style – MUAHbyAlex

When opportunity knocks, open that door!

There is just something so incredibly optimistic about 2013. As we are approaching the end of February, I find myself asking a lot of questions about my goals, what I want to accomplish, what my intentions are and if I’m ready? I really feel that 2013 is full of possibilities. I believe you need to think about and even write down your goals every so often. Remind yourself to always chase after success. I am absolutely ready to dive in & devote all of my time into my work, and crawl up that ladder in my career. I love what I do! I wouldn’t waste my time pursing it so much, if I didn’t love it. I feel that the world would be much happier if everyone found work in what they love doing. I fully respect all other artists, experts & beginners. Especially the artists that have paved the way before me! I treat people, the way I want to be treated, and I’ll never stop learning. You are constantly learning in this industry. If you think you know it all… Think again, and maybe this industry is not the right one for you. It takes a lot of time. & with time your going to fail.. ACCEPT THAT! Better yourself from your mistakes that’d you have and will make. I love assisting more experienced, professional artists that have so much to teach. It gives you the opportunity to see how a very experienced person handles all aspects of a shoot, show, or job. I am confident that my 2013 will be a more thoughtful, lovely, strict mindset on being positive and thinking positive, and full of possibilities….. When opportunity knocks, open that door!

Last Monday, I enjoyed prepping models for the Mark Mcnairy show during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Lucky for me the temperatures warmed up after blizzard Nemo… Who name’s a blizzard Nemo? Haha! I couldn’t help but notice Nigel Barkers twitter update during my train ride to NYC: “White is in. Nemo is making a dramatic fashion statement.” Working for a fashion show, always seems to inspire me & I couldn’t help but admire all the handsome, french, “Edward Cullen” vampire look-a-likes surrounding me. HELLO!

Our lead makeup artist was Victor Amos. Who is beyond fabulous and does amazing work. Be sure to check out his blog: Probeautyblog.com

I was so happy to work next to so many great artists including Tara Pagliara who is not only a friend, but an inspiration! The look Victor created was beautiful skin, with a strong highlight and light contour for both the men and women. For the women they used a deep cherry lip color (I believe a Tom Ford color, but can’t remember which shade).

As for the hair, the girls wore a low side, messy braid. And let’s not forget the fashion… A lot of fun prints and outerwear. I noticed a lot of oversized pockets and blazers. I read somewhere that Mark Mcnairy is collaborating a sneaker line with Adidas (which I didn’t know while I was at the show) but found interesting.

Last week I also had pleasure working for a Cross Fit photo shoot, doing makeup for Love In Bloom. Love In Bloom is an organization that Vivan Photography started in memory of her step daughter, helping young girls make healthy life choices. This Cross Fit gym was filled with young, smart (strong) girls that were chosen to represent this years Love In Bloom scholarship fund. I was really happy to work with fellow artists, Jenny Greene-Magliano and Tara Pross-Pellegrino and of course my fabulous hair crew from Salon 52! The Poughkeepsie Journal covered the event, which was nice too.

I’ve done a few more jobs, and making sure to keep staying busy. I’ll post photos of what I’ve been up to .. One of my DirecTV commercials I did makeup & grooming for should be airing during The Oscars .. So be on the lookout ! Starting with this image of Nastasia Scott (America’s Next Top Model cycle 19) taken by Lora Warnick.. Made it to the cover of a magazine! Hair by Anthony HollywoodStylist Terry & Styling by Dawn of New York. Second Image taken by Tess Johnson.

I was recently awarded Best of 2013 (Makeup artist) voted from local brides of The Knot.. Picked up this magazine yesterday..

And I will add that it is not easy eating healthy while running around, doing all this work. As much as I dread it at times, I can’t afford to get sick or feel unenergized. My favorite dinner meal is below. Bake chicken, then chop into tiny pieces, put chicken pieces in zip lock bag with hot sauce (no calories) .. Shake it up, then cook on skillet on high heat until the hot sauce caramelizes. To cool it down, I dip it in Non-Fat greek yogurt ( I add a tiny bit of hot sauce, garlic and pepper ) which is a great alternative opposed to ranch dressing or bleu cheese. Bake sweet potatoes on the side. Nom Nom nom…

-Lots of water, lemon water & Green tea!

-Protein!

-Spinach

-Sweet potatoes

-Hummus

-Chicken

-Non fat greek yogurt

-Egg whites

-Vitamins

-Almond Milk

-Ezekiel brand cereals & bread

Happy Monday followers! Have a great week… Looking forward to a lot of brides this week.. Bring it on xoxo

Who runs the world?! GIRLS!

