrow experience last weekend during a fashion shoot with a friend. Meet Danica, 14. She is starting her portfolio on becoming a model. She's very young, sweet and pretty!

Here's the thing when it comes to shaping the eyebrows of teenage clients: I always ask if they've done eyebrow shaping before (except if it's obvious that their eyebrows are already neatly shaped). If yes, then proceed. If no, I always ask permission if you should proceed on shaping it.

In this case, Danica has never done eyebrow shaping and doesn't want it to be touched yet. But she's ok with trimming them. Here she is after I did her smokey eye.

So what do you think?

Makeup for Men

Your makeup artist won't do this to you!

During the weekend, I was with my friend photographer, Jeffrey Aguillon, for a fashion shoot. He introduced me to the models Danica and Rocky. Both of them are starting their modeling portfolio now, so watch out!

Aside from the nice and reserved personality, I can tell that Rocky takes care of his skin very well plus he has this very fair complexion with a slight hint of blushing cheeks.

Jeff adviced me that Rocky doesn't want makeup. I told them that he might look pale in the pictures if we will leave his skin as it is. I also explained that I would just need to apply a bit of darker foundation for him to look better and healthier.

So with my convincing powers... <chimes sound>
Rocky sat and had his makeup taken care by yours truly <bow>



He was a bit shy at first so I try to manage a little chit chat while doing his makeup so he can feel comfortable. He told me that it was his first time ever! Then I asked him how it feels like to finally experience getting a makeup, he beamed and told me "Ang saya nga eh, parang facial massage" :))

Here's Rocky:

Before (notice his pinkish cheeks and forehead)

After

Most men doesn't really like the idea of putting makeup especially for photoshoots and special occasions. It is understandable that they probably feel like it lessens their macho-ness and that it is only girly stuff. But some men nowadays wear makeup too and it is acceptable... hence, we call them "metrosexual men"!

For the guy's daily grooming it is ok to use face powder to absorb the facial oils, concealer for any blemishes, and lip balm for dry lips. Skin care is also important for them to look better and feel great too.

So next time guys don't be shy! It's ok to be kikay a bit but not too much, ok? Looking good boosts confidence!

HD Beauty and Fashion Makeup Weekend 4

For our last day in school, sir Jeave discussed about doing bridal makeup and then miss Stef demonstrated to us the application using airbrush to compare its effect with the conventional makeup. The effect is nicely blended and the application is so quick! Airbrush, you're next on my list.

Miss Stef showing us how to apply airbrush makeup.

Here is my friend, Karen.

She was the first person that came to my mind when we were asked to bring a model for our graduation. I was so happy that she was able to make it on our special day!

Then we started our first look, the Bridal look.

Isn't she lovely?

It often takes me a while shaping and filling in the eyebrows, I should definitely practice more on that. However, I felt like I'm faster in base matching now which I think is a good start, eh? Karen, keeps looking at the eye color I've put on her and she keeps saying that it's very nice. Yey! And oh, our cool teachers also taught us how to put a few cup sizes for the occasion *wink*!

After the photoshoot for the Bridal look, we went back to our stations and worked on our second look which is Fashion/Avant Garde. I wanted to challenge myself by working on loud eye colors. Since it is Avant Garde, I can go crazy and unleash more of my creativity on this art. Here is my peg:

Colorful Makeup

I changed the directions on the eyebrows and eliminated the white line and played with the color orange. Here is my version:

The hair is inpired by Gwen Stefanie (thanks Jet)

The Avant Garde / Fashion photoshoot was a lot of fun too. Then it's our turn to get a class picture with our awesome teachers.

L-R: Ms. Stef, ate Weng, me, Camille, Jenny, Toni, Jam, and sir Jeave

I will never forget the whole experience in make up school, my very awesome teachers and talented classmates. The way I look at makeup and my procedure of applying it is so much different now. I am a truly proud graduate from HD Makeup Studio and Academy!

Congratulations to us Rowena, Camille, Jenny, Toni, and Jam! We are now graduates! Yey!

"Makeup is a perishable skill. Take time to practice or else, it will perish." - Mr. Jeave Gabiana

BTS: Vee-ah Vee

One afternoon during a non-working holiday, I met up with my friend photographer Bryan and his girlfriend Rubie for a photoshoot with another friend, Vee-ah.

It was the first time I met Vee-ah and she's very easy to go along with. She wanted to have 2 looks. She requested the first look to be something "light" and the other one is "emo".

