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the Bay Bridge at night…
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the Invitation
This past Monday, Los Angeles area makeup artists were able to forget (or drown if need be) their tax sorrows and engage with one of the premier makeup artists in the world, Val Garland. The Master Class event was hosted by MAC Pro and held at Milk Studios. If you are not familiar with Ms. Garland’s work, well, you have some homework to do now dontcha? 
If you are one of my past students, or a regular reader of MTG or have in any way heard me discuss the Fashion Week cycle, you will have heard me say that there are truly about 8-10 artists who key the vast majority of ALL of the shows. Val Garland is one of those artists. She is also responsible for some of the most iconic fashion editorial images of the current day, and her reach even extends into pop culture as she has been Lady Gaga’s primary artist for several years now. She is an artist on the level that even if you do not know her name, if you are into makeup artistry, you know her work.
Val Garland’s presentation on Monday was a retrospective – including live demonstration – on a selection of some of her most well known makeup designs from her work with Lady Gaga to her runway work for designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. A picture is worth a thousand words as they say, so here are my images from the event. I will say that nearly everyone I spoke to walked away thoroughly inspired. Val Garland’s presentation was the type of event that reminds you why you wanted to become a makeup artist.
the Program
YIKES! My kit being cleaned and organized this morning…
Regulars of Makeup to Go! will know that I had a series a while back called “So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist” wherein I covered some of the basics of moving from a makeup fan to a professional artist. Without a doubt, one of the most topical of these installments is the Kit Building installation of the series. Click on that and you can see what I had to say about it back then. What I want to share now is how my kit has evolved. First a story: Continue reading →
So the 2013 Los Angeles Makeup Show is a wrap and I’d have to say it was a rousing success. This year’s show featured some of the best in the biz and had something for all artists working in all mediums at all levels. Here’s a photo essay of the Makeup to Go experience of the show…
my show started at the Bloggers Preview. Many thanks to Make Up For Ever, Temptu, OCC Makeup, Ellis Faas, Kevyn Aucoin, Bdellium tools, Ofra Cosmetics, Model In A Bottle, Stila, Anastasia of Beverly Hills, Crown Brush, T3, Cinema Secrets, Jouer, Monda, Embryolisse, Senna Cosmetics, Youngblood Cosmetics, and Gorgeous Cosmetics for their generosity!
blurtastic image taken by me at last year’s Industry Panel / TMUSLA
I’ve written extensively over the years about the 2 main trade shows that happen in Los Angeles (there’s an intriguing 3rd show starting this year that I’ll also be attending and writing about). At first there was a lot of “compare and contrast” to be done as one was quite established and one was the “hot new upstart”. As predicted, however, they’ve booth settled into their own groove and offer unique experiences to their attendees. So with that said, here’s what I’m looking forward to from The Makuep Show this year.
Education
Once again, the education looks like it’s going to be off the hook. I have been an artist since forever and I’ve been attending Trade Shows for years and yet there are ALWAYS interesting classes at The Makeup Show that appeal to artists of all experience levels and backgrounds.
Keynote Speakers
All of the Keynotes look fantastic, but one cannot attend everything (alas) so the ones that are catching my eye are;
- Family Matters featuring Johnny LaVoy and Billy B.
Saturday, March 2nd, 12:00-1:30
Who knows what this is about, the description makes almost no sense to me, but it sounds fun and it features 2 great artists so I’ll be there.
- Impact: Social Media and the Internet in the Beauty Business Sponsored by Beautylish
Saturday, March 2, 2013- 2:30-3:30
Social Media has become The One Ring to Rule Them All. Those who know how to fully utilize it prosper and those who do not fall behind. What I’m finding is the more savvy I become the more there is to learn and the more social media outlets there are to learn about. At this point in my career I take more classes about SM than I do makeup, seriously.
