OCC Lip Tars in Sephora

As many of my clients can attest to, one my absolute favorite products out right now are the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars!!  I bought my first ones at Nigel’s Beauty Emporium in Los Angeles and fell in love right away.  The true, rich colors with staying power have been a necessity in my kit for everything from editorial work to my brides.  

First of all, a little goes A LONG WAY! Just a tiny dot will cover the lips and use a lip brