Bobbi Brown Beauty Photography Workshop

One of the worst ideas I ever had was to try and save money by not taking any classes for a whole year, even though I am living near some of the world's top artists.   It was a kind of torture that I don't care to ever repeat!  I'm a big believer in continuing education - no matter what field you're in - and one class I'd been waiting over a year for is the Bobbi Brown The Studio Makeup Photography Workshop.  For every stunning image in a magazine or portfolio, there is a team of people behind it - planning and executing every aspect. This workshop brought makeup artists and photographers together to talk about common vocabulary, roles and responsibilities during planning and on-set, handling delicate situations, conceptualizing a shoot and assembling a team, and loads and loads of technical nitty gritty stuff.  Participants also got to network with each other and form groups that carried out actual photo shoots on day two.

 

We started out at Bobbi Brown The Studio, a gorgeous loft-like place in Montclair, NJ that is part intimate retail setting and part classroom dedicated to the study of makeup. This is also the place that those in the Professional Makeup Artist program such as myself go to buy products.  We were met by The Studio manager Kim Richards (love her!) and one of our instructors, Bobbi's brand ambassador and professional team member Gregg Hubbard.

We then took off to the site of our workshop at nearby Unique Photo, which hosts lots of similar workshops and had the perfect space for both the makeup artists and photographers to learn and collaborate.

There we met our co-instructor and photographer extraordinaire Claire Rosen  of North 7 Studio.  Not only do Claire and Gregg have GORGEOUS portfolios, they are both excellent and taking what they know (which is a lot!) and sharing it with others.

Claire and Gregg proceeded to pack our brains with all kinds of information - from different types of lighting to different types of concealing.  "You don't take a photo, you make a photo."  They talked to us about different ways to tap into our own creativity and how to channel it,  map it out, and translate it through planning. 

The photogs and makeup artists later split up to talk more in-depth about their craft.  Gregg rolled out his kit ("You guys have to be able to do this in seven minutes or less!") and let us snoop around in all his stuff - which we loved.

He demonstrated one example of a classic Bobbi Brown-style face: pretty, flushed, polished.  We were free to ask his advice on any aspects of his work and he showed us how he handles various application details such as false lash fittings and liner options. The thing about Gregg and Claire is that they are both so generous with what they are offering.  There was not a sense of "we are here to impart our knowledge unto you" but more a sense of them inspiring us, teaching us, encouraging and building us up, helping us take ourselves to the next level.  I would like to thank everyone involved who helped put this workshop together and to the participants who were such a great group of folks.  I hope to be seeing many of you again soon!

Get Glowing: Tips from an Expert

As a makeup artist, I love giving people that flawless "lit from within" glow.  But what a difference when the person sitting in my chair already has glowing skin to start with.  We all want it, but how can we get it for REAL? This was the topic of discussion at an exclusive Beauty Influencers event I recently attended with Dr. Jeanette Graf, renowned and well-respected dermatologist and former NIH fellow.   Beauty bloggers, tweeters, and vloggers (yes, that's a term!) were treated to cocktails overlooking Manhattan while learning about Dr. Graf's research, which has become quite a hot topic in the beauty world. It all started with some frequent flier patients at her dermatology office.  You know the ones - botoxed, plumped, peeled, lasered, and slathered with all of the best serums and creams - but STILL that glow eluded them.  The scientist in her decided to investigate and got busy researching and testing.  What resulted her groundbreaking premise that "our cells, and consequently our skin, can only function best when the pH balance of our bodies is at its proper level".  

She decided to write the book Stop Aging, Start Living (which I am really enjoying BTW) about this and detail exactly what people can put in their bodies to get their cells and skin on the fast track to glow central, while slowing down the things that make us age.  She challenged us to give her program a try and promised us we'd see immediate results.  I like the sound of that!

