Jaye Magazine 2010 Feature

It's been a minute since I've posted but I have some great news to share.

KissyFace Artistry and I have been featured in the January 2011 edition of Jaye Magazine, an online mag for college-aged women. I was seriously honored when I was asked to interview about my take on beauty.

Take a look if you'd like especially page 56. 

I know everyone is in the midst of the holiday season, so this is probably my last post for 2010. And it's not a bad way to end. Enjoy the time with your family and friends.

I just know that the 2011 will be that much bigger and better.

Much love & many blessings,

B. Pierre

P.S. Hope you all have an amazing and safe start to the new year. =)

Autumn Beauty Series| Classic Black Smoke

Happy Tuesday!!

I'm coming to you with another tutorial! This is the second installment to the Autumn Beauty Series. 

I think this is the perfect look for this season. I just think smoky eyes are so appropriate for this time of year!

Of course, I've included some pics below.

without flash

close-up of the eyes

with the flash

And the list of products as well!

EYES

Base| Black Bean by NYX

Lower Lashline | Cinderfella by M.A.C.

Main Lid| Zero by Urban Decay

Crease| Alaska followed by Grey  by NYX

FACE

Under Eye Concealer| NW45 in Select Moisturecover by M.A.C.

Powder| Deep Dark in Mineralized Skin Finish

LIPS

Lipliner| Mocha by Beautique

Lipstick| Fresh Brew by M.A.C.

Lipgloss| a creamy sheer pink

Thanks so much for all of your continued support. 

Also, if you have any questions that you want answered about makeup tack it down below as a comment and I'll be sure that it makes it onto my first Q&A video!

Much Love & Many Blessings, 

B. Pierre

P.S. Happy Turkey Day!!!

No Laptop, No Posts!

My laptop is going through some MAJOR issues and I can't get anything done. ::side eye::

I had my posts lined up and everything. #sadface

Hopefully, I'll have at least one post up by Friday.

Hope your week is going smoother than mine. Lol

Much Love & Many Blessings
B. Pierre

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Handling My Biz| Marketing & Branding 101 Pt. 1

"Describe your company in 15 seconds?"

::crickets::

That's the exact response I had when I was first asked that question back in April while attending an effective communication strategies workshop. 

In only a few words, we were charged with considering what makes our company/service unique and why would someone would choose to work with us over another that offers a similar service.

And I simply drew a blank.

I just couldn't hone in on what made KissyFace Artistry tick. And that was a problem. Sure I love doing makeup for people but it wasn't enough to have support the brand that I envisioned for KissyFace.

Fast forward to October, and I started making it one of my personal missions to get a grasp of how I wanted to define KissyFace from a business perspective. 

The first book I picked up was Rework. Actually it was given to me over the summer, but I didn't get to it till October ::hides face in shame::. lol

It highlighted the fact that the traditional rules to making a business work needs to be thrown out the window and you should go for it. And it made me think of things in a new way, especially in the areas of marketing and branding that I needed to consider.

Here's what  I took away:

If you're successful, people will try to copycat what you do. But to protect yourself form copycats: make you part of the service, inject what's unique about the way you think about what you sell, make it something no one else can offer*

When I read that, it opened up my eyes. I always thought to put KissyFace in the limelight and I'll slink away in the background. But I'm learning that it can't work that way. I'm quirky, loud and energetic and I want that same energy to be apart of KissyFace.. From there, the collabo of KF and BP ( that's me. lol) emerged.  And honestly, it's been making creating KF a lot more fun.

Lucky companies have fans but the most fortunate ones have an audience. An audience returns often to see what you have to say because they're the most receptive potential customers you'll ever have.*

The text goes on to list what it takes to build an audience which were to:

-speak

-write

-blog

-tweet

-make videos

I have the potential to do all those things and I have been but not consistently. That's not fair to me and the potential of what KF can be. So, I'm disciplining my self to do all of the above. it gives me an opportunity to really flesh out what KF can turn out to be through trial and error. And I know in the end it'll pay off. Besides, they're not that hard and I love doing them. It'll  just take a huge helping of discipline. =)

There's a lot more I could share on the book but these two were the most pertinent to marketing and branding KF to me, and I just wanted to share the journey I'm currently taking with KF.

Next Friday, my experience on marketing and branding continues.

And check out the book, it was a really quick read. I read it on the plane ride back from Ireland, which in total took me about four-five hours to read.

Have an amazing weekend!

Much love and many blessings,

B. Pierre

*all the quotes were paraphrased but I wanted to make sure that I appropriately attributed to the source.

