Howdy folks. I’m sure faithful readers have been wondering what the heck has been going on with the Makeup to Go! Blog. Well, it started out as being away on business, but then turned into a whole database meltdown with the site, brought on by none-other than yours truly. Had a bit of a disaster trying to do the latest WP upgrade and suffice to say, if I didn’t keep backup copies of my blog…well…let’s not even go there.

Hopefully we won’t have another post like this again.

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I actually missed this year’s BET awards and had to watch it on a re-run. In past years I’ve actually had the pleasure of making up faces attending the awards, but this year I was out of town. This year was kind of a mixed bag. Both on the Red Carpet and on the awards stage, looks – IMO – were either Over The Top or not quite done enough. I attribute this to having the event take place during the day on the West Coast so that it can be aired at night on the East Coast. There was a vibe of “what kind of event am I dressing for??” in the air.

I say – when in doubt, go for Classic Beauty. No one has ever been dinged for looking too beautiful. Edgy can backfire if you don’t get it just right. Casual can look like you didn’t care. Beautiful is always the right answer. Here’s who got it right in my estimation. Continue reading →

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I recently went makeup shopping with friend and colleague, Kallah Maguire – stylist and owner of The Emerald Scarab – and she echoed a complaint I hear fairly often from women; How do I stay looking great when I have an event to attend? Like many busy professionals, Kallah regularly attends events where she not only wants to look great for herself, but where she’s frequently photographed. Why is it that when we attend these events we look so different from when we see photos of celebs at events? Well, most women do their makeup as they normally do when in fact, they should approach these functions as photographic events. When we professional makeup artists do celebrities for Events, please believe, we pull out every makeup trick in the book.

1 ) Don’t Over Do It – Resist the temptation to apply “more”. It’ll cake up, crease up, oil up and generally be difficult to maintain. Also, while you want to look good when the camera flashes, you also want to look good to the person you’re talking to standing in front of you. Hyper makeup looks crazy in real life. Use as much as you need, but not a drop more. Continue reading →

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As I mentioned in my article on Bay Area Beauty, I was thoroughly impressed upon visiting the headquarters of 100% Pure Apothecary**. I already knew of 100% because of their fabulous, fruit-pigmented lip glosses as well as their great bodycare products (I’m a big fan of the Honey Almond Milk body wash, and the Dark Chocolate Mocha body scrub). I had no idea, however, how much they’d expanded their color line. Not only are the colors pretty and naturally derived, the formulations are creamy, the colors lay true and they LAST once applied. Here’s the scoopy-scoop on some of the highlights; Continue reading →

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OK, so I got a couple of emails wondering “What was the deal” with my post yesterday. “You’re supposed to be a Beauty Blog”. I thought my post was fairly self-explanatory but fair enough, here goes….

I may not always talk about the latest lipstick or mascara, but I assure you my posts are always related in some way to the Beauty Biz. – Tania

A great Portrait shot - © P. Fewsmith/Makeup and Hair by Tania D. Russell

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One of the more important investments a performer can make is in really good promotional photos. Be it for an actor, individual musician or band, these photos say much more than what you look like. Seriously, the difference between a the difference between a good and bad promo portrait can be the difference between getting a job or not. Thus, while budget may be a consideration, your promos aren’t the time to go cheap. If you’re planning on getting photos done, fabulous LA portrait photographer Starla Fortunato makes the following recommendations. You’ll notice that Starla recommends investing in professional makeup. I agree. However, if that isn’t possible, you can arm yourself by learning to apply professional makeup for photography to yourself with our Lessons for Performers makeup lessons.

To read Starla’s article, just click image to go to full size ;

© Starla Fortunato Photography

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I’m a big believer in community service and giving back in what ever ways I can. As a makeup artist, there are a lot of ways our skills can be used to benefit others and I am only so happy to do so whenever possible. Working and being creative and making a living doing what I love to do is it’s own reward, but there’s a different kind of reward that comes from using my talents and skills in service to others.

Today I am participating in the Graduation Ceremony for United Friends of the Children which provides housing, education and resources for young people in the Foster system. All of the young people involved in today’s ceremony have beaten the odds and have graduated HS and will be receiving scholarships for college. The makeup team will be providing 65 girls with make-overs, as they move forward with the next phase of their life journeys.

There are a lot of great ways that you can become involved with your community as a makeup and/or hair artist. Many hospitals across the country participate in the Look Good, Feel Better program, which benefits patients going through treatment for cancer. You can also search for organizations in your area at Volunteer Match. Volunteer Match lists a wide array of opportunities so if you don’t find something that suits you as an artist, you can find some other way to contribute.

Through donating my time to charitable activities as a makeup artist, I’ve met great people, made great connections and just further deepened my connection to the work that I do and why I do it. It’s been great for me and I encourage everyone to give it a try.

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