Pigment

Everything's Coming Up Golden

2012-01-30T16:08:00.005-05:00

So the holidays might be done but we are now right in the midst of Award Season which has me continuing to think about festive, beautiful makeup. On Smash, we did a musical number involving angels and we gave them a gold wash of eyeshadow with a dot of highlight on the inner corner of the eye, glowing skin and pink gloss. It was very sweet and it reminded me of all the images of golden makeup I have been seeing around. Gold eyeshadow has a lot of pop but is neutral enough that you can still glam it up further with a bold red lip like Dolce & Gabbana in Devil or MAC in Ladybug for something sheerer and more moisturizing. The look is fresh and sophisticated. Or you can let the gold be the theme and combine a deep gold eyeshadow with a nude lipgloss like D&G in Glossy that is a nudey-tude lipgloss with flecks of gold in it, and some bright blush. MAC Gorgeous Gold and Goldrush are two fun, rich colors - Gorgeous Gold has a little hint of green and Goldrush is a little warmer - and the MAC pricepoint is not too high. The limited edition Silent Night by Nars looks pretty luxe too. Wear it as a sheer wash or put on a creamy primer and do a deep bling on the eye. I like the idea of pale skin with these looks but you could add bronzer if you want to really J. Lo it up. But for some reason that doesn't feel as contemporary.
This is the look that I'm pretty inspired by right now so give it a try and let me know what other ideas you come up with!

Btw, I just bought the tinted moisturizer from the new line No. 7 in Target to give it a whirl. It is the undercover discount line from Chanel, just FYI, which probably means that the formulas are the same but without all the bells and whistles. For that reason, the packaging for the line is uninspired and they were out of the lipstick collaborations with Poppy, the Lipstick Queen. But the formula for the tinted moisturizer is quite nice and for $12, a lovely alternative the La Mer Fluid Tint that I j'adore. However, in a mega makeup mishap, I combined it with my yam cream whilst rushing to get out of the house for a movie screening and some combo of the yams and the pigment in the No. 7 moisturizer combusted and turned a nice streaky orange all over my face! What a surprise! And of course these things always happen when you are in a rush. Luckily we sat in a dark room for the next two hours so if I had missed a spot in the removal, noone could tell...

Winter Skin Woes, Dry Skin Solutions

2012-01-12T10:40:00.004-05:00

So, with the winter weather finally arriving, my skin is taking a turn for the worse. I already have dry skin but it's a constant battle trying to keep my face from falling off once the thermometer drops. And it got me thinking that maybe my Pigment readers might struggle with similar winter scales. I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve both high end and shoestring that help keep skin fresh in the cold.

Let me start with lip balms. I have trouble getting excited about lip balm. They all seem to work. But people love the Jack Black brand because it is thick and rich but not shiny or sticky. It's very soothing and just a wee minty. But I'm a fan of cherry Chapstick too...

When it comes to face creams, obviously, Creme de La Mer is a gold standard for deep moisture. I mean, it was invented to help heal burns so our skin issues seem puny in comparison. But if the price tag has you giving me the stink eye, I found this amazingly emollient cream when I was in northern Michigan this summer made in Traverse City of all places (NY snob alert). Creation Pharm Skin Renewal Cream with Wild Yam is all natural, unprocessed ingredients with skin regenerating Evening Primrose, Borage OIl, Cherry Kernel Oil, and Wild Yam extract. When I put it on at night I come to bed and my husband says "mmmmm, yams". But in a good way. The best part is the price: $15 for a big yammy jam jar.

My newest obsession comes courtesy of Arthur's nanny, Angela who recommended NeoStrata Problem Dry Skin Cream. The website description makes it seem like it might be for knees and elbows but sometimes that's how dry my face feels. The cream isnt super pricey and it's got a 20% alpha hydroxy formula so it is not for the squeamish but it peels your skin off in the best way to reveal your baby skin underneath. But don't forget sunscreen with this puppy.

As far as cleansers go, I trust good old Pond's Cold Cream like Grandma used to use which makes my skin feel really well taken care of. And its like $4.50. But if you don't want all those parabens, which are anti-microbial preservatives that are getting called into question for their potential toxicity, you could use a cleanser like Epicuren Apricot Cream Cleanser.

And my favorite trick of all is probably the cheapest. On the days when my skin is feeling desperate, I take a scoop of my least used/cheapest moisturizer - does everyone have like 5 leftover jars of moisturizer like I do?? No? Ok, then use olive or grapeseed oil - and a fist full of sugar and scrub your face with the mixture until the sugar dissolves and your skin is smooth and glowing. You will taste and look delicious!

Stay tuned next week I will have some insight into the fabulous and overwhelming world of Awards Show Makeup!

Drag!

2011-12-15T12:36:00.003-05:00

So another day on the set of Smash, another fun makeup!
This one was a big challenge for me because I had never done drag makeup before. And my lovely subject was a performer used to drag (read: Broadway dancer starring in Priscilla Queen of the Desert) but not a professional drag queen so the eyebrows were a challenge. In fact, they were THE challenge aside from going against ALL of my instincts as a makeup artist and doing MORE MORE MORE! I took some tips from the beautiful Manila Luzon, a lovely and fierce DQ who is, according to her website, in a relationship with another DQ. I love it.
I first used a thick adhesive called pros-aide to glue down the eyebrows. My particular subject had particularly strong eyebrows so it took some doing. Then a quick blast with the blow drier on cool to speed up the glue drying process. Next we had to smooth out the glue which took a powder puff FULL of loose powder mashed into the eyebrows to really tamp those suckers down. Poor contact lenses! Then foundation all over and then contour up to where the eyebrows used to be and drawn on eyebrows daintily above that. Then more makeup and eyelashes than I had ever previously put on a person's face in my life. SO FUN.
My feeling is that this poor guy was my first attempt and if I could have had the chance to do it again or do another lady after him, I would be much less ham fisted. But isn't that just how the world works? Anyway, it was a delightful way to spend a morning and fun way to make a living!

Flapper Makeup for the Holidays? Why Not?

2011-11-29T17:58:00.007-05:00

So I have been working 2 days a week (now that I am no longer able to pull 70 hour weeks, thank you, Arthur!) and have been frequently pitching in working for my friend Persefone over at the soon to air show Smash (debuting post-Superbowl, Feb 6 on NBC). Its a show about the real life drama in putting together a Broadway smash hit and it has SUCH fun makeup. Working there has been like a continuing education course in stylized makeup. Every week it is something fun and dramatic from Flapper makeups to Drag. This week I'll focus on the Flapper Look we achieved for the dancers in one of the show-within-the-show's musical numbers.

Persefone designed these makeups to look authentically of the period but they came out so beautifully that it got me thinking that they were the perfect starting point to think about holiday party looks as well. What is most stunning about this particular makeup is not only the use of dramatic color but the specificity of shape for the eyes and lips. The eyes were deep, plummy greys that had a soft glossiness (but not sparkle) and a super round eyebrow. The key to the look is the shape of the shadow. Instead of a contemporary smoky eye, we didn't follow the natural contour of the dancers lids but instead created an almost horizontal teardrop shape which imparts a sleepy, pouty look. Try Mac Carbon layered with Blackberry and then use a light shimmery grey like Crystal to smudge and blend it out. I pretty much did the whole look with one domed contour brush and my fingers. Then tons of mascara and a strip of lashes if you've got 'em. It screams "Damn Prohibition! Get me a gin cocktail!"

