It has been a LONG time since I've written anything and I am SO SORRY!!!! I HAVE been rather busy over these past several months, I'm not gonna lie.....

Lots of work has been happening, I've been very busy. BUT....I took a little trip to visit my daughter who was at school in Santa Fe, NM. And then went back to pick her up for summer, and I took a detour to visit my besties in Colorado and Abileen, TX.

So as most of you who KNOW me already know, I am a very opinionated artist. Over these last several months my head has been reeling from so much of the craziness I've seen. So many artists making makeup much more complicated than i really is. So much out of date info is being passed around, and so much OUTDATED makeup techique coming back into the limelight. And so many techniques that should not be back, are actually back. Which leads me to ask.....WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON!!!! 
Now...I'm not going to go over the whole contouring thing again, because it's been beaten to death, and most of my colleagues know how I feel about it. In case you missed it, my opinion is NO. Unless it is serving a specific creative purpose...my answer is NO. 

I am..I guess, what you would call a "minimalist" artist. Why? Because I don't PILE my clients' faces with pounds of makeup. I purchase products that are easy to work with, containing high concentrations of pigment, and ingredients that blend easily and become "invisible" on the skin. That is the goal of foundations and concealers, you know. To make the client look like they have perfect NATURAL skin.

Ok....so my newest befuddlement, is this whole COLOR CORRECTION thing....

Back in the early 80's, many of the cosmetic companies I worked for carried color corrective products, because someone back then decided that everyone's natural skin undertones were WRONG. If you had golden (sallow) undertones you needed to use this lavender "primer" under your foundation, to make you more....uuuhhhh....neutral? If you were too red (ruddy) they had a loverly green or aqua primer for you. I always kind of questioned this in my head even back then, because I didn't understand how just about EVERYONE'S undertones were wrong. My other thing was...if you're changing the undertones on your face, wouldn't it look weird with your sallow or ruddy neck/body? It never made sense to my makeup common sense. Then I figured out why this whole color corrective thing started......IT WAS TO GET YOU TO BUY MORE STUFF!!!! 
TRUTH: Your skin is your skin, and your skins' color is just perfect the way it is. That's why there are foundation colors that match it. Now, if by chance your skin is green or lavender...please go buy a skintone corrector. Otherwise, keep calm and makeup on....

I will never understand why artists make things more complicated that they really are. And those who say that color correction is "key" or "essential" to a makeup artists kit, I say NONSENSE!!!! I'm pretty well respected for my work, and I don't own a color corrector at all. In fact, preparing a face with foundation, etc., is about the simplest thing I do, when I'm doing makeup. That goes for clients, actors, models...it doesn't matter...they all get the same, and it typically takes me less than 5 minutes to prepare my "canvas". Now, I totally get it that everyone's technique/style is different. But color correction is highly outdated. And if someone is telling you that it's necessary...they're probably doing it because the cosmetic line that they represent sells them. Don't waste your money on it...save it to buy more fun COLOR!!!!

Annnnd here I go. I'm attempting this blog thing. Not sure how it's going to work out, but I definitely have a point of view I need to express. Experience I need to share. Maybe even a little wisdom that has come from YEARS of experience....and years of experiencES. I don't know if my story is unique at all, but I definitely have a story to tell. I don't know if a blog is where you tell your "bio"...but I don't know how else to begin my blog. I feel like you should know who I AM as both an artist and a person, in order to truly "get" me.
So here we go.....
Let me take take you back to 1966. I was a very mischievous 4 year old. My favorite "celebrity" in the whole world was Twiggy, who was actually named "The Face of 1966", and voted "British Woman of the Year". Her face was EVERYWHERE. Andy Warhol was another big "it" person. "Pop Culture" was born. I used to sit in the bathroom and watch my mom put her makeup every morning. Max Factor was THE brand to use, and she was definitely on trend with it. The thick line of pitch black liquid liner (in the pretty glass bottle with the tall gold top), sometimes she'd put on the prettiest shade of sky blue shadow, pale pink cheeks and pale bubble gum pink or peachy-orange VERY matte lipstick. She would buy these lipstick sets in these cute little cases with bright pink and orange flowers on them. I was FASCINATED...MEZMIRIZED by this transformation that took place every morning. Every chance I got I would dig through her things and play in all of her makeup. Needless to say, I was in trouble A LOT! Little did I know at that time, that my career path was being formed. Even my influences were already beginning to come to the fore. 
I feel VERY privileged to have been a child during the 60's. A bit of creativity in the makeup world was beginning to form. Color was REALLY important. The hippy movement was in full swing during this time...by 1969, artist Peter Max was a household word and pop culture icon. "The Yellow Submarine"  came out at the end of that decade. But what I remember loving the most about art at that time, were the colors and shapes. Bright, bold and super pretty. It was a wonderful time to be a kid. And some of my most joyful memories are from back then.
For my 14th birthday, my mom finally broke down and bought me a little bit of makeup of my very own. By this time, I had already been sneaking around and wearing makeup to school (that actually began in the 3rd grade). I had been in trouble at school for this offense SEVERAL times. And at the age of 14, I began studying books, and putting makeup on my friends.
Makeup was what I was born to do. I've really never wanted to do anything else. By the time I began my professional career in my early 20's, I already had a PLETHORA of knowledge. I paid careful attention to the works of makeup masters, Way Bandy and Kevyn Aucoin. I worked very hard to perfect my craft, and I was pretty damned good at it even back then. I believe that everyone has at least one natural ability, and it's typically they're "passion" as well. Their natural gift. I was blessed to find mine at a very early age.
I went to beauty college to get my esthetician's license. For me, it felt like a waste of time, because I thought I was going to gain some more makeup knowledge. But that didn't happen, at all. I DID however, learn a TON about skin. I found it very fascinating, and I actually worked as an esthetician for a couple of years after I got my license. The knowledge has definitely benefited me over these years. It's given me a strong desire to really research products in the cosmetic industry as a whole, in turn allowing me to see through so much of the hype and lies that they lead consumers to believe. And trust me....they lie A LOT!! A few tell bigger lies than others. But we'll get into that another time.
So fast forward to today....at the age of 52, I'm pretty much a cosmetic [industry] encyclopedia, with a very well rounded 31 year career. As I've already mentioned I've been an esthetician, I've been a makeup instructor, I have a cosmetics industry resume that spans 17 years including such postions as a major cosmetics company "rotator", a traveling cosmetics company "featured" artist, and a line person, as well as a freelance "blitz team" member for several major prestige cosmetics companies. Who have I worked for? Ultima II (HUGE name in the 80's, for you young folk), Adrien Arpel (again...in the 80's), Charles of the Ritz, Germaine Monteil (now only available in Europe), Lancome, Chanel, Elizabeth Arden, Shiseido, Dior, Clarins, Princess Marcella Borghese, Biotherm, and Smashbox (pre Lauder buy out).

So there is a bit of my beauty background. Just so you understand going forward, that what I have to say is backed with years and years of experience. And I think it's time I became more vocal.

I'm very emotional about what I do. I'm very protective of the craft..and I'm very opinionated, as well. I think there are way too many amazing artists that don't get enough credit, and too many "wannabees" that get way too much.

As I always say....there are people who can put makeup on other people. And then there's the makeup ARTIST. There's a huge difference between the two.

So that's it for this round....Comments and questions are always welcomed! 


XXXOOO