Make Up Artist Tips to inspire you...

Now, this blog isn't going to be about how to apply the perfect red lip, or how to blend perfectly your eyeshadows, is more towards learning how to become a Make Up Artist. These are tips that will help anyone that wants to pursue this career, some of them I have known for a while and learned them THE HARD WAY, and some were giving to me by my teachers, friends and other makeup artists that i've worked with in the past.
This career is amazing, you get to meet new people, go to new places, experience something different every.single.time, and you get paid for enjoying, which is a plus

Let's just get right into the tips:

• First and one of the most important things carry in your bag is "girl stuff" it doesn't matter if you are a boy or a girl, if you got a model or actress that has her period and she hasn't notice you need to act fast and save the day, and believe it will happen at least once in your lifetime.
• When it comes to contracts write everything down, and i mean everything, invoices, estimates, trial runs, EVERYTHING, specially when you have a bride and she says she is going to hire you, make them pay(half or just the trial run) in advance so you won't loose the money and you will get some certainty. also a little tip, ask the client if they have any allergies or if they wear contacts, that way you'll know and you'll write down as well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Social skills are necessary for this job, you'll have to talk to people all the time, you have to promote yourself, and without social skills how are you even going to do that, ha? connect with your clients, in my case i work a lot in the "video making" part of the industry, i have to talk to director, director assistant, actors, actresses, models, designers, hair stylists, and when working in production... which I have done a few times, you'll need to talk to everybody! Connect with your clients, because the best way to promote yourself is by giving your clients something good to talk about to their friends about your service.

• Go to school, is better if you have a diploma or at least a paper that proves you know what your doing. Also is very good way to find clients, most of the schools will give job for experience, which means you'll have to work without getting paid because you gain more experience, and you increase your portfolio, and this takes me to the next step.
• Practice,INSANELY, just do it, you saw a music video that had really cool makeup? go ahead try to recreate it, a magazine, a picture, anything if you like it you try it, if a really good picture comes out of that go ahead put in your portfolio. Practice in your mom, your moms friends, your sister, your aunts, girlfriends, and everybody you can. You also gain experience by doing this so it is a plus.

• Build a portfolio, This is a way to promote yourself through the internet and in person, when I'm working with somebody (photographer or models ) i show them my portfolio, so they know the range of makeup that I've done in the past, it also helps to get an idea on how creative is the person your working with, it helps to see a little bit of their vision and if your interest you can check their work ahead of time as well.
• Teach yourself new techniques, if there is something beautiful about the new era, is that you have the chance to look up anything you want in the internet, old makeup artist couldn't look up techniques in their computers, you also have accessibility to books on the internet.

• Build a kit, obviously ask for makeup on your birthday, or for christmas present, or for anything you can ask for makeup or money as a gift, building your kit slowly is the best way, most of the makeup is expensive, and believe is an investment in the long run.
• Always be organize, believe having your kit and makeup space organized while you work will improve your numbers when it comes to timing. 

• Be clean, I can not stop saying this, SANITIZE your hands, wash them before and after touching anyones  face, keep alcohol close to you, keep your kit clean, keep your makeup space clean, it will give quite an impression on your client :D
• Be confident, not only on your everyday life, but be confident on what you say to the client, you are the one that knows the subject better than anybody else in the room (depends on what you specialize in, if it's for movies/short films, photographs, beauty, special effects) YOU, the one that went to beauty school, is the one the knows how, what and why it works that way, obviously tell them without disrespecting anybody.
• Find your specialty, there is a whole bunch of different specialties, like Beauty(mostly for parties and stuff), photography, video, film and wedding, Special FX, so choose the one that you feel more comfortably with and work with it.

• And finally ENJOY, is a completely different adventure every time you work, it doesn't matter if it is the same crew that your working with, there is always something new happening.

One Brand Review: Sleek Makeup

Hi everyone!

If you guys have watched my youtube channel, you probably know that Sleek Makeup is one of the makeup brands that i've used the most since i came back from London. It's being about a year and a half or maybe 2, and since then Sleek has been one the makeup brands that i have used on every single one of my clients.

Now, Sleek Makeup has being around for about 20 years, making it easier for almost every beauty enthusiast and makeup artist to follow trends, with their products they've managed to get an amazing pigmentation in almost every single one of them, and they know how to make them work. They are a high street/drugstore brand with accessible price range and superior performance makeup.

In this blog, you'll see some swatches of a few of my favorite things, and you will get to see what i really don't like (is just one thing -.-)

Sleek Blushes:

I have 7 blushes, going from natural to pinks, to bright pinks.

All and every single one of them have an incredible pigmentation to them.

They are easy to apply and easy to blend.

Good range of color selection.

They have a really nice feel to them when you apply them to your cheeks.

They are a little bit powder but that is not how they feel when applied to the face.