Beyonce once asked, “Who runs the world?” To which we all unanimously responded from the dance floor “GIRLS!” With the big Beyonce concert last night, (and some football in between ) I was so excited to spend some time with my GIRLS! Let’s discuss how Miss Queen B herself, literally shut it downnnnnn! Like..the electricity and everything… You could definitely tell she was singing her not so little butt off live last night, full of such high energy! I was a tiny bit disappointed that her boo Jay Z didn’t come out and join her during the Crazy In Love performance. But my disappointment was completely gone when the reunion of Desitiny’s Child was on the big screen! The trio looked hot and sang their hit songs, Survivor, Bootylicious & Independent Woman… Nonetheless BeyonceBowl was nothing less of epic!!

Beyonce wore a shimmery grey smokey eye with a bit of bronze to intensify her eyes. Intensify they did, almost making her eyes look demon-ish to me.. Sorry B! She obviously looked gorgeous & fierce no matter what (especially after having a baby!), but I wish there was a bit more color used in her eyes. Her skin? Flawless as always. Hair? Big and voluptuous. This Hair style is so easy to re create! Create a deep middle part, curl hair in vertical pattern using your curling iron or wand, then gently brush out the curls using a brush with soft bristles, turn your head upside down, shake a bit, add some soft hair spray and wah lah ! Her outfit? Leather outfit with knee socks looking like a modern day version of Xena, Warrior Princess.. Yes please!

B’s version of warrior…

My version …

I was so happy I got to spend some time with my ladies, but let’s admit… any big event like “BeyonceBowl” (super bowl) can be a huge calorie FEST and compare to holidays such as Thanksgiving. Ummm.. No thanks! I’m absolutely sticking that New Years Resolution I made and obtaining a healthy life style. Luckily, my friends are on the same page as me, and hosted a fabulous, healthy party. Marissa & Joe prepared:

-Sweet Potato fries with greek siracha

-Salsa

-Black bean dip

-Fresh guacamole

-Baked hot chicken wings (hot sauce on the side)

-Chocolate protein Balls

We passed on the beer (I’m not a beer drinker anyway) and sipped on our tea and water bottles instead. If you did binge on beer, chips and wings like most party go-ers did last night, it’s okay! Nothing a little extra gym time, detox tea, and lemon water can’t fix! I’m following a Fab Ab February challenge I found via Instagram.

New Vitamin I’m trying out:

I’m going to post a few recent photos I received this week of recent work I’ve been up to. Lots of bridal trials this week and photo shoots scheduled! Can’t wait to post about it 🙂 Let’s not forget NYFW is upon us….you can find me backstage with my handy dandy brushes and pallets! For now, Happy Monday.. Hope your week is off to a fabulous start!

Makeup & Hair for friend & personal client:

Before & After on a bride’s mother.. wanted a very natural look, so I kept it simple but still enhanced her natural beauty!

ME & MY GIRLS:

XOXO,

Pageant Queens, Makeup, and …Butt glue?

Take a moment, clear your mind and imagine:

Your backstage… Surrounded by mountains of hair extensions, cans of hairspray, countless amount of lashes, enough powder that resembles a dusting of snow had fallen the night before, and let’s not forget …gallons of butt glue. What really goes on during a pageant? Who are these girls? & why do they go to bed dreaming of a crown and bouquet of flowers? Now let’s not be anti-feminist and judge, I mean after all some people may think it’s silly my dreams consist of makeup brushes and the perfect concealer pallet. But that doesn’t make anyone else’s dreams less real!

This was the first pageant that I was Key Artist for. I spent the week confirming other artists who would be doing touch ups, and discussing the event on conference calls. I was really happy I got my hair girls ( Alyse Camara, Chelsea Harris, Kyra Tarquinio & Lindsay Baxter) to participate also, along with my mua friend Jillian Vandenburg. I loved working with my fabulous team to make the VIPs and title holders look their absolute best. Setting up in the VIP room, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve worked on films and commercials where actresses think they are DIVA’s and the best thing since sliced bread. But this past weekend, that wasn’t the case. These girls were no drama queens, but simply beauty queens. Their beautiful looks are a perfect reflection of who they are; gorgeous, optimistic, intelligent and outgoing.

My first task was filming a tutorial along side of beautiful Keylee Sanders who is the owner and creator of Style Studio. I demonstrated on Sabrina Mastrangelo (Miss New York Teen USA 2012) focusing on highlighting and contouring (which is so important!). I then made my way back to the VIP room to continue Sabrina’s makeup along with the other title holders. These girls were absolutely gorgeous, with amazing personalities to match! Where are the TV camera’s when you need them? After bonding with these ladies, I’d much rather watch the real stories on pageant girls in a pageant world than drunk, teenage drama on MTV’s Buckwild. These title holders were talented, smart and definitely make a difference in our communities! They do so much charity work and have such high spirits. It’s also nice to see girls support each other! We need more of that!