FTC disclosure: the book was recommended to me by a friend. I'm not affiliated with 37signals

YouTube | Tutorial Smoky Brown Chestnut

So, after having introduced you to some purchases that I've made, I went ahead and made a video for the Smoky Chestnut Quad.

I originally starting making videos just to practice my skills but I'm finding that it's helping me out in so much more. Being able to communicate what I'm doing, getting practice at editing videos and really helping me with my presentation skills. Saying ummmm, so much is not a good look. And maybe being a little dressed up more. lol. My hair needs some attention.

And I wanted to give a special thanks to the readers who've stuck it out with me thus far. I really feel I'm in a place to make things happen and I have God to thank for that. Thanks to so much knowledge and wisdom, I've gained as of late, I know KissyFace Artistry can only go up from here! I'll do a special post on that tomorrow.

So enough of me rambling, below are the products I've used.

EYES
Base| French Fries by NYX
Lashline| #1*
Lid/Crease| #2*
Highlight|#3*
Inner Tearduct| cream color to the side*
Lower Lashline | #1*
*all colors come from the Quadpro

FACE
Concealer| Level 6 Brightening Concealer by Prescriptives ( no longer made. #sadface )
Powder| Mineralized Skin Finish ( MSF) by M.A.C.
Cheeks| Coral blush by Be Chic

LIPS
Gloss| Mauve Infallible Lipgloss by L'oreal topped off with Clear lipglass by M.A.C.

And here are a few pics too!

Much Love & Many Blessings,
B. Pierre

Overseas Haul | L'oreal at the Airport

I'm not too big on "hauls" but I just wanted to share with you some stuff that I purchased while I was overseas back in late October. As part of my grad program, we had to go to Ireland for about a week.

One of my missions was to pick up some make up while I was there. I was so busy with everything that I ultimately forgot about it until I got to the airport and picked up these babies!

 I know it's L'oreal, a brand we carry in the states, but it was better than nothing. Even though I wanted something exclusive to them, I'm happy with my purchases. And I don't think I've seen anything like this packaging in the states, which was reason enough to get it.

And as trite as this may be, I love the multiple languages used in the back with French being first, followed by English, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.

I've already done a look with the brown palette. And I plan to on uploading a tutorial on it soon. 

So, that's it-- my two items from overseas. =)

Hope you all have a pleasant Wednesday!

Much Love & Many Blessings

B. Pierre

YouTube| Autumn Beauty Series: Cherry Raspberry Delight

So, after going a month without making a video, I'm back in the game.

I must say that getting this video edited was a hassle. From being busy with school, having Windows Movie Maker issues and a side of lazyness, this video took a week to get done. But hopefully, I'll find a routine and stick with it.

I've included some pics. As you can see I was heavy handed with the concealer in my brows which is a no-no. But I'm posting the pics to serve as a reminder and to show you guys that everything isn't always perfect and I have room for improvement. And I'm always willing to grow from my experiences.

The list of products used are as follows:

EYES

Lid| Jazzy Bronze ( NYX)

Crease| Sweet Chestnut

Highlight| Nano Gold

Lower Lashline| (outside to inside) sweet chestnut, jazzy bronze, nanogold

Waterline and Upper Lashline| Zero by Urban Decay

Mascara| L'oreal Telescopic Clean Definition in Blackest Black

FACE

Concealer| MAC NW45

Powder| MAC Mineralized SkinFinish in Deep Dark

Cheeks | MAC Raizin

LIPS

Lipgloss| Queen Bee Liglass ( M.A.C.)

Till Next Time!

 Much Love & Many Blessings, 

B. Pierre

P.S. I'm aware of the off-center pics. Blogger did not want to cooperate so I left it as is. o_O. lol

KissyFace Approved? | EOS Lip Balm

Long time no blog! Yes, I know. How typical. So instead of boring you with the details lets press on with the some newness.

In one of my previous posts I introduced you to this little beauty.

As you you can see, It's been worn done to the little mound that you see before you.

The one I purchased was mint. So what did I think?

I loved it! It's applied with no problem and it left a tingly mint feeling on my lips and tasted minty too. It was really moisturizing and really helped me out during those dry lip emergency moments. And what I was surprised about was the length of time that it stayed on my lips. Even in the midst of eating and  no matter the weather, it lasted for hours. I wasn't constantly reapplying, which was a definite plus.

It was even a great conversation starter. Every time I pulled it out people were questioning as to what it was because of it's odd shape.

This is definitely KissyFace Approved. And I'm definitely going to be adding it to my kit.

