I had a wonderful opportunity to work with photographers Alex Magallanes and Terence Ong who were very gracious to accommodate me one beautiful February afternoon. I had the best time working with them. I particularly love Filipino photographers because they're very laid back and know how to have fun. Most of all, they're very generous during the entire process.:) Alex and his wife invited me to snack on their delicious homemade spaghetti while Terence showed me some tips and tricks in using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, the software that he used to post-process my pictures. I have not had a chance to go through all of Alex's pictures yet for post-processing, but he also took a lot of great shots.
For my new headshots, I was very much contemplating on visiting a beauty counter at the mall to get my makeup done. An actress I'd met on the set of "1000 Ways to Die" shared that she had her makeup done by bareMinerals at Macy's and only had to purchase about $20 worth of products in exchange for the service. I thought about it but didn't want to buy makeup that I didn't need at the moment. So I scrounged around my makeup drawer for whatever I could use to come up with this makeup look. Except for my lipstick, I pretty much saw what I thought I needed. My goal was to keep it as natural as possible. I checked out some makeup blogs and watched some YouTube videos online taking inspiration specifically from this one.
It's nice when professionals do your makeup, but I've learned that you can be your own expert too.
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FACE
-Used my current moisturizer right now to prep my skin, Merlot Grape Seed Moisturizer. It has a light, creamy texture and absorbs very easily into the skin and doesn't interfere with your makeup once you put it on.
-Applied Smashbox High Definition Concealer in Light to cover undereye circles and other skin imperfections.
-Mixed Ivory 200 and Beige 304 Medium-Coverage Foundation from Mary Kay and applied it on my face and neck with a foundation brush.
-Used Lancome's Dual Finish Versatile Powder Makeup in Matte Beige Camee III to finish. I also used it to touch up oily spots during the photoshoot.
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EYES
-Used Ardell Brow Defining Palette in Medium and used the middle brown shade int he palette to fill in my eyebrows. The small angled brush in the palette really helps to define them. I like to wet the brush with a little bit of water to help spread the powder evenly.
-Still loving my Urban Decay Ammo Eye Palette because of the glitter and variety of colors. I chose Polyster Bride (sheer white shimmer) as my base and brow highlighter. Then I used Smog (deep coppery bronze) on my eye crease. It's a very earthy combination.
-I lined both my inner and upper eyelids with L'Oreal Pencil Perfect Self Advancing Eyeliner in Carbon Black. Quite challenging! Take as much time as possible. It's hard to get it perfect when you're in a hurry. Also, it will tend to smudge later on so bring it with you to retouch just in case!
-I recently switched to corner eyelash curlers. They perform much better than your regular eyelash curler and give eyelashes an immediate and long-lasting curl. I got mine at a beauty show from a private label company called Modern Basics. An inexpensive treasure!
-I'm not a huge fan of Maybelline's Stiletto Voluptuous Mascara because it's hard to wash off (yes it's waterproof) but I do like the kind of feathery texture it gives to the lashes. It comes in only one shade, Very Black.
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CHEEKS
-Used Modern Basics Glamorized bronzing powder to define my cheeks and applied it all the way up to my temples for some shadow. I think I did not apply it evenly so I'll need to be more careful next time. What happened was that when the photographers did the test shots my face looked washed out and so I dabbed on some more blush without realizing I'd put on a little too much on my left cheek. :) It's easier to tell on the raw photos.
LIPS
-I was envisioning the most subtle hint of pink since I wanted to emphasize my eyes more than my lips. Almost like a nude shade, but not quite. I just happened to remember that I had a Sephora gift card I received for my birthday that I hadn't spent yet. Ahah! After trying several lipsticks I settled on Lorac's Breakthrough Performance Lipstick SPF 15 in Premiere. I love it so far. It glides on very smoothly and goes on thin. It smells good too...
-I dabbed a little bit of gloss on the center of my lips with Fresh Sugar Lip Gloss. Even more yummy!
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-Bed Head by TIGI Control Freak shampoo and conditioner always works fin taming the frizz in my hair.
-I spritzed on Schwarzkopf Moisture Kick Conditioner for added shine, applied Paul Mitchell Smoothing Super Skinny Serum to the ends, and blow-dried my hair using a large round brush. My hair is shorter now so it dries much faster. I also flat-ironed my hair then used large velcro rollers at the crown of my head for it to set.
There you have it! It's a look you can wear everyday.
