Mascara

Mascara
I have to admit that aside from lip-gloss, mascara is my next favorite product and a must have no matter what I am doing for the day! Thanks to my Daddy, I was totally blessed with naturally curling eyelashes; thus, I have never become friends with an eyelash curler. They scare me. In fact, it makes me blink my eyes just thinking about it! Fear not, it is something I am working on because the more makeup I do, the more I realize that naturally curled eyelashes are a total blessing!
Through makeup training, I have learned that there is never just one type of product used to make something look awesome. Confused? Okay: you never see 1-3 colors of eye shadow used for a photo shoot – instead, you see 8-15… NO JOKE! Well, the same goes for mascara (not 8-15 types of mascara... you'll see what I mean!!). To make eyelashes look lushes and like a movie star, things must be done! More than one things!! This means if you lack eye some lashes, fill them in with some demsi wisps! If you lack length, you may want to get some glamorous faux-lashes to bring on some length. On top of that, several applications of mascara should be used. I know it’s really hard to describe all this on a blog but I have some pointers. =] I’m so nice.

• Night out with the girls or a special event? You probably want to go with faux lashes that look natural yet fan-tab-u-lous! I spend a lot of time staring at the faux-lashes at the makeup store… yes, more like an hour. I pay attention to what type of look I want and what type of lashes look good with that.
• For lashes that are like POW! Have more than 1 type of mascara – makeup artist’s use anywhere from 3-5 types! Become friends with a lash comb and allow drying in between applications… but make sure you separate your lashes to avoid clumping. Separating the hairs is best done with a toothpick. (Be careful!! It takes a steady hand!!)
• Aged mascara doesn’t go on smoothly. This makes you take more time to work with clumps than you should. Ideally, you want to replace your mascara every 3 months.
• To prolong my mascara life as long as possible, I use disposable applicators. I also will take a paper towel and wipe off my wand from time to time because of the clumping effect.
• I know we are all on a budget these days; there are some awesome brands of mascara that won’t break the bank. I always look for sales and if not, I love L`oreal’s Voluminous in the original and carbon… yes, I have both! A fellow makeup artist turned me onto it and I was able to find a buy one get one at Ulta!
4. Apply your mascara with a hand mirror – this allows you to see the root and exactly which lashes need some lovin’. =] Remember! Work with those angles for the perfect lashes.
• The application technique is titled, “Wiggle and Pull”. This technique allows the best application and is the best method for length and volume.
• Practice makes perfect.

So that is all I have for you… =]
xoxo mikena

Model Makeover - Jessy

I wish I had an assistant to blog for me - but I guess that wouldn't be as much fun, huh!?
So here is a recent makeover I did - it was Jessy's birthday and her husband was going to take her out on a date! This was a really fun makeup session because her sister (who is a licensed hairstylist) was there doing her hair, as well! So much fun!!

Here is Jessy's before shot:

She is naturally beautiful and doesn't need to do much to herself to look nice... the makeover was just something different and for fun!! Scroll down to see her after shots!


Here is Jessy after the makeover! HOT MAMA!! =]



Since Jessy doesn't wear a lot of makeup on a regular basis, I opted to just go natural with some contouring (as if she needed it!!) and shading. I had never worked with freckles before (I know! Shame on me!) so it was a neat experience... Her hubby had a trophy on his arm that night! =]

I had another makeover session the day after but I don't have those pictures yet! Oh! And before I forget, all credit for these photographs goes to ShutterStar Photography. The same company that did my wedding pictures... awesome awesome awesome!!

Hope you enjoyed my little experience with Jessy! What a beauty!

xoxo mikena =]

Product Review - Model in a Bottle

So, it's been awhile for me on here... because I just got married!! Yay! =]

I looked high and low for a makeup artist that was 1. good and 2. would travel to my venue to do my makeup on my wedding day. The theater that we got married at was where most of the bridal party got ready for the ceremony/reception. After searching high and low... under and over... I found ... dun dun dun: nothing.

Yeah, no traveling makeup artists in my area; that’s good for me because that is what I do!

Anyway, I decided to go ahead and do my own makeup, since I do know what I want and I know how to do it. It would have been fun for additional pampering but hey! I have some really good HD makeup, and it did the job for the day. I finished off my look with Model in a Bottle that I purchased at the Pasadena IMAT show in June. I use this stuff all the time when I put on makeup, so I knew it would help.

Here is what I didn’t know:

- It lasts all day – and all night. It gave me sealed coverage from 11am until 1am. I still looked flawless as we went to my hotel room.

- No touch-ups were needed. We had to go up and down the stairs, my venue had poor air conditioning, we had to walk a few blocks to the park where we took pictures, and I got my boogie on at the reception… still, no touch ups needed.

