Media - Metro Vancouver

Below is a recent article in the Metro Vancouver newspaper that I was featured in...

Alex's Wedding Day

I also got the opportunity to work on one of my hair assistant's makeup for her wedding day! Meet Alexandra, one of my fabulous co-workers! She got married early this year and I arrived at her home to do her makeup. Here's a photo of us once I was all finished glamming her up... and yes, this first photo was taken in the bathroom where she was glancing in the mirror and inspecting to make sure she was extra gorgeous.

Anna's Wedding Day!

For Anna's October sunny wedding day, my amazing hair assistant Melanie & I arrived early at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver to work on the hair & makeup for the bride and her 3 lovely bridesmaids.

Anna's theme colors were red & white...and I will never forget the beautiful & sparkly bright red "Dorothy" shoes that she wore.

Below are a few pics from her big day. Thank you Anna for allowing me to use your lovely photos!! You gals were awesome; we had sooo much fun dolling you ladies up!

And here's the happy couple! Love this shot...it's so titanic!

some more pics

Here are a few more recent pictures of me working on some clients for weddings, fashion shows and makeup parties. Wish I didn't look so serious in the shots, but I was highly concentrated on my art work and the photos were shot randomly. I honestly don't even notice when the photographers are snapping away but one of these days I'll try to remember to smile and say "cheese" for one and post it up! :)

Please click to enlarge...

Bacardi Fashion Show

This past June I had the opportunity to key what turned out an awesome fashion show at Celebrity's nightclub.

I was asked to gather up a team of 6 hairstylists & makeup artists (myself included) and together doll up 15 already gorgeous male & female models. All of them being very successful models from Vancouver. One of them was Sisi from the reality tv show "Canada's Next Top Model".

They all looked fabulous while getting to model the latest styles of Rock and Republic, Lady Dutch, Citizens of Humanity and 7 for all Mankind clothing.

It was a great show and at the same time Bacardi launched their new delicious flavour "Bacardi Breezer Raspberry Dragonfly" which everyone got to sample for free all night long! The pretty bright pink bottle the drink comes in is what first attracted me to taste it, and it was absolutely delicious! But don't worry... I only drank once I was completely done with doing makeup! :)

The team of 6 of us makeup & hairstylists: Rouve, Alexandra, Melanie, Zofia, Tom & I. Thank you for all your help guys, your the best! I'd also like to thank two wonderful ladies who made it all possible for us, Jennifer Isted & Elizabeth Walsh... big hug to you both!

Below are a few pics from the show for all to enjoy!

Cecilia's Wedding Day!

For Cecilia's April wedding, my two wonderful hair assistants Melanie & Alexandra and I arrived at the beautiful River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, bright and early to work on the lovely group of ladies.

Cecilia had a hair theme for her bridesmaids which was one of a kind; they all had 1930's hair style which turned out absolutely gorgeous! It was just brilliant!

The pictures speak for themselves and tell you her fairy tale wedding story. Thank you Cecilia for allowing me to use your fabulous photos!









And here's the happy couple!

Betty's Wedding Day Story

Another one of my recent bride's, the lovely Betty, has kindly allowed me to use some of her photos to post up on my blog.

For Betty's February wedding day, I arrived at a room at the beautiful & romantic Brockhouse Restaurant in Vancouver to do the makeup for her & her maid of honour, Andrea.

I first started off with Andrea's makeup. She mentioned to me that she was comfortable with wearing makeup and that she wanted a pretty style that would match her gorgeous slinky black dress. Below is her finished look, which she very much liked.

Betty on the other hand wanted to have a very natural, angelic makeup style. She explained to me that she normally didn't wear much make-up at all, and that she wanted her application to be as soft as possible. Her skin was already literally flawless, so I ended up giving her a natural look in a breeze. Here's a photo of me applying on her eyeliner.

Here's a pic of the both of them once they were both ready!

And here are some more lovely pictures of the bride & groom...

My Pro Makeup Kit

Want to know what I carry in my make-up kit? Well I imagine you're probably curious, so I'll tell you.

In my kit I have a little bit of everything: MAC, Clinique, Merle Norman, Makeup Forever, Lise Watier, Niko, Mehron, Rimmel, Estee Lauder, Cargo, Orra, NAO, Smashbox, Christian Dior, Ben Nye, Celebre, L'Oreal, Cinema Secrets, Dermablend, Kryolan, and more...

I carry over 120 eye shadows, over 100 different shades of lipsticks & lip glosses, over 15 shades of blushes & concealers, perfect to match and go with every skin tone out there!

Like I always say, every brand out there carries something great. There is no such thing as "the best brand". As long as the makeup truly lasts and enhances your beauty, that's all that matters. Below is a recent photograph of my makeup kit. Voila!

Tanya Tagaq Gillis

Over the winter, in collaboration with my talented photographer friend Sarah Race, I did a photo shoot makeup for Canadian Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis. She is a popular composer and performer who developed her own solo form of Inuit throat singing, which is normally done by two women. Because of her unique talent, Tanya was quickly discovered and has collaborated and toured all over the world with big artists including Bjork and the Kronos Quartet.

Tanya's debut album was released in October of 2002. Her music is stunning emotions and provocative sounds of aggressive grunts and growls, gasping rhythms, moans & sighs; it is truly impressive. She won the best female artist at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards in 2005.

While doing her make-up, I got a chance to chat with her for a bit and I must say she is a beautiful person inside as she is on the outside. Not only is she incredibly talented, but she's got a sweet personality as well as a contagious sense of humor.

Tanya was featured here on the cover (above) of the winter 2006 issue of Words & Music Magazine by Socan where you can see the makeup job I did on her. The beautiful shots were taken by Vancouver photographer Sarah Race.

