Behind the Scenes: LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTIONN!

I've been lucky to work in different areas of the industry and no two areas of the industry are alike and what may work in one, may often not fly in another. So let's talk about one subject I'm really thinking a lot more about these days: Light.

 

actress on set for "The Johnsons",season 2

Ignore Ann. By the way, Ann is the chicken, not the girl.

Look at her face. It does look shiny, right? However, to the naked eye, my young client here looked perfectly fine. Observe the strong shadows behind her. They were caused by the harsh lights on her ( and when i say "harsh", I mean standing under them melted cheap thick hair cream to oils.). Those harsh lights would wash away almost all, but the strongest of makeup.

And that's the point of my post: as a makeup artist, it is your job to understand what your Lighting guy (tv and film), your photograper or your Lighting crew (theatre) is doing. In general, photography uses the least strength in Lighting, while theatre uses the strongest. So you as a makeup artist should tone your makeup application down, in this order from light to heavy: bridal, red carpet, runway, photoshoot, television, theatre. This arrangement depends on what your brief is sha. Cameras see a lot better than the naked human eye (thank you, HD): if it looks plastered on in real life and all you're doing is attending Tinuke's wedding, and not being interviewed on ChannelsTV, it will look heavy in pictures and AGE you. I've seen a lot of makeup artists make this mistake, and sometimes I'm guilty of it too. And by the way, if it looks normal (bit of shine) to the naked eye, well, definitely it's going to look greasy once the lights hit it. The trick to use a foundation that is rich in pigment, and go easy on the application. 

A scene from the tv show "The Johnsons", MNET, when it was aired

I'll finish this post with a suggestion of foundations in my opinion have worked for me. You, dear non -makeup artist readers of my blog, should give the commercially-available ones a try.

Black Up oil free liquid foundation

RCMA cream foundation

Black Opal cream stick foundation

Mary Kay Oil free liquid foundation

By the way, we all grew fond of Ann the chicken.

Love and Peace

Behind the scenes: Channel O "Top 10 Most"

Hi, how are you? Happy new year.

I've come up with another insight into the life and times of a makeup artist who is telling the world what her life is as a makeup artist, a constantly evolving world in which Makeup and Art are inextricably linked together in a big red-lipstick-hued vortex. I have no idea what the sentence I just typed meant, but it sounded profound.

(Why are there no smilies on Blogger so I can laugh at my own dry jokes?!)

ANYHOO....

I had ze lovely opportunity to work on Channel O's tv show "Top Ten Most", where they discussed the music industry. OAPs, Music Managers, Entertainment writers and more were there, and they were pretty awesome. Plus my favourite director Mr. Banjo.

These guys were funny and made a long shoot seen effortless. Me like you guys! Sadly lighting was bad, so I couldn't get any pictures, but my makeup standouts were Ben Nye Mojave Powder Palette and Black Up Finishing Spray.

A very hilarious thing happened at the shoot, and one day I'll tell you.

So, happy new year, my lovvies. Stay pretty.

Will the Real Slim Shady please stand up (part 3)

Sorry guys, have been immersed in so much work recently. But I will finish this up today.

There is a lot of fake everything on the market nowadays. You have NO idea how bad it is. So if you must buy stuff, do yourself a favour, shop from these places. I've been to them an can assure you they're all perfectly safe.

• Black Up retail stores (malls in Lagos)
• Sleek Studio (Awolowo road, Ikoyi and Apapa, those are their main branches, for me)
• MAC cosmetics store (Ikeja mall)
• Gifty's Daughter (Toyin street, Ikeja and Port Harcourt)
• House of Tara (sold at most stores in Lagos, HQ is Lekki Phase 1)
• Makeup Designory (MUD) studio (Lekki Phase 1, Lagos)

If you notice, I didn't mention any stores in Trade Fair or Balogun. I've shopped there before and I've bought fakes (as have several people I know). I have a few stores I go to there, but only to buy products I'm 99.9% sure of I can spot a fake. I certainly won't buy a brand like Mary Kay from there.

Also, I'm deliberately not mentioning stores in the malls (you know those ones that sell a bit of everything, bah?). I've seen a lot of fake MAC sold at full price there or N400 cheaper than in the MAC store. Don't fall for it, buy only if you're absolutely sure. Remember, MAC is produced in laboratories in the US, but mostly in Europe, their brushes are made in Japan and France. It will say country of origin on the body. And all the companies I listed above, sell brands that MUST conform to the same standard and look of the package. So if you want Iman pressed powder in Clay Medium, and you see it in Clay Medium Tan, and the seller says "madam na the new one made in Spain", just drop it and walk away.

For you, dear readers, I'm going to find out a trustworthy dealer of popular affordable brands like Mary Kay. I can honestly tell you the wholesale dealer of Milani products is in Trade Fair, once you enter their main gate and look up and left, you'll spot them.
 I'd love to get more stores around Nigeria, so if you know authentic, honest dealers, let me know and I'll look into them.

Lipstick Pencils

Hello everyone. 

Today's post is about lipstick pencils . There are totally different from lipsticks. I feel the need to say this because my sister reads my blog, and her understanding is "not superior".

 Yabs aside, these are a quick, convenient way to do lipstick on the go. If I see a teenager whipping out a tube of lipstick to use, I'll smack her, and ask her to go study for JAMB. But chubby lip pencils feel less grown-up (so I'm fine with my teen using it) and not so serious, though they work just as well as lipsticks and are easier to use, you can apply them without worrying about using lipliner. The only major problem with them, is, well, they can be inconvenient. I'll explain:  you have to sharpen them, and most of them don't come with in-built sharpeners and require that big sharpener, harder to find than regular size. Which is a pain. 

 

I've tried a few: Black Up 2-in-1 Jumbo pencil, NYX Jumbo pencil and Nars Jumbo pencil, and here are my humble thoughts:

• NYX doesn't seem to have matte textures (I may be wrong), but do have some lovely shades, all creamy, nice and affordable.
• Nars invented the matte lip pencil, so these are gorgeous, but pricey.
• Black Up is in-between: the shade I have displayed in the pic above looks pink with a hint of blue but dried down to a lovely matte texture. Even better, Black Up has an in-built pencil sharpener in its cover, so no worries about that! Major points to them for that clever bit of design. Price point is close to Nars.

Do you need theses babies? Maybe not, if you're a pro with your lipstick, infact if you use Ruby Woo without a mirror, you don't need these, your hand don' strong. If you're a gal on the go, who doesn't really want to feel like she's wearing a lot of makeup, or if you're a makeup artist who does jobs that require high speed makeup changes (our editorial, runway and television people), yeah, this is a good idea. Try all the brands, lemme know what you think. 

Take care and till next time!