March 25, 2010

Meatpacking District Couple's Shoot

When I was a college freshman, my boyfriend and I decided to get our pictures taken together by a professional.  They were just a bunch of poses in a cheesy studio in Boise, Idaho- not a cool shoot like this  in NYC's Meatpacking District- but still good memories.  Capture that youth on film, people!!!

Fernanda is a half Spanish, half Arab dream-come-true to put makeup on.  Those eyes, those pillowy lips! 
Heck, I even put a little makeup on David.  I assured him he wouldn't look like one of those guys wearing makeup but just took a little redness and shine out of his skin, groomed the brows, and exfoliated the lips.  He was so fascinated when he saw himself in the mirror.  "No, you can't wear makeup every day!" I teased.  Love his cool rockabilly style.
Perfect backdrop for these two who went to the same art school...
 
 
 Thank you so much to Jang Photographers for sharing these images with me.

March 8, 2010

MAC Pro Master Class + new MAC faves

Every year I try and take a MAC Pro Master Class because I learn so much from watching these master  artists and really feel a sense of inspiration afterwards.  The New York pro store is also an amazing space that was clearly built to inspire.  Kudos to MAC for choosing Keri B to teach the bridal class which I thought was the best I'd ever attended. Keri was very  prepared and willing to share information with us, from business and social aspects of working with brides to kit essentials and techniques.  Of course the big treat for everyone was watching her "build" the model's face layer by layer.  I loved the way she moved the Tete-a-Tint eye shadow (a warm matte caramel color) throughout the crease of the eye, coaxing it up towards the inner eyebrow and outer eye.  The matte color contrasted with the shimmery pigments on the lid were such a beautiful balance.  I pledged myself to use warmer colors more often on blue-eyed blondes.  After all, as our teacher pointed out, blue and orange are complimentary colors on the color wheel.   Look how BLUE the model's eyes seem framed in the warm colors.
My super new favorite product I had to have after the demo was the eyeliner she used to line the inner rim of the lids.  Longwearing waterproof Powerpoint pencils are one of my kit staples but the burnished gold color Power Surge is amazing (downside: these are the hardest MAC liners to blend).  I'm already thinking ahead for summer when dark liner just looks too heavy and this shimmering almost-khaki will look great with my green eyes and a light (fake! :) tan.  I don't see the color listed on the MAC website...panic panic...but I found one easily in a MAC store. My other favorite from the class is Shaping Powder in Lightsweep,  a limited edition pro product that you can only buy in MAC stores that sell the pro line.  This is the most absolutely subtle highlighter I have ever seen.  It  looks just like a powder compact but it is velvety goodness!  Brides and highlighters don't always go hand in hand.  A lot of them are just too shimmery or sparkly for photographs or a long day.  When buffed into the skin, this gives you that barely discernable lit-from-within glow.  I just used it on a bride yesterday and it looked GORGEOUS.  Thank you Keri B for an afternoon very well spent!