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.

Porfolio | Captured Fire

Here's another look I created earlier this month. I just love this look.

Using colors of yellow, orange and pink and an NYX jumbo pencil in Black Bean were used to create the look.  Exact details are below.

Photo By: Edson Andre Photography

Model: Whitney Rae J.

 

EYES

primer: L'oreal Decrease
base: Yellow| NYX Jumbo Pencil
inner third of lid : Bee Incredible |FaceFront Cosmetics
main lid: Sunset | NYX
Outer Lid: Little Gremlin| FaceFront Cosmetics
Outline: Black Bean | NYX Jumbo Pencil


LIPS
main lip: Little Gremlin| FaceFront Cosmetics mixed with M.A.C. Clear Lipglass (sheer application)
middle of lip: Bee Incredible |FaceFront Cosmetics ( dabbed)

FACE

Unfortunately, I don't recall what color I used on her face but it was Dream Matte Mousse Foundation.


But, overall I loved how it turned out. =)

I've got just two more looks to share with you all from what I've recently done.

XOXO & Many Blessings,
B. Pierre

Flower Pretty

Visit Edson's site, for more of his work.

And Anna, you were a joy to work with=)

For a list of products used. Check it out here. 

Purple Princess

This was uber fun to play with. I especially like the orange liner under her lower lashline. It even came out looking awesome in the black and white photography.Check out what I used to create the look.

Photography: Edson Andre

B. Pierre

Portfolio Building: KissyFace Artistry Teaser Pic

Just a quick post from a recent photo shoot.
Nov. 13 marked the first official day of working towards creating an active  portfolio. I'll forever remember that night. :-)

I must say, that I'm in love with this pic.

Special thanks to Edson Andre Photography  and the model. Just seeing this pic inspires me to keep going with my endeavors. I have it posted as my laptop's wallpaper. lol

Till next time!

XOXO & many blessings,
B. Pierre

P.S. Next post will be a few things learned from this shoot. Each makeup endeavor is another lesson learned.

P.S.S. And the items from my last purchases have become everyday staples.  Drugstore brands are not ones to be skipped. :-)

Portfolio Building: Manic Monday to Come!

I just made it home from my business finance exam not to long ago. And all I can say is that, it was interesting. lol But enough about academics.

Let's get to the make-up. One thing that I need to make sure to have in my portfolio is variety. My roommate has already confirmed to help out along with a previous client. I'm shooting for Monday as the big day but it's yet to be confirmed.

So here are the two looks that I have in mind for them.

Classic Smokey Eye- it's self-explanatory
Chiseled to Perfection- a look that focuses on contouring the cheekbones and other assets.

And here are some other looks that I"m wanting to do as well.

Green Gem- its a look that I did in this first post. I loved how it looked and would love to see how it would look when done with a professional photographer
Egyptian Goddess- I couldn't think of an appropriate title description but think blue and gold. I It was initially inspired by the make-up did on a friend for her graduation. I wasn't able to snap good pictures though
Natural Beauty- A look that focuses on the no make-up look, just minimizing flaws and keeping things simple
Bold Lips- I really want to do a look where the focus is on the lips. Naturally the go-to color is red but that may change for when I go to create it.
Orange & Purple- It means what it says. Literally the idea for this look came to mind earlier this week and i can't wait to put it on face ( Get it? Instead of putting it on paper? Yes, lame. lol)

Let me know what you think or any suggestions you have in mind for looks that I should create in my future portfolio projects.

But in the mean time I'll be spending my free time planning the looks and elements that I want to include because I create better through trial and error.

Talk to you lovelies tomorrow!

XOXO & many blessings,
B. Pierre

Clientele Highlight: Cap and Gown Glory

Here are the long-awaited pics from my friends graduations that I did makeup for in early May. One wanted a more natural look and the other wanted more color to her eyes. It just happened to be a trend at my school for everyone to get professional photos done for graduation, which I'm not mad at. I'll probably be doing the same when I walk across the stage next year.


Val wanted more of the natural look so I kept her bronzy and simple. I only used two colors for her lid.

Main Lid- a wash of Sunset by NYX
Crease- Brownie Points by Jane Cosmetics
Highlight-Champagne by Covergirl
Eyeliner- Brown by Jane Cosmetics
Waterline-Zero by Urban Decay
Lower Lashline-Karat by NYX

As for Kedly, she was more drawn to colors and I was allowed to have more creative liberty with her eye makeup.

Unfortunately I cant recall what I used on my second friend but it was a combination of greens from NYX.


And when it comes to more work for my portfolio I'm planning on hiring a few local photographers to take some shots. I'm working on getting pricing estimates and I'm officially designating July as primetime for building my portfolio and want to do about eight girls by the end of the month.

This means I need models aka some good friends to use as my willing subjects. I need to plan out the looks to maximize the greatest potential for each of the looks in order to showcase the array of work I can do. Next week I'll be giving an update on how things are going on my current portfolio's project progression. :-)

I've also got some great news to share as well but I won't spill the beans until next week Monday. I still need to firm up a few things before I go public with the details.

