Taking a little break

Hello hotties! Life has gotten busy girls & I'm going to be away for awhile. I've decided to keep the blog up in the meantime in case I find the time again in the future. Wedding season is here & other obligations are keeping me busy for the time being, but I wanted to send my love to you all and let you know how I miss you & am sending you love. Again, thank you for everything...you all have helped me so much to get to where I am. I love you all! xoxo

Update & Gorg Gifts

Hey sweethearts! I'm so sorry its been so long. For those of you who follow me on Twitter, I wanted to thank you for your understanding and support. My father had been hospitalized and since has been released and is O.K. During the last week I had the wonderful opportunity to meet the sweetest beauty blogger, Sanny who happened to come down to the L.A. area for a visit. We had a chance to chill, tour LA, eat Korean BBQ, and sit in traffic (sorry hun!). Its been so long since I had to sit in traffic on the 405 that I had forgotten how bad it can get. Fortunately for me, I had the best companion. The next day my sister notified me that my father had been hospitalized and that has been my priority for the past several days. In the midst of all of this, I received some well timed packages and totally unexpected gifts. I just wanted to share it since I just loved everything so much.

First my package from Steph! Ay girl I love your jewelry so much! The crystals are sooooo hot. And really, they just look so beautiful. She sent me this gorgeous necklace in the prettiest shade of purple. I'm telling you her jewelry is sexy ladies. If you haven't yet, please check out her super hot bling. DSK Jewelry I also got a CD with some jams! This was so perfect babe...I've been cruising around town listening to this one...thank you mamas! xoxo

My next gift was twofold...not only did I get to hang out and meet Miss Sanny, but she surprised me with all of these goodies! I've already started playing with the glosses and they have a delicious texture. You know I've actually never tried Smashbox glosses and they totally rock. I'm in love. Thank you gorgeous! I already miss you girl!

And finally...this one totally floored me. Wuzzy somehow got my address and I received this incredible package. You really didn't have to sweety! I was so touched and thank you! I couldn't help but love the makeup bag...it has the cutest yorkie pic on it and as a yorkie owner this was such a sweet touch! OMG...and every last crevice of the package was filled with goodies. I am soooo excited to play! Thank you so so much Wuz!

Really I love you guys so much. Everything you guys say and do has touched my life in so many ways. I feel extremely fortunate to have met each one of you guys. OK...I'm off to check out blogs & whats been goin on now. Thank you all for everything! xoxo

Bridal/Prom makeup, MAC Color Ready inspired eye & Latisse

Hello hotties! This is a prom/bridal look that was half completed by yours truly & half completed by my beautiful & talented classmate Stephanie. Some of the products used include MAC Full Coverage Foundations (NC35 & NC 25 mixed); Cinema Secrets 302, Cinema Secrets Translucent Powder, MAC Underage Lipliner, MAC Dollymix Blush, NYX Lipstick in Ceto, MAC lipgloss in She Loves Candy, MAC Refined Golden Bronzer, NYX, an assortment of purple, gray, & lavender eyeshadows (Coastal Scents, MAC & others from Stephanie's kit), MUFE Aqua Eyes in OL.

Also, while playing around the other day I was inspired by the MAC Color Ready postcard I received in the mail. For this look, I used all colors from the Coastal Scents 78 color palette for the entire look. Foundation used was RCMA Porcelain.

I also picked up Latisse the other day! I've heard such great things about how much lash growth you can get with this stuff so I decided to give it a try. I have fairly long lashes already, but they are definitely sparse & stick straight. Maybe this will add a little oomph! ;)

I hope you guys are doing great & I'm sending love to you all! xoxo

How I pack my makeup/set bag for class & my fav brushes

Hi hotties! You guys are all too sweet. I couldn't have met a more amazing & thoughtful group of sexy people! Thank you all for the super sweet birthday wishes. It totally warmed my heart & made my day. I love you guys!

