A lil help...

Trying to stay fly in the recession is becoming less and less important or just near impossible. Most are saving or simply spending less by shopping the sales, clearance racks and the "closing business for good" spots. Or you still have the good ol' H&M, Forever 21 stops where every day is a sale day. A few little accessories for less than $10 that can add some pizazz to your current wardrobe.  

Coraline

The minute I found out Laika Entertainment was filming an animation, I was all over it. One more way to get Portland on the road map (outside of the NBA Trailblazing team). Well accomplished in my opinion. The fact that Coraline has been holding on in the top 10 of the Box Office since release is not too shabby. This 3-D animation is highly recommended. Watch it while it is still in the theatre to catch the 3-D affects. It sucks you right in! This movie is creative, colorful, fashion forward, funny, dramatic, adventurous and based in Portland, Oregon (pronounced...Or-e-gone).

Back to the A

F:ashionably ahead of the game and staying fresh in this

R:ecession

A:tlanta, GA will be his home again

N:ot forever or for too long. 

K:icks and T's are always on point  

L:iving and laughing are ingredients of his success 

I: put you on is his favorite saying

N:ever a dull moment

D:on't stress....it's all a part of life.

C:ourtside is where you might catch him

O:r shopping for the next day's fit  

O:oooowww!!!

K:id

E:very thing about Franklin will be missed

Beauty shoot Feb 2,2009

Here's an un retouched "raw" image from my last beauty shoot.  The model is Gabriela who is in LA for a few weeks from London.  She is actually Brazilian but raised in London.

I really wanted to give this picture the feeling of a Summer wedding.  I applied the lipstick in layers by applying it once then blotting and then repeating the step a few times.  This will insure that a bride can really keep her lips on as long as needed!

I really love the blush and they way that it makes her look so fresh.  I tried to steer away from too much sparkle anywhere because on that special day a bride should shine (not her make up products!)

Waterproof mascara is a must and if needed some individual eyelashes can really help to open up the eyes.  

Now, I know some novias don't get any sleep the night before their "big day"  One trick I recommend is putting a little white eyeliner inside the lower eyelid.  I did it on this model and it helps the eyes to look bigger and more "awake"  

Don't take my word for it...buy one (even CVS has good ones)  and you'll see the difference. 

Perricone at my house!

Here's a picture from one of the set ups at my house the last few days.  It was the shoot for Dr. Perricone skin care and our house was "The Perricone Institute"

I used my airbrush machine on Dana Bledsoe, Perricone's spokesperson.  She commented on how much she felt like she didn't have any makeup on.  I loved the fact that I didn't have to keep putting powder on and I didn't have to redo the make up even after 12 hours of shooting.

I learned a lot about the Perricone line and might really give it a try. The director and everyone in the crew were wonderful to work with!

By the way, this is before all the rain we've been having...Just in time!!

Pretty picture

I just looked at the blog and I think it needs another pretty picture.  But I just love to shock you guys with all the crazy makeup that some of your hermanas wear!!!

Here's another one with my shoot with Rie/Rick Gradone did the hair/Dominick Guillemot did the picture.

Enjoy..

Bless her heart!

If you grew up in the US you might not know her and if you do-well you know that she's worth the space in my Latina makeup blog!

Irma Serrano (La Tigresa) was a Mexican actress who got her nickname from the movie that made her famous.  She dated all kinds of scandalous men, supposedly gave her soul to the devil, wants her remains to be mummified, has been a Mexican state senator, has been married as many times as Elizabeth Taylor, tried to get pregnant a couple of years ago at age 70 with sperm that was frozen 12 years ago with her previous husband's sperm!  She then lost the baby and said it was the fault of all the reporters that made fun on her and claims to have put a curse on them (with the help of Lucifer--the devil!!!)

She is now dating a 29 year old! yes, the guy on the picture with her and the ring.  Look at that red hair on her.

We'll look at the makeup~ actually some of the things she does can work but only if they are done slightly and basically invisibly!

Eyes;

She paints the eyebrows way up high to open up her eye area, then she has "stenciled" in strategically placed hairs

uses a "beauty mark"  that looks like a bindi to me..

Makes her eyes look bigger by putting little "diamonds" in the outer corners of the eyes.

Crazy amounts of mascara---lots of fake eyelashes

the picture with the "subdued" makeup was at a funeral of one of her husbands.  I think the nose job is starting to go south.  Looks like she has permanent eyeliner on.

And oh... those lips..she's so happy dressed like a "charra" with that dark lip liner on!

Like my friends from the south all I can say is:

BLESS HER HEART :)!

lucia mendez

Ok...here's Lucia Mendez.  On the picture to the left (2004) she claimed to have had a "little something" done to her face.  On the one to the right (2007) she claimed she didnt have more work done...hummmm mentirosita!

I say lots of botox, an eyelift and some injections of something on her lips... I'm sure she looked better a few months after all that was done.  I think if you are going to have so much done at once, you should wait a few months before hitting the red carpet.  Let things "settle" a bit..