- I’m With the Brand – Uzo, International Lead Artist For Nars Cosmetics
Sunday, March 3, 2013 – 10:00-11:30
Many artists dream of working for one of the premiere brands, but few make it onto the Artistry side (as opposed to selling at a counter/boutique). Nars Cometics’ lead artist Uzo is going to share her story of how she got to where she is, and also demo some of Nars’ signature looks. I. Cannot. Wait.
- The Next Big Thing – Crystal Wright & Michael DeVellis
Saturday, March 2, 2013 – 4:00-5:00
The Makeup Show LA Pro Resource Area 2013 – Throughout Show
Last year I went on and on about the Resource Area that Crystal Wright put together for The Makeup Show. It was a truly amazing resource that SOOOO many people did not take advantage of. Crazy! Well, it was a success and it looks like they are doing an even expanded version this year. Do Not Blow It. Signups are very limited. Take advantage!
EDIT: Sign ups have already begun and are going FAST! As of her last tweet, Ms. Wright reported there are only 47 spaces left! Follow the link to sign up now: Crystal Wright’s Portfolio Review at The Makeup Show Los Angeles.
Honorable Mention
If I were an artist just starting or new in my career, I would not be able to get to Sam Fine’s talk on “A Career in Makeup”, Saturday, March 2, 2013 – 10:00-11:30, fast enough. Heck I still might attend. But particularly when I was a makeup youngin’ talks like that were REALLY important to help keep me motivated and keep my eyes on the prize.
Workshops/Seminars
Whereas the Keynotes are generally business/career focused, the Workshops and Seminars are generally product/makeup application oriented (one exception noted below). Sponsored by various top cosmetics lines, this years Workshop offerings run the gamut from a few different Airbrush Makeup workshops, a couple of different Contouring workshops, and even a silicone prosthetics class. The three seminars, however, that really caught my eye are;
- Saturday, 11:15a – 12:00n How to Get Into the Union-Susan Cabral Ebert for Local 706
Enough said. For certain types of work, you MUST get in the Union, period.
- Saturday, 1:30p – 2:15p HD Makeup-Applying Matching Creme and Airbrush on the same Face featuring Brad Look for Graftobian Makeup Co.
This has been an issue for me with one of my media clients. Learning how airbrush and traditional makeup products work together is crucial in today’s working world. And I love Graftobian foundations. Love.
->> Saturday, 5:00p – 5:45p Streamlining Your Kit to Maximize Efficiency – Sofiya Avakova for Naimie’s Beauty
Center <<- Most of y’all reading this need this class BADLY. Students are always amazed at how small my kit appears to be. Kit paring and organization is essential to working effectively. I cannot carry every piece of makeup that I’ve ever purchased to every job, nor do I need to go run out and buy a new piece of makeup for every job I do. PLEASE attend this seminar! lol
All of the above education is included FREE in the price of your admission ticket. That’s right; F-R-E-E . I could not believe it when I saw only ONE of my students at the show last year! Where else will you get this opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business for a $65/2 day ticket????!?!?! In addition to the Free education, there are a number of very reasonably priced hands-on makeup courses available. This list above is only of the items that caught my eye for one reason or another. For the full list, visit The Makeup Show website or better yet download this handy dandy PDF guide.
Shopping
The Makeup Show, being focused on the “beauty” side of the industry vs. the FX side, always offers unique vendors that other shows may not have. This year in addition to the usual suspects such as Make Up For Ever , Smashbox and Stila (all of whom are show sponsors), the big news this year is that NARS is going to be there as an exhibitor (they are also a show sponsor). I know NARS has re-vamped their Discount program yet again, so presumably attendees will be able to take care of that at the show. I have heard rumours in the past that they had a booth at the NYC Makeup Show one year but didn’t sell product. ???? I certainly hope that is not the case this weekend, I could see a mini-riot breaking out.
For the complete list of this year’s vendors, you can visit The Makeup Show website exhibitors page. One thing I am noticing specifically is that while there are a few listed, there are not an endless streams of schools exhibiting this year. I think this is a step in the right direction. While I do not think it’s unreasonable to have a few schools in attendance, in past years schools became overly dominating and aggressive. Also, this trade show is open to the professional Trade Only.