Also they photograph AMAZINGLY! (applied on the face... actually... anywhere)

Pomegranate: Shimmery blush, it is a bright pink with purple undertones to it, when applied and blended in the skin it gives a sheen where it has a golden -ish glow to it, but you can se the purples/ blue hues to it.

Life' a Peach: This is probably the one that I like the least, even though it is beautiful is really hard to get the color payoff that you normally expect from Sleek Makeup. Matte finish blush, is a light -ish peach color. It looks beautiful for an everyday kind of makeup, it has a warmth to it that will make the skin look healthy.

Rose Gold: It is definitely my favorite one, it has this coral or peach color to it, but it is a shimmery blush, so when you apply it it also has this golden shimmer in it that will give an awesome bronze/ highlighted color to your cheeks. Highly pigmented.

 Flamingo: Matte finish blush, is a bright pink color, it has blue hues to it, and it looks beautiful in photographs, again, highly pigmented and easy to blend.

 Suede: this is one of the blushes i like to use on an everyday basis, is a matte finish blush, with a really natural/ skin like color, but it add such a natural and beautiful warmth to the skin, and it has a flush at the same time that makes your skin look great.

 Coral: is a slightly shimmery blush, but you won't get the same result with this one as you can have with rose gold, it is kind of in between shimmery and matte. but as the name says it a coral color.

 Flushed is the darkest color i own in this range of blushes, it's a reddish pink blush, that has a slight shimmer barely noticeable. highly pigmented and when apply to skin you have to be really REALLY careful because it can look really fake, but when apply correctly it looks great, i used it for a wedding and the bride loved it!


Sleek Glo Face and Body Highlighter:
Both of these highlighter are shimmery.

 from left to right: Peach Shimmer and Bronze Baby.

Peach Baby: is a shimmery highlighter that works great to make a cheekbone stand out, beautiful color (each line) that you can use by itself or you can mix all the lines for it to give you a glow that will make everyone turn around to see you.









Bronze Baby: for me it is more of a bronzer than a highlighter. Perfect product to create a bronzed look for photo shoots oft just for a party.

Left: peach shimmer Right: bronze baby

 Sleek Glisten Me Liquid Illuminator:

Goddess and Empress

On top: Goddess. Bottom: Empress

 Both of these liquid illuminator are easy to work with, you'll need a tiny drop of them to work as highlighter on your cheekbones, or you can use more and accentuate some parts of your body. Goddess is a true golden color, it looks great on darker skin tones, but it can work on light skins, and Empress is perfect for light skin tones, cool toned ones works best.

Blush By 3 palettes:
5 palettes, each one with 3 blushes almost the same size as the ones that i showed you before

 As you can probably tell I color code them so that i know in what family of colors they are.

Name of the palette: PUMPKIN From left to right: LANTERN, SQUASH, P PIE

Lantern: Shimmery blush, reddish/coral color with gold and green shimmer to it, don't be scared of the green, it's just to make the perfect mix so that when you apply it will have the golden glow. 

Squash: Matte blush, medium toned pink, with cool undertones to it.

P Pie: Matte blush, orange (true orange) color, perfect for warming the face.

Palette: Sugar.  Blushes: Turbinado, Muscovado, Demerara.

Turbinado: it has a sheen to it but is not a shimmery blush, nor a matte blush. It is a reddish brown color, going to the terra-cotta family of colors.
Muscovado:  shimmery blushes, it has purple undertone, with a  red and brown base, with gold shimmer to it it gives the perfect blush for a party or bronzed look.
Demerara: matte finish blush, is a coral color, with warmer undertones to it.

Flame: Furnace, Bon Fire, Molten

Furnace: slightly shimmery blush, red and brown base to it, gold shimmer on it.

Bon Fire: True red color,  matte and i think is perfect for special effects makeup but it works really well as a blush when a applied really lightly on the skin.

Molten: Shimmery blush, coral with golden tones to it.

Pink Sprint: Pink Parfait, Pink Ice, Pinktini

Pink Parfait: Matte finish, purple with cooler undertones to it. the color is kind of a wine color.
Pink Ice: Matte finish, cooler tone bright pink. perfect for a pop of color.
Pinktini: matte finish, purply color blush, cooled toned.

LACE: Crochet, Guipure, Chantilly

Crochet: Warm coral orange color, matte finish.
Guipure: Shimmer blush, coral, brown and red tones, warm blush, gold shimmer to it.
Chantilly:  slightly cooled tone coral, matte finish.

Face Contour Kit:
Good enough range of colors.
Perfect shades to contour the face and to highlight, if apply how is supposed to it will give you a warmth but not an orange film to

DARK, LIGHT, MEDIUM.

Sleek Makeup I-Divine Mineral based eyeshadow palettes:
12 eyeshadows in each one.
Beautiful color.
Pigmented like nobody business.
Great range of color.