The skin is flawless and contoured (my latest favorite as discovered by my friend Dina, is the Kevin Aucoin Pure Powder in Natura) but without any serious blush and the lips are a deep, vampy plum or red. Try Mac Seeds of Desire Mattene Lipstick with Absolutely It liner. The key to these lips is that the line doesn't extend all the way out to the corners of the mouth but instead comes up in an almost heart shape to create that Clara Bow lip. The combo of the sweetness of the shape with the drama of the color is striking and easy to recreate. Add the wig, headpiece and costume and the result is a transportive, gorgeous 20's flapper.

Now, if you take the makeup apart and just do the eye with a glossy nude lip or the stylized lipline with just blush and mascara, throw on one of the MANY sequined tops or dresses I've been seeing around and forgo the feathered headdress, you can reinterpret the look for a modern update and just in time for all the holiday parties I'm sure Pigment readers are headed out to. Have fun and stick a flask in your garter for me!

Avon Calling...

2011-11-23T09:39:00.003-05:00

So my sister Rachael has come up with a business idea for me and then made it happen. I have become the modern day Avon lady! The idea came when her friend Eugenie was saying that she didn't know what of her makeup she should keep and what she should toss and what she could add. She said to Rachael "What I REALLY want is for Rebecca to go through my makeup bag" and this got Rachael's wheels spinning. So she and Eugenie both organized parties and invited around 8 of their friends who attended for a (modest) fee. There was wine, there was cheese, I gave a schpiel and a demo, no big whoop. Then I sat with each woman individually and with a face chart, sorted their makeup bags, made suggestions as to what to add and was ruthless about what to toss. I had my whole kit with me so that I could give very specific product recommendations and the ladies could see for themselves if they liked them. And since I'm not selling anything beyond my service, there was no pressure although I'm pretty sure that there will be a bump in sales at the Westchester and Cold Springs Sephoras in Tarte products since I had a bag of their blushes/cheek stains/lip stains/ etc. that were all the rage. They even have some sparkly lip lusters that are perfect for holiday. I also brought catalogs for companies that are kind of under the makeup retail radar that are great values and not necessarily known outside of the industry. And while I was meeting with the individual ladies the rest of the gang was chatting it up party style. It was a really fun way to spend a Thursday evening for me and hopefully them too!

The one major thing I wanted to convey while I was talking and giving the demo was that I want to change the dialogue when it came to talking about makeup. Too many women said to me 'I want you to help HIDE...' or 'help me CAMOUFLAGE...' or 'I just get INTIMIDATED by makeup' and it bums me out! Makeup isn't chemo! Thank god. It's totally inessential and fun! Sure, makeup can sometimes look funky - so just wash it off! Instead of hiding, HIGHLIGHT! Instead of camouflage, ENHANCE! I once worked with a woman who was wearing neon orange mascara. Was it a look for everyone? Probably not. But was it striking and fun to look at? Yep. Concealer can help you cover a blemish but sometimes my bright pink lipstick simply brightens up my day. Makeup should make you feel better but not because it's covering you up. I think we should all think about what we look to makeup to help us with and then cheer those thoughts up.

Lace!

2011-11-14T19:50:00.002-05:00

So I sat myself down after the baby went to sleep determined to figure out how to work those Sally Hansen Nail Effects and it turns out that you can do it all wrong and it will still look fabulous and last a week. I chose the lace effect and even though they kept getting mistaken for those digital widgets that are everywhere on magazines and windows, I thought they looked pretty cool.
All you do is clean your nails, fit the decals (there are 16 in a box so that you can get the ones that fit your nail bed best), peel off the plastic and stick them to your nails. You then pull them and they break off and then you file the ends away. The result is very smooth and, quite frankly, easier than polish because you don't even need to wait for them to dry! And I've never gotten more "whoa! Cool nails!" comments in my life. Even my nieces thought I looked cool.
Mission accomplished.

Magnets!

2011-11-07T22:19:00.005-05:00

So, every once in a while Vogue does a piece on the latest in nail fashion. Usually its a little much for me - $300 for pieces of shed snakeskin glued on to a pedicure? Probably not gonna happen for me. And I hate the look of those little flowers drawn on to a manicure. But the latest is all about nail polish infused with...MAGNETS! Special effects nails with an edge! So exciting although I'm not sure why. I marched myself to Sephora and bought the badass gunmetal gray color and then went to my favorite ladies at Polish Nail Salon in Park Slope ($20 mani/pedi!) and we tried it out. It took some experimenting to get the effect right but, since I've been going to Polish for 8 years, they humored me and really got into it. You have to do one nail at a time, two coats per nail and then immediately hold the magnet that is built into the lid of the polish over the wet nail. But then voila! Voila what exactly? I'm not sure. But it looks cool and what's wrong with a little nail fun in these dreary news cycles.
Which got me thinking about those Salon Effects nail kits from Sally Hansen. I bought the Lace Effect one and will be experimenting with it tonight. Stay tuned.

Also, next week I will be working on the soon to air show Smash doing period 1920s and 50s makeups. Stay double tuned!

Back In Business

2011-10-31T13:38:00.003-04:00

So sorry pigment readers. I solemnly swear not to let this happen again. A year ago I got my world rocked when I discovered I was pregnant and the accompanying morning sickness/exhaustion whittled down my ability to multi-task. Tisa, my former teammate over at SVU can attest that in between scenes I was passed out. So I dropped the blog ball but now I'm back! I left SVU in the capable hands of my friends Tisa and Dina and am now galavanting in the wide world of tv/movie makeup freelancing part time so I can still bring home some bacon but be the one raising my baby, a particularly fat little angel named Arthur.
Some things I discovered in pregnancy as it relates to makeup:

- That 'glow' that people told me I had was really achieved with makeup and moisturizer (thank you La Mer). I actually found that pregnancy sapped all of my skin's moisture so I had to light that glow myself. But people just want to tell you you're glowing so just say thank you.

- Tarte came out with these new Amazonian clay 12 hour blushes and they are for REAL. I put some on, never took it off after work (see above re: exhaustion) and had a super glamorous night sweat (TMI, sorry) and I woke up and STILL had the blush on. If there is a better endurance test for blush, I can't think of it. And the blushes come in all sorts of fresh great colors from neutral to really cute and bright.

- Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Bio Oil, Bag Balm, Belly Gel...they don't work to prevent stretchmarks. Even when applied religiously. Sigh. However, I have an appointment with my Derm tomorrow and besides my annual skin cancer check, we will be discussing LASERS! So ill keep you posted. Btw, my derm, Dr. Julie Karen, is featured in this month's Vogue. No wonder its so hard to get an appointment!

I'll be posting every week from now on with new Tales from the Trenches, product reviews, and updates about the new makeup parties I am starting to throw! Please keep tuning in!

Gore Galore!

2010-10-20T22:26:00.005-04:00

Halloween looming has me thinking about gruesome gore.

I honestly don't know how I would do my job without one very specific makeup product: 3rd Degree. Its not glamorous or gorgeous but it is indispensable. Two jars are filled with different components of a silicone material that, when mixed together, gives a couple of minutes of working time before it sets up. You can apply it directly to skin to sculpt a wound, wart or whatever. Or you can put it in a mold to create a quick prosthetic appliance.

