Skill Building: Class is in Session!

Yep.

I did it again.

I went ghost.

But skip the reasonings cuz I don't want to bore you with the details.

So, without further adieu, a post. :-)

This past weekend having a Saturday off, which I haven't had in a long while, I was invited to attend a local M.A.C. class on fall trends.

a few of the things we got to play with

And the instructor?

An artist who's had the pleasure of working with....

::drumroll, please::

Kim Kardashian

::gasp::

Lol. But seriously she was so down to earth and I must say I picked up a few tricks and scribbled down lots of notes.

See?

I love the notepad that they gave us. Really cute!

And of course, I couldn't just go to the class. I had to make a few purchases.

Welcome to what I like to call my Style Black Triplets.

sorry for the blurry image but you get the point. :-)

Yes, they are gorgeous. You've all seen the YouTube videos, countless swatches and rave reviews.

They'll make an awesome addition to my kit for smokey eyes. I can't wait to play in them.

That's it. ::crickets:: lol

Have a safe weekend!

XOXO & many blessings,
B. Pierre

P.S. I'm doing make-up at my school's Hispanic Student Association Pageant, which is part of it's month long celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month at UF. So of course expect a post featuring the lovely ladies.

KissyFace Approved: E.L.F. Shader Brush

Yesterday, I mentioned the three eye shadow brushes that I purchased from E.L.F. and they are amazing. I'll definitely be adding more to my kit.

They pick up color really well and only cost $1.

KissyFace Approved? No doubt about it. For such an economical price and great ability to pack on color, there's no reason for it not to.

And after cleaning my brushes. I added them to the brush belt.


Aren't they purrty? :-) lol

It looks a little empty at the moment, which means I definitely need more brushes or is that another excuse to go shopping? lol.

Have a safe weekend and Happy Fourth of July!

XOXO and many blessings,
B. Pierre

P.S. I've got some great details to share next week so stay tuned. I'm uber excited.

Handling My Biz: Skool Daze

As soon as I got into the swing of daily blogging, school and work came in to ruin the fun. I've got a huge exam on Monday, business finance, and I just started a new job this previous Monday. So with studying and the long hours of orientation/ training, something's got to give and unfortunately it's the blog at the moment. :-(

By next Wednesday,after the exam and a settled work schedule, KissyFace Artistry will be back to regularly scheduled programming. It's official I'm a blogging fanatic and I dare not turn away now. :-)

Here are some of the future posts that'll be up next week. They're not in order though.
Handling My Biz: Certified Am I?
Clientele Highlight: Crossing the Stage
Kit Building 101: Eyes, Lips, Face
Look of the Week: Cheri, I adore Thee

I like to have non-traditional titles, well, because I'm quirky that way.

Be back next week.:-)

XOXO & many blessings,
B. Pierre

Kit Building 101: Kit Tested, KissyFace Artistry Approved

Well, I had the last interview and it went really well. But before that final interview I tested two new items to see whether or not they'd make appropriate additions to my kit.

With the New MAC Style Warriors collection that recently came out I was really interested in their Lustre Drops. But after getting a tip from Reflections of Beauty that there was a dupe available, instead of dishing out $18.50, I paid less then $9.00 at Wal-mart (I can't recall the exact retail price, sorry.) for the comparable.
I mixed a little with the foundation, more so 3 parts foundation to 1 part bronzing liquid.
After mixing the two I applied it to my face.

Sorry for the overexposure. I'm figuring out that I'm in
need of a new camera esp. with all the make-up pics
I've been taking as of late.

The picture doesn't do the outcome justice at all. The glow that it created was amazing! I spent a little too much time angling my face to the light watching how it would catch the sunlight from my window. lol

KissyFace Approved?: Definitely. But it only comes in one color. MAC has three options. I plan on purchasing Pink Rebel from MAC just to add variety to my kit.

Tip: You have to be very careful when mixing it in with your moisturizer or foundation that it doesn't over power your look. Incorrect proportions can have you looking like an over-bronzed dame, unless that's the look you're trying to achieve.

My application wasn't done with my handy fingers like usual but with a new brush I picked up. Personally, I am not a fan of the traditional foundation brush and have been on the hunt for a better alternative. And this past weekend I found it. Initially, I purchased a $34 Air Brush from Sephora. I must admit that it was uber-soft but I never got to use it, with good reason.
After hitting up Target and browsing through their Sonia Kashuk brushes, instantly I wanted to head back to Sephora and return the recent purchase. I saw a Sonia Kashuk Duo-Fibre Stipling Brush. And get this it was only $11.99! I could almost get three Sonia's for one Sephora, so that was a no-brainer, right back to Sephora the Air Brush went.