The only bad thing is that it stings a little bit when you spray it on, if you have any open blemishes or anything like that. I had to warn my bridesmaids before I sprayed it – thank goodness I first learned of this sting on my sister. =] Thankfully, the scent of Model in a Bottle is fantastic; a very fresh and pleasing fragrance. Even the girls with sensitive skin could use it without a breakout.

I now swear by Model in a Bottle. It is an excellent little investment that I will use until I find something better!

xoxox mikena =]

Myth #1

Its okay if I have a blemish or ten - I can just cover them up with makeup! AKA cake it on to make it seem like it's not there... (Even though the cake-y-ness just draws SO much attention!)

Um, no. Granted, if you are in a bind - of course you want to cover your blemish. Consider the color wheel and what colors will cancel each other out. An example would be: a red pimple. The opposite of red on the color wheel is green, which will cancel out the red and cover it up! You put that on under any concealer, foundation or powder and it beats layering on more concealer or powder.

With today's resources, there are so many things that can be done with problematic skin. My first advice to anyone would be to seek the attention of a medical professional, i.e. the dermatologist. They have medications, creams, many things to help you if your breakouts are a big problem for you.

I personally feel that above any makeup brand or type of makeup, skin care is the more important regime and should be taken as serious as brushing and flossing your teeth. If you don't care about those things then you will reap what you sewed in another decade or two, maybe less. So not the business! I don't know about you, but I want clear skin and white teeth!! Anyway, get on a good skin care regime - look into products and consider a line that will meet your skin type needs. It is worth buying good skin care products over a pair of shoes. Your shoes will go out of style next season, when does your face go out of style? Nevaa!!

Makeup is to beautify and make a person look their best – make the best of your time, money and most of all SELF-ESTEEM!

And that comes from my heart – I don’t ever offer up my secrets of products without ensuring a client understands how important skin care is.

Something to leave you with: my mom always said this quote to me and it is the truth! She is a living testimony of how beneficial skin care can be. Here is the quote:
At 20 you have the skin you were born with.
At 30 you have the skin you are working with.
At 40 you have the skin you deserve.

xoxoxo mikena

Face Sequence

I usually get asked what the sequence to preparing your face (or beautiful canvas) for makeup is. There is a definite method to perfection when it comes to preparing your face for your makeup. I will only describe what must go in order and then the rest is up to you – if you want to put on lip-gloss before mascara… have at it!

1. Cleanse

It is really important to cleanse your face at the end of the day and then in the morning after you get up. I like to brush my teeth, and then cleanse my face to ensure that I don’t have “white lip liner”.

**Tip when you are cleansing your face after you have had makeup on, wash it twice. The first cleanse is to loosen up and remove most of that makeup you have on. The second cleanse is to deep clean your skin and pores. Think of it like washing your hands – if they are dirty enough, you wash them with soap twice to make sure that they are clean! Do the same, if not better, for your beautiful skin.

2. Moisturize

It is impossible to get even coverage if you do not moisturize your face. Moisturizing creates a smooth canvas for you to layer on. If you have oily skin and don’t like to moisturize, find something that is hydrating. I use a hydrating gel when I feel as though my skin is oily.

**A key thing is that if you don’t keep your skin moisturized, it will panic and feel the need to overcompensate – which is what produces breakouts and dreaded oil.

3. Silicone Based Primer

This stuff works miracles! I have fallen in love with it. If you are unsure of silicone based primer, read into it, head over to Sephora and get a sample of Silicone Based Primer. I have one from Smashbox and I also know that Sephora has a good product. There are others as well, I am sure they are great but I haven’t tried them. Basically the silicone fills in scars, wrinkles and gives a silky canvas for your foundation.

4. Foundation

Your foundation should be sheer – there is no reason that your foundation should show on your skin. It acts as protection for your skin. If you choose to skip the powder, do the foundation. Just know that you will have to reapply because powder is what seals in the wet foundation. The only time foundation should be noticeable is for special events when you want to create absolutely flawless skin.

5. Concealer

Ah – there is a trick to applying concealer, which will come in another blog. Concealer acts as spot treatment for blemishes or dark areas of your skin. I suggest that you use a sponge to apply and even out with the sponge, but finishing off using your ring finger.

**Tip, your ring finger is your weakest finger and it will be the nicest to your skin.

5. Powder

Again, you do not need your powder to be noticeable. Make sure you blend into your hair line and into your neck to avoid those noticeable makeup lines. Powder is also beneficial if you want to go a shade or two darker and give yourself an instant bronzing effect. The powder is what locks in your makeup and prevents everything you just did from sliding right off the moment you step into warm elements.

All these things are really important if you want to achieve a perfect canvas – depending on the event you can take it from a mall look, to a night on the town look.