Want a scar like Frankenstein? Just mix equal parts of jars A and B with a small spatula and sculpt it onto the skin until it looks like what you want it to look like. Once its dry, powder it and then color it up with whatever color best suits your Franken-hue. Going as Phantom? Smear it on to half of your face with a spatula as you would cake batter, let it dry and then powder it with blush. Almost instant burn! Need a gash? Apply the 3rd degree as you would for a scar and then slice it open with your spatula or sculpting tool. Fill the gash with some fresh scab and some liquid blood and you are ready to gross out small children!

Which reminds me: there are also a plethora of different blood colors and textures out there on the market. There are bright red liquid bloods which are great on the show when we want the blood to look fresh and vibrant in a shadowy set. Dark liquid blood is great for a slightly less cartoony look, especially if the light on set is bright or our SVU victim is slightly less fresh. There is also a great great product from K.D. called Drying Blood Jelly that goes on and drips like liquid blood but then dries to that crusty, crackly dark brown red. There are eye bloods and mouth bloods and the gooeyest of all are the thick gel bloods called scab blood. The brighter one is great for adding texture to fresh wounds and a darker version can be applied and then powdered over with a brownish powder to give that "healed scab" look. Gross!

Alcone Cosmetics in NYC and Frends Beauty Supply in Lala have all the above and more to add gore to your holiday. Happy tricks and treats!

Halloween!

2010-10-11T10:13:00.002-04:00

In this gloomy October weather, I feel the impending specter of Halloween. People constantly say "You must be so popular on Halloween" or ask "is Halloween your favorite holiday?". It has me thinking how much my job is like Halloween every day. (BTW, people find me more useful at weddings and children's birthday parties and my favorite holiday is my birthday.)
Every day that I work I see people in weird costumes eating candy (from the craft service snack table). Some days I come in and do beauty makeups, corpses in various states of disrepair, tattoos and bruises, a clown and a mime.

But in the spirit of Halloween, I wanted to give out treats of tips! Want to look like Marie Antoinette but can't figure out how to get the paleness/mole right? Thinking of going as Heidi Montag post-op and need some believeable bruising? Need a horrible looking wound and don't know how to make it look gory in 3-D? Send me your ideas/questions and we can come up with fabulous creative ideas together!

Expert Reviews

2010-09-21T21:47:00.006-04:00

I am late on the band wagon for a great resource guide to the world of makeup and skin care product reviews.

Paula Begoun has a book that I have constantly passed by at the book store called Don't Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me. It always seemed like a losing proposition - a huge tome proposing to catalog the virtues and sins of every cosmetic on the market. With the speed that companies develop new product, the book is out of date before it goes to press!

WELL, last season Sharon Stone started reciting all these very informative insider facts she said she had learned them from Paula's book. E.g. Eye Cream is JUST regular cream in a smaller, more expensive jar. So I finally rushed to Amazon.com for the 8th edition of DGTTCCWOM.
It arrived and I pored over it. Her introduction and methods for testing are very interesting and honest. She is not wowed by packaging or marketing. Its: Does this product work or not?
Personally, I don't need as much help deciphering high and low quality makeup. I work with different products all day long and I can tell immediately if I like how an eyeshadow, foundation or lipstick applies and holds. What often does stymie me is skin care. The effect of a skin care product rather than a cosmetic is more often apparent after long term use.

Will the expensive eye cream fend off wrinkles 10 years down the road if I am consistent? Is it worth it to "invest" in your skin with an expensive night cream? Do the latest "it" ingredients really work better than Ponds Cold Cream or Noxema? Paula gets into the nitty gritty answering these types of questions. Often citing brands like Olay and Clinique as All-Stars and ripping skin care like Dior's for being overpriced, over fragranced and under ingrediented (that's now a word).

As I predicted, the book didn't have half of the product lines I use on a daily basis. However, this is the genius of her website. For an annual subscription fee, her website is continuously updated with pretty much every makeup and skin care line on the market. So if you are at the department store being tempted by a Dior creme for $275 that touts the rejuvenating effect of the whispers of fetal kittens, you can log on to her website, read the review, and then save yourself $275.

So, while I don't think the book is such a great investment, the website is something worth looking into if you, like me, find yourself susceptible to a shiny new jar of expensive miracle nothing.

Inner-Eye Concealer

2010-09-12T21:25:00.008-04:00

So I've been thinking about how and why we use concealer. One of the deep issues of the ages.

Specifically what got me thinking was the phrase "under-eye concealer". When dealing with darkness, I would venture that 90% of the time we don't need concealer "under" the eye so much as in the outer and inner corner down into the orbital socket (the area created where your bone ends and your eye socket begins). That is where most darkness peeks through the thin, delicate skin.

The problem with the idea of "under eye" concealer, especially if you are using a concealer that is slightly lighter than your foundation, is that you get left with the dreaded Reverse Raccoon Effect. No one wants this!

I think using a brightening concealer is great, don't get me wrong. But ideally, you want to bring the fresh brightness to the center of your face. Not just UNDER your eyes. Highlight down below your orbital socket into the naso-labial folds. Add a dab between your eyebrows and in the middle of your chin. This creates a diamond of brightness to make your whole face sparkle! And maybe we should start a revolution to change "under eye concealer" to "inner eye concealer".

It could happen, right?

New Flavor Combo: Rosy Bronze

2010-08-25T22:18:00.002-04:00

In honor of the end of summer, I am clinging to what minimal color I have attained. I would never go so far as to call myself "tan" but more of a "pale-but-less-so-than-in-February" sort of hue. When I get color, however, I don't go bronze. More of a rosy freckling occurs. So, while applying a bronzer can give that warm, beachy glow, a more natural look on a fair complexion is actually a combination of pink and bronze. Sometimes you want to look like a day at the beach, not J-Lo.
Enter my new favorite flavor combination: pink blush combined with a bronzer. My skin is very fair and very dry so a liquid blush/bronzer combo works better for me. I love the dewy effect that the revlon face illuminator in Gold Light gives. And the combination with Benefit Posie Tint gives a natural sunkissed flush. Or you could use Tarte Bronze Goddess cheek stain with Benetint. Or if you want a powder instead, Benefit Dallas is a great beige/pink/bronze all in one, which is hard to find.
The combo is also a great look on lips. Stick with a pink stain and layer a bronze-y gloss on top. So mix away, slick on some mascara and don't you look ready for Labor Day!

Sunscreen Update!

2010-08-25T08:26:00.004-04:00

A word about sunscreen...again.

So you all know what an SPF nut I am. Protecting my face and Leather Bib from further sun damage is a daily task I began too late. And I have my fave sunscreens that I have told you about already. I even remember looking askance at a particularly leathery older actor whose response when I offered him sunscreen was "I don't put that poison on my face. It gives you cancer." This was several weeks after I had just had a pre-cancerous freckle-gone-awry removed from my very un-tan lower back.

But I have been catching wind of research that calls out some nefarious ingredients in the vast majority of sunscreens on the market. Namely oxybenzone, a possible hormone disrupting compound that enters your bloodstream, and a form of Vitamin A called retinyl palmitate that the FDA is testing as a photocarcinogen. SCARY. Something to do with "they protect you from sun-burning UVB rays but allow or even aid UVA radiation".

There might also be some SPF # shenanigans going on as well. Specifically that companies are lulling us into a false sense of sun-protection with their uber-high SPF numbers but what they don't say is that you need to apply a quarter of the bottle to achieve SPF 100. The amount we are probably putting on is giving us an SPF of about 3.2. My rule of thumb is that nothing protects past 15 anyway if you are out in the sun.