In fact, I went out and purchased the honeydew scented/flavored one. I like this one even more because of the scent. So, if your ever in the market for a lip balm this is definetely one to consider. =)

Much Love & Many Blessings,
B. Pierre

P.S. Find me on Facebook, on Twitter and YouTube.

*FTC Disclosure:  These were purchased with my own funds

and were not provided  by the manufacturer for consideration.

Makeup Tutorial | Everyday Look with Green

I'm at it again. This morning I had some free time and knocked out this video. This time around, I'm a lot happier with how things turned out. 

The products used are below and some still pics as well 

EYES
Lid| Hazelnut ( Jane Cosmetics)
Crease| Brownie Points (Jane Cosmetics) and Eutopia (NYX)
Highlight| Skin ( NYX)
Lower Lashline| Ivy ( Rimmel London) topped with Algae ( NYX)
Water line| Bourbon ( Urban Decay)
Upper Lashline| Black Aqua Cream Liner ( Makeup Forever)
Mascara| Maybelline Great Lash in Black

FACE
Concealer| MAC NW45
Powder| MAC Mineralized SkinFinish in Deep Dark
Cheeks | MAC Raizin

LIPS
Lipliner| MAC Chestnut
Lipstick| MAC Fresh Brew
Lipgloss| MAC lipglass in ?!?!?!?! - I have no clue what color it is =(

It was easier this time. I was way more relaxed and was able to talk slower too! I think I'm gonna like this. Even if nobody watches, I'll still make them. Any opportunity to hone my craft, I'm all up for. My next look is gonna be one to usher in Autumn. I'm excited! =)

Much Love & Many Blessings,
B. Pierre

Tutorial | Pink & Purple Makeup YouTube Tutorial

Could you tell I was nervous?

Well, I was. But I will say the experience was amazing. I've already learned so much on how to make the next one better. I was able to actually talk after all even though my voice sounded not so good.

I just know for next time that I've got to relax and sloooooooow doooown while I'm talking. I'm a fast-talker by nature and that's not translating so well on camera. I can go on and on and pick on other flaws but I'm just glad that I did it.

Stay tuned for another look that I'll have up by the end of this week. Since autumn is in the air, I'm going to go in this direction.

Outside of expanding my network, I really hope this channel will really help me to refine my craft, speaking skills and teaching skills as well. And besides, it's something fun too. Hope your week is off to an amazing start, loves. =)

Much love & Many blessings,
B. Pierre

Handling My Biz| Taking Time Like Fine Wine

Image via Wikipedia

Anything worth having is worth fighting for.

And that's exactly what I'm doing. This post doesn't necessarily have to do with anything with makeup but everything to do with pushing through.

KissyFace Artistry, both the blog and the business is far from anything I could have even imagined two years ago. Despite the bumps along the road, I wouldn't take back any of my experiences.

But I must admit there are times, I feel like giving up but that quote always comes to mind and I tough it out all the more because it's true. Anything that you aspire to have is all the more rewarding, when you put your blood, sweat and tears, to finally realize the beauty that results from it. I'm still learning, still experiencing and that's ok.

Besides, KissyFace is my baby and like fine wine, it takes time to mature. =) Things may not be where I want or expect them to be but in time they will.

As for my health, I'm still not at 100%, but I'm still keeping to my promise and will be posting a video by Saturday, it'll be sans my voice because it still sounds atrocious.  Lol 

Much Love and Many Blessings,
B. Pierre

Beauty Finds| EOS Lip Balm

So, over the weekend I decided to rest up hoping I would get better from being sick since last Wednesday. But downing OJ, eating chicken noodle soup, drinking tea and taking Theraflu didn't do the job because by Sunday evening, my voice was hoarse and by Monday morning my eyes were bloodshot as if I had just got off a drinking binge, which is far from the truth.

I woke up from a nap Monday evening and felt horrible so off to Walgreens I went for some meds and to speak to a pharmacist. Well, the pharmacy was closed but the trip wasn't wasted. On my way out, I came across this little beauty.

What is it you ask?

It's the EOS ( Evolution of Smooth) Lip Balm. And the particular scent I picked up was sweet mint. The other option was lemon drop. Being that blues and green are my favorite color, I went with the green one.

I learned about it after watching one of Fashionista804 youtube video where she put it on to prep her lips, which I always do for me and my clients right along with prepping the face and the eyes before I apply any makeup.

Lip balms are the best everyday way to keep the lips moisturized free from chapping. And the best thing about this little gem is that it's 100 percent natural with 95 percent of it being organic.

Just twist off the top and your looking and you discover a gem that boasts having shea butter and jojoba oil, which I'm great fans of.