Look out for my post on Eyes, Lips Face tomorrow because like I said before, I'm getting through all the posts I planned on doing and a little more.

XOXO & many blessings,
B. Pierre

P.S. All the pictures are by my friend Edson. Check out the rest of his work on his Web site.

Clientele Highlight: Sk8r Gurl

This past week a friend of mine wanted her make-up done for a photoshoot and of course she reached out to me for her make-up, which I glady did. She wanted a bright look to match the aqua tank she was rockin that day. Below are a few pics from the shoot. I really wanted her eyes to pop in the session and I think it was achieved.

I really think they came out lovely. And my friend Edson Andre was the photographer. Checkout his Web site to see more of his great work at edsonandre.com I've known him for close to five years and his skills with a camera are A-Ma-Zing.

Products used:
Eyeshadow Bases: UDPP, followed by NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

Eyeshadows: Turquoise Tempest and Raisin by CoverGirl
Eyeliner: Black Gel Liner by Jane
Foundation: MAC- I forgot but it's TBU ( To Be Updated)

Powder: MAC Mineralized SkinFinish Natural in Deep Dark
Bronzer: Fiji by Jane
Blush:Ambering Rose by M.A.C.
Lips: a no-name red-tinted gloss from a KISS lipgloss palette

Lessons Learned:

*Be ready for quick changes.
-Since I didn't do a consultation with her, I hadn't had enough time to prepare. But I took it all in stride and I think I handled it really well.

*Have a better understanding of bases.

-Initially, I had her main lid color under a blue base. I wasn't too pleased with it so I changed it to white and it worked perfectly.

*Always ask questions
-I really want the client to be happy with the work. So I'm sure to ask for their opinion and any specific elements they want added or subtracted. Because in they end I want them to be happy with the look I gave them.

*Better options and back-ups are a must.
-My collection is still in the growing stage. So I had to use her own foundation to give her the look. I'm still researching foundation options. Even though I hear great things about M.A.C and MUFE, it's not so pocket-friendly to add a whole set of foundation options to my kit.

But overall, it was a pleasure to work with her. And at the same time have work to add to my portfolio, which I'm still deciding how best to put it together. But I'll be posting on that on a later date.

XOXO & many blessings,

B. Pierre

Ode to the Portfolio- Kickoff

Currently at my school all my friends are graduating around me, heading off to start their new life delving into new projects and prospects. But I've still got a year to go.:-( (I got sidetracked, unfortunately) Instead of sulking in pity, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity afforded me at the present moment.

My friends are taking cap and gown pictures and just general pictures to commemorate their last moments at UF. And guess who came up with idea of doing make-up for those their pictures?

ME!

Thus far I've booked about four girls for grad pics. It may not be a lot but anything will do in order to build my portfolio, practice on different faces and improve my overall skills. This past weekend I did a photo shoot for a flier that a friend of mine are creating to do the make-up for the local high school girls in town, which is another opportunity to build my portfolio.

Below you'll see a green look that I did on a friend of mine. I was so nervous while I was doing her make-up but every opportunity afforded me was a lesson learned.

Make-up Products used:

Primers: face-Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel ( great alternative to more expensive bases), eyes-Urban Decay Primer Potion followed by Black Bean Pencil (NYX)

Foundation: Everyday Minerals- Deep Tan followed by Deep Dark MSF

Brows: Wet n' Wild-Dark Brown set

Blush: Be Chic- Coral

Lips: Sheer pink gloss

Shadow Placement: Inner 1/3- Jaden (Cuberry), 2/3- Aquamarine (NYX), last 1/3- Gunmetal L'Oreal H.I.P. darker green side), outer v and crease-black tie (covergirl), from Almay trio for bhighlight- lightest color brown eyes, lower lashline-jaden 1^st 2/3's and Gunmetal- last 1/3

Lessons Learned:

-Better Organization. One moment I'll put a brush down, forget where I put it and go hunting for it, which probably added on to my time

-More make-up brushes, especially medium-sized eye shadow brushes. I found myself having to clean my brushes to pick up another color to avoid muddling/

-Faster make-up application skills. I'm such a perfectionist that it takes too long to apply the make-up

Items needed for the kit:

-Disposable lip brushes, using cotton swabs don't cut it.

-Disposable mascara wands

-Lip color options ( lip stick, glosses)

Questions that need to be answered:

-How does one sanitize eyeliner pencil or lip liners?

-And if you're using disposable mascara wands, is there any point in using different formulas (Ex. Covergirl Lashblast, L'Oreal Telescopic) if you can't get the benefit of the brush?

Skills to work on:

-Better foundation application. I have a bad a habit of forgetting to blend it appropriately into the hair line.

-Confidence. It may not be a skill per say but I found myself questioning my work and hesitant when applying her make-up but the compliments I've been receiving thus far have really gave me a boost as to whether or not I'm able to make it..

That's a lot that I learned within one session.

Overall, I fell in love with the look. It even hurt me to watch her take it off. Lol

But it's only the beginning!