Photographer and Muse

Here is some new work featured on Photographer and Muse entitled Black Cherry. Photography by Katerina-Anna model: Hayley Van Ree.

Check it out. The glitter nails were hand made and feel sorry for poor Hayley, I ended up using craft glitter to get that rough textured look. Imagine how sore her lips were after about three or four different lipstick changes!

I heart 90's

Some 90's makeup inspo for the shoot i'm doing tomorrow <3

Missing In Action.

So I have been Missing In Action for a while now. I thought I'd just do a little re-cap of what's been happening (the fun stuff) and what I'm looking forward to. 

I have a new job at Gorgeous Cosmetics as a Casual Artist. I do this a couple of days in between freelancing. I love it. The products are amazing and I'm so excited for my DI$COUNT!!! 

I worked on a short film called "One More Sleep" Written & Directed by Brett Stanning. It's going to be appearing on the Festival Circuit in Australia. It was such a fun few days and I met awesome people. I also got to delve into more blood and bruising makeup that I usually do which was so fun!

I also had the pleasure of doing makeup for the Gorgeous DJ Duo Easy Tiger for their Couturing Editorial Shoot. I can't wait for the images to come out in the next month. 

The Editorial I did M&H for came out for the last edition of Karamel Magazine. 

I have also been up to my ears in weddings including the wedding of one of my best and longest friends, Hayley to her husband Eric. 

Not to mention a few sneaky photo shoots along the way. I can't wait to get the final images back :)

Next is a film shoot down in the lovely Venus Bay, three hours south of Melbourne. It's a 10 day shoot in the Gippsland region for a post WWI Adventure/Drama set in the Australian bush. I have an amazing team of girls to work with in the Art Department and fellow Makeup Artist Jess McCurdy. I leave tomorrow. Can't wait!!

GRAMMY AWARDS MAKEUP "HOW-TO"

THIS ARTICLE WRITTEN BY ME, FIRST APPEARED AT WWW.COUTURING.COM

There is no doubt that Katie Perry was one the standout looks at this years 55th annual Grammy Awards. Styled in Gucci, Perry had the perfect balance of fun and glamour in her look, wearing perfectly complimentary makeup by Jake Bailey and Rimmel London. 

How Bailey achieved Perry's flawless look by performing the following steps: 

1. To create Perry's gorgeous glowing base, Bailey has mixed Rimmel BB Cream in Light with Rimmel’s Match Perfection Foundation in Light Nude. Mixing the two creates a more sheer foundation and also adds a healthy glow to skin. Perfect for red carpet glamour. 

2. He then added a touch of Rimmel Match Perfection Bronzer in Medium to the cheeks, chin and forehead to create warmth.

3. The base was finished off with Rimmel Mono Blush in Pink Rose on the apples of the cheeks.

Next is her gorgeous glamour eye:

4. Using Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Bailey lined the lashline quite heavily to create definition and subtly on the underneath lashline.  

5. Bailey has used Rimmel Glameyes Quad Eye Shadow in Smokey Brun to contour the eye in the crease of the outer corner of the eye and fanning out. 

6. Bailey then used Rimmel Glameyes Mono Eye Shadow on the lid and to highlight the browbone. 

7. The look has been finished with a few coats of Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara in black 

8. To complete her makeup Bailey used Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Lipstick in 26 on the lip.

Katie's manicure by Kimmi Keyes, finished off her look perfectly with the same balance of sophistication and sparkle by using Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in Pink at Him on the nail and Gem Crush Nail Colour in Big Money under the tips. 

Give your wallet a break!

I spend an enormous amount of money on makeup. It is fair after all. I do it professionally and I suppose I can claim everything on tax, but sometimes I am actually shocked when I think of the small fortune my kit contains. I am also, in truth, a bit of a makeup snob. Until a couple of years ago I never bought cosmetics in pharmacy's or "drug stores" infact, embarrassingly, I wouldn't even consider wearing any product that wasn't a professional brand and certainly wouldn't use it on clients. It wasn't because I liked the exclusivity of professional and high end products, it was because I simply didn't believe that the cheaper brands were good enough. Now your mainstream makeup brands are really giving professional makeup brands a run for their money in terms of quality, and by mainstream I mean brands like L'oreal, Maybelline, Boujois, Australis, Rimmel etc. I am so pleased to see that cosmetics that are affordable are also of a higher standard these days. Not all women can afford Bobbi Brown, or Giorgio Armani, but all women deserve to get what they pay for and more importantly, look and feel great! 

When it comes to my job I believe I use the best product out there. I know this because I have tried product after product. The ones I choose are usually professional makeup brands and high end makeup brands. I do have a few little "secrets" in there too. These are my pharmacy products that I have discovered through trial and error and have found they do a better job than even the professional products. 
One product I came across, purely because I was a sucker for the advertising (which rarely happens), is the Maybelline foundation range 'Fit Me', which has been on the market for a couple of years now. Even after I bought it I never really gave it a go, finally out of curiosity I tried it again the other day and loved it!! For personal use, day to day, I am thrilled that i've found something very reasonably priced that I can wear on a daily basis and that really is a fantastic product. I wouldn't use it on clients because I have product that is better in terms of longevity and staying power, but this foundation really gives skin a beautiful natural glow!