Photos: Me & Sabrina, I gave her a glam look without over doing it. Her hair by Alyse Camara

Pageant makeup is such an important part of a winning image. Being a professional artist you MUST know which products will create the right effect on stage, which makeup will photograph beautifully, and which makeup will look perfect and flawless on television. (Especially with high definition these days!) You need to know skin tones, shadows, correcting colors, and shapes.

-MOISTURIZE &PRIME! All about primer. This will help your make up stay long wearing, smooth your skin and help set your shadows.

Good products are important but technique is ~~king~~— QUEEN! For interview, you want to have a flawless look, being conservative, pretty and age appropriate. For stage, you want to really contour and highlight, defining the contestants features. BLEND, BLEND, BLEND! Looking close in a mirror you might think your wearing too much makeup, but remember, your on stage, the lights are hitting you and your far from everyone. They can see the shape of your makeup but not every detail. I always put lashes on for a stage look! You also want to avoid any shine at all! No shine.

Photo: Second day of pageant Chelsea doing Sabrina’s hair right after I completed her makeup look

You don’t want to create the same look for every girl. Each person has their own different, beautiful features. Focus on enhancing their natural beauty. Different foundations are used based on the girl’s skin type. KNOW YOUR PRODUCTS! A lot of HD makeup was used. When it comes to eyes focus on which tones will bring out the eyes. When doing pageant makeup, you want to create Glamour -not drag. Remember long-wearing products are key. I also used high pigmented colors, not sheer colors. High pigmented colors will also be best against harsh camera flashes and intense stage lighting. Also want to say thank you to RAIN cosmetics for sponsoring and giving us some great colors to work with!

Photos: (1) I gave Ryanne Harms (Miss New Hampshire 2012) a nice smokey eye, smoothing out her skin tone and adding the perfect amount of blush to create a dramatic yet elegant look (2) Kelsea Campbell (Miss New Hampshire Teen 2013) Chelsea Harris did her hair giving her bounce and volume, as I used shades that brought out her beautiful eye color

My friend Jill doing Amber Faucher (Miss New Hampshire USA 2013) & Chelsea Harris doing her hair:

I also had the pleasure of applying makeup as my friend Alyse Camara styled hair for host Julissa Bermudez both nights. You will definitely recognize her from her show Empire Girls on Style network.. Or maybe you’ve seen her co host on BET’s 106 & park.. She’s hosted the MTV after hours and Jersey Shore reunions. She’s a fabulous actress, host and tv personality. This girl had such great, powerful energy. When I did her makeup for the second day of the pageant, she told me she admired the way I contoured her, as she showed me a photo of her on instagram from the night before. I could see why she was so wonderful, after talking to her mother who was also so down to earth and sweet as pie!

^Above is the photo Julissa showed me, that she took of herself after I applied her makeup giving her the perfect contoured nose!

I then applied makeup for host, Susie Castillo. Susie is a former beauty queen herself! She who held the Miss USA title and Miss Universe also hosted tv shows such as MTV’s TRL and appeared on multiple television shows. Me and Susie clicked as soon as we discovered our mutual love for a healthy life style. I became so excited as we discussed juicing, and healthy regimens. We exchanged numbers of course and I plan to have a healthy lunch date with her when I visit LA.

Beauty queens are just more than being beautiful. It’s about beauty and brains. These girls are an asset to our communities! I must say I definitely have a new found love for pageants and their queens after last weekend. I want to congratulate 2013’s Miss New York Joanne Nosuchinsky & Miss New York Teen Nikki Orlando. Excited for these ladies to represent New York! Hope to do more makeup for Miss New York again!

Photos: Me on stage right after crowning, doing touch ups for the 2013 Miss New York & Miss New York Teen USA

^ Letter of recommendation & the VIP hair & makeup room.. Can you guess what movie it’s from? BLACK SWAN!

Also Congrats to Heather Elwell first runner up in the Miss Maine USA pageant this past weekend. (Even though I think she should be in the next Victoria Secret Catalogue) & Thanks to Nancy Schuster for being awesome! Can’t wait to see all the professional photos from Tess Johnson !

