LIGHTS!

The lights are situated and I'm open for business!, a photo by The Paper Doll on Flickr.

Well, my lights came in, I set them up and now I'm officially open for business. YAY! Come get your makeup on!

Prime time!

Wow, I found a topic that The Beauty Department hasn't completely covered.  I love that blog! If you love makeup, and you haven't stumbled across that blog, it's time to add a new bookmark.  So, I want to talk to you about primers.  Don't worry, this will be less uncomfortable than that time someone sat you down for "The Talk".  Do you currently use a primer?  For anything?  There are quite a few out there and it can be confusing so I'm going to simplify it.  Get the best of what you can afford.  There.  Everyone's different, everyone's skin is different so everyone's primer experience is going to be different.  I can't give you a miracle panacea primer, I can just tell you why I use them, how I use them, and which ones I use.  So here goes.
Why use a primer?  Because you want everything to stay where you put it and look good while it's there. Primers help pigments adhere to skin.  It's like painting a wall with primer before you get the color on, or putting gesso on a canvas before you start to paint.  You're preparing the skin's surface to receive makeup.  But like everything in life, too much of a good thing isn't good.  More primer isn't going to be better, it's just going to get cakey or pill or roll or crease.  It's not a good look. Be easy.
Nobody pays me to endorse products.  I don't even think anyone reads this thing honestly so if I suggest something, it's because I love it.  Like, crazy love it.  Like, I can't believe I put makeup on anyone without this stuff love it.
That said, here are my favorite primers and why:
All MAC primers:  No joke.  I'm a MAC certified artist formerly of the Cville VA counter. Every time they came out with a new primer, I lost my mind over it.
Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion:  It doesn't move. In fact, without some good makeup remover, you're going to have a time getting it off.
Urban Decay's Naked Skin face primer: It looks ridiculously peach when it comes out of the tube, but your skin looks amazing after application.  Sometimes, that's all I wear on my skin, no foundation, no tinted moisturizer.
L'oreal's Magic Lumi: It's more of an illuminator/highlighter but it does brighten dull skin and mixes well with foundations and tinted moisturizers.
L'oreal's Magic Perfecting Base:  Not quite good enough to wear alone, it kind of has a sticky quality if you don't set it with powder or apply your foundation of choice over.  It still looks lovely and wears well on my dry skin. A little bit goes a long way.
Urban Decay's Ozone Lip Pencil: Its clear!  Its an amazing barrier against color bleed!  I love it!  I don't usually like lip primers because they don't address chap issues.  If you have chapped lips, you need to exfoliate.  No primer can fix that, but a moisturizing one can help prevent it from getting as bad.  Also, no primer in the world is going to help a lip biter like me.  I've chewed off more lip product than I can even count.

In summation, find a primer you like, use it sparingly so it doesn't gum up and get gross, and fall in love with makeup that doesn't move.

It's a photo shoot!

One of the most important things you need as a makeup artist, other than having a professional attitude and great application skills, is a good portfolio.  It needs to be current, reflect the entire range of your skills, and look professional.  Guess who doesn't have a current portfolio?  Yup. Me.  It's a sad state of affairs indeed. The thing is, I rarely ever have my camera with me after doing someone's face.  You try begging wedding photographers for some of the prints or shots from a wedding you've done.  Maybe you'll have better luck than I have.  We won't even talk about getting stills and reel (the industry term for images from any film work).  Maybe I'm not charming or persistent enough.  Maybe I'm working with the wrong people.  I don't know.
  So here's my solution.  I'm going to throw a party, put makeup on as many faces as I can and get tons of pictures from some other folks who want to work on their portrait skills and/or portfolios.  Yeah, it's going to cost me to rent the space, but it's worth it.  This will ensure I'll have a well lit space to work in with enough room to accommodate everyone.  So if you're in the area and you need a head shot or want to practice your portrait photography, come on by.

What Website?