OH and one more shout out – Greene Street Beauty and the Hair Makeup Artist Network will be having a Mentor’s Corner at their booth (Booth #3019 – The Kim Greene Line/HMAN) where Senior artists will be around for about an hour to answer questions and meet and greet. Kim Green (film artist), Melissa Street (TV artist) will be amongst the Mentors as will my friend and fab celebrity/fashion/editorial artist Anthony Gordon. Hit the link to see the exact schedule.
So there it is. Another weekend of learning, art and community. I hope to see you there!
I have been involved with the most insanely frustrating conversation regarding makeup artists and rates. It’s amazing to me how many people want to be professional artist but either can’t or won’t get that if you do not value your self no one else will value you either. If you are truly a professional and not a hobbyist then you need to make a livable wage at what you do or you are not really a professional. Further if you keep working at these lowball rates not only will you perpetually be The Discount Artist, but undercharging/undercutting rates drives DOWN rates for EVERYONE overall.
Why anyone insists on calling themselves a professional but then does not insist on working for a professional rate is beyond me. I was so frustrated I had to make the following graphic. I can only hope repeating this lesson over and over gets it through to a few more people each time.
So readers, we’ve come to the end of yet another year. How was your 2012? In the Mayan calendar, 2012 signaled the “End of Time”. Many mis-interpreted this to mean “the end of the world” while many others interpreted this to mean a “paradigm shift”. It should be noted that the Mayans probably meant neither of these, and that the date 12/21/12 just represented the end of one calendar and the start of another in the way their calendar system works. Despite the various mis-interpretations, for many of us this year certainly felt like a major shift of one kind or another was taking place.
Continue reading →
Hello everyone! Hope everyone is doing well. It’s Autumn, my favorite time of the year! The air is crisp and cool, the natural light is gorgeous, and it’s time to hunker down and get warm and cozy…And my birthday is in the Fall so that may have something to do with my bias as well . I am particularly happy about the change of seasons this year as summer 2012 was one long, hot season that I personally am glad is over – LOL! So what’s been happening with Makeup to Go! you may ask? Well a few things…
Technical Difficulties
As I alluded to in my last post, there have been all types of technical difficulties going on behind the scenes. This hasn’t been even remotely fun to deal with, but it’s a necessary evil because…
New Site
I am completely re-designing the site for 2013! The new Makeup to Go will be much more interactive, feature more related content, tutorial videos, special surprises on our Facebook page (did someone say “Giveaways”?) and other groovy content to make Makeup to Go! even more fab!
Classes
Yes I did sneak in 2 Pop-Up Workshops late this summer. They were really more test runs to see how the concept would work and they worked well. With a few more tweaks I will be ready to fully publicize all of the new workshops I will be offering. Look for a FULL SCHEDULE of workshops for 2013 coming very soon! (in the meantime, private lessons are still available)
I’ve Been Working Working Day and Night
My summer was slowed down by my previous health scare, but I have been very blessed with a speedy and full recovery. Henceforth, it was time to for me to get back to work! To check out my latest works visit my website for the creative industries, Makeupwerks.com and to see Behind the Scenes, and things coming soon, visit Makeupwerks Blog. OH – and I’m on Instagram, too! TDRussellmua on Instagram.
New Additions
Lastly, on the Highly Positive side, our Blogstress en Español – Delia Jimenez Owens – gave birth to a beautiful baby boy this summer! Meet Mr. Jaymes Owens, the newest addition to the Makeup to Go! family 
Jaymes’ on his one-month old day 
Needless to say, Delia had to take some time off for this side project , however she is already back at work creating beautiful faces and she is back writing her Maquillaje Para Go! column. Look for her article this Wednesday.