I also got to be the makeup artist for Music Choice last week. Music Choice is a company that programs music and produces music-related content for digital cable TV & mobile phones. If you have an iPhone, download their App., allowing you to access all 46 music channels and related music videos while on the go. While I was there we filmed a commercial for Valentines Day. Eh, more like an Anti-Valentine’s Day commercial. I can’t wait to see the finished product, the commercial was too funny! What wasn’t funny, was trying to catch a taxi home at 5pm back to Grand Central!

On another exciting note, I found out my work along with hair stylist Chelsea Harris’s work has been published in the new hardcover 2013 Inspire Book. Salons & brides be on the look out as we take over page 6 & 7 !

Photo:Alicia King

Here is one of the prints I got back from my shoot I did makeup for with Nastasia Scott.. You’ve seen her on the latest season’s America’s Next Top Model 😉

Photographer: Lora Warnick Stylist: Dawn Notaro & Hair: Anthony Terry

Okay, that’s enough catching up for a week. Be sure to tune into Syfy’s FACE OFF tomorrow night and root for my friend MEAGAN! She is fabulous and her work is amazing and so creative. This week is filled with brides. Bring on the bridezillas! This week I used RAIN Cosmetics lip sticks, glosses and eye shadows. Rain Cosmetics sponsored Miss New York USA & I fell in love with their highly pigmented shadows, and long lasting lip colors! Xoxo

A Beautilicious Weekend!

Ahh.. Weekends are always a fabulous time to recharge and relax.. unless your a makeup artist named Alexandria. It’s been a work hard kinda week which is great in my opinion, but exhausting. This week seemed to fly by, don’t you think? I started my week off in Brooklyn shooting a DirecTV commercial, followed by another commercial shoot. The second shoot was a corporate commercial for hospitals around the country. Gary from Christine Studios produced the shoot, and the crew from Moving Pictures directed and filmed it. These guys are legit. I love working with them! I met them working weddings. If your a bride that needs photography or videography, PLEASE check out Christine Studios & Moving Pictures. You won’t be disappointed.

While we are on the topic of brides, a brief background about me…. I’ve been a makeup artist for about 4 years now, working all types of jobs including entertainment and photo shoots, but I specialize in bridal makeup. I recently won Best of 2013 from the Knot. I get a lot of brides asking if I travel and I do! In addition to makeup, I work with fabulous hair stylists that I love doing weddings with! Some of these stylists you can find at Salon 52 in Poughkeepsie. This past weekend we threw an event at the salon, “Blow dry bootcamp”. My job was to give mini makeup lessons and tutorials to new clients. 30 minute one on one sessions. I had all the ladies bring their own makeup. I think it’s great for ladies to learn how to apply the makeup they already have correctly, and learn to create their best looks with their own products! All the proceeds we made that night were donated to a hurricane sandy relief. The event was successful and I can not wait to do it again!

Today, I did a cover shoot with gorgeous model Nastasia Scott, 20, from Cycle 19 of America’s next top model.

Such a beauty inside and out. Our shoot today was so fun! We didn’t just do our jobs, but singed and danced and laughed all day! She’s still going to school, even though she’s signed with the top modeling agencies in the world which is awesome. She is determined to finish her degree no matter what. I did the makeup, while Anthony “Hollywoodstylist” Terry styled her locks. Anthony and I bonded immediately after Nastasia asked what skin care products I recommended for her and we both quickly replied with “Hylunia!” haha you beauties know how much I love HYLUNIA products and anyone that loves it as much as me! I also want to shout out our lovely photographer today, Lora Warnick ; stylist, Dawn from Dawn of New York ; & videographer, Harry B from HarryBVideos !

Alright, I am a bit of an awards season junkie & I’m about to log off to finish watching the Golden Globes as I’m studying the hair and makeup.. (and loving that Tina Fey & Amy Poehler are hosting this show) but just to answer a few quick questions I’ve received recently….

…My favorite foundation: Makeup Forever HD

…My favorite eye-shadow primer: Potion by Urban Decay

…My favorite hair treatment: It’s a 10 Miracle Mask (sulfate free)

…Favorite pressed powder: MAC mineral skin finish

Everyone enjoy the rest of your Sunday !

XO,

What makeup is right for you?

The wrong makeup can make your skin or acne worse! Being a makeup artist I tell ALL of my clients this. People with less than perfect skin (including myself!) Can NOT use heavy foundation and oily concealers! Your skin will never clear up if your not using the right products for your face. The only time I’ve used heavy foundation and powders was for commercials or films I was working on. Every major makeup company now makes oil-free foundations!

My favorite foundation to use on myself and for all my brides is Makeup Forever foundation.