Most people experienced a complete life change in terms of skin glow, energy, healthful feeling, and brighter eyes in two weeks.  We were all given a set of pH testing strips (high school science class flashback) and were told not to get depressed if we had a low score because hers was quite low the first time she tested.  The goal is to get a reading between 7 and 7.5 and I rang in with a 5.5.  This is lower than the bad case cited in her book. Yikes.  [Note: The next day I grabbed a neighbor who has been looking radiant these days.  Everyone, including me, thinks she looks fantastic. She has reduced stress in her life and and only eats healthy stuff.  I forced her to put a pH strip in her mouth and it was a perfect 7.0! Maybe there's something to this...] 

Dr. Graf then outlined the three main things we need to do right now to try this. 

1.  Buy some greens powder which is sold in health food stores (her favorite brand is Greens First) and mix it with a scoop or two of fiber.  Yeah, it may look and taste nasty but it's the antioxident  power equivalent of TEN servings of fruits and vegetables.  So pretend you're on a  Beauty Survivor show, mix it with some 100% fruit juice, and down the hatch!

2.  Start taking mineral supplements with lots of calcium. We need it big time! Did you know that because of commercial fertilizers and acid rain, the veggies we eat today have up to 75% less minerals than they did 50 years ago? Even things like table salt have had all the minerals processed out of them (so you gotta use sea salt).  When she brought up salt I raised my hand to ask about my beloved sugar.  We all know it's bad, but why?  Alas, it is one of the big acid-producing age accelerators - especially refined sugars.  I was afraid she'd say that :(  Better to stick with raw honey (the kind that you scoop out) or alternative sweeteners like stevia, agave, fruits.  Even splenda and raw sugar is better than refined.

3.  Start taking probiotics - 5 billion colony-forming units per day to be specific (she prefers the refrigerated kind).  Wow, that sounds a lot but we actually need a lot of good bacteria in our gut to keep our immunity up.  Did you know skin issues like psoriasis (I have this myself), dermatitis, and acne are immune-related skin disorders?  These good bacteria also help keep the bad ones and yeast from producing too much acid in your stomach.There goes your pH reading if they do!

As for overall eating she had a lot of tips and the book is chock full of them too.  Think cave man and eat more like our early ancestors did: leafy greens, fruit, seeds, and roots, with occasional wild game (organic meat for us modern hominids). Eat real food, not from a package.  Eat organic food - remember those higher mineral contents.  Colorful food is good, beige food is bad.  Dr. Graf left us feeling inspired and I actually felt like this is doable.  And as I mentioned, I like the immediate results.  In the coming weeks I'm going to report about this.  Does anyone want to try it with me?  She also gave us a great swag bag full of products she uses in her dermatology practice.  Of course I will report back on those too.

As you can imagine, this was stylish crowd and  I had a great time putting faces to names I had already been following on-line. Hello The Informed Makeup Maven and twitter juggernaut  This That Beauty .  I was also introduced to new artists -hey Vintage Soul Beauty- and some young mavens of the video world.  

Chloe Beauty NYC and her BFF kept me completely entertained while we waited for Dr. Graf to inscribe our books.  And Musings of a City Girl told me about her surprising 25,000 YouTube followers who check in regularly to learn different makeup looks.  

These ladies were as smart as they are beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them.  Good luck to all!  Thank you to Gorgeous on the Go's PR Goddess Genevieve Santos for rounding us all up. And most of all, merci beaucoup Dr. Graf!

The Makeup Show NYC 2010 Report

I had such a great experience (as always!) at The Makeup Show NYC this weekend.  It is certainly sensory overload from the minute you enter this trade show.  One of the first things everyone notices is the body painters.  I am always amazed at the type of creativity and precision that these artists possess!

The big highlight for me is getting up close and personal with famous and legendary Makeup Artists.  This year attendees were treated to a keynote presentation by Charlie Green!  Not only did we get to pepper her with questions about makeup and her career, we got to watch her do a smoky eye step by step just like she would do on a sexy celeb or perhaps one of her Victoria's Secret models.  I won't even attempt to describe her quirky and eclectic style which made it all the more fun to watch.