We here at Makeup to Go! appreciate the support we’ve received while we have been going through this transitional phase. It means a lot that people have not abandoned us and have maintained faith in our content and what we’re about. We promise not to disappoint! I look forward to great things for all of us in 2013!
Last Sunday I tweeted the subject phrase and it seemed to resonate with several of my twitter followers. I know it resonated with me when it was first told to me by the “Empowerment Diva” Crystal A. Wright. How many times have you had a friend stop by and you wished you’d straightened up the house when you had time earlier in the day? How many times have you been invited to an event and you realized your perfect outfit needed dry cleaning?
How many times have you been called for a same-day job and you realized your brushes and kit still needed to be cleaned and organized?
As freelancers we do not have the luxury of taking time for granted. If you are just entering the freelance world you are getting used to the fact that you think you know, but you don’t really know, when your days off are going to be. And trust me it only becomes even more crucial as you progress in your career and you start travelling for work, etc. This means that you need to learn to be very efficient with your time. This does not mean never having downtime, but this means having everything in order so that you can really enjoy your downtime and know that you are ready to go when the next thing comes up. Here are some things that help me;
Wake up everyday like you have a job.
What I mean is this; unless you have decided to purposely take a day off – which is of course a legitimate option, particularly if work-life is going fine (other than writing this, today is a day off for me) – you need to act like a working professional everyday: Get up, get dressed, and be ready to go. Constantly sleeping in or laying around in your PJs is pretty much screaming to the Universe “I Am Not Ready”.
- Clean your brushes & re-organize your kit immediately after every job.
If someone called you and offered you a job shooting a name talent for a national magazine but you had to get to the location ASAP – preferably within an hour – could you do it? That exact scenario just happened to me a few months ago and yes, I was ready and I did the job. I know you’re tired after a long day but before you completely unwind just go ahead and do it.
- Do laundry, clean the house, do filing, get the car washed, etc.
I never leave this to chance anymore. I have learned this one the hard way too many times (manys the time I’ve had to hit the 24-hour laundromat. Not fun.). You look at your schedule, you think you have 4 days in a row off. You decide to chill the first day and then BAM! someone calls with a job for the rest of the week. Now you have to scramble like a maniac to “get ready” and invariably certain things will not get done. Spare yourself this scenario by just never assuming you are going to have extended days off.
- Return those emails and phone calls.
When you are working and/or traveling it really can be challenging to keep up with the constant input and naturally you will start to prioritize what communications need to be returned immediately and which ones can wait. You do not, however, want to wait indefinitely and/or not return calls/emails at all. That’s just rude. Etiquette is definitely taking a hit in the e-communications age.
- Keep up your promotions.
A lot of times when we are busy we do not do anything to promote ourselves and then when things slow down we are crying and wondering why no one is calling. This absolutely had to be one of the most difficult lessons for me to fully grasp but it is also one of the most true: effective promotion is constant promotion. Promoting every now and then or “when you get around to it” does not get it done.
- Now… Chillax
Nowadays I am so used to my freelancers lifestyle that I cannot fully relax until I know I have all my ducks in a row. I think a lot people get into the fantasy that being creative is all spontaneity and living a structureless, free-wheeling life. That may be true for folks hanging out in cafes calling themselves “artistes”, but I find that to actually work and make a living as a creative it takes a certain amount of self-discipline.
I also find that sitting with a friend at a cafe, shopping, or going out to dinner is all much more enjoyable once you know all your work is done and you Are Ready.
Thanks as always to Crystal A. Wright for being an inspirational catalyst early in my career!
a mosaic of my makeup work, © respective photographers all rights reserved
When I first started the Makeup to Go! blog and had no readership whatsoever, one of the first article series I wrote was the “So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist” (SYWBAPA) series. It’s hard to believe it has already been 2 years since I started the series! The “So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist” series was written both in response to the numerous inquiries I had received about embarking on a professional career and because I was leading up to a LFAA™ Workshop and I wanted to establish some groundwork.