The MUFE HD Foundation is housed in a typical plastic bottle which comes with a pump that dispenses just the right amount of product. I find this foundation makes the skin soft with a dewy finish. The coverage is pretty good for a liquid foundation – it covers most imperfections such as fainted acne marks, freckles etc. It lasts about 5-6 hours on me looking fresh. Best of all it photographs very well.

When I don’t use foundation, I use tinted moisturizer.

Laura Mercier is my favorite! This is mainly what I use during the summer. It contains SPF which is always a plus 🙂

My favorite concealer right now is Laura Mercier’s secret camouflage.

The Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage is a two-shade compact concealer. There are currently eight shade combinations available. The one I use is SC-2. This product is for use on any part of the face that you want to even out. Two shades give you some leeway to mix the product to match your undertone. The consistency is that of a firm cream. I find that it works very well for spot concealing. You can find this online, or at your local sephora.

I also have a love for Erase Paste by benefit.

The tub of product is incredibly tiny for $26 (just .15 oz), but thankfully you only need a VERY tiny bit to get the job done, so this product lasts me a very long time! This concealer comes in three different shades: Fair, Medium and Dark .. I use No. 2 Medium shade. It’s great for colour correcting if you have dark under eye circles or a red pimple! It’s also a dream to blend. You can find both of these products at Sephora.

For people with oily skin, use mineral foundations, it helps your skin become matte for longer. I like a “dewy” look so I add High beam by benefit to my every day routine for some extra glow.

Urban decay has a great spray called “dew me” which is a setting spray, also creating that glowing finish.

Here’s a photo from my makeup space yesterday, working on set for a DirecTV commercial:

I’m filming for another commercial again this week, then booked up Friday with one-on-one makeup lessons and tutorials! If you have any other makeup questions, please ask! Love to all readers! Be positive, stay hard working, and be beautilicious ALWAYS!

XO!

Eyes Need Special Care

Hello beauties! Thank you for reading 🙂 This week has been crazy, busy and so hectic! It feels amazing to wind down with an exfoliating facial on, and lay on my couch with my furry friends. This week was filled with bridal makeup… Weddings, trials, more weddings, & more trials. I’m now booking bridal makeup for 2013. I am happy to announce that I am soon to be, a featured vendor on The Knot! The knot is an exclusive website that contains everything you need to plan your wedding. Dresses, ideas, photos, vendors, inspirations, etc. I’m currently in the process of setting up my profile, but by next week it should be up. My profile will also be featured on Kleinfeld’s site, which carries the largest selection of beautiful, couture wedding dresses and gowns. I quickly posted Friday morning, of an incredible wedding video which I did makeup for. If you haven’t watched it yet, please do! The video was done beautifully by Moving Pictures. Definitely made me cry both times I watched it. Sniff, sniff.

Here is flowers from Friday’s wedding, perfect for Fall and so pretty! And photo of Saturday’s bride, Lindsay. I love her! Also a photo of Erin, one of my past brides who just got her professional photos back!

I can finally say that I have completed all my weddings for October. I only have a few weddings booked for next month and the following. During the winter months is when I’m really recommending my future brides to set up trials, while I have the open slots and free time available. Because once spring comes, I’m back in full force busy for the wedding season. Seems that everyone is getting engaged! If you are, or know anyone that is please send them my way and have them check out my site if your in the tri-state area 🙂 When wedding season comes to an end, it allows me to pick up jobs doing makeup for runway shows, commercials, events, films and shoots. I have a lot of exciting projects coming up within the next two months, which I can’t wait to share with you when the time comes 🙂 Besides from bridal makeup, I’ve done my fair share of Halloween makeup this month and I’m finding a lot of my clients wanting completely different haircuts and styles for fall! It’s nice to change it up! I’m working on Halloween this year, so I had to celebrate my Halloween last night. I went to Studio square in Long Island city. Music was so good, view was gorgeous, the set up was done great and we got there early to enjoy all the drink specials. Through out the night it got busy but wasn’t too crowded where you can’t breath or move, thank god because I like my space, nothing worse than a room filled with hot, sweaty strangers in costumes dancing and rubbing against you. ugh! Music by Ed Polido & then Miss Jennifer. ❤

Follow me on Instagram @Alexgill !

