What All Makeup Artists Need to Know About Opalescent Shimmers
PRO TIP OF THE DAY: These are different images with similar look/effect. FYI: The first image using opalescent shimmers are a professional photographers nemesis. The illusion they give with photography lighting is referred to as a hot spot to Pro Photographers, which translates to a shit image to an Agent, Agency or Photo Rep. Most […]
This Ain’t Trick or Treating!
Artists in our industry are known to constantly complain about ‘testing” and moaning that they will never work for free. Everyone knows that I teach how to create your rates, book gigs and negotiate the best rate possible and ideally to get higher rates for yourself than you thought were possible. However, testing is not […]
CRUELTY FREE COSMETICS / CREDIBLE OR SCAMS?
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news… But EVERY ingredient of EVERY PRODUCT in the entire beauty industry has been tested on animals by someone at some time. Otherwise, the ingredient in question would not be allowed to be used in the personal care industry. These guidelines were made by the F.D.A. (Food and […]
To Tag or Not To Tag
In our industry, being tagged in a great image you were a part of is wonderful. Many of us have heard others say that it is your duty to tag everyone on the crew as a “professional courtesy”. However, I urge everyone reading this to take a step back and see the bigger picture as […]
Why You Should Be Grateful To THIS Guy.
DID YOU KNOW? If you like alcohol, milk, silk, and great skin, you should be grateful to this guy. French chemist and microbiologist, Louis Pasteur demonstrated that organisms such as bacteria were responsible for souring wine, beer and milk. He invented a process where bacteria could be removed on April 20, 1862. Today the process […]
The BEST Foundation Revealed
What is the BEST Foundation? It depends on many things. What type of work will you mainly be doing? TV, video, film, print, bridal, or mainly general public applications, lessons, etc. As well as the look desired, clients preference, weather, skin type, level of dehydration, facial hair, if it needs to be long lasting or […]
Time For a Wisdom Chat
Today, I have so much on my plate including some urgent business matters. However, I could not shake the urge to stop and take time to tell you about something that I feel I should share. This blog post is not about makeup or beauty. But my intuition keeps telling me that someone out there […]
The Truth Exposed: BBB Fraud
DID YOU KNOW? It took DISNEYLAND & WOLFGANG PUCK to EXPOSE the fraud, before the world was informed, but better late then never! The Better Business Bureau (BBB) was founded in 1912 and it was a well-respected company that consumers depended on to determine companies that they should avoid or do business with. Every company […]
SETTING YOUR MAKEUP ARTIST RATES
WHAT SHOULD YOU CHARGE FOR YOUR MAKEUP SERVICES? Well that’s a very broad question. My minimum bridal rate is $3,000. That includes Bride and 3 bridesmaids. However, what anyone else charges is based on their skill set and experience. There are many people that charge $40 for a bride and those with the highest rates […]
How to Create Your Travel Fees
Do travel fees confuse you? Are you unsure of what to factor in? Allow me to help you calculate your rates. When I was 26 I decided to focus on brides while I worked on my portfolio and production work during the week. I put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears… and made […]
What You Don’t Know About Skin and Acne
I work with MANY Dr’s and I’ve even been published in a Medical Journal so I hope that some people in this group are open to being enlightened about facts/truth. Dermatologists are Doctors of SKIN DISORDERS & SKIN DISEASES. However, ACNE is NOT medically defined as a disorder or a disease. Sadly and embarrassingly, society […]
How do You Look at Situations?
HOW DO YOU LOOK AT SITUATIONS? Do You See Opportunity and Solutions or Are You Quick to Point Out Why Things Won’t Work? I used to be that latter, Until I learned how to become Successful. The truth is most people are “Follwers with a Sheep Mentality”. And some are just “Mean Girls” that don’t […]
The Truth About Primers
There is the truth about primers, and then there is what most of society believes, based on what cosmetic companies tell them in order to sell people/make money. Here are the facts. There was no such thing as primer 20 years ago. Until a brand called ‘Make Up For Ever’ created their pro foundation called […]
Rihanna Launches Beauty Agency
Rihanna is taking a lot of shit from artists over a comment that her new “Beauty Agency partner said “Our goal is to have a stellar reputation. The industry’s changed so much — rates have gone down, and clients just grab images off social media, trying to bypass paying artists. But we’re concerned with social […]
My Advice and Rules for Success
I’m so happy and blessed to make a living out of helping others by sharing exactly how I’ve achieved so much success in my career. I’m often asked for my recipe for success. So after spending about 5 hours reflecting and writing, here are some of my ADVICE & RULES FOR SUCCESS. #1. STRIVE TO […]
WATERMARKS ON PORTFOLIO IMAGES
My advice to Makeup Artists, Hairstylists, Models, Wardrobe Stylists, is that they do not, I repeat, DO NOT work with low end photographers that use watermarks. After over 3 decades in the industry, I’ve NEVER met a good photographer that used watermarks. Using them is a sign of a wannabe photographer that never makes it […]
A SOLUTION FOR DEALING WITH UNDER-CUTTERS & LOW END ARTISTS
I constantly see online articles, social media posts, and rants from artists complaining about other artists in their area that work for cheap rates. We’ve all seen the Craigslist ads phone apps such as Glamsquad that offer $30 – $40 makeup applications. Many industry people feel that others with low-end rates (a.k.a. the under cutters) […]
DO YOU NEED A LICENSE TO DO MAKEUP OR HAIRSTYLING AS A FREELANCER?
This is a controversial topic that is constantly brought up in makeup artistry groups and message boards. The conversations almost always become very heated as so many passionately believe what they have been told. Sadly the truth is not as known as it should be. So I will set the record straight with facts and […]
Reasons You Won’t Age as Well As Your Great-Grandmother
If you really want to know what is to blame for that statement, It can be summed up into one word, technology. For a large portion of your great-grandmothers life, she lived without many inventions that are known to dehydrate our skin. Such as: air conditioning, central heaters, caffeine and chemicals such as pesticides and […]