So, as I am neither scientist nor doctor, I will not attest to the supreme legitimacy of this info. But CLICK HERE for the link to the Environmental Working Group website that scared the pants off me. There are also some very legitimate rebuttals from scientists at Memorial Sloan Kettering and reported in the Huffington Post. I say look at both sides of the story and decide for yourself.

Back to work: Full Time

2010-07-31T11:58:00.003-04:00

Back to work!
So I'm back! SVU has started production back up for Season 12. I can't believe it. I started at this show as the temporary make-up assistant Season 7. It is such a gift in this business to have a job with a little steadiness but its also crazy to think that this'll be my 6th season!
So even though I have been doing these character makeups for years, as I've said before, its important not to get stuck in a rut. I am constantly changing products, techniques and strategies so that I don't become complacent and start to lose sight of what I am trying to achieve with their look.
That being said, here are the items that I have tried to switch up and have never been able to get away from when doing "Benson Makeup". Call them the Cher items in my makeup bag, because they will never go away:

YSL touche eclat #3 in combo with Cle du Peau concealer in ocher. If someone knows of a better concealer duo for olive skin, I'd like them to tell me. Its bright and radiant and covers anything. It is a combo established by my predecessors and is not to be forsaken.

La Mer Eye Concentrate. I once ran out of this for a day and tried to use something else with out admitting my delinquency. Oh no. Never again.

Benefit F.Y.Eye. My big fear right now is that I think they have discontinued this. I ran out of my last jar and tried another eyeshadow primer. My eye makeups have to last for 14 hours people! Through rain, sleet and snow! (Or in this month's case: Heat!) It was immediately apparent that the new primer wasn't up to the task. LUCKILY Mariska had a jar stashed away and I raided her supply. I am in a panic about running out. F.Y.Eye, please don't leave me! I can't do it without you!

So those are my immortal beloveds. Nothing else will do.

Impromtattoo

2010-07-31T11:33:00.003-04:00

As any of my fellow makeup artists in TV will attest, sometimes we don't always get time to prepare as thoroughly as we'd like. For example, I often get the shooting script the day before we begin filming the episode. The lack of lead-time means we often have to be creative and crafty. Before the first episode of the season, I have to load my equipment into my camper, set up the makeup room, make sure our supplies are stocked and...oh yeah, the script calls for specialty contact lenses and extensive tattoos. And I have one day to get it all ready because they all play first thing on the first day!
For the lenses, I take the actor to Studio Optics at Rockefeller Center. They can make anything from a standard colored contact to a full eyeball burst capillary lens. And luckily, they make it snappy.
The tattoos, however, were trickier. There are several ways to go about tattoos and ideally you have the time and budget to plan, design and test an SFX makeup like that. If they play frequently or if the tattoo is just a single image, a transfer or a stencil is the easiest, fastest way to go. Slap it on, spend a minute or two refining the image, and you're done! But, as I mentioned, that takes time to find/buy or design the transfer or stencil. While I keep a stash of tattoo transfers around for emergencies, the director specifically requested sleeve-style tats - and those have to be custom designed. Because I didn't have lead-time for that, my options were limited to free-hand drawing if I wanted it to look legit. So off to Google I went to find inspirational designs. Free-hand drawing is not my gift, however, so this is a much more difficult option for me. And since it played on two separate days, I had to do it twice! In the end, I used a combination of K.D. 151 Tattoo Pens and Skin Illustrator palettes - both alcohol based paints which don't smudge once they dry, and it seems to have turned out well. After the first day, I mapped the design of the tattoos on her arms on tracing paper, aligning it with certain freckles and moles so I had landmarks for the next time. But I was sweating bullets before each time I had to do it. So hopefully next time I'll have more of a chance to prepare. But where's the fun in that?

Luggage

2010-07-07T12:25:00.003-04:00

So the issue I am possibly most frequently confronted with has to do with the situation going on under our eyes. It's either darkness or puffiness. Sometimes both! What to do?
My mother-in-law recently asked me to write a blog about this and it made me nervous. It is an age old issue. "How do I get rid of my under eye bags?" It is trickier than dealing with under eye darkness because that is easily remedied with a good highlighter (YSL Touche Eclat, Armani Master Corrector). Bags are a whole different conundrum because the issue is more 3-D than color correction. And solving it often takes more than a swipe of eye cream and a sweep of concealer. The old cool cucumber trick does actually help reduce puffiness from crying/waking up too early/too much salt. But you have to sit there like a diva for minutes. Likewise, there are several patches on the market that you put on under your eyes and let the magic potions on them work their, um, magic. The one that Catherine Keener introduced me to is called Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels. I don't know if its the hydrolyzed elastin, acetyl hexapeptide, or the ginko biloba, but it really does seem to help in the mornings when I have someone sitting in my chair that needs that help. (And if you think I know what any of those ingredients actually do, you are sweet and kind.) The patches, however, are $45 for 6 pairs so you have to really want those bags away sooner than later.
My sister-in-law asked me how I felt Preparation-H works, and I had to say "I dunno!". So that is something I am going to have to road test. Warning: she did mention that she HAD tried the Prep-H Gel and that most certainly did NOT decrease puffiness and only left a film of hemorrhoid cream under her eyes. The Glamour Quotient there is exactly O.O
The one thing I will say is that these treatments only help temporary puffiness. If you watched The Notebook and fell asleep crying or ate dinner at a certain fabulous sushi restaurant in TriBeCa and the next morning couldn't even get your engagement ring on let alone fully open your lids due to sodium intake (that might've been me), these methods will help.
But if you are permanently carrying around a piece of luggage under your eyeballs, then it might be fatty deposits that no cosmetic or skin care item will really solve. It IS solvable, however, and is something you can talk to your dermatologist about.
Now come on. Someone must have some hemorrhoid cream stories!

Back to work: Commercial Style

2010-07-07T11:04:00.004-04:00

Two days last week I did a commercial with my friends Dina, a fellow makeup artist and my boss for those 2 days, and Sherry, a lovely and talented hair stylist. I hadn't woken up at 5am for work in 2 months! I also haven't worked on a commercial in about 4 years.
Commercials are a very different vibe from tv/film production. If movies sometimes feel like high school with money, commercials feel more like a corporate board meeting. I'm not sure why. What I like about the picture above is that all the guys are wearing the same exact thing! Like a corporate uniform of brim hats, plaid shirts and cargo shorts.
But it was fun to get back to doing faces! The look on this particular commercial is, as the director put it "Stealth Makeup". The makeup had to look so natural, it couldn't be detected. It can't just look good on camera, it had to look like nothing to the naked eye. So that was a fun challenge - do skin-perfecting makeup that looks like you didn't do anything.
After about an hour and a half of putting the actors through hair and makeup, the three of us from HMU (Hair & Makeup) sat in the sunshine on location in suburban Long Island for the next 10 hours. Occasionally we made sure that people's brows weren't sweaty and that they had enough sunscreen. (Sometimes, during the summer, that is what being a makeup artist becomes: professional sweat mopper/sunscreen applicator. It makes my dad feel very happy he spent a lot of money on my private liberal arts college degree.) It was rough, people. Rough and glamorous.