I wont try it just yet, but once I get over my little sick episode, I'll be all over it. And if I like it, I might add it to my kit because as much as I like petroleum jelly to helped the chap lips of my clients, this might serve them better. I'll have a full review for a "KissyFace Approved?" post in a few weeks.

Oh, it retails for $3.49 so it won't break my bank and worthy of a fair try.

Much Love & Many Blessings,
B. Pierre

P.S. I made it to CVS to get my meds instead. =)

FTC Disclosure: I got this cute lip balm with my personal cash. No freebie here. =)

Clientele Highlight| Solutions Bridal on the Runway

I was roaming on Facebook this morning during class, checking up on my KissyFace Artistry FanPage. I came across a comment from Russel Martin Photography. To my surprise, he had captured the models wonderfully. I wasn't able to get any up close shots of my work but I'm glad he did. So, not paying attention led me to a great treat despite my yucky morning. I caught a really bad cold earlier this week and its been rough.
But enough about my illness, here are a few shots from the runway.

Visit his Facebook Fan Page: Russell Martin Photography and his website for more of his work.
Have an amazing weekend all! As for me, I'll be  focusing on getting better with plenty of soup and rest. =)
Much Love & Many Blessings
B. Pierre

Handling My Biz| Networking

Simply said, "GET YOURSELF OUT THERE"

And it's just that. It's easier said than done. 

In late July, I had lunch with a mentor and I was speaking with her as to how to attract business. She's a local restaurant owner and her eatery is one of the best known around town.  So, I know that whatever she had to say was worth listening to. She made some suggestions as to a few businesses that I should approach to make my services available and a willingness to work for free at first. 

So, I took her words of advice and made a nice sizable list of whom I should I approach. And thus far, I've had done makeup for the models at the my local bridal show, which I'm hopping willing drum up some business and I've booked some work with a local magazine.

Not bad, huh? =)

And I can only go up from here. 

Making the first few calls and sending out e-mails had me scared but I soon realized that people are open to working with me. And the fear was all in my head. Besides, the worst thing they can tell me is no. And so far, I haven't heard that. =)

So, I've still got  my the rest of my list to work through and I'm looking forward to what comes of it.

Much Love & Many Blessings

B. Pierre

Updates | Digital Camera & YouTube

Well, it's not make-up but I finally purchased a camera after I lost my old one. Who know's where that old one even  is? But I purchased one that I've had my eyes on for almost two years.

The Canon SD780 IS
I've seen countless positive reviews on it and it takes amazing close up shots which really come in handy for my pictures that I'll be taking for my blog, informal portfolio and Facebook Fan Page. So, I'm looking forward to uploading and sharing more too.

YouTube News
And like all great digital cameras, this baby is great for making videos because of its HD function.  A number of friends have been pestering me to get a YouTube account and start making videos. I must admit the thought of doing that was a little unevering. But I'm taking a leap of faith and taking the chance. I've got thick skin and I'm aware of what may come. =) Well, I've got the camera, the YouTube channel set-up ( since Sept. of last year! Oops. lol). All I have to do is start cranking out the videos. ::teeth chattering::

You'll finally get to see me in all my glory. Well, once I purchase an 8GB SD card. My little 2GB isn't going to cut it when it comes to filming.

If you want to get a heads up on subscribing, check me out at KissyFaceTV. I'll have something up by the end of next week. I promise. I'm going to recreate the look in my YT avatar to get things started.  I guess, I'm going to be putting to use my old video and editing skills to use.

I'm looking forward to feedback, comments and just sharing more of me because as intimate as I find writing, making videos will just be on a whole other level. Get ready for my loud, kooky and sarcastic personality live in action.

Much Love & Many Blessings,
B. Pierre

KissyFace Approved? | Mehron Barrier Spray Fixer and Sealer

The best thing about makeup is that it's not permanent. And the worst thing about makeup is, well, it's not permanent. In my experiences, I haven't found anything to make my face makeup last. 

For my eyelids, I have my trusty Urban Decay Primer Potion. But for my face powder and blush, I haven't had much success. So, I decided to try a sealer. Enkore ( YouTube makeup guru) has a great series on refresher sprays, fixers and sealers that teaches you on setting and fixing makeup. Before I watched his video, I only used M.AC.'s Fix+ to give me a less powdery look after I apply my mineralize skinfinish and powder blush. But that's all that it was good for. It didn't help my face makeup last.

So, I picked up Mehron's Barrier Spray Fixer and Sealer

It claims that it is: a moisture resistant coating for setting cream and cake makeup. Also, provides protective underbase before application of prosthetics and adhesives.

