B is for Brushes

No matter how many makeup brushes I have- I’ll always want more. I love how a nice brush feels in my hand and how soft the bristles are. I’m fascinated by the different shapes of brushes, the variety of uses and the colors. It’s amazing how I’ve become completely dependent on a few specific brushes, for example, my MAC 208 angled brow & 242 shader are my go-to brushes for filling in brows and blending shadow around the eyes for the perfect smoky eye. I’m also completely dependent on my new Sonia Kashuk angled precision brush for doing my own gel eyeliner.

With the average price of a single brush ranging from $4 up to $60, you can see how brushes are one of the biggest investments makeup artists make. Luckily, quality brushes that are properly cared for can live a long, full life.

I have to confess though, that I’m prone to leaving my brushes in weird places. I wish I had a Snickers bar for every time some film crew member came up to me at the end of the day and handed me a brush. Even though I use a set bag, I still manage to set brushes down and walk away.

I’ve been investing in some new pricier brushes lately and trying really hard to retire some of my older (well loved) brushes. That being said, I can’t seem to bring myself to take the older brushes out of my kit so I’m setting a goal, you are officially a witness. By the end of this week, the old brushes will be nestled away in my makeup storage.

A is for airbrush

I know I've blogged about airbrushing before, but I wanted to try to go in order and I can't think of a better use for the letter A. I've been using the airbrush for about a year now and I totally love it. You’d be really hard pressed to talk me into going back to traditional foundation. Airbrushing the foundation on is so quick and easy and I'm always hearing how relaxing the airbrushing feels. I've been doing a ton of film work and the airbrushed actors look great on camera and the makeup is perfectly imperceptible, even on the high definition cameras. I've tried a couple different types of airbrush makeup and my favorite is still Graftobian High Definition. I'm personally not a huge fan of foundation, I think it's important, BUT I don't like to feel like I'm wearing a mud mask all day long. I think that makeup should feel natural when you're wearing it, if you can FEEL it, something isn't right. That's another reason why airbrushing is awesome, it doesn't feel like anything, because it lays such a light layer over the skin it's really comfortable and it lasts much longer than traditional makeup. It actually lasts through sweat, dirt, tears and pretty much anything else you throw at it. Airbrushing has really come in handy whether I have a ton of actors lined up waiting for makeup or a huge bridal party in 95 degree weather. At this time I’d like to send a shout out to my airbrush….We’ve been through so much together, we’ve had our ups and downs, but thank you, I really couldn’t have done it without you!

burying a body with friends

They say a friend will help you move, but a best friend will help you move a body. This summer I had the opportunity to bury a body with some of my favorite people. We filmed the short A Man, Buried, written and directed by Jesse Watson (Shallow Copy). The crew was awesome and the cast was amazing and incredibly talented. I spent some good quality time with the cast & crew and got to know everyone better.

My top 5 memories from those 5 days

-Me, Chris Taylor, Jesse Watson, Andrew Forderer, Frank Fu, Matt Bergman + bachelorette party

-Milk & cookies. Every. Single. Night.

-Me + Darlene Sellers+ Footloose at 1am

-Me & Erin using our Tetris skills to re-arrange the furniture in our hotel room so we could fit in the extra bed and still be able to move around the room.

-Matt Bergman on our choice of Indian food the previous night “remember that thing that we didn’t want to happen? Well, it happened”

I had such a blast working on A Man, Buried and I can’t wait to see the finished product. I’ve seen some clips and so far it looks awesome.

I’m really lucky to have such talented, hard working & creative friends. I'd like to thank Jesse Watson, Chris Taylor, Andrew Forderer, Matt Bergman, Frank Fu, Erin Viraldo, Darlene Sellers, Tony Doupe, Dawson Doupe, Carly Norton, Cameron Anderson and everyone else involved.

Erica + Chuck

I love everything about these guys, especially how creative they were with every aspect of their wedding from the bride's gorgeous yellow wedding gown, the faux 'staches for the groom & groomsmen and the overall theme of Camp Hats 'N Pants. I was so happy to be a part of their special day, they just beam with love for each other and they're full of awesome infectious positive energy.

Boom! I did a television ad

I recently had the opportunity to work on a television spot for Tulip Credit Union with Boom Creative. I enjoyed myself so much on that shoot that I may have smiled for a week straight afterward. The spot was filmed at The Loft on Cherry, and featured some of the credit union's members. Within the first 3 minutes of hearing the testimonials I wanted to join the CU, and I also decided I want to live at the Loft. The creative team from Boom was super talented and fun to work with. I can't wait to see the finished product. Thanks for having me Dan, Addy, Joe, Chris & Amanda!

my brides | katie

Katie is one of the many awesome brides I had the pleasure of working with this summer. Katie, along with her mom & sister kept me laughing for hours (literally) my laughing muscles were sore the next day. I loved Katie’s colors, she chose a gorgeous combination of fuchsia, pink & orange. The colors were amazing and were implemented beautifully into every aspect of the wedding. I came away from this wedding having met some really fun people and with a new inspiration fueled by the rich colors.

O-it’s not all that great

Smashbox O-Glow review

When I heard about Smashbox’s “intuitive cheek color” O-Glow ($26), I immediately wanted to try it. I adore cheek color and until recently had a small addiction to cheek stain. I rushed to the nearest Ulta to pick it up…practically tore it out of the packaging and applied it. The product comes out clear and has the same silky feel as Smashbox’s Photo Finish foundation primer, but turns pink when it makes contact with your skin. The result was a somewhat disappointing very subtle light pink tint.

The plus- it’s super easy to apply, just a dab on your finger and rub it on and you’re good. You could probably apply it in the dark or while brushing your teeth-I’m a fan of multi-tasking. As opposed to cheek stains, cream blushes or more pigmented powder blushes where you have to be pretty careful where and how much you apply. Since there’s no brush needed it’s easy to stick in your pocket for on-the-go touch ups.

I felt a little like the product was a flop, maybe because I was used to the brighter rose cheek stain or because I was so excited to try it, maybe it was the 45 minute drive and $26 I spent. Unless another wonder product comes along I’ll return to my old friend, Lip & Cheek stain in rose from The Body Shop ($14).

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