The 'Fit Me' Foundation comes in a range of shades so there should be one to suit. I chose the 210 and it matches my skin perfectly. It is important when applying the foundation that you really blend the product in. It is best if you avoid this range if you have really overly oily skin, as it is not oil free and has a dewy finish, which can end up looking shiny which is not a good look. My skin is dry to normal so I love having that little bit of extra moisture. Especially when you are older, it is important to add oil back into your makeup so skin looks younger and more plump. 
I buff the foundation in really well using a Hakuhodo stippling brush. Really work it in to increase staying power. I then use the 'Fit Me' Concealer in 15. It is lighter than my foundation so is great for highlighting under the eyes and gives great coverage. I then set my makeup with a translucent powder, buff this into the skin also but be careful not to uncover skin and move your makeup. 
To enhance the glow the foundation gives, I also like to dab a little cream highlighter on the cheek bones, above the brow, down the nose and on the cupids bow. 

Considering I spend so much money on product. Sometimes I just can't justify dipping into my kit and using a $70 foundation on myself. I'm loving that this product is so affordable at just $19!!! and it really has changed my opinion about the quality of pharmacy brand and mainstream brand makeup. If only I'd known sooner.

Get a gorgeous glowing finish to your makeup just like Gemma Ward above.

Summer 2013: What's Hot & Not

I originally wrote this article for Couturing Magazine and must have dreamed that I submitted it and as a result missed my deadline. So the new year is well and truly over and in magazine terms I missed the boat with this article but I thought I'd share my Summer 2013 Beauty: What's hot and what's not top 3 with you. 

Hot:

1.  Bright Lips. The pop colour lip is no new trend, still, it is a must have for your summer look. Try a hot pink or bright coral this summer. We love MAC 'Amplified' ($36) and Dior Addict in 'New Look' ($40) for a colour injection into your makeup bag.   

2. Illuminators. The dewy skin look has not gone anywhere. Highlight is a must have. We love Vani-T Liquid Radiance ($39) or splurge on YSL's 'Dare to Glow' ($65). Even if you like to keep your makeup look minimal (which is a great idea when the temperature is exceeding 30 degrees) a tinted moisturiser, pencilled in eyebrow, mascara and illuminator is basically all you will need to look summer ready. 

3. The ponytail. It really is all about this hairstyle for the warmer months. Give your GHD a rest and tie hair up and away from the face. This is particularly pleasant on a hot night, especially if you are out and about. You do not want to worry about your hair style turning into a dreaded ball of frizz. Keep the look soft with a big wave in your pony-tail or fasten slicked back and straight for a more sophisticated look. Load up on leave-in conditioner to nourish hair or mousse to keep your style in place. 

Not:

1. Solariums. When will people learn. 

2. Nail and lip transfers. Now, I'm not saying these aren't incredibly handy when you don't' have the time or energy to paint your nails. They press on so easily an stay for days. However, what's with the horrendous patterns? If you must, keep it simple with a plain red, and don't even think of venturing into checker board pattern or purple leopard print territory. 

3. Black lipstick. Black lipstick has had a mini-revamp of late. Whilst it may look amazing on some albino looking waif of a model between the pages of your favourite magazine. It does not work in real life. Just like the exquisite Alexander McQueen Armadillo shoes, which are AMAZING in a fashion context; not such a great idea going out to get the groceries. At least McQueen was innovative, this nod to the 90's can only be pulled off by very few. If the darker lip shades are calling you, try a deep plum, or wine colour instead. 

Makeup Forever HD Microfinish Powder

For the past few weeks the Internet has been a buzz with photos of celebrities sporting white rings around their eyes. An embarrassing makeup faux pas it seems, and the culprit apparently according to numerous articles is the Makeup Forever HD Micro Finish Powder.

I've read a recent article where a Makeup Forever rep has come out and said that the translucent powder is not the cause of these celebrities embarrassment. I could not possible say 100% what is causing these rings, however, from experience as a working makeup artist, beauty writer who has tested many products and Makeup Forever devotee, I do not think that the HD powder is causing these rings. Well not alone anyway. 

I have been using the translucent power for years and am absolutely obsessed with how good the product is. I have never EVER used this product on a client and had the above "white circle" result. I also find it strange that there is a spate of them all at once, surely others have been using this product for as long as I have? Why all of a sudden?

In my experience as a makeup artist I have only ever had a result like the above on two occasions (on myself thank god) and that's when I used Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat on top of MAC Studio Fix foundation. 

I believe it could be more Touche Eclat that is causing this rather than the HD Micro Finish powder. I use the Makeup Forever HD Foundation and the Micro Finish powder over the top. I use it heavily or sparingly and I have never had a problem. I can see how one may get light reflecting if you put heaps of powder on and do not blend however, I believe mixing brands could be a problem also. For instance, when I used Touch Eclat over MAC. Obviously there were components in each product that did not do well together. Usually if one product is HD and the other may have some light reflecting particles or be designed for photographic makeup like Studio Fix is, used together, could create this problem.
If, and I truly mean IF, the Micro Finish powder did cause this problem. It would only be though the makeup artist using the powder over some other foundation that may have been from a different brand and been HD, or had light reflecting particles or "photofinish", or been a foundation designed for photographic work. This would have made the formula's not work together and react in this way. 

I'm sure whoever this makeup artist is, will not be making the same mistake again!