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!