Upon request...here's how I pack my bag for class. Instead of lugging my traincases, I thought it would be easier to grab a set bag that I can use later. This one I found from Japonesque and can be found at Naimie's or Alcone online. Its a pretty decent size and I can surprisingly fit a lot inside. Depending on what additional stuff is required for each class, I just simply swap some of the things out. If you want an excellent video on packing one of these, I really recommend checking out the ever talented & beautiful RenRen and her incredible YouTube vids (MakeupbyRenRen). She has an awesome one on how she packs her set bag & traincase that is much more thorough than my starter baby I tote around to school.

This one features 3 external pockets on the front, 3 external pockets on the back & one on each side.

Japonesque Set Bag

Front Pocket Contents (Left to Right): MAC Prep & Prime, hand sanitizer, RCMA Foundation Thinner, Fix+, spray bottles for alcohol & water

Side Pocket Contents: tissue, wet face wipes, blot sheets, alcohol wipes, stainless steel palettes, MAC wipes

Back Pocket Contents (Left to Right): Altoids, breath drops, Complete Blink & Clear for contact lens wearers, Visene, Parian Spirit brush cleaner, MAC stackable jars with various Kiehl's moisturizers

Second Side Pocket Contents: Rhinestones, Parian Spirit brush cleaner, hair clip, cellulose sponges, face paint, glitter & glitter liners

As for the brushes, I have about 2 sets currently of each style of brush, often by different brands. This lets me rotate clean brushes with a set of dirty brushes for classes. My favorite ones are mostly by Stila or MAC. I love the Stila #9, my Sonia Kashuk blending brush, & my MAC 224 all equally for blending brushes. For shader brushes, I prefer my MAC 239 to the Stila #5 brush largely because the Stila brush is much larger, but they are both wonderful brushes. My favorite powder brush however is the Stila#21 (soooo soft!) over any of the MAC powder brushes that I own. Another favorite brush is the MAC 184 fan brush that I also use for blush, bronzer & highlighters. The MAC 266 & the Stila #18 are both fab angled brushes. For cream bases, I love the golden taklon brushes from Loew-Cornell and use them for everything from concealor, for lipsticks, for cream eyeshadows, paint pots, paints, & primers. Lastly another fav for detail eye work is the MAC 219 and the CVS Essence of Beauty crease & blender brushes.

MAC brush belt w/assorted clean brushes

Set bag - top view

Palettes

Toccare cape & disposables in plastic tackle box

Toccare clear bag w/other makeup products

Last but not least, my bf's incredible sister surprised me with her "psychic powers" on my birthday and got me this jacket I've been checking out online for the last couple weeks. The bf has the most wonderful family ever who I love so much. Apparently the bf was paying attention and clued the sis in. I was so touched. Just goes to show how guys pay attention even when we think they're not! ;)

I'm sending my love back to all of you! xoxo

Class Makeover, Brow Tutorial, & 2nd Award ;)

Hey hotties! Thank you so much for all of your ongoing encouragement! I'm officially halfway done with my makeup artistry certification class. I actually remembered this week to bring the camera and snap a pic of the makeup I did this week. As for my lovely model, I used RCMA foundation in KO4 mixed with KO5 & highlighted areas with KO3. I sheered down the foundation with RCMA foundation thinner since my classmate model happened to have amazing skin that I wanted to still show. Most of the bright colors are from my Coastal Scents palettes (that I happen to love for bright and vibrant colors). A rhinestones & glitter later & voila!

I also finally got around to doing the requested eyebrow tutorial. Really I do a pretty simple brow with a defined arch using a MAC 266 angled brush (any small stiff angled brush will do). My favorite choices for filling in my brows is to use the Stila brow powder duo, or lately my ELF brow duo kit in dark. I just love this little bargain find for the great wax that reminds me of Benefit's brow kit. Before anything, I try to get my brows professionally shaped every 2 weeks. Depending on my mood or schedule, sometimes I will opt for a quick shaping by waxing & trimming. Other times when I need to go somewhere right after, I ask for them to be shaped by razor & trimming. My brows are what I like to call a "work in progress" that all too readily will revert to shapelessness without regular maintenance.