Lipstains Continued: Josie Maran & Returning to Work

2010-06-29T12:42:00.006-04:00

Just an update after yesterday's blog on lip stains:
Full Disclosure...I am a lip-licker. I have been accused of this by my friend Liz who can put on lipstick and it is still on 4 hours later. That is never gonna happen for me. I bite and lick my lips on an unconciously regular basis. So that is another reason, in addition to being a bright, sheer summery look, why stains work for me. But my habits have been known to take down even the most sincere attempts at tinting my lips. If a lipcolor can last the length of a subway ride, it gets a C+. If it lasts the whole commute and an extra hour, B+. If it can last past a cocktail, A.
Yesterday, I wore Josie Maran's Magic Marker lip stain in Mambo to my sister in law's apartment. It indeed lasted the entire commute and after checking on it post-glass-of-wine, there was still a little bit left although much faded. So I give it an A- for effort. The color was beautiful and it wasn't sticky or drying.

On a completely different note, I am getting ready to head back into work at SVU. It seems that we will be moving stages from our 11-year home base in glamorous North Bergen, NJ to the old Mothership Law & Order stages at Chelsea Piers. It should be different and interesting to shake it up, so we'll see! And it will for sure save on bridge and tunnel tolls - for me at least!
It is interesting, however, how used to having down time I can get. When you do movies for a living, as opposed to TV, they tend to be shorter periods of work and then shorter periods of downtime. That downtime, however, is fraught with the anxiety of "finding the next job!". Our show crew works 10 months straight of 15 hour days and then we get a substantial break. Because we have the show to go back to (for now) it decreases the anxiety of losing one job and having to go find another every few months. Especially in this economy, that is a real gift. But going from being able to see family, friends, movies, and museums to work work work is an adjustment! So I am trying to get into a work frame of mind...I'm even doing a commercial with my friend Dina this week to get my head back in the game. I'll keep you posted.

Ok, anyone reading have some lip stain advice for the rest of us?

Summer Swelter

2010-06-28T12:57:00.004-04:00

So I was asked recently what a girl is to do, makeup-wise, in this heat! It is humid and sticky and, while I personally believe that it gives you that dewey glow that we are always trying to achieve, sometimes I understand, you want glow and makeup to not melt off your face.
My main two ideas to beat this heat are:
1.) Use less! Instead of my winter routine of rich creme, sunblock and foundation, I put those on the shelf and bust out the tinted moisturizer with spf. I have praised the La Mer SPF 18 Fluid Tint
but if you want a less costly option, buy a squeeze tube from Duane Reade, put a little bit of whatever L'Oreal True Match base matches you, and mix it with Oil of Olay Complete Defense Daily UV Lotion with SPF 30. (Olay has some of the absolute best bang for your buck and this particular version is a light, daily summer style lotion.) By cutting back on your products, you will feel cleaner and the makeup has more room to absorb.

2.) Stains! Makeup does not mean foundation alone. If you want color but want it to stay where you put it, consider a stain. I am a big fan because it makes bright colors wearable but because they are sheer, they don't make your cheeks or lips look like they are SCREAMING for attention. I love love love love love the Tarte cheekstains, as I am sure I have written. The colors are great and they really do last on the cheeks. And I likewise love Benetint and Poseytint. Especially in combination. Now I am on the hunt for the best lip stains. While the colors in the new Covergirl Outlast Lipstains are fun (and those ads with Drew are gorgeous), they do not outlast anything. Soooooo, I recently invested in a slew of new lipstains and I will be reporting back to you about which do what best.
The ones I bought are:
Josie Maran Magic Marker in Mambo
Tokidoki Fantastico Lip Ink (I had never heard of it but love the silliness, so lets see!) in Cactus Friends
Tarte (I know, I know, why don't I just marry Tarte) Lipstain Pencil in Joy
Benetint PocketPal

So I will wear one every day this week and see how they do. Ill keep you posted. Stay Fresh!

Eyes First

2010-06-21T17:06:00.002-04:00

So sometimes, when I am doing someone's makeup for the first time, I get about 10 minutes in and they nervously ask "Did you forget to put any foundation or concealer on me?"
No Silly! I always start with the eyes. Remember those beauty magazine articles that told us to put a heavy application of loose powder under the eyes to protect your perfectly applied concealer from any falling eyeshadow? Just sweep it, and any stray shadow, away! Yeah right, and why don't you just put an age-stipple under there too while you're at it.
Why have we been told to do our concealer BEFORE our eye makeup?? A lot of makeup artists I know do the same thing: EYES FIRST yes, its nice to have a clean canvas of perfectly primed skin to start from, but it won't stay that way once that new Burburry Khaki eyeshadow has fallen where you didn't mean it to. Eyes First allows me to really get in there and do what I need to do on the lid and underneath the eye, stick a swab in a bottle of Lancome eye makeup remover (yes, its the best), and sweep up where makeup is not meant to be.
Sometimes, when doing my own face, I will do whatever eye makeup I plan on wearing before I have even moisturized. In the sticky, hot humidity that is Summer in NYC, I have trouble pulling my eyelid taught in order to put on eyeliner if I already have sunscreen on my face and hands. Conversely, if doing makeup on a client, I moisturize first and the time it takes for me to do their eyes has allowed the moisturizer to soak in.
Voila! Perfectly perfect eyes and no concealer re-do.

Spritz!

2010-06-14T15:44:00.011-04:00

In this weather, we could all use some refreshment. I know it might all seem like fancy, overpriced water, but I love a good spritz. After a long day in the sun, hours on a plane, or 14 hours in a sound stage in NJ, a refreshing spray of mist can wake up your makeup, open your eyes, soothe your skin, and relax your nerves. All that from a bottle of over-priced water!

The most ubiquitous in the biz that can be used from everything to wetting a cake eyeliner to applying fake sweat (when combined with glycerin) to cooling an actor down is the Evian spray. This is, literally, water in a can. But the genius behind the marketing ploy is that it disperses the mist in a fine, gentle spray - so different from a hose to the face.

Dermalogica has several toners in spritz form but I love the Soothing Protection Spray because it smells delicious and, as I mentioned in Double Duty, completely refreshes your makeup and gives a dewey glow.

Caudalie Beauty Elixer and Shu Uemura Depsea Water Facial Mist (I spelled it right, its Depsea) are another two favorites and during a heatwave, there is nothing better. They smell great, hydrate, and are also really helpful when an actor has unseasonal wardrobe to prevent them from passing out or to make an actor feel cared for after s/he has taken off their makeup.

Refreshing! Couldn't we all use a little bit of refreshment right now?

Continuing Education

2010-06-14T14:01:00.005-04:00

So, last week I took an advanced airbrushing seminar at Kett Studios, and as they warned me, it kicked my butt. I do have an airbrush and I do know that it could be useful...did that mean I used it? Um, no, it did not. But SVU is on hiatus currently and so I used some of my free time to improve my skills with the airbrush. Let me tell you, it was harder than I thought it would be!

Airbrush makeup can be used to many results. For beauty, it is a technique to give a smooth, even and minimal application of foundation/contour/what have you. The micro-droplets of foundation float from the gun through the air and disperse themselves, settling gently and evenly on your skin. You know, that "airbrushed" look!
While I was there to learn that, I was particularly interested in learning some of the less pretty aspects of airbrushing: veining for corpse makeups, creation of freckles/sun damage/age spots, covering large surface areas with makeup quickly, and tattoo covering (Sheila, one of the artist/instructors/Kett founders, utterly vanished a tattoo, armed only with a knowledge of color theory, some amazing foundations and her airbrush).
Even the retail beauty industry is trying to market it for personal use at home as evidenced by this New York Times article.