So for the first look, I suggested a yellow smokey eye kind of like the sunset. Those colors are really nice, yes?

Before

After (that's Bryan at the back! haha!)

During the photoshoot (still waiting for clear copies from Bry)

For the 2nd look, I have this peg of Lady Gaga from her "Judas" music video. It's takes a natural makeup on the eyelids and lots of eyeliners!

Lady Gaga

Vee-ah liked the idea so I created this look on her with a little alterations on the tail.

Lady Vee-ah!

Stolen shot

Setting up

It's hard to make someone cry or look serious (for the emo shots) when we are all laughing! Thanks to the oranges and mineral water we brought, we got instant iyakin model. Haha! The photoshoot was fun and wacky with some really hilarious moments.

PETA's Care Divas

Care Divas

A huge thanks to our friend Aze of Sybex for the complementary invites to this wonderful event! I can't help but to feel ecstatic when I heard about this. I always wanted to watch a play since this is something that we don't do often.

It is a musical drama-comedy about five Filipino transgenders who worked in Israel as care-givers by day, and drag queen performers by night. While desperate to cope with their experiences overseas, they struggle with their experiences in work, cultural differences and loneliness.

The story is mainly about the lives of Chelsea, who amongst the five characters seems to have the nicest employer whom she calls "Daddy Isaac"; Shai, who is most of the time is haunted by the nagging of her mother; together with their friends the buff yet girly, Kyla; the flirty and naive, Thalia; and the aggressive Jonie.

I enjoyed very much the fun dance performances, their original music and the witty comedy. I was so much in awe that I felt like I forgot that my mouth was open. Hahaha! But apart from that, it shows us a deeper story and see what is really going on behind those hardwork for "pasalubong" or "padala" of overseas Filipino workers.

At the end of the show, we got a chance for a meet and greet with the actors and take pictures with them. They are awesome!

My favorite is Kyla (Jerald Napoles). At the meet and greet, I immediately ran toward him!

Jerald Napoles as Kyla

Next is with Shai (Vincent de Jesus). I like the touch of teddy bears on his wardrobe.

Vincent de Jesus as Shai

And of course, Chelsea. I felt slightly embarrassed afterwards when I blurted out "you're so pretty!", I really just can't help it!!! Coz she is! Oh I mean, HE is! Doesn't he? Well hey, it's a compliment!

HD Beauty and Fashion Makeup Weekend 3

Although I only got 4 hours of sleep last night, I was kind of worried that things isn't going to be easy today. But I am always excited to attend makeup school! ^_^ Here are today's lessons:

Cat's Eye

The first person we ever think of when we say "Cat's Eye" is Cleopatra.

Angelina Jolie is also known for this.

And will you ever forget the late Amy Winehouse who flamboyantly displays her version?

For a quick makeup, this is one of my favorite things to do. I learned today the right way of doing this. It looks simple but it gets quite tricky when doing the tail. Here is my hands on work on my model, Kim.

Pointers:

• Swiftly flick or bend the tail upwards (outer corner) without breaking it or creating a "kanto"
• You can also create an extension in the inner corner of the eye for a more dramatic look.

Before

After

Smokey Eye

I feel like this is most girls' favorite. Think like Kim Kardasian! Such a coincidence that the model assigned to me is named Kim. In school, they trained us to create the Smokey Eye (or any eye makeup) without "fall-offs" or getting specs of eyeshadow under the eye -which is so tough, wah! But we learned the proper way of application to create the Smokey Eye.

Pointers:

• Press the eyeshadow with your brush to avoid specs of eyeshadows falling under the eyes.
• Blend the edges of the eyeshadow upward to create the "smoke" effect.

Here is Kim's "before" shot again.

After

Avant Garde

This is the most challenging look to create. Avant Garde means "something new" or unique. This is know for creative and artistic application of makeup. Though most of these are extreme and experimental. Given the right tools and a lot of creativity, it will be easy for you to experiment. Best is to get highly pigmented makeup.

Here is my "try" on the Avant Garde:

Before

After

Ok, she looked like she just got a smokey eye and the gold on her cheeks doesn't show that much. But I will surely practice on this!

Again, I feel bad that I only got 4 hours of sleep last night (which was a big mistake) and seems like my creativity juice has dried up (sa prisinto na ako magpapaliwanag!). ;p

Below are links of my other classes >>>