  

And speaking of smoky eyes, my favorite seminar, Achieving Editorial Beauty with Jon Hennessey, featured a beautiful editorialized version.  In other words, it's the type of makeup that you might see in a fashion magazine instead of the red carpet or on a celeb.  The way he manipulates the skin and eyes with very little product is really something.  I especially loved hearing his thought process about achieving these looks ("How can I take this basic idea and make it my own?  How can I modify this color, shape, or texture?"), where he finds inspiration, and how he tries to push his artistry continually in new directions. 

 

The kids from MAC Pro never disappoint either!  Keri B and Romero J tag teamed to show us lots of backstage runway tips and tricks, all while taking typical kit items and making them work quickly for any challenge.  Who knew you could prep brown brows and then comb through concealer to turn them blonde?!  Loved the cheek sculpting method too!

Of course the main attraction for the 4,000 makeup artists that attended was meeting up with industry friends shopping like crazy!  Some newcomers such as the Inglot booth were so crowded I could only get my hands on some thick and deliciously sticky pots of gloss called AMC lip paint.  These were exactly like NARS lip lacquers but with more colors to choose from. Another thick and long-lasting gloss discovery was from Armour Beauty. Impressive staying power! There were some surprises such as the Egon Schiele Cosmetics booth.  My husband is a huge fan of Schiele's artwork but he doesn't exactly conjure up images of lovely ladies the way some artists like Vermeer did.  Turns out the lady at the booth (founder perhaps?) was friends with the Schiele family.  Very cool story!  I revisited the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics booth again, to buy some more of last year's breakout hit: Lip Tar.  They have re-packaged it and added new beautiful colors. Lip tar is so extremely pigmented it's like putting house paint on your lips and having it dry into a smooth satiny finish. There is nothing else like it out there.  Some of the vendors were nice enough to give us some goodies for free!  Thanks L'Oreal Studio Line and Geri G. Cosmetics!

My niece had just graduated from high school three days before the show and tagged along to learn more about a career in makeup artistry.  She was blown away by the experience.  Thank you to The Powder Group (TPG) for producing another amazing show!     

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!

  

Face to Face with my Idol

I met Jeanine Lobell yesterday and I am still floating on cloud 9. When I found out that she was going to appear at the Healing Arts for Haiti event, I freaked out and made the kids trek with me into the city in hopes of catching a glimpse of her or hearing her speak. Not only did I see her, she put makeup on me!!! Seriously, it was heaven. Jeanine is the creator of Stila cosmetics and a brilliant makeup artist. I have been a Stila fan since the late 90s. I loved all of the innovative products and packaging she came up with, the seasonal limited edition palettes were consistently gorgeous, and they even had little mini booklets with step by step directions so people could learn how to "get the look" after buying the products. The weightless feel lip stains, the now famous click-turn pen style lip glosses, the wet/dry shadows, the anti-bacterial touch pad foundation, the lipstick colors named after the movie stars who wore them, the illuminating properties of the products, the multi-use stuff such as convertible color, the quotes from famous women on the inside of the shadows...all of these things rocked my world back then. Most of all, when cruising through the department stores looking at the various makeup lines, Stila's aesthetic always stood out to me as a beauty ideal. Fresh, pretty, fun. Jeanine is still a busy working makeup artist. Here are a few recent magazine covers.

I thoroughly enjoyed talking with her while she put makeup on me. We discussed what kind of projects she is doing now, a little product talk, and she gave me some great advice about integrating kids into your life as a makeup artist (she has four!). I loved what she did on my eyes especially and I wish I had a picture that did it justice. The look was dark plum but up close there was very carefully blended in shimmery parts that made the whole thing look illuminated in certain light (you can see a bit of this in the Liv Tyler cover). She used a pale shimmery mauve-y color to line the inner rim of the eye which I would have never thought to do. It balanced so nicely with my green eyes but didn't make them look smaller. I spent the rest of the evening doing a happy dance and studying my face in the mirror. What a treat!