Glory (limited edition 2012 collection)

ACID

AU NATUREL 

ULTRA MATTS VI

Sleek Eye Dust:
Highly Pigmented Pigments.
Easy to apply, a bit messy, but every pigment is.
amazing range of colors.
Good amount in every jar.

 From left to right: SPELLBOUND, SUNFEST, ZING, HYPNOTIC, BLUE LAGOON, VINTAGE, JET SET.

Sleek True Color Lipsticks:

left to right: CHERRY, MYSTIC(matte), STILETTO(matte), PEACHES AND CREAM, PAPAYA PUNCH(matte).

 Highly pigmented lipsticks, nothing wrong to say about them they are beautiful.

Sleek Eyeliners:

Lip Liner in blackberry. Eyeliner kohl in gold. (HATE) they are hard and awful.

Canary Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Dragon Fruit, Tonic, Pumpkin.

The last 5 eyeliners are good, i use them when i have something special on my mind, for special effects or for a recreation. they are creamy easy to use, you can smudge them and when they set they won't move.

Being A Make Up Artist

As I said in my previous blog, I've always liked to be myself and being able to express how i feel or my creativity in different ways. In life you come to different points when you realize what you want, what you don't want, what you like and prefer, what you dislike, among other things you discover a lot of things about yourself and whatever else is surrounding you.
Make Up Artistry has helped grown as a woman that knows how and why she wants situations to go a certain way, as a person with feelings and able have more "social skills" and has made me grow as a creative person.

When I began working in London,  i loved what i was doing, and honestly I still love it, but it was in those small and detailed moments when I realized what I loved, hated, disagreed or agreed with. In all honesty I don't know if anybody that reads this has ever had that experience, but if you have had that experience you probably understand when i say that any moment where you just get a chance to smile because you are proud, happy or surprised by the outcome of your hard work is when anybody can realize that, you just belong there and that is really where you are supposed to be.

Now, with the "real" topic of this blog, being a MUA, is just unutterable, you get so many feelings at the same time (keep in mind this is my opinion and my feelings), is exciting, is fun, is unpredictable, you need to feel the passion and adrenaline running through your body, is competitive, whether it is full time or part time you need to be always alert of details (tiny details, the camera sees EVERYTHING!) you need to keep updating your studies, and need to follow trends "fashion, hair, nails, makeup" (is not a bad life ;)) and the most important of all, besides the talent and passion, you need to be PATIENT, and let me tell you, this is NOT just for this career, in anything in life you will need to be patient, and believe me ( I'm the worst to say this, i'm anxious and inpatient -.-) you'll learn to be patient and it can be in a bad way or an easy way...

When it comes to the job itself, as  I said before is unutterable there are so many things running through your mind to get it to be perfect, get it in time, but it is always comforting to know that every run trial, and every thought, and everything you put effort on actually makes somebody, in my case the crew, the client and the director, HAPPY. To make this blog shorter I'm just going to pinpoint what i like and what i don't like of being a MUA


Starting with the "dislikes"

• Payment, maybe is just me or just my country, but when it comes to beauty makeup nobody wants to pay because is to "expensive"and when it comes to my case I brought products from London to work on my clients, anyway, in the "publicity" part the money is not bad, but it could be better, and it may sound like I only care about the money, but honestly money pays the products, it pays gas, and taxes... so yes we all need the money.
• Now, this might be a touchy-touchy topic, but i CAN'T stand arrogant people, I have known people my whole life that have everything that they could need and they are humble, but sometimes models, actor or actresses think that they are the best thing on the world and that nobody can compare to them, and in my case it has always being models that think they are so beautiful and so perfect they put down anybody. Anyway who can stand that?
• Now, this one is not such a problem for me, but i do know that i can be annoying sometimes: THE "EXTRA EXTRA"HOURS, now it really doesn't bother me to stay longer to finish a scene because i have waaaaaaaay to much energy in my body and i have insomnia (don't ask I was born like that) but I know that sometimes over-working your mind and your body can be dangerous, there are actually a few rules that apply for this, so that they can be at least 8 hours of rest for the whole crew, so don't worry that much.

and finally the "LIKES"

• In beauty MUA, you can make a person change the way they feel about themselves, or at least make them feel better, and I love that, and it is not just about the makeup is about telling people what they have that makes them beautiful, I think that is a beautiful reason.
• Meeting new people, if I could tell how many times I became friends of the people that hire me to do Make Up, I love the fact that you can make new friends specially the crew becomes really close, and the best part you get to meet more potential clients, and you get to meet actors, singers,   and just a lot of really cool people.
• The different experiences and memories you make while working and after you finish working, i think it is self explanatory but still you get to hang out hear stories, and enjoy while you work.
• I think this is the most important one of them all, watching the whole thing be recorded and watching the final product, those are the moments when you say to yourself " wow, everything was actually worth it", and that makes everything feel sooo good!

So, I hope you guys enjoy what it is like to be a Make Up Artist from my point of view :D