As “So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist” is an informative and well-written series – if I do say so myself – and as I also am working on scheduling a new round of Workshops, I would like to revisit it for those who may not have seen it when it first ran. Also I want to bring some of the information and Resources up-to-date as a lot can change in two years.
So You Wanna Be a Pro Artist – Preview
Pretty self-explanatory, this is just an overview of what I had in mind with the series.
So You Wanna Be a Pro Artist 1 – Getting Started
So You Wanna Be a Pro Artist 2 – Now Why
So You Wanna Be a Pro Artist 3 – How
These three articles – Getting Started, Now Why, and How are overviews designed to get readers to think about their approach to their careers. Students often kind of buck me on this or they just ignore it but then invariably a year later of freelancing under their belts they come back and tell me I was right. I know I was right LOL! I know because the people who told this to me were right. When I find myself at a career plateau I often go back and re-visit these steps in order to make a plan of what I should do next.
So You Wanna Be a Pro Artist 4 – Good Instruction
I am not as anti-school as I used to be (I mean, I do teach at a makeup school, after-all) but I am still adamant that you cannot trust your career to the first school with a fly website (some schools do not even have that). IF you decide that makeup school is the best way for you to learn this craft, you must must must vet a makeup school thoroughly.
So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist 5 – Going it Alone
Many makeup artists never go to makeup school, including some of the best to have ever worked in the profession. It is entirely possible to be a self-made makeup artist and eventually work at the top of the field.
In this installment I listed a lot of books because I am a fan of makeup books. Many of the books were old and hard to get then, so they are older and harder to get now. Here is one alternate book, as well as two newer books that were not out when I first wrote my article;
– Kevyn AucoinBobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro
Of all of her books this is by far her best, in my opinion. It is well photographed, has clear explanations, and covers a gamut of looks on a wide array of faces and complexions.
Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself
This is a visually stunning book using a really innovative overlay technique to demonstrate how to achieve the looks. François Nars is a true master so there is a lot to be learned in this book. This book may be a bit advanced for the average consumer but it is perfect for aspiring Artists.
So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist 6 – Kit Building
A newly updated version of my Preferred Products list is available for purchase. My own actual working kits have actually changed quite a bit since this post was first created, so I will likely do a new story on that altogether.
So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist 7 – Portfolio Building
So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist 7.5 – The Actual Portfolio
The two articles concerning Portfolios illustrate how much the world has changed in two years. Back then I stated: “Many predict that the newly released Apple iPad will become popular as presentation tools for in-person meetings, but that will remain to be seen.” HA! I cannot live without my iPad. I do still advocate, however, for artists having print portfolios. Many agencies still require them and I still run into people who aren’t into the iPad presentation and would rather see a printed book. My print portfolio book nowadays;
(click to see larger size)
So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist 8 – Testing
So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist 9 – Marketing Basics
The final two installments of the original series focused on the nuts and bolts of building a book and promoting yourself for work. Needless to say these two topics are intertwined: you gotta meet people to develop a portfolio and then you gotta go show your portfolio in order to meet people to get hired for work.
Most of the resources listed are still valid. If you do read the article, you will see that I have crossed Wix off as one of my resources, they just are not adequately reliable and professional looking in my opinion. Resources I would add:
Moo.com offers high-quality yet affordably priced printing of business cards and postcard (promo cards). They also allow you to order in “packs” where you can have multiple card designs in one order. To try a free sample pack click here. (offer good as of the time I wrote this article. Moo may end the offer at any time…)
I hope some of my newer readers, or folks who may happen to just be drifting by on the internet, take a moment, make some tea or coffee and read through this series. I tried to really make the series both engaging and and chock-a-block with information. If you are interested in working as a makeup artist this series of articles is designed to help! Now that we have revisited the original series, look for future installments coming soon…
Previous Installment: Basics of Marketing
The “So You Wanna Be A Pro Artist” series is original content conceived and written by Tania D. Russell, all Copyrights reserved.
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