I decided to be a kitten, since 1. I only had 10 minutes (literally!) to figure out a costume and throwing on old black leggings from Metropark a couple years back and a black tank top were KEY & 2. all my friends and coworkers have been calling me the “cat lady” since I rescued these adorable two little kittens that were living in my yard. I just HAD to take them in, it was getting so cold out and it’s been so rainy, they would crawl up into my car to stay warm from the heat in my engine. What kind of person would I be to deny these cute little creatures a warm, loving home, as they sat outside my windows looking in?! I had to keep them. When we took them to the vet, he said that there was quite and age difference (buddah just over 6 months and banks around 2-3 months) and also informed me that they were not liter mates, and told me how incredibly rare it is for these two stray kittens to find each other, and interact with each other becoming best friends. Once I took them for shots, and brought them inside I had to introduce them to my pup Sonny. He adores them. He’s so gentle with them and I’m pretty positive he thinks he’s the kitten’s mother, which is perfectly okay with me.

Friday night, my good friend Monica and I attended a fundraising event at Marlene Weber Day Spa, in Poughkeepsie. We purchased a $25 ticket which was donated to Miles of Hope and included two complimentary services, along with raffles, food and cocktails. Is that an amazing deal, or what?! Even better, since it goes to such a great cause. Of course for one of my services, I booked a massage, hunching over all day doing makeup is obviously not the best posture for my back. For my second service, I booked an eyebrow grooming with my glamorous friend Stephanie (who has the best brows EVER may I add) If you need your brows waxed and groomed and you live near the Poughkeepsie area, I definitely recommend you going to her. We all know how important our brows are, which frame our faces! Remember thin, is NOT in anymore. This year full, thick brows is what it’s about. So try to grow those brows in and go get them shaped! I wish I took more photos of the event, but I was too busy indulging delicious food, complements of Rossi’s, Brasserie, La Puerta Azul and more. To make the night even better, I won a raffle for a wash, cut & blow-dry and waxing. Oh la la! I never win raffles so I was beyond excited. Marlene Weber Day Spa was also offering 20% off gift cards, and since my birthday is next month, why not treat myself to an early birthday gift?! I purchased an $80 service for $64. Good deal! Over all Beauty Night Out was a success, many donations made to Miles of Hope, I won a raffle, and got to enjoy time with my girlfriends while being pampered!

Fall headband piece perfect for these cold months ahead!

So how do I cut & style multiple clients hair, do makeup trials on my future brides, apply makeup to brides and their full bridal parities, wander off to NYC, attend beauty fundraising events, along with many meetings, dinner dates and errands in between without looking tired, even though I’m BEYOND EXHAUSTED? By taking special care of your eyes of course!

The skin around your eyes is much thinner than the rest of your face so it requires special attention! Dark under-eye circles can make young people look old and tired. Womp womp. They can be treated very successfully with prescription topical creams and lasers. But I obviously prefer natural eye care.

~~Puffiness:~~ under eye puffiness can be caused by a variety of reasons including diet, allergies or extra fluid in your system. In the morning to treat puffiness, Splash your face with very cold water. Tap gently around your eyes to help move away fluid in eyes. gently press along your eyebrow and around your eye socket with your middle. Place a cold compress under your eyes for 15 minutes. I like to use cold green tea bags that i keep in the freezer over night or cold cucumber slices. Tannin, which is found in teabags, will lower the swelling and discoloration around the eyes. You need to place two teabags in the fridge overnight to chill them; in the morning, get them damp, and then lie down with them on your eyes. Keep your eyes closed and body still for 10 to 15 minutes each day – you’ll see results immediately 🙂 If you don’t have teabags, use an ice cube wrapped in a cloth. Never put ice directly onto the skin around your eye because it can cause blood vessels to burst, which causes more dark circles and discoloration.

~~Dark circles:~~ The skin under the eyes is so thin that in some people the blood passing through the teeny tiny veins near the surface show through, giving that area a bluish or gray cast aka dark circles. Heredity, fatigue and illness and make under eye circles dark as well. Sleep and concealer is the best options. Make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Beauty sleep is NO MYTH! If you want to look good, do everything you can to get a good night’s sleep. And perhaps invest in 100% silk pillowcases. Always use natural eye creams morning and night.

Lush lashes: All your hair, grows in cycles. Eyelashes grow for approximately six months then falls out by a new lash. Never rub your eyes. Even when removing makeup. Be gentle. Before bed, treat your lashes with castor oil or other light oils to keep them clean and conditioned. A friend recommended I try a product called Lash Max which was a conditioner for your eye lashes making them grow longer and healthier. I tried it for about a month and loved it.

Remember to always wear sunglasses in the sun. One of your best beauty tools. It also prevents crow’s feet and eye wrinkles! I like the eye cream by Hylunia and Lilly B. Lily B has a great natural eye cream I adore, which is infused with vitamin K and arnica that helps reduce any puffiness and under eye circles! Lily.B Skincare Multi-Action Rescue Ultra Eye Cream is a great eye cream for those looking to remedy tired, puffy eyes. It’s non-jar packaging makes it an eye cream I highly recommend to anyone!