The class began with a demo where Roque, my other artist/instructor/founder, did a full beauty makeup combining traditional makeup techniques with airbrush, all the while explaining how to control the gun and application. It seemed so easy!

Then onto learning the "dash and dot" technique - methods to control the dispersion of the makeup from the gun. You can't just hold that gun up and shoot! Once we had some control, it was on to face charts. Again, Roque demonstrated...piece of cake! Um, not so much: as evidenced by some of my earlier charts (see above), it is gonna take me a few more days (weeks? months??) to get those techniques down comfortably. Airbrushing skin tone makeup on skin is more forgiving than onto white paper. It really let me see when I was getting it right and when I had done that chart wrong.

Just when I was beginning to feel like a total hack, we moved onto doing actual makeup on one another. There was only one other makeup artist in the seminar with me and we both got a little more confident once we got going.

All and all, it is a skill that has a wide range of uses which I am very interested in continuing to develop and I really enjoyed the class. It also taught me that it is OK to not know everything - someone else might know it and might be willing to teach it to you!

Thanks Kett!

Fave Sunscreens!

2010-06-07T12:00:00.004-04:00

I know, I know: it has been hot. If you are like me, you are basking in it. If you are like my Cleveland-bred husband, you are sweltering. But let me tell you how glowing your skin looks in the humidity! Who needs product when the air itself provides you with that dewy glow!

The glorious weather has gotten me thinking about something very specific: Sunscreen. I try to wear it every day now that I am no spring chicken anymore. And not just on my face. Dont neglect what my friends and I call "The Leather Bib" - you know, that area of your chest that is often exposed by an open collar or t-shirt? That gets as much sun as anything and I regret I wasn't more vigilant sooner.

But there are so many different types out there. There are the 80's style zinc based sunscreens which are still adorable on the tips of little kids noses but maybe not for the chic, sophisticated Pigment Reader. Sunscreens with Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxides, however, are great for sensitive skin even if it takes a little more effort to rub in. They are also the main sunblock in any foundation that has SPF. Dermalogica makes a great one called Super Sensitive Faceblock.

Then there are ingredients like Helioplex, Cell-OX Shield, which are in the new high SPF sunscreens like La Roche-Posay Anthelios and Neutrogena lines - two of my faves for their ease of application and high protection.

Then there are fabulous makeup sunscreens like La Mer's The SPF 18 Fluid Tint that my makeup artist friend Dina introduced me to. It gives sheer, but very effective, dewy coverage, and takes care of your sunscreen needs. Even on the leather bib! Or, if you love your foundation and want to SPF it up, add a little bit of Dermalogica's Solar Defense Booster and you are all set!

Word to the wise, however, no sunscreen gives the level of protection that you think you are getting because we generally don't put enough on. So don't necessarily count on that SPF 70+ to keep you protected for 3 days straight. I carry a little bottle around with me at all times - the sprays or the little sample bottles are great for this - just so I don't give my Dermatologist a reason to chastise me!

Have Safe Sun!

Weddings

2010-06-02T11:20:00.007-04:00

Now I would not call myself a Wedding Makeup Artist, but chances are, if I like you and I am invited to your wedding, I am going to offer to do your makeup - like it or not. (And I won't take it personally if you say, "no thanks") When it is a friend or family member, its a great chance to spend time with the bride on her biggest day and (hopefully) help make her feel relaxed and beautiful.
Unless the bride has a specific idea in mind, I tend to go for the "You Only Better" look, as my sister coined it. The groom wants to recognize whoever is charging down the aisle at him so the look shouldn't be drastically different from everyday. I like to smooth out and polish up the skin, pop the lashline as much as possible and only use waterproof mascara. No matter how much the bride swears she isn't gonna cry. A stain under any non-sticky gloss helps keep lips tinted even after the groom ruins the shine. I particularly like the Tarte Rise and Shine plumping lip stain and gloss duo.
If the wedding has a particular aesthetic - for example a friend's recent wedding had a distinct 30's flavor - add something to tie the look in, like a distinct smudgy eyeline. But in general, if your bride wears little makeup regularly, you don't want to throw a dark lipstick and smoky eye on her.

Don't Be Nervous!

2010-06-02T11:06:00.004-04:00

A Makeup Artist should not only be able to do makeup on a face like their own.

I am always surprised, as a white woman in her 20's, when a non-white or mature client responds with pleasant surprise that I was able to do a makeup on them that they felt comfortable in. I wouldn't be much of an artist if I only knew how to do makeup on white women in their 20's, would I?

That being said, there are some common mistakes that I've witnessed with doing deeper skin tones and more mature skin, which gives reason to aforementioned nervousness.

Not having the right base for a black/south asian/mediterranean complexion will throw off the whole face, possibly leaving you with an ashy or orange subject. NG.
Many cosmetics companies aren't jumping to include a diverse color range in their bases but RCMA has a shade for ANYONE. You can even mix a shade if need be. There is no excuse for a Makeup Artist to not have makeup that works on any potential client.
Another product in particular that my 2nd in command at SVU introduced me to and that works for anyone is the Kett Sett No-Color setting powder. I looked at her like she was insane when she took it out to set a particularly dark toned actress's face - the powder is as white as newly fallen snow. But it blends into nothingness and sets like nobody's business. From Karen Elson to Alec Wek.

With a more mature face, you want everything to look soft, smooth and lifted. (And bring those lashes back) You want everything to point up. And using products that are too sparkly will enhance crepe-y or wrinkled skin and only serves to highlight signs of age. Eyeshadow with a soft, subtle shimmer (Shu Uemura and Lorac are good for this) work well to blend and soften lids. Think Vaseline on the lens.

Two Tones?

2010-06-02T11:03:00.000-04:00

I am not trying to get you to buy more products, I swear. But maybe consider 2 shades of base?
Observing people's natural pigment patterns has led me to adapt a technique for really highbeaming the features on a face. Many of my darker-hued actors have several different tones in their face: the hairline and periphery is noticeably darker than the center of their face. We love this. We want to keep this but scrub it up so it is shiny and gorg.
Subtly accentuating - or even creating - this feature, with highlights and contours, is a fabulous way to bring focus, warmth and brightness to a person. Its like shining a youthful spotlight in the middle of the face.
On a lighter skin tone, I might match the base to their skin and then use a highlighter (like YSL Touche Eclat) from the inner corner of the eye, down the side of the nose and blend it out to the apples of the cheeks.
On a darker complexion, I might use two bases - a lighter one for the center of the face and darker shade for the periphery, and then use a deep bronzer around the edge of the face and on the bridge of the nose.
It is such an easy but very effective way to make you look like YOU! Only Better!

Tough Economic Times

2009-05-18T10:59:00.001-04:00

Just because the stock market is down and the banks are collapsing doesn't mean your look needs to be bailed out. There are lots of lower cost makeup items that I stock my kit with not only because they are economical, but also because they work the best. One industry secret is that the drugstore companies like L'Oreal, Revlon, and Maybelline spend millions of dollars researching and developing mascaras so that you and I can have luxurious lashes at a fraction of the price. (This year, L'Oreal will spend 507 million euros on research alone.)

So with all those bucks gunning to blast up your lashes or smooth out your skin tone, I thought I would put my 2 cents in to suggest lower cost beauty products that aren't a sacrifice.

A favorite mascara in many makeup artists kits is Dior Show. It is fabulous at achieving both volume and length. However, for half the cost, L'Oreal Voluminous achieves the same thing. They both have big, thick brushes to really envelop and coat the lash all the way to the lashline AND the waterproof versions happens to be my favorite overall.