Below is a picture of us during the shoot. From the left; myself, Tanya, Sarah...

Annabelle Event

I recently participated in the "Annabelle Model Search" event at Metrotown, which was so much fun!

Along with other local artists, I got to do makeup on participants interested in winning the big model search. The winner will get to appear on 2007 Annabelle promotional material and gets a one year contract with a big modeling agency, a trip & shopping spree. At the moment we don't know who won, but we will eventually. I hope that I got to do her makeup at the event though! :)

We all used Annabelle makeup and Marcelle products, which I was a bit familiar with, but what I didn’t realize was how many zillions of great products they have!

For those of you that may not know, the Annabelle line is wonderful yet affordable. I was really amazed with their brushes and best of all... they’re all less than $12 each.

Their eye pencils are smudge proof & waterproof... and they come in the most beautiful bright colors! Ever since then, I started using them on my clients and even bought a few for myself. I highly recommend their lip glosses & I’m also obsessed with their duo bronzer in "Golden Glow". I can’t seem to live without that at the moment... I feel naked without it on.

Below are a couple of pics of me at work at the event:

Ani's Wedding Day Story

If you've ever wondered what actually goes on when my hair assistants (in this
case it's Melanie) & I come over to your home or hotel room on the actual day of you wedding, I am about to explain & show you all with pictures. Thanks to one of my recent bride's (the lovely Ani) who has kindly allowed me to use her photos to post up on my website... you will get an idea of what will go on....on the day of your wedding! :)

---- (you can click on the pics to enlarge them...)

-Melanie & I arrive to Ani's home and we get started on her bridesmaids. Hairstyling usually goes first (to prevent hairspray from getting on a freshly made-up face), and then once the first client's hair is done, I get started with her makeup... and the routine continues. The bride is usually done last because I want her makeup to be the freshest.


-Dolling up the bride's mother is a must... as she wants to look absolutely stunning next to her daughter as well.


-Once the bride's hair has been styled, I begin with her makeup. Ani looks gorgeous already! But I'm just going to emphasize her beautiful features and give her a natural, glowy and angelic look.


-Ani's makeup is almost done... just the lipstick left to be applied and she'll be all ready to go... she gets excited!


-It's now time for the bride to hop into her gown. I do some last minute touch-ups to make sure she looks perfect.


-Here's a fun picture of Ani with her 4 bridesmaids. Smile!


-Ani's brother puts a pretty necklace on her!


-Here's the lovely couple!

Here are a couple pix of me at work

How to temporarily conceal your tattoo

Have you ever needed or wanted to temporarily conceal your tattoo for a special occasion and had no idea how to do it?

If you’re able to reach your tattoo, you’ll be able to do the trick on yourself. If your tattoo is located on your back or other places that you cannot possibly reach, I’m sure you can find a friend or relative that can help you out. You only need a few items and products to do the trick... it’s painless and quick. In fact, it should only take you about 5 minutes or so and I’ll teach you exactly what to do. It might take you a couple of practice sessions to get it to look flawless though, but you’ll get it...

List of products you’ll need:

Kryolan Tattoo Cover (or you can also use Dermablend, Cover FX or Cinema Secrets Concealer instead) either of these products will work great because they have excellent pigment. You can also use these products to temporarily conceal any types of skin imperfections such as scars, acne, and skin discolorations. Choose the one that best matches your skin tone.

Concealer brush: You can choose either a small or larger brush; choose one depending on the size of your tattoo.

A foundation that matches your skin tone & a clean sponge

Translucent powder & powder puff

Begin: Using your concealer brush, gently start applying & tapping the tattoo coverage right onto your tattoo. You might need to apply quite a bit on. Once you’re done, pour some of your foundation onto your clean sponge and start dabbing it right over top of your concealed tattoo.

To complete the process, use some of the translucent powder on your powder puff and apply right overtop. This will make set the makeup and keep it looking matte.

And voila! You’re done!

5 easy steps to create the “smokey eye” look

Tips before you begin:

• For best results, it's always a great idea to use professional brushes in order for your eye makeup to look perfectly blended when you’re using two or more colors.
• It’s a good idea to apply a whole lot of translucent powder right underneath your eyes for just incase some shadow does fall... because at the end, you can then dust everything right off with a big soft powder brush.
• To prevent color from falling underneath your eyes, after you dip your brushes in your eye shadows, always remember to tap the excess off before application.
• To create a beautiful smokey eye, it does take some time, sometimes up to 15 minutes per eye. Plus, always remember to blend, blend, and blend some more.

Begin:

1. I usually like to start by applying black eyeliner across the base of your top lashes. Make sure it’s not too thick, but not too thin either. I usually prefer to apply eyeliner with a slanted brush.
2. Now with your lightest color of brown eye shadow, shade the contour area (I call it the rainbow area) of your eye lightly, moving upwards a bit. Be sure not to shade too high underneath the eyebrow area though. It is the light brown that will create the really nice "smokey" effect.
3. Next, starting at the outer & middle corners of your eye, begin applying black eye shadow at the base of your top lashes, and gently moving upwards towards the light brown "smokey" shaded area. Apply darkest with your black shadow at the base of your lashes, and go lighter as you move upwards. What you want to do (which might be the trickiest part) is connect the two colors (the black & light brown) and gently blend them together without mixing them too much, otherwise your colors will look muddy.
4. To highlight, and to give a lift & open up your eyes, apply a bit of shimmery white eye shadow right underneath your brows as well as at the inner corners of your eyes & blend a bit towards your smokey eye shadow.
5. Apply black eyeliner (if you like) to the base of your bottom lashes now & gently blend downwards with a Q-tip for a smokey effect. You can now curl your lashes & apply your favorite mascara... and you’re done! Always remember that practice makes perfect.