I'm in the middle of trying to figure out how to set up a website.  Do I even need one?  Everyone else has one.  Or at least that's what it feels like.  This...this is terribly frustrating.  I've already reached the point in my life where almost all technology befuddles me.  I'm surprised I even blog.  My kids are waaaayyyy savvier than I am when it comes to tech.  Maybe I should have them making my site.  They'd be done by now if I had asked them to make it.  My husband wants me to have his company do it.  The last time I asked him to do something it took so long I wound up doing it myself.  He's a genius, but I'm not a paying customer. I'm not on the priority list and honestly, neither is a website.

It's coming together!

It's coming together!, a photo by The Paper Doll on Flickr.

Everything's in place, now all I'm waiting for is my lighting rig and my space will be perfect! It already feels homey and safe and full of potential. Now I just need to do the portfolio building shoot, which means I really need to order those invites. After that I'll be hitting the pavement and building business.
People make that seem so easy in tutorials, seminars, group meetings and books, but it's not. The hardest part is the waiting and not getting discouraged. What they don't tell you is that it takes at least a year to build steady word of mouth traffic and can take more than that to really build your name. I live and work in a small town that tends to be reluctant to accept change. That can be tough. But that's ok. I knew when I got into this that I wasn't doing it for the money. I'm doing it for the love of what I do. I love makeup. I love teaching people about makeup. I love watching people fall in love with makeup. I love watching the difference in a person's confidence levels when they see themselves after a good application. Oh man I'm looking forward to all of the faces that are going to come through that door.

Setting up the new digs at Main Street Salon.

Setting up the new digs at Main Street Salon., a photo by The Paper Doll on Flickr.

Well, it's official, I now have a space all my own in a salon. This is a huge step for me. I've ordered my lighting and I'm trying to decide what furniture to move in. It's really a small space so I need to maximize every inch. I need a place to sit and consult with my clients as well as a space to apply said makeup and storage space. Right. I'm creative, I'm clever, and I'm good at this. Keep checking back to see how it progresses.

Whatever happened to less is more?

I've recently been doing some intensive blog reading and web browsing in order to brush up on my skills (as a look at my pinterest boards can attest to) and I've been seeing some very defined, obvious makeup.  It leaves me wondering what happened to pared down minimalism or a clean, natural look.  It seems like the only time I see a barely enhanced face is in an ad for skin care or foundation.  I love a dramatic look as much as the next style maven, don't get me wrong.  I just feel like there's a time and a place for it, and it's not every day.  I'm an advocate of enhancing what's already there with subtlety, blending and soft touches of color that mimic or boost your natural coloring so seeing all of these heavily defined, sculpted looks is a little disconcerting.  Some of these eyebrows just look glued on, which intimidates the bananas out of me.  I'm going to spend the next couple of days just looking around at what I see on the faces of the every day local gals and see if that's what people are really doing, or if it's just one of those industry things.

Playtime!

upload, a photo by The Paper Doll on Flickr.

My friend and next door neighbor Cat lets me play with her face whenever I get the urge. You'll be seeing a lot of her here.

New services offered on Styleseat!

So I was at Target today doing a little school shopping with girl #1 and as usual, I couldn't help butting in when I saw a makeup browser in distress.  You know the one, you may have even been the one, she's standing there with product in hand, looking mighty indecisive and a little overwhelmed, possibly voicing opinions of doubt and dismay to her shopping buddy.  Like Superman, I cannot pass a body in distress, especially not when I can help.  So I did, and I came away wishing I could do that every day and possibly get paid to do it.  Then I thought "Why not?"  So now, when you go to my Styleseat page, you'll be able to request a 2 hour stint of personal makeup shopping with yours truly.  Want to go to Ulta? Me too!  Just need help at the drug store?  OK!  Want to hit the MAC counter and know you're coming away with stuff you'll use AND love?  I LOVE the MAC counter, it's my home planet.  I speak makeup fluently and can translate into English.  I also won't allow you to blow your budget, because I too am on a budget and am all about accountability.  Trust me, the money you pay me to shop with you you'll get back in confidence and product knowledge.  You'll be a savvier shopper who won't fall for the over the top claims made by products and you'll learn what you can pass on, go low budget on and what you should splurge on.  Oh my I just can't wait to go shopping with you!