But no regrets, I was pretty impressed with the alternative.


KissyFace Approved? Yes, 10x over. For such an economical price, I'll definitely be adding at least three or four of them to my kit. The bristles worked effectively and blended my foundation effortlessly.

So now I'm slowly but surely crossing things of off the get-these-things-for-my-kit list. Thus far my additions have been bargain finds but I don't necessarily think an item has to be expensive to get the job done. Great quality can definitely be found at affordable prices. Tomorrow I'm getting a package in from E.l.f. Cosmetics. I'll be sharing the details for it next week. It's just more items for my kit :-)

Have a great Thursday all! As for me I'll be attached to the library doing some much needed studying.

XOXO & many blessings,
B. Pierre

P.S. And a little fun fact about me is that I love painting my nails. Whenever I look down at my nails after a polish change or design upgrade it just brings a smile to my face. I did this on Memorial Day. I've been antsy to do polka-dotted nails for a while and I finally did. And the little black dot is a pen mark. I was being impatient and wanted to test if it was dry but didn't bother fixing it. Aside from that, they came out pretty nice, right?

Kit Building 101: The Necessities

Well, yesterday really wasn't all too relaxing as planned, but don't worry it was a great day nonetheless. Instead of lounging around I attended a cookout with some friends, studied (darn my incessant needs to be ahead) and watched the basketball game last night. So, overall it was a great day despite the original plan. And some of the best things are unplanned.

Now, on to the make-up!

Since I'm striving to become a freelance makeup artist there are a "few" things that I'll need in order to get the job done right. After much research and a lot of reading, I tailored from the knowledge I gained to create what I want in my kit. Yes, the list is a dozy but I promise they're all necessary.

Ok, let's get started!

SKIN CARE & PREP

Facial Wash- To prep the skin and make sure that it's clean (need to find an economical option to carry in my kit to serve clients the best)

Moisturizer-Cetaphil (great for sensitive skin), MAC Strobe Cream (dewy skin looks) and Dermalogica Oil Control Lotion (great for mattifying oily skin)

Toner-TBD (need to fig. out which is best for all skin tones)

Moisturizing Body Lotion-TBD

Monistat Chafing Gel- great alternative to Smashbox primer (but need to look into other options as well)

FOUNDATION

RCMA Palette- for liquid foundation options ( But also considering options from Cinema Secrets, Graftobian & Yaby at camerareadycosmetics.com)

Powder Foundation Options (need to do more research on what's available or whether or not I should even have it)

CONCEALERS

MUFE- 5 Camouflage Cream Palette( light, dark and corrective options)

SETTING POWDER

Silica Powder- TKB Trading (cheaper than MUFE)

MAC- Mineral SkinFinish Naturals (about 4 to use on the range of possible skin tones)

BLUSH

Blush Palette- La Femme 12 Blush Palette (just to have a good starting point in terms of options)

Crème Blush Options- I just have a personal preference for them and might include them in the kit

COUNTOURING

Blushes- Blunt by MAC (darker skin-toned women), Strata by MAC ( lighter skin-toned women)

Countouring Palette- Coastal Scents

BRONZERS

Liquid Bronzers- to mix in with foundations or moisturizers to create a luminous look

Powder Bronzers- more research needs to be done

EYES

Eye Primer- Urban Decay Primer Potion and various other color bases by NYX

Eye shadows- various options for colors from diff. companies but considering on ordering the neutral palette from coastalscents.com for bridal work

Eyeliners- gel eyeliners, pencil eye liners

False Eyelashes- various options

Mascara-three to four formula options (most likely drugstore brands)

Brow Fillers- most likely will use brown eye shadows to get the job done.

LIPS

Vaseline-great primer for lips

Lipsticks- I've heard great things about NYX lipsticks and possibly looking into lip palettes as well

Ligloss-OCC Clear Lip Tar, and other basic colors

Lip Pencils- Urban Decay Lip Pencil in Ozone (great alternative to carrying a lot of various colors because its clear) but looking into possibly NYX lip pencils as I progress

BRUSHES & TOOLS

Brush Belt- E.L.F (just as good as the one by M.A.C.)