MAC Pro fashion week class + Lady Gaga 4 viva glam

MAC flatiron store & Chic Studios NYC presented a wonderful pro class on Monday, complete with demos of two fashion week inspired runway looks using MAC's newest products. Artists were also treated to an exclusive sneak peak days before the official launch of the two new viva glam lipsticks inspired by Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga that [sidebar: I was mortified when a youngster sitting near me had no idea who Cyndi Lauper was!]. Cyndi's lipstick is a fresh strawberry red - nothing sultry or vampy - that is perfect for spring and for those who like a bright mouth or a new spin on red. Gaga's is a real baby pink that balances out a smokey eye. Both have a lustre finish (shiny and moist feeling) and come in the coolest red chrome packaging with the artist's autograph on it. Best of all, MAC donates 100% of the price to its AIDS fund.

One of the demonstrations focused on an alternative to the usual shading in the eyes crease. This look had a dark matte color shaded on the inner and outer crease corners but left the center of the eye blank. Super shimmery crushed metal pigments were pressed and buffed into the center of the lid and crease to really elongate the entire eye. I thought this was a great technique for runway as it can really be seen from a distance. I also agreed wholeheartedly with the presenter's comments about creating texture. You have to use combinations (e.g. matte + shimmer + satin shadows) to get a textured look. Drugstore eyeshadow quads often have four shimmery colors that do not allow for this. I adored every well-chosen eye shadow in the plum-themed quad used in this demo (you can see her holding it in the picture).

The other demonstration showcased all three of their new Spring Colour Forecast blush ombres (gradiated shades of color in one huge blush compact that can also be used as eye shadow). The first look paired several of the colors together in a light wash that was meant to look like someone who had light from a stained glass window reflecting on them. Clever! The second look showed the ripe peach blush used on the eyes and face, paired with my favorite pigment color of all time: melon. We were all enamoured with the way the artist, Reagan, used the 239 eye shader brush to press the pigments on and sculpt the eye and lip details.

Besides the presentation, it is always fun to network and exchange information with other makeup artists. I sat next to a budding YouTube sensation, Jinah chae , whose broadcasts focus on makeup for asians with monolids (no crease in the eye). We both agreed that most makeup books that deal with the issue (sadly) focus on creating something that looks like a crease with makeup. To me, it's the equivalent of super overdrawn lip lines - it doesn't usually look realistic or good. She has inspired so many girls to embrace their monolids instead of hoping to surgically change them or wear the dreaded little tape thingys that force your eye into a crease shape (yes there are such things). I met such a fun variety of people working in several different aspects of artistry. I also got to catch up with one of the leaders of our NYC Makeup Artists Meetup Group, Genevieve Santos, who was a model for the demos. Oh and we got to shop! A wonderful night!

Make Up For Ever

I am thoroughly enjoying the Make Up For Ever pro program which includes trainings and introductions to pro-grade products. Their NYC store recently hosted a product talk and demonstration for our NYC Makeup Artist Meetup Group. Their new HD (High Definition) line was the big buzz at last year's Makeup Show. When I finally tried their HD Powder, I was amazed. To me, all translucent powders are pretty much the same. They are supposed to be colorless and used to set product on the skin. For example, you'd apply it to the face when you have the foundation and concealer exactly how you want it and don't want it altered by adding colored powder. It's often used in between layers of lipstick to make that first layer really set. The problem is that they're not really translucent. They can look kind of white, especially against darker skin tones. The HD Powder was so finely milled that it barely stayed on my brush. The little particles flying around weightlessly in the air were a beautiful sight. Dusting it lightly onto a client's face was even more lovely a sight. It toned down the shine and set the foundation and concealer without looking powdery and overly matte. My MAC version now looks like ground up chalk dust in comparison. I haven't found any artist who has tried the HD and doesn't like it. I was even talking to a friend who is a corporate trainer for MAC and he confessed that their artists were secretly emptying their MAC powder containers and filling them with this. I think word has gotten back to the folks at MAC, as they have come out with a new version of their translucent powder: Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder (which I have not tried). A lot of Make Up For Ever's products are not user friendly (hard to blend, too heavy/intense for everyday, etc.). If you are interested in trying their stuff, go for the HD products or the Aqua Eyes waterproof eyeliners in a fun variety of colors.