Another Duane Reade alternative is in, of all things, foundation. You can't sacrifice on your base because a bad match in color or texture will throw off the rest of your look. However, if it is lower cost AND no sacrifice, then you get the best of both worlds. For someone with good skin looking for medium coverage of redness or slight blemishes, L'Oreal True Match (no, I do not work for L'Oreal, but I do like these products) has a huge range of shades to match any skin tone and it leaves a skin finish very similiar to Armani's Luminous Silk Foundation.

I will post more cost cutting alternatives soon. Now take all those savings and put it into an interest bearing account!

Ruts

2009-04-20T22:00:00.001-04:00

One thing that I try to avoid is a makeup rut. When you get stuck doing the same thing over and over again, you sometimes cant see that a look has started wearing you. I avoid this every season by purchasing one new item of makeup and designing a look around it for myself. Last season it was Smashbox Muse Blush Rush, a peachy coral blush that was warm and bright at the same time. So for that look, I layered on the mascara, put on a peachy lip stain and let the cheeks be the focus. For spring, I dyed my hair Red so I am making my makeup all about making sure my face doesn't wash out: Operation Bold Lashline: Armani Maestro Liquid Liner and L'oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black.
At work, as a Makeup Artist, it is even more important that I don't get stuck in a rut. At SVU we work so fast that we don't have a lot of time for makeup changes so most characters maintain the same makeup look throughout the show. This can turn pretty boring, however, when you do the same people's makeup the same way every day 9 months a year. So I like to joke (sort-of) with my actresses that I have had a "vision" about their makeup and so we should try something new. I have never had anyone say "no, no, lets stick with the same old thing" and its good for me because it forces me to see them in a fresh way.
The truth is that as I am falling asleep at night, I am often thinking of how I could tweak something, refine something, or incorporate a technique or product to improve the makeup. That's why I am only sort-of joking when I tell them I have had a vision - no need to have people worry that I am obsessed. Although I suppose the cat's out of the bag now. And I am lucky that i get to work on so many faces multiple times. Recently I changed Stephanie March's (ADA Alex Cabot) makeup from a very polished and conservative look that I realized was getting lost behind her glasses to a makeup that didn't contour her lid at all but instead concentrated all the oomph on making her eyes pop with a single pale shell shimmer as the only thing on her lid and a fierce lashline. She sparkled. And it came to me just before my heavy lids overpowered my "vision" and I drifted off to beauty sleep.

Tales from the Trenches: cop lips

2009-04-05T21:58:00.007-04:00

So, one thing that I always have to take into consideration besides "does it look fabulous up close and under the lights" is "does it look fabulous (or fabulously gory and real) once the film stock is processed and color corrected?" For years on SVU, we were using a particular film stock that pops bright colors - especially pinks and reds - and makes them look fluorescent. Which makes fake blood look vivacious but sometimes can be tricky if an actor or actress has particularly rosy lips. Mariska naturally has the color lip that people buy lip stains to achieve. However, since she plays a detective on the beat, its not necessarily in character for Benson to have taken the time to paint her lips that stunning shade of vibrant burgundy-rose. Instead, we use nude (or as we say: "nudie") lipstick to make it look like she has no lipstick on at all. After 10 years of searching, the perfect lip combo for her is MAC Whirl lip pencil - the exact color of her lip - to define them, and either Shu Uemura BG934 or Cle Du Peau 121 Extra Silky lipsticks which have the perfect "nudie-ness" and moisture for natural, film stock/cop appropriate lips.

Pro Palettes

2009-03-08T19:33:00.001-04:00

As someone who often has to schlep her makeup kit (a.k.a. her livelihood) around from job to job, I value products that are concise and condensed. A palette that contains 20 different shades of foundation is much more portable than packing 20 different bottles. Or a palette with 15 different neutral eye shadows that can be mixed to create a wide variety of looks is more efficient than a bag of individual shadows. This being said, it is hard to find palettes full of useful products. You know what I mean: you buy a palette around the holidays and in a few months a couple of shades are worn through to the bottom but the others are untouched. Whether you are a pro or a makeup aficionado who likes to do her friends up, the following are a few of the palettes that I can throw in a bag and feel fully supplied:

RCMA Foundation Palette
-Tops for being able to mix and match any skin tone. Its creamy but not greasy consistency means it works with almost anyone. Not particularly glam but very, very helpful.

Viseart Eyeshadow Palette
-The neutrals in this palette lend itself to creating any look - from beauty to special effects. Highlight, shadow, fill in eyebrows, smoke out an eye or even use the greys and brick shades to make someone look tired or slightly bruised. I literally always carry it with me in case of a makeup emergency!

Lorac Croc Palette
-For some reason this eyeshadow/blush combination of warm, shimmery pinks, bronzes and a deep brown works on everyone. I don't know why, I don't question it, I just use it.

Sephora Brand Harmony Palette
-Soft nudes and pinks that you can mix and match to achieve any shiny nudie mouth for anybody.

Tales from the Trenches: Tan in a Can

2009-03-08T19:03:00.001-04:00

My friend Roxanne Rizzo makes an amazing spray tan for face AND body called Bronze Glow. It is the perfect cross between bronzer and self tanner. It lasts a day or two - so longer than makeup - but if you mess up (you've either seen it or done it to yourself, orange palms) it comes off in the shower (but not on your clothes). This one little can make even the palest winter bedraggled skin tone look like it just got back from a week in Miami. CIA ops probably use it to blend in to exotic locales so it doesn't look like they just flew from their desk at the Pentagon. You just hold the can a couple of inches away from your face and body and spritz (post exfoliation, of course). Layer it for a deeper tone or just do one dusting to warm up your pale face. It beats skin cancer.

The spray tan also saved me on the film Please, Give. Written into the script was the idea that one of the main characters was an "overtanner". We all know one. That person for whom you want to stage an intervention between them and their tanning bed/bronzer. Production was worried it would have to pay to send this actress to the salon to get spray tanned every week. As a low budget indie, they were not psyched at that idea, nor was my busy leading lady excited to have to go to the salon every week to literally be stuck in the super tan skin of her character. But my handy can of tan came to the rescue! Every day she worked, we would use a tan foundation on her face (Armani Luminous Silk 5.5 mixed with Makeup Forever in Camel) and then I would spray tan her body. I had to spray about 6 layers to get it past the point of "sexy, warm tan" to "whoa, that chick likes to tan". But because its such a great spray, it probably took about 3-4 minutes to acheive a full-body-super-dark tan. I realized how much my leading lady took the speed and ease of it for granted the day I was spraying her bod down and she told me "Hurry it up, toots!" Hurry up, indeed! To Roxanne's website!

WELCOME

2009-03-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

Hey! Welcome to PIGMENT: An insider's look at the world of makeup.

While there are plenty of blogs out there in the stratosphere devoted to the best concealers or cutest packages, the information is mostly coming from makeup enthusiasts rather than professionals. If you want a pro's word, you probably have to pick up a beauty magazine (and even then, some of those tips and reviews have been bought and sold). But these are tough times boys and girls! Who wants to spend $3.95 on Cosmo when you can get the latest and cutest from your friends here at PIGMENT.