My favorite under eye concealer is Erase Paste by benefit. which is a concentrated, creamy brightening concealer for eyes and face. Application is key. Use your finger and pat the product from the inside corner of the eye and out to give a smooth, natural coverage. You only need a little because too much concealer can actually bring focus to the under eye area. Always start with an eye cream first to hydrate the eye area before applying concealer so it goes on smoothly and evenly. For extreme under eye darkness, start with a concealer that is pink or peach in color. Pink concealers help to brighten a dark blue or purple under-eye, and peach colored concealers brighten a green or gray under-eye. Don’t use a beige or white concealer, It’s only going to make the darkness look gray. Once you have applied the pink or peach, layer concealer that matches your skin tone on top. Dust the under-eye with a sheer, pale yellow powder to help to set the product and make sure it doesn’t crease.

Okay, time to remove my facial mask off and get my blankets ready to sleep on the couch, with my tea! Everyone be safe during this hurricane sandy storm! Hopefully it doesn’t hit us too hard. Perfect opportunity to stay inside and enjoy “me” time! Xoxo

Halloween time

Hi 🙂 Thanks for reading! This week has been crazy, busy.. I had bridal trials this week, brides yesterday, halloween makeup applications booked, and more brides today & Sunday! Like I said in my last post, Fall is one of my favorite seasons. It is also my busiest season. I find that my skin becomes more dry during these cooler months, so I find myself spending a little bit more time taking care of my skin in the morning and night than I would in the summer or spring. I recently been experimenting with new product lines. As far as skin care lines, I really love organic and natural products. I know what exactly I’m putting on my skin, and I know it’s not harmful.

I have been using Dr. Alkaitis Organic & Holistic line. It truly works wonders! I talked to them about my job and my blog, & they were willing to send me samples for my guests to try at my blog launch and I’ve been getting great responses. *There is also a sample cleanser in my goodie bag for my October giveaway! “If you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your face” is what Dr. Alkaitis promotes, and I agree!. Health IS the essential foundation of beauty! You can purchase a sample pack online at alkaitis.com and the samples last about 3 weeks. It is very light, containing coconut, jojoba, shea, sesame oil, and other raw, natural ingredients that work wonders on your skin. I used the organic enzyme exfoliating mask and I saw a difference in my skin immediately. I liked how you had to mix the mask your self, taking 2 tsp of the mask mixing it with equal portions of water. It brightened my complexion and helped even out my skin tone. I’ve been using these products every day starting with the cleanser, following with toner, moisturizer and eye cream. At night I’ll add their oil to my moisturizer, so when I wake up my face feels fresh and soft. I should also add that I grew up having psoriasis. Which is when you get very, dry patches all over your skin. Since I’ve been using natural products, my skin really has improved almost 100%. (also eating clean and drinking lots of water!) So if you suffer from this, I can relate! And definitely recommend trying out this line!

I also tried out an exfoliating mask from Karuna. OMG! I will continue to use this mask once a week. Karuna masks comes in a packet, it’s a all-natural fiber cloth which helps retain moisture. Your supposed to leave the mask on for 10-20 minutes, but I left my mask on for a solid 30 minutes. Once you remove the mask, their is no need to rinse off your face. Karuna is a line of “convenience”, one-step, no rise product. It felt a bit slimy afterwards but I just massaged all the residue into my skin and onto my neck. Immediately my skin felt fresh, clean, smooth, brighter, and plump! All my friends sent me photos of themselves wearing the mask, and I took some myself, but it’s a bit scary, and alien-ish so I’ll hold back on posting those. LOL I also would recommend these for your weekly mask. You can also receive one in my October giveaway goodie bag!

Now that I shared my fall time skin regime with you, let’s talk makeup! I know I posted about Collodion in my last post, and I’m so excited that I finally tried it out! My friend Justine wanted me to re-create my creepy doll halloween look from last year. It’s so fun doing beauty makeup for brides all day, then coming home to do fun, halloween makeup! Take a look below 🙂

Another EASY, fun way to spice up your Halloween look is to mask your own mask! I participated in a hair show last month, and I had to do the makeup for a butterfly. I really was stumped and didn’t want to be corny and paint on a butterfly, so I tried to get really creative. I took some puffy paint (found at walmart or any craft store, for like $1 a piece) and started to paint on a laminated folder 2 wings. I free handed “a face” on the folder, so I knew exactly where the eyes were and started to paint. I made a thick layer, threw on some sparkles, even using some of my MAC pigment colors. It took a couple hours for it to completely dry. I peeled it off and wahhh lahh! I had my butterfly “mask”. It was so simple to apply. I tested one out on myself first. I just took eyelash glue and applied to the back of the mask, letting it become tacky before putting it on my face. Once I tried it on myself, I sent it to Aly (the hair creator of the butterfly) and she loved it! She said she was incorporating lace so I made another mask, this time applying lace. I cut out the lace to fit the mask and once this mask had dried, I put the lace on using fabric glue. Check it out! This is fun, esp. for kids!