Step-by-step brow defining:

1.) First I dip my angled brow brush into a little bit of the waxy side of the duo kit (or when using powders, the darker of the two shades). Since my brows tend to have uneven growth in the middle area, this helps to darken those areas. I start in the middle of the brow and use short brush strokes in the direction of hair growth from the middle section back towards the arch of the brow. I then go over this area again by dipping in some more of the wax, and smoothing down stray hairs as much as possible.

2.) Second, I then take a bit of the powder and again go over this area now that the stray hairs have been tamed and a general shape is more visible. I then take the brush is a couple of long light strokes down and out toward the hairline (not down towards the eye too much) to create the tail of the brow where my eyebrows are the most sparse. To find out where you should extend your brows down to, take a pen and run it from the corner of your nose out to the outer corner of the eye. Right above that you should see where the brow should end. 3.) I then take the same brush without grabbing more product and smooth the brush in light small brush strokes over the front/inner part of the brow to gently fill in. If more product is needed, I carefully dip the brush lightly back into the wax and apply to the front/inner part of the brow (closest to my nose). 4.) Depending on the look, sometimes I will repeat steps if I'm looking for a more dramatic eye. Pencil also is a wonderful option for creating a more defined brow or for filling in brows when your hair color is a blend of several different shades (for example, brunette with red or burgundy highlights). In the event that a softer looking brow is desired, a lighter brunette powder can be used (and for blonde's I love the MAC eyeshadow color Omega for brows). The arch can also be somewhat modified or rounded for different looks.

Last but not least...I was tagged by these amazing beauties:

Glamour Me Up

Hairs to Beauty

Valiohh

Jenn

JesMakeup

SwatchCrazee

(I hope I remembered everyone!;)

This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog’s content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant.“When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to the said person so everyone knows she/he is real. Choose a minimum of seven (7) blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who you are because you don’t have seven friends. Show the seven random victims’ names and links and leave a harassing comment informing them that they were prized with Honest Weblog. Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. List at least ten (10) honest things about yourself. Then pass it on!”

10 Honest things about me:

1. I've recently started cutting out most red meat from my diet and replacing it with wild salmon & fish whenever possible.
2. I have a crazy mixed ethnicity family that I love and who have taught me to embrace differences. I've grown up embracing diversity as a norm and thank my family for that.

3. I never saw any Asians growing up...only on TV and in books. I knew they existed besides myself but only met one in real life in college. Which brings me to....

4. I've grew up hoping that someday I would have at least 1 Asian friend.
5. I sleep on my back all night every night lately...and somehow don't move most nights.

6. I have freckles and cover them all the time;)

7. I used to drive too fast and now probably drive too slow.

8. I love Pepperidge Farm cookies & goldfish crackers!

9. I genuinely find that I really care about people and what they are going through.

10. I'm afraid of laser eye surgery but probably should just do it already.

And now I'd like to tag these hot bloggers:

1.) Sanniet

2.) Ji

3.) Javy

4.) Linea

5.) Ange

6.) Beauty Chest

7.) BittenBefore

I hope the tut helped & thank you ladies from my heart for the tag award! xoxo

Makeovers & 1st Face Charts & Award :)

Hey gorgeous girls! I'm having a blast in class these days & have been really busy but wanted to share some of the things I've been busy with during the last week. I need to remember to take my camera so I can show you what fun I'm having with my classmates. They have all been so wonderful to practice on!

Outside of school, first I worked this week on doing makeup for 2 gorgeous girls, a mother & daughter combo who were sweet enough to let me share their looks.

On mom we went for something dramatic & fun using Deep Truth eyeshadow from MAC, lots of smokey Carbon for an accent & MAC Antiqued to smoke the whole look out and create a sultry eye. I did some light contouring of the cheeks & nose & added a beautiful MAC Cream Color base for a pop of shimmer on the cheeks.