Duo Fiber Brush- For applying foundation (I"m not to fond of traditional foundation brushes)

Powder Blush-various shapes and sizes

Blush/Contour Brushes- tapered, angled and rounded brush options

Buffer Brush- great to buff out overly intense colors

Eye shadow Brushes- lid application, crease brush, highlight (but of course I'll have various styles for ea.)

Angled Liner Brush

Straight Liner Brush

Dense Angled Liner Brush- for eyebrow color application

Disposable lipstick brushes

Disposable doe-foot lip wands

Disposable mascara wands

Brow brush and comb duo

Disposable cosmetic sponges

Concealer brush

Tweezers

Duo Surgical Adhesive for lashes

Disposable Spatulas

Mini-scissors

Pencil Sharpener

Eyelash Curler-She Uemera (expensive but nonetheless is an investment)

OTHER NECESSITIES

Cotton pads

Empty spray bottles

Isopropyl alcohol

Make-up Wipes

Eye Make-up remover

Cotton Swabs

Visine-regular

Visine for Contacts

Kleenex

Hand Sanitizer

Mini-pack of Wet Ones

A Nail Kit

Nail File

Polish Remover

Cuticle Sticks

Hand Cream

Small Hand Towel

Sunscreen

Mini-Fan

Business Cards

Mints

Hair clips-to move the hair out of the way

Robe for clientele to wear over clothing

Empty Palettes for Eyeshadows- Coastal Scents

Last but not Least…

A Train Case- I've been scoping out by the recommendation of Ren of MakeupbyRenRen who mentioned that Yazmo was a great place for traincases.

If I shop wisely I should have a "complete" kit in no time.

Ok, I'm through. Creating this list, although time consuming, was necessary because I can keep better track of what I need and it'll help me to be more conscious when shopping.

I've got my second interview to get ready for later and I'll be testing out a Dupe for M.A.C.'s luster drops along with a new duo fiber brush that I bought. I'll be sure to share my experience with the new purchases later on in the week.

Have a great Tuesday all!

XOXO & many blessings,

B. Pierre

P.S. Here are a list of the sites that I used to compile my personal list. These were great resources.

Makeup By RenRen

What The Pro's Do

Petrilude

In My Kit

Kit Building 101: New Sephora's In Town

Living in Gainesville has both its ups and downs. It's truly a college town that caters to the UF population but what it doesn't cater to is the beauty population, i.e. ME! :-). We only have only a M.A.C. counter, a quaint make-up boutique and a costume shop to feed my fix.

But that definitely changed last week. Sephora finally opened a full-fledged store. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the official grand opening but I had the pleasure of visiting and playing around in what they had to offer. And pick up a few items too.

It was so pretty and inviting. The window display
was unique with the mermaids--very aquatic.
I have read that Sephora's are usually unkempt but
being that this was freshly opened.
I had the pleasure of being the first to
swatch some of the colors. It was just so......CLEAN and.....NEWAnd what took my breathe away was the Make Up Forever area. At the former Sephora, located within JcPenny, they didn't have their products available. So I was absolutely delighted to see them there. And proving how green I am, outside of the Web site, this was my first face-to-face encounter with the line. I could have played in the products all day but ultimately decided against it because I did have a long day ahead of me.

Pure delight!

For the time that I was there, I felt like a kid in a candy store. And it was delightful indeed. So, I can proudly say I have a go-to spot when wanting to build my kit with the necessities. Although I'm not opposed to shopping online, nothing beats testing out products and playing in make-up in real time.

And one of the things I swatched was one of the latest Smashbox products.

Smashbox Mother Earth Palette

I was delightfully surprised by the color payoff. The most raved about items are their primers, which I've yet to try. So swatching the shadows and liking them was highly unexpected.

I really loved the blue one.

So I'll definitely be making regular visits. A girl can never experience and try too much, or in my case, purchase too much either. I left with a few items that I'm all too elated about.

I've been looking for an eyeshadow color
like this & there it was ready to be
purchased. It was meant to be!

As for my gel liner, the one I currently own was drying out. I wanted to try a higher quality one to see how much better it is. And its waterproof. Oh, la, la!

And this little lip liner was just something
to try. I'm getting into lips and trying to
perfect certain techniques at the moment.

Sure, I still have to travel to Orlando or Jacksonville for a M.A.C store and other treasures but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Make the best of your Wednesday!

XOXO and many blessings,
B. Pierre