You have to love fall and Halloween time because of the exciting costume ideas, the colors of the season and the beginning of the holiday season. One of my favorite fruits of the year is the pumpkin. It’s the perfect fall symbol, an amazing color of orange, it’s tasty—and it’s fun to carve. Pumpkin tea, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin EVERYTHING! Fall is one of the BEST times to make your own at home skin care treatments because of the tasty delights and seasonal goodies that come around. What’s better is that natural skin care is always a great choice for you.. Have fun with it! After you and your girlfriends, finish carving your pumpkins, use those guts for a good cause 😉 Pumpkin facials!

Pumpkin facial mask

Take 3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree and add 1-2 tablespoons of honey
Add 1 tablespoon of milk (regular for oily skin or buttermilk for dry skin)
Optional-add plain yogurt to mixture
Spread paste onto your face and keep on for 10-15 minutes.
Rinse off with water.

*Be sure to make your mask thick enough that it’s not dripping off your face.

Both of these at home skin care recipes using natural pumpkin will leave your skin smooth and glowing. It’s a festive way to help get the most out of the seasons with the nature around you.

Me & my friend Jessica at the Jane Hotel this week, holding up our “No No” signs ! LOL

Okay! Off to a wedding. Time to get the bride beautified! LOVE MY JOB!!! Thank you for reading.

Cure to Chapped Lips!

Hello again! Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂 Hope everyone is keeping warm and drinking lots of herbal teas on these cold, breezy fall nights!

So many people have been asking me about Halloween makeup… I’m booked with Halloween makeup this year, and I’m absolutely stoked about it. Halloween is my FAVORITE time of year!

I went to the The Great Jack O’Lantern blaze in Westchester last weekend. It was freezing, but so fun! So much to look at, & gets you in the Halloween spirit for sure! I definitely recommend going.

Ahhh I love this season! Yesterday I was in New York City with a friend, and randomly met up with my friend Jason. We met last year, both doing makeup on set of a movie. He was on this season of SyFy’s Face Off, which is a special FX makeup show, where the contestants have to complete challenges every week, creating a character based on a a movie, director or some sort of cool inspiration! He now works for Saturday Night Live, making and applying prosthetics. Sweet! So after he left the NBC studios yesterday, he took me to a small makeup store in Manhattan.

There, I bought a few supplies I’ll be needing for a Halloween application I’m doing on Friday evening. I purchased Collodion, a syrupy solution that is often used in theatrical makeup. You can create old-age wrinkles or scars with this product. I’ll definitely post photos of all the Halloween makeup once I complete the applications, and share application tips with you 🙂

Jason, Harry the video guy, myself and our model on set of a photo shoot..

Halloween makeup I did to myself last year!

I wasn’t sure if Batman and Patrick from Spongebob were walking around in costume because it is Halloween time… or maybe because it’s NYC and it’s pretty much ALWAYS halloween time in the city… lol

Mirror photo at the W… Red blazer from H&M

Although I adore Halloween and Fall, this time of year is definitely Chapped lips season. (ughh gross) I have to share a remedy that I use and find really helpful to fix chapped lips almost immediately! I have to say, I am a fan of a lip scrub called Sugar found at Sephora, but it’s definitely pricy for a tiny amount of it.. This remedy works JUST as well, if not better. If you try it, let me know what you think!

1/2 teaspoon of honey

1/2 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of castor oil

Mix all ingredients together. Spread over your lips and leave on overnight. In the morning awake to smooth, soothed lips! Any extra that you have left over should be stored in the refrigerator because it contains fresh lemon juice which can spoil. To exfoliate your lips take a bit of honey mixed with a pinch of sugar and lightly scrub in circular motions. Apply lip balm after.

****I tell all my brides to do this the night before their wedding so they have smooth, kissable lips.

My favorite lip balm is Simply Bee~utiful’s all natural lip balm. Their lip balms are made from beeswax and honey.

Okay, time to get comfy and get ready for the return of American Horror story tonight!! Love that show, Can’t wait 🙂

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