I hope these things help you! Please let me know if you have any questions about it all! Or even if you have product information that will help me or someone else! Always welcome!!

xoxoxo mikena

Makeup Brush Cleaning

(not for synthetic brushes, real hair only!)
By: Mikena “the traveling makeup artist” Afoa

As always, please read the entire document before trying this! I just want to make sure that you understand what to do and what not to do and to prevent product damage. I know makeup brushes aren’t cheap!

Supply List:
- Sturdy Paper Towels
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Baby Shampoo (I love Johnson & Johnson’s Lavender and Chamomile baby shampoo)

Every week you should conduct a deep cleaning of your makeup brushes. There are many companies out there that tell you that you need their product in order to really clean your brushes. Don’t believe those statements for one minute! There are some products that are handy and make life easier, but those aren’t necessary to truly sanitize your brushes.

Step 1:
Grab that sturdy paper towel and get some olive oil on it! The best way to do this is much like you would do when using nail polish remover. Place the towel over the opening of the bottle, hold it tight with your pointer finger (I just got that finger song stuck in my head – I will have to sing that at the end) and tip it upside down. Do this about three times in order to get a good amount for your brush.

Step 2:
Take that dirty brush of yours and dip it into the olive oil. You want to pretend (I love to pretend!) as though you are painting – the olive oil is your paint and the rest of the paper towel is your canvas! The purpose of this is to loosen up any product that is in your brushes – you do not want that old product to go on your face from a month ago, do you!? Nooo!!

Now, you can get frugal (which I love to be! Think – save money = more money to buy makeup!!) I like to unfold the paper towel and use whatever soaked through, as well. Remember, this step is just to loosen whatever pigments are in the brushes. You do this by dipping and brushing onto the paper towel.

Step 3:
Rinse the brushes.

!!! This is really important here – never, ever, ever… EVER! Submerge your brushes. You want to try your best to only get the bristles that you can see, wet. Getting the brushes wet completely ruins them because it can rust the metal that typically holds the brush together or the glue that holds the bristles in place.

**Tip if your brush tends to shed a lot of hairs onto your face and you spend more time removing those hairs than you do putting on makeup – it is time for a new brush.

Step 4:
Place about a pea-sized amount of baby shampoo onto the tips of your fingers. Swirl the brushes around on the tips of your fingers. Why the tips? Because they are more sensitive than your palms (and paper towels!) so you can feel the brushes better, prevent bristle damage and make sure the soap cleans each bristle.

Step 5:
Using a clean paper towel, squeeze out any excess water. At this point, you always want to reshape your brushes so that as they completely dry, they are as good as new! Place them to dry on a hand towel, or towel of your choice.

Now, a couple of additional things:

1. Oh! No! I submerged my brushes! What do I do!

I have done this many times because I use to take a bowl of water and work with my brushes to get them clean – not a good idea, as you can imagine! Anyway! Finish up the process I described above and then go ahead and wedge the brush somewhere that allows it to hang dry… bristles down. I have use clothes pins/laundry clips to hang the brush by. It works well – or get creative and figure out your own way! Learn what you did wrong when you got your brush so wet, and don’t do it again!

2. As a makeup artist, I have separate brushes for my clients and myself. I always deep clean my “business brushes” after using them on someone. But for myself, I only do it once a week. I still clean them nearly every day though, by using a brush cleaning spray.

- I simply spray the bristles and work out the makeup onto a paper towel. No rinsing necessary.
- There are several brush cleaning sprays that I have tried:
- Japonesque (I get the big bottle from Ulta for about $10)
- Sephora makes another good one
- I’ve also bought ones that I like from stores like Fred Meyer’s
- I have never disliked a brush cleaning spray, just some smells I like better than others.

Such a girl!

Now for that song... "where is pointer? where is pointer?" ... "HERE I AM! HERE I AM!" ... "how are you today sir?" ... "very well I thank you..." ... yeah, that's the song stuck in my head now... grrreat! =]

Have a blessed day! Hey! Think of 10 things you are thankful for before you leave your house or work! Find joy in everything, it makes life so much easier to look for the good.

=]
xoxoxo mikena

P.S. Questions and your findings are more than welcome - what works for you? Sharing is caring! =]

And so it begins...

Whew - so here we go. I had to delete my old account because it wasn't really what I wanted it to be. Instead of cleaning it up (not like I did much with it anyway!), I decided to go ahead and make a new one and define it's purpose.

This blog will be of my experiences, findings, tips, anything I feel like sharing when it comes to makeup and my career with makeup!

Please share your experiences, ideas, products - whatever! with me as well... I love to learn and enhance skills and knowledge. Learning is a gift!

So yeah! Here we go! Yay for makeup fun!!

xoxo
mikena