YES YOU CAN!!!!

Wear bright colors that is..
ok..I'm always asked by women how they can wear color.  I try to explain that the first thing they need to forget about is that color doesn't have to look so strong, that most make up companies now produce colors that are translucent enough that they can be worn and not make you look like a clown!

I saw some great new products at CVS the other day and actually used some in the picture that I am posting.  It's so great to be able to use all different kinds of make up and don't think for a moment that a $50 lipstick is all that different for a $9 one.

This are the colors I used on this model.  On the eyes I lined them with a Revlon green eyeliner (it has a square flat tip).  I love green on a brunette with brown eyes.  The color makes the eyes "pop"  The trick here was to combine the green with neutral tones (other colors I used were golds and browns)  Then, lots of mascara which gives the look another neutralizing effect.

Key with color on the eyes is --don't do a monochramatic wash of color (ie blue eyeliner/blue mascara combo) Always use black mascara and neutral eyeshadows  to counterattack the bright color.

As far as the lips, I first lined them completely with a neutral brownish lipliner.  I then applied a covergirl orange lipgloss (on the tube it looks super bright)  It actually looked (and smelled, I must say) beautiful~

Look at the picture and see how pretty it can be to wear green on the eyes and orange on the lips!

I'll talk more about mixing pricier products with cheap ones at another time but this time remember, it's ok to wear bright colors but always neutralize them by combining them with browns/charcoals/blacks.  Unless you are singing Karma chameleon for Halloween!

Before/after

Yesterday I was hired to go do a "makeover" on someone that was to be featured in a magazine in May.  The photographer came from NY and I had to drive in to Norwalk.

I walked inside the house and met Amber--she was very pretty but her skin! that was another story.

I used my airbrush gun and try to do some magic.

Judge for yourself but these were taken with my Iphone and what the photographer took were much better.

I use a DINAIR machine...

Dr. Perricone

I have a job coming up.  It's a beauty video for "Dr. Perricone" skin products.  Some of you guys might have heard of him.  He's written a best seller book called "The Perricone Promise"--yes ladies, he tells you how to be and stay BEAUTIFUL.

I was curious as to why he was so popular so I went to his website and found his "daily blog".  Lo and behold two days ago he posted something that you all might find interesting:

He lists these risks/rewards if you have a Hispanic/Latino skin tone.

Risks:

1- Acne!--all I can say is keep your skin clean and slow down on those tamales you ate at Christmas time!

2- Hispanic skin can suffer from "exaggerated" inflammatory response from chemicals, irritants and mild trauma---I say be GENTLE to your skin at all times!

3- Can suffer from LARGE PORES-- My two cents here would be to clean your face twice a day, never go to bed with your make up on.. Have facials if you can afford it but if not do a mask at least once a week and maybe twice during the summer months.  Don't forget to moisturize.

Ok, here are the good news:

Rewards:

1- Increased melanin offers more sun protection--So all you morenas might stay out in the sun longer but still USE SUNSCREEN-- or you will get sun spots--I know from experience.

2- Not as prone to fine lines and wrinkles--   :)!!!

3- Resists sagging and loss of tone.

**One thing to remember is that Dr. Perricone seems to be referring to all my Latinas who are Olive skin and darker.  Those of you "gueras" with lighter skin --well all these things might not really apply...

Thought you'd enjoy this and don't forget the sunscreen!

If I can have anything to do with it--we are not going back to this

I was flipping the tv channels today and I caught a glimpse of a show called "Operacion Repo"  For those of you who have a more refined tv taste, it is a reality show about a brother and sister who go around taking cars back..

They are like the Latino version of Dog the bounty hunter and his wife.

But let's talk about Sonia Pizarro... Homegirl is not the one to mess with but her make up really is almost unforgettable....

Are cholas with dark lipliner...thin tattoed eyebrows, heavy eyeliner, etc still the thing??

I'm an individualist and back in the day a "new wave kid" with eyeliner on listening to The Smiths and The Cure but is this really what some Latinas want to look like?

Don't get me wrong, I like Sonia and would love to meet her but I would also love to get a hold of her face!!!

Maybe I'll get my wish and you guys will be the first to know...

Why I'm doing this...

It's been a long time coming but a blog was my new year's resolution.

I want to talk to my Latina sisters about their concerns regarding beauty.

I grew up watching my mom, sister, abuelita and 12 tias trying to outdo each other with their make up looks.  Growing up in El Salvador as a little boy I read my mom's Vanidades and Hola magazine and wondered how these women could look so glamorous.

No I didn't end up being a drag queen (even though I love them!) but I became a make up artist.

18 years later, here I am living in LA after having worked and lived in Paris, Munich, Sydney, Mexico City, Miami and New York.  

I really LOVE to talk about make up and wanted to have an outlet to talk about concerns, needs and just plain old gossip.

I want to share with you some of my favorite products and make up looks for Latinas as well as some "behind the scenes" secrets from some of my jobs.

Send me some questions and let's start the chismes!