Bronzed Beauty

Vivica always wants to try new things with her make up and I love that about her! She was eager to have a silver smokey eye with a hint of teal. so I made that happen for her. I will let you know how I achieved that look step by step.

1.I prep her skin with moisturizer and Murad's Acne/Shine Control Primer. 2.I took NARS stick concealer in Ginger and highlighted under her brows, down the center of her nose and slightly under her eye. I filled her brows in with Lingering Eyebrow pencil from MAC, and set them with a clear brow gel.

3.I used MAC Bamboo paint all over her lid, and used the Lorac eyeshadow pallet to create the silver smoke look she wanted. I blended the colors together thru her crease using MAC eyeshadow in Texture to warm the cool tones up. I then took the teal cream eyeliner from L'oreal HIP Color Truth line and lined above her lashes and under her lash line for a pop of color. 4.I lined her water line with Stila Kajal liner in Onyx and used #47 lashes to give her lashes a full but natural look.

On her face I used Kevin Aucoin in SX13 to contour her face while blending Kohgendo's Moisture Foundation in 301 and 302 to give her the perfect skin tone. I then set her foundation with NARS pressed powders in Tahoe and Banares. I took MAC Golden Bronze loose powder and accented her highlighted areas. I used YSL Rouge Pur Couture in #14 with Purr Lip Gloss from MAC for a nude shine.

Simone Smith style...

My client Simone has amazing skin! So amazing, that I only do her eyes when she has me do her make up. I also put a little YSL #2 Bronzer on her to give her a nice glow, but that is it! She is simple when it comes to her beauty regimen, but she knows what she wants. Here are a few looks that we've done that has her stealing the show without a full face of make up on. Remember my motto...Less is More!

Here we did a nice natural eye, but it was a bit smokier in the outer corners. I lined her water line with Stila Kajal Eye Liner for an added edge, but her lip was Bobby Brown's Rich Color Gloss in Melon 2 (as seen below in the orange jacket)

For this look, we kept the eyes very natural since we knew we were going to pop the lip. On her eyes I used my favorite YSL palette with the gold, and MAC Coquette in the crease with a little Arena for warmth. Her lip was a combination of Jordana Lipstick in Rasberry and YSL #2 Golden Gloss on top.

On this day, she wanted to keep it in the pink family so I did a natural eye using MAC Expensive Pink eye shadow, Blackberry in her crease, Brown Down under her lash line, and MAC Prrr Lip gloss.

The way she wears her make up is a true testament to natural beauty, and the fact that you don't have to do a whole lot with your face to make a statement. Just enhancing those features that you want to "pop" is a great way to look polished and pretty without putting a million things on. Way to go Simone! xo

Smoking isn't all bad....

Smoking as in, smoking out your eyes for a gorgeous evening look! If you have an event to go to and your outfit is simple, do more with your face. Bring attention to your eyes by taking colors like grey, dark brown, dark green, navy or black to the lid first. Using a blending brush, blend a neutral tone eye shadow like a peach or light taupe through your crease so the edges of the dark color aren't so harsh. Then take a kohl liner (my favorite is Stila's Kajal), and line your water line and on top for smudge ability. Take an angle brush and reapply some of your dark smoky color under your bottom lash line for a more dramatic effect.

You can do mascara for 10 minutes each eye or just pop on a pair of lashes to really bring the drama. When doing a smoky eye, keep your blush neutral like bronze or flesh tone. Your lips should be neutral too. I used YSL #4 Rouge Volupte, MAC Plum Liner, and Milani 'Puttin on the Glitz' lipgloss. Good luck!

Beautiful Bria...

Bria Myles and I go way back. I was the make up artist on some of her earlier shots that still get millions of hits online worldwide. Well, it was only fitting that she come and see me for yet another simply clean and flawless makeup. Known for my "less is more" approach to beauty, a model's natural face can still be seen with the make up on. She had a video shoot with the popular photographer from Indos Place, but she stopped at my studio first!

Here are a few of the shots from behind the scenes.

FACE TIME: I prepped Bria's skin with Kiehl's Rare Earth Pore Minimizing Lotion (my new favorite), mixed with a little of Murad's Skin Perfecting Primer. As that combination settled onto her skin, I worked on her brows. I used MAC Expresso Eye Shadow to fill in her brows, and NARS concealer in Toffee as her brow and under eye highlight. I then used MAC Bamboo Paint on her eye lid, adding Texture Eye Shadow through her crease. I lined her eyes with Shiseido Creme Black Liner and Kajal Black pencil by Stila. For her skin, although it's already flawless, I blended Koh Gen Do foundations in #301 and #302 into her perfect match. I set the foundation with NARS pressed powder in New Orleans and Benares, with Tahoe as her highlight. Raisin blush from MAC warmed her cheeks, and YSL Rouge Volupte in #14 with YSL #7 Liner gave her mouth the perfect nude.

Bria is always a pleasure to work with, and her smile is contagious. Keep an eye out for her hosting one of your favorite entertainment shows very soon. She's a natural in front of the camera.

Check out another natural look I did on her for J'Adore Magazine back in the day. I still think this photo shoot was one of my favs...timeless! xo

Korrina Rico Rocks...

I've known actress Korrina Rico for about six years, and it's always a pleasure to work with her. I met her as a model, which should be no surprise since she is absolutely stunning...but her acting career has definitely been taking off. She's been in several major films, and it's only a matter of time before she is a house hold name. I'm so excited to be working with her on her upcoming projects!

I dolled her up for a charity event for Lupus here in Los Angeles, and she wanted a natural look with a pop. She has amazing eyes, so it wasn't that hard to find the "pop" feature:) I played up her eyes with MAC Jardin Aires pigment, and Texture eyeshadow. I added Stila Black eyeliner in Kajal to her water line to create a more intense look. I used a mixture of Make Up Forever HD Foundation #125 and Koh Gen Do #301 for her foundation, and I highlighted and countoured her face with NARS pressed powders. I used YSL Bronzer in #2 to give her a sunkissed look. Her lip color was #7 YSL Lip Pencil, Rouge Volupte #14 Lipstick, and MAC Nymphette Lipgloss.

Needless to say, her total look was a success on that coralcarpet. Stay tuned for more from this beauty. She is one to watch! xo

Vivica Fox meets Obama!!

Yes, that's right! Vivica Fox among other celebrity guests and Obama supporters had breakfast with the President in Los Angeles last week. Her look for this encounter was definitely important to her, so she enlisted the assistance of myself and her hairstylist, Dr. Boogie to get her glammed up for the big moment!

Her dress was pretty conservative, so we wanted to keep the make up and hair clean and classic...dolling her up First Lady style.  Also, since she's rocking the short cut, her face had to make a statement all it's own.  I just kept the make up natural, while playing up the eyes with Stila Black Liner in Kajal, and my favorite lash, the Demi Wispies.  The blush a mixture of MAC Raisin and NARS Deep Throat. The lip color is MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme in 'Love Forever' with a little gold gloss in the pout! We loved this look, and hopefully Obama did too!