And the directions stated: lightly mist from approximately eight inches directly onto skin or over makeup. Cream makeup should be set with powder before applying spray.

For me, I only wanted it to seal my  skinfinish and blush. Now I bought it a while back but never really started playing with it until this summer, so I've had a really long time to use it both on my self and other. And let's say it was less than stellar.

REVIEW

Even thought it cost me less than $9.00 for 1 fl. oz. Flat out, it sucked. 

Over the summer and in the previous weeks I've used it in multiple scenarios and each time it failed. Daytime use? FAIL. Night out? FAIL. And I even used it on my bridal models on Sunday in an indoor environment. You would have thought it would have worked, right? Again, NO.  The girls weren't running around sweating or in a hot environment and it still didn't live up to its name.

To make things worse, it stunk. I don't know how to necessarily describe the smell but each time I went to spray it, I wasn't looking forward to it because of the smell. It's like a medicinal and alcoholic smell at the same time, if the makes sense.

And another negative point was that it didn't spray as I fine mist. It would sometimes land on my face kinda splotchy. I also had to spray multiple times to cover my face.

THE VERDICT

KissyFace Approved? NO WAY! Can't you tell? lol I had not one good word to say about it except the size of the bottle was cute and that's about. So, I'm still on the look out for a stellar sealer. 

And to learn more about various sprays, definitely check out Enkore's Videos. It's a two part series, Facial Sprays 101: Part 1 and Facial Sprays 101: Part 2. Although they're a bit long, they were highly detailed and I learned a lot. Just thought I would share.

Much Love & Blessings,

B. Pierre

Clientele Highlight | Solutions Bridal Designer House Presents Florida Bridal Expo Fall 2010

Sunday was just a sea of white and ivory dresses at the 7th semi-annual Florida bridal expo. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of doing the make up for the twelve modeling the store's designs. And I have to admit, the dresses were gorgeous. I'm not shopping for a dress right not but I did tuck a few in mind for future reference. A girl can dream, right?

I had about five hours to get everyone and it was time crunch but I pulled it through with my awesome assistant. =) It took out a lot out of me because by the time I got home I needed a three-hour nap to recharge.

Below are just a few snapshots from the day

Enjoy!

And if you're shopping for that special day, check out the amazing gowns in at one of their locations, either in Gainesville or Orlando, if you're in the Florida area. Check out their website for more details.

Also, special thanks to Cherish, one of the stylists, for giving me the opportunity. It was an amazing experience!

Much Love & Blessings,

B. Pierre

Portfolio: Warrior

How bad of me. I can't believe I never posted this. Goes to show how little attention I pay attention to my blog. =( I started this blog to chronicle my journey as a makeup artist. I know how important it is to journal things because you can always look back to see where you've been.  And you can only create a future, avoid repeating your past mistakes and understand where you currently are by knowing where you've been. 

So here's one of my pics from the summer portfolio I created.

Photography: Edson Andre

Model: Wanting

Two NYX jumbo pencils ( Milk and French Fries) and one FaceFront Cosmetics pigment, Maple Brown Sugar, helped to create this look. I'm digging masks, so I may experiment with that in the future.

Portfolio: Splash

Photography: Edson Andre

Model: Wanting

This look was inspired by a look I saw on Jaleesie's tumblr site. It was just so bright that I wanted to try it. Of course I put my twist on it. And I made her lips nude, so all the focus could be on her eyes.

Portfolio: Brush Strokes

Photography: Edson Andre

Model: Whitney Rae J.

When the photographer wanted me to do this I was a bit puzzled, I admit.  But this turns out to be one of my more favorite ones. For the most part I'm a fan of symmetry but it defies that and I'm still in love with it.

I couldn't tell you what I used. It just came together with a bunch of NYX eyeshadow pencils and various eye shadows.

Porfolio: Barbie Girl

This shoot was so fun to do. Her facial expressions were dead on.

Photography: Edson Andre

Portfolio: Obviously Pink

When I was creating the look, I instantly thought of a superhero. I was almost tempted to make it a mask. lol I even joked around with the name Pink Powergirl. Yea, that was a weak attempt. lol And this is the third picture from my business card.

Photography by Edson Andre
Model: Anna  K.

Handling My Biz: Business Cards

I got one thing checked off the list I mentioned in my last  "Handling My Biz" post. My cards made it into my hands, not even an hour ago.

(front)

(back)

I'm elated!! Now, when I meet with people, I have something to give them.

Happy Friday all!

Much Love & Many Blessings,
B. Pierre

P.S. I haven't forgotten about my previous photo shoots that I plan to post. They'll b up in the coming days. =)