On her beautiful daughter I used a gentle wash of MAC Gleam on the lid paired with a subtle shimmery lilac shadow with brown liner. This was her first complete makeup look so we kept things girly, fresh & playful. Added a little brow shaping & some MAC Fafi Sugar Trance gloss to add a pretty pout. ;)

Last but not least, I had an hour to kill tonight & decided to do a couple face charts for fun. This is my first attempt ever but it was really fun to try. I have never been much of an artist, but here's my first go at it! EDIT: For those of you who would like to give a face chart a try...please, please, please check out Koren's tutorial. I can't rave enough about his amazing videos! On YouTube - EnkoreMakeup ;)

Oh and I almost forgot...I want to thank ever sweet and beautiful Valiohh, Naomi, Anastacia & Sofee for their award nomination. Seriously you girls are the best!

So, here are the rules:» Put the logo on your blog or post»Nominate at least 10 blogs which you think are fabulous.» Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.» Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.» Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

And now I'm awarding this to: (I know I'm slow in getting around to this so sorry if I don't know who has already received the award) ;)

Fab Diva 20

Lady Jay

Geli

Please check out their wonderful pages!

I've missed you all and I hope that things are going wonderfully for you all. I send my love to you girls! xoxo

L.A. area Make-Up Artistry Programs

Hi ladies! I wanted to share some of the local makeup artistry programs that offer less expensive alternatives to private schools for those of you on a budget or for those of you who have tight schedules. Here is a rundown of some of the offerings and locations. Thanks to wonderful Specktra poster Celly who gathered the info for the first half of these! I'm currently enrolled in the Mount San Antonio class with Carolyn Simon. Unfortunately, I don't know the nature of the coursework at many of these so I can't properly give a review, but wanted to share these nonetheless:

Cerritos College Community Education - Details: Offered through the Community Education Program. 24 hour certificate awarded. A wide variety of opportunities are available for the trained makeup specialist. This intensive course covers all aspects of beauty and glamour makeup for film, TV, theater and photography. You will receive technical instruction as well as learning with hands-on practical applications. With this new knowledge, students can apply for positions as makeup demonstrators, cosmetic buyers, salon artists, freelance makeup artists for weddings, special events, working with physicians and more. Please purchase a Basic Ben Nye Theatrical Makeup Kit that matches your skin tone before class. Additional material list will be distributed in class. Makeup kit may be purchased at Party Props on 2nd St., Long Beach or online at Norcostco Formerly known as New Concepts of Make-up. Cost: $189 + $10 materials fee Address: 11110 Alondra Blvd., Norwalk, CA 90650 Phone: 562 467 5050 ext. 2521

Fullerton College - Details: Advanced Makeup — This course will cover advanced esthetics training including theory and practical applications in Advanced Makeup using airbrush techniques. Students will be required to provide their own airbrush machine/makeup for the class (airbrush cost estimate $600-$1000). Address: 321 East Chapman Avenue, Fullerton, California 92832-2095 Phone: 714 992 7000

Downey Adult School - Instructor: Angie Itomura Details: Day Program: Fashion & Beauty Makeup Academy Number of hours: 15 weeks, 360 hours. Cost: $3,995.00 (Price includes: makeup kit, professional portfolio, books, uniform & supplies) A diploma is awarded upon completion of this program.
Evening Classes: Makeup Artistry- Beginning Fee: $95 This course teaches basic skin physiology. The student will learn how to use appropriate cosmetic products. The student will learn to save money on many products and learn the truth about many cosmetic myths. This course also teaches the student the knowledge needed to work behind a cosmetic counter by learning cosmetic ingredients, customer service and cosmetic verbage. Textbook required. Makeup Artistry- Intermediate Fee: $95 This course teaches intro to makeup including planning the makeup,corrective makeup, time spent on makeup and different kinds of fashion work. You will learn facial structure, eye shapes, principles of color and appropriate techniques to match the needs required of the image wanted. You will learn and experience working with all the types of makeup, fashion, pigment and powders. You will learn the step-by-step process Makeup For Me Fee: $75 Have you always wanted to learn how to apply your own makeup for work, going out, or for just everyday life? This course will teach you professional secrets on how to apply makeup on yourself. You will learn techniques on how to choose and apply foundation, eye shadow, and lip coloring. Learn contouring, coloring, lining, and shadow placement to bring out the beautiful you that lies within. Bridal & Special Occasion Makeup Fee:$145 If you are already doing makeup and want to increase your income this class is for you. Learn how to replicate specific looks from magazines,learn how to plan the makeup and most importantly learn how to get paid properly. This class is specially designed to teach you to deal with big and troublesome wedding parties. Proms, quinceaneras, brides, mother or grandmother of the bride - no problem. Don't be late, classes fill up fast. Pre-requisite: Intermediate makeup.Address: 12340 Woodruff Avenue, Downey, CA 90241-5610 Website: http://www.das.edu/ Phone: 562 940 6200

