Love Your Body! This is a long one!

Working in the beauty industry can take its toll on a person's perception of beauty as well as their self esteem.  Media throws at us, from every angle, the idea of what a perfect face and body should be.  If I am a grown woman and still fall prey to these distorted examples of perfection, imagine what the pre teen girl is experiencing.  An overwhelming demand for perfection.  If she is perfect in every way, shape and form then and only then will she be happy.  I see amazing, beautiful women of all ages in my chair and they can point out every imperfection on them in as little as two minutes....yet when I ask what they feel is their best feature, I sit for several minutes awaiting an answer that they themselves are not sure of.
When will we learn to reject the media's example of perfection and realize that each and every one of us is true perfection.  We are the only one of us...therefore we are a perfect example of our self.

Ask any supermodel and I bet she will have several flaws to tell you about.  Cindy Crawford has even said she doesn't look like Cindy Crawford when she wakes up in the morning.

I bring up this topic for many reasons, the first being my 10 year old daughter and hearing her already begin to attack herself.  When she was 5 and if I asked her what she thought of herself, she would have been quick to tell me how amazing and beautiful she is...how does all this change in as little as 5 years? 
Simply because children are now getting tv shows aimed at them that feature these beautiful young girls, wearing amazing clothes and makeup all at the ripe old age of 14...aka..Miley Cyrus..Selena Gomez..etc
Disney channel when I was a kid was filled with cartoons, not unrealistic examples of preteen girls.
The second reason is due to my own battles with weight and self esteem.  I have been many shapes and sizes it seems, and I have a hard time giving myself a break.  I aspire for the perfect body, face and everything else I can do to reflect this image of perfect....and quite frankly it is exhausting!
I know this is not healthy..and my daughter is witness to this as well and she is learning this behavior.
So to help me and every other beautiful, extraordinary woman/girl of all ages I am going to show the reality of media and what I really think is beautiful. 

These are some of the real women for the Dove "Campaign for Real Beauty".     These women do not have six pack abs or perfectly sculpted arms..but they are just about what my friends and I all look like should we fill in for this shoot.

 These gals...well god bless em...are Victoria's Secret models (love your bra's Vicki!) who have posed for this "Love your Body" ad.. Sure there are several fine examples there of bodies to love...but when I look around my circle of friends and family..I may be able to point out 1 who could stand in on this poster..




Don't get me wrong, I am not saying these women are evil, ugly, horrible or anything of the sort...and I am not some hairy beast trapped in a basement somewhere looking to belittle supermodels to make myself feel better.  I am just hoping to help my fellow women see the difference and possibly make a difference in their lives and the ones they love.

On October 23rd, 2010 it is Love Your Body Day.  The guest speaker for this years event is season 10 America's Next Top Model Winner Whitney Thompson..she has posed for an amazing ad with Love Your Body Day event creator Chenese Lewis.  If we can take time on the 23rd to compliment and acknowledge our own individual beauty as well as those we love, that would be an amazing way to celebrate the day.

Something I have to mention here is that Whitney is a plus size model in the fashion industry.  Whitney is 5'10 and weighs 165 and wears size 12.  Hard to believe that is considered plus size when every time I go to the clothing store all the 10/12/14 sizes are gone.  Seems to me that we are a world full of plus sized super models...hey I will take that any day!

Finally, I had to ad this video, it is from Dove's campaign again.  I am fully aware of what goes on behind the scenes in the fashion/modeling industry.  Most of the women/young girls are not. You see an amazing beauty on the billboard or in the pages of a magazine and think....wow..how come I don't look like that.  Well take a look, neither does she...

Evolution of a Model

Aaron from Australia

Today Denise and I had the pleasure of meeting Aaron on her wedding day.  When I walked into her hotel room in the Cesars Palace and saw the purple and green fairy dress hanging up, I knew I would love her!  Aaron did not want a traditional white wedding and did everything she could to avoid it.  She knew she was in Vegas and wanted to have fun...she even included Elvis in her ceremony.
I was able to incorporate color and more color into Aaron's look, something I do not get to do everyday.  Thank you Aaron for a great time and best wishes in your future!

This is Aaron before makeup, but her hair had been curled.

Aaron's amazing eyes.  With her fairy dress as inspiration I used several shades of green and purple.

The green shadow turned Aaron's blue eyes to green.

The fascinator to top off the look.  We later added butterflies to her hat and the skirt of her dress....ahh. speaking of dress...below you will see the inspiration to all the color and fun...

Not everyone can pull off this type of dress or be open to have this much fun at their wedding...But if you dare to stray from the norm, I say have fun and go all the way.

Benefits of Benefit

When I am not painting the faces of my beautiful brides, I am the Brand Educator for Benefit Cosmetics..This allows me the opportunity to educate women on the basics of makeup application.  Benefit Cosmetics has been around since 1977 and started with a simple, yet effective lip stain called Benetint that was created for exotic dancers...as we all know,  the dancin girls need red lips 24/7...
From time to time I will be demonstrating some tricks and offering up some tips and advise on makeup application.  Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have regarding skin care and makeup application, I would love to help!

More before and afters..

This is Raeleen's sister and Maid of Honor.

I loved her look.  She is young and gorgeous

without the need for makeup!  She had the most adorable freckles that I wanted to shine through and her skin was flawless.  This is the case where my integrity as a makeup artist will over ride others wants...She did not need foundation!  I did not use it on her !  Oh but Angie...you say...what about the pictures??? Don't you put foundation on no matter what for pictures...No!  If something is not broke, I do not fix it.  Her coloring was perfect and would be muddled up by foundation.  I did apply a translucent powder to help with any shine since she would be in the elements. My philosophy on makeup is to help a woman know what will bring forth her best features and do this as naturally as possible. 

This is Raeleen's friend and bridesmaid, the after pic is a little fuzzy, forgive me.  She was another fresh faced beauty! These girls were all from Canada ( a very cold part of Canada..eh) and the moisture in their skin showed it.  She was another no foundation for you gal.  A little bronzer to warm up where the sun would naturally hit was all she needed.  I will forever remember this little gal, she was too funny and a bit sassy wrapped up in such an adorable package....I can call her adorable cause I am older...LOL.

Raeleen's before and After Pics

The girls had to be ready for pictures that would be taken up and down the Vegas Strip as well as at the Valley of Fire by noon. The actual time of the ceremony..not until 6:00 pm. That is alot of action before the action...so how do you make sure the makeup will last long after I am gone??? First off, when the sweat starts rolling down the face, ,make sure to pat and dab it away..no rubbing!!! Not only is rubbing bad for your skin...it will rub random "holes" in the makeup. Using a rice paper (oil blotting sheets) can help to eliminate any shine and oil off the skin. If you are in a pinch, go to a public restroom and grab a seat protector...these work fantastic as an oil blotter. Finally, always have your favorite lipgloss or lipstick on hand to keep lips shiny and moist, which is vital in the Vegas heat!

Raeleen's Big Day

Today's hair and makeup services started at 8:00am and my fabulous bride Raeleen, as well as her attendents, were all great sports about it. Raeleen is from Canada and has been with her groom to be for 5 years.. Stayed tuned for some great before and after pics taken by my wonderful assistant Kristen..