My name is Becca and I have been a professional makeup artist for 10 years. I am currently the Makeup Department Head at Law and Order: SVU and I freelance when the show isn't shooting (which is not very often as fans of syndicated TV are aware). The best part of being a makeup artist in film and television is the balance between character makeups, beauty makeups and special effects. Spending my days messing around with all sorts of faces, powders and potions has expanded my understanding of products, techniques, off-label uses (if you dare), and of course, this industry leaves me with plenty of Tales from the Trenches.

So keep visiting PIGMENT for the insider's look at the business of looking great!

Makeup Manifesto

2009-03-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

You would never know it from looking at all the stuff I schelpp around on a regular basis, but one question I always ask myself is: How can I be doing LESS? Now, if my boss is reading this, I don't mean on the effort front. What I mean is, how can I achieve the look I am striving for in as little time and as few products as possible? Even people who love to have their makeup professionally done don't particularly appreciate the underlying idea that it takes them an hour in the makeup chair to be "done". (And certainly from a film/TV perspective, no producer prefers having their actor sitting in a makeup chair for 45 minutes when they could be done just as well in 25.) Who wants to put on lip liner, lipstick and lip gloss for pouty perfection when there might be the perfect lipstick out there that does all three? More on this later in my Double Duty postings.

Another question I am frequently asked by friends and strangers everywhere is "What makeup do I NEEEEEEEED?" To this, my answer is always the same: You don't NEED anything. You are beautiful just the way your mommy made you. No, that is not bull. You will not die if you leave the house without mascara. That being said, does it feel nice to look polished and put together? Yes. Does buying a $20 lip gloss sometimes act as the perfect pick-me-up? Yes, that's why Sephora does well even in fiscally troubled times. But people! You don't NEED it. So going forward, any information is to be taken with the grain of salt that this is all FUN. Makeup is not something to be intimidated or stressed out by. OK?

I might be locked up by certain makeup artists for making this little manifesto, but so be it.

Tales from the Trenches: duo lash

2009-03-01T19:07:00.001-05:00

Now you might know by now that Pigment is big on multi-purpose products. But just like how old-school makeup artists will tell you stories of how they used toilet paper, banana and some frosted flakes to create brain matter for some head wound in some movie, not every product's double life is so cute!

I was the Makeup Department Head on the recently released film Please, Give which had some very fun character makeups. I can say that now since it all turned out well but one gave me a little anxiety. The daughter of two of the leads was scripted to be battling a bad case of pubescent acne. I worried on both fronts. Either they would cast an actress who did indeed have acne, in which case, when she sat in my chair hoping to be reassured by her makeup artist's many beauty techniques, I would have to push her out telling her she looked "perfect already". That, OR they would cast some sweetie with perfect skin and I would have to apply makeup acne to her face every day and she would learn to loathe me. Oh dear! Well it turned out they cast the latter and I couldn't have been luckier. Sarah Steele is the cutest cute that was ever cute and her skin could not be more radiant. (And the lady can act) Fortunately for me, her previous role required a fat suit as Adam Sandler's awkward daughter in Spanglish. So "real" once again had to trump "glamour".

Now DuoLash is a wonder product that I use every single day on SVU applying strip lashes to strippers or individual lashes to bump up the power of a lashline. Just drag the base of the fake lashes through and stick 'em into your lashline and they will stay there until you wash your face (More on "please don't overdo false lashes" later). But we discovered that a combination of pinkish-red makeup stippled onto Sarah's face, accompanied by scattered dots of DuoLash throughout gave the perfectly unfortunate effect of teenage acne. Once dry, a little gob of Duo looks squeamishly like a big 'ol whitehead.

Just because its a makeup product doesn't mean devious minds can't devise other off-label uses. Do you think Duo will start marketing this use of it's product?

Double Duty: contour

2009-03-01T18:34:00.002-05:00

When I am really trying to put together a face for the camera, I am not just looking at what colors or shades are best on a client, I am also looking at where to put them. Taking facial structure into account is CRUCIAL in makeup application. As someone who someday dreams of having cheekbones, therefore, I am a big fan of contouring.

Anyone who has read one of Kevyn Aucoin's books (or seen J. Lo's face) is already a little familiar with how using darker or brighter shades on the face can highlight or recede certain shapes. But not everyone has 45 different foundations or the time to apply them. Nor does contour need to be drag-queen-y or only look right in a photo, head on, with proper lighting.

This being said, no one wants to take a highlighter and sharpie to their face to create/enhance/deflect certain shapes. In my career I have always been on the prowl to find the ideal contouring shades. Bronzers are great to finish a face but often they have too much orange, red, brown, or shimmer to act as a proper contour. My fave unisex (that's right fellas, we know you want a little square jaw action) shade is WEDGE, by MAC. A neutral taupe, its great for fair to medium skin tones because it isn't too brown and it isn't too gray. Use a tapered brush to create a subtle crease in your lid or an angled blush brush at the base of your jaw to give the illusion of shadow there. It can even be used to shade the tip or bridge of a nose.

Some products that give good cheekbone (my dream!) are NARS NINOTCHKA and ZEN and BENEFIT HOOLA. All three have a quality that seems like a deeper level of real skin tone. And all of them are flat - meaning no shimmer. Ninotchka for the fairer, Zen more medium, and Hoola for a deeper or olive complexion. (If you have a deeper complexion that that, using highlighter, rather than a dark contour is a better bet. More on this later) Just use that same angled blush brush (Chanel makes a beauty) and sweep down your cheeks UNDER the area you would place your blush and blend down and out. Stop before you hit the apples of your cheeks.

Well, isn't your face shapely!

Double Duty

2009-03-01T18:20:00.001-05:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am constantly looking for products that can do double duty to save time and energy. But lets think outside the tinted moisturizer as tint AND moisturizer! mentality. I love products like Tarte Cheekstains because they not only provide fresh, sheer long lasting color for your cheeks but if you pucker up, it's a great stain for your lips. Magically, there are several other stains out there: Benefit's Benetint is the cute, pink, mothership, and PosieTint is the Skipper to Benetint's Barbie, but Tarte gets the prize for having the widest range of super flattering shades. And did I mention that it lasts despite all its dewy sheerness? That and a little mascara and you have a fully polished face in 2 (count em!) products. Perfect for when you have 3 minutes before leaving to do errands on a Saturday.

Aquaphor is another double duty-er. Yes, that ultra un-glam blue and white tube that will help heal your scars or diaper rash is a great emollient if you want to protect your lips from windburn OR create that sheen-y highlight above your eyebrow. (Not for people with oily skin, but if you are a dry face, like me, having a moisturizing product that does double duty as a highlight, get on it!)

Dermalogica Soothing Protection Spray is on my list too. Sure it's great to restore your PH balance after washing your face. And SURE it smells like a Tuscan lavender field. But what if you have been wearing your makeup for 7 hours and you need to wear it for another 7 but you don't want your makeup to look 14 hours old? Well, my pet, you only need to spritz your face 2-3 times with this and your face will return to all its "beginning of the day" freshness. I don't know how, but somehow it reactivates your makeup without mushing it up.

And along those lines, La Mer The Eye Concentrate, does the same thing around the delicate undereye area. Put it on in the morning with the little metal roller doo-dad and your eyes are hydrated and depuffed and your face smells like a cucumber. But put a dab on a concealer brush mid-day or before going out in the evening, and gently pat it over your under eye area. The gel will mix with your concealer but fear not, in a minute or two, the moisture will have soaked right into your skin leaving your concealer right where you put it the first time only rehydrated and refreshed.

Don't you look FRESH!