Mount San Antonio College - Instructor: Carolyn Simon Details: Offered through the Community Education Program under fee based classes. Listed under the MAC Pro site as an eligible certificate program for the MAC Pro Student membership. Classes include: Beauty Makeup 101, The Eyes Have It, Fashion, Glamour & Fantasy Makeup, Character Makeup, Bridal Bliss, & Makeup in Review. Certificate of Completion offered. Number of classes: 6 offered over 6 weeks. Price: $345.00 (not including supplemental classes such as kit materials and makeup) Website: http://www.mtsac.edu/ Address: 1100 N. Grand Ave., Walnut, CA 91788

Rio Hondo College - Instructor: Carolyn Simon Details: Offered through the Community Services Program. Listed under the MAC Pro site as an eligible certificate program for the MAC Pro Student membership. Classes include: Beauty Makeup 101, The Eyes Have It, Fashion, Glamour & Fantasy Makeup, Character Makeup, Bridal Bliss, & Makeup in Review.Number of classes: 6 offered over 6 weeks. Certificate of Completion offered. Price: $345.00 (not including supplemental classes such as kit materials and makeup) Website: http://www.riohondo.edu/ Address: 3600 Workman Mill Rd., Whittier, CA 90601

East Los Angeles College - Instructor: Jason Sanchez Details: Basic Certificate and Advanced available. Classes offered under the East Los Angeles College Extension Program. Basic coursework includes: The Basics, All About the Eyes I & II, Can You Take the Drama?, Its All About the Bride, & Last Looks. Advanced coursework includes: Tools of the Trade, Brush Up, Color Theory, Combination 12, Classic Beauty, Lab Day, Up Do's, Portfolio Building, & Last Looks. Certificate of Completion offered. Number of classes: 6 offered over 3 weeks for basic certificate. Price: $299 (basic); $499 (advanced). Website: http://www.elac.edu/communityservices/csextension & http://www.myspace.com/geishastudio Address: 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park, CA 91754

Melody's Makeup Center - Instructor: Jason Sanchez Details: Basic & Advanced classes available. Website: http://www.myspace.com/geishastudio Phone: 626 281 7707 Location: Alhambra, CA

Los Angeles City College: Instructor: Vicki Damante Details: Offered through the Community Services Extension Classes Program. MAKE-UP ARTISTRY - An introduction to make-up application for the aspiring professional or just for fun! Among the topics to be presented: color analysis and foundations, skin types/skin shades, framing the face, lips, and how to purchase beauty supplies for a fraction of retail prices. All are welcome ! Number of classes: 3 Fee: $50.00 Website: http://www.lacitycollege.edu/ Address: 855 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90029

If private training is within your reach, there are also programs by:

Westmore Academy (http://www.westmoreacademy.com/)

Cinema Makeup School (http://www.cinemamakeup.com/)

HEX Makeup (http://www.hexmakeupartist.com/)

Joe Blasco (http://www.joeblasco.com/)

Makeup Designory (MUD) (http://www.makeupschool.com/)

Glammin (http://www.glammin.com/)

Award Studio (http://www.awardmakeupstudio.com/)

Studio Makeup Academy (http://www.studiomakeupacademy.com/)

The Powder Group (http://www.thepowdergroup.com/) (great resource for classes at major U.S. cities)

Ruby Cosmetics (http://www.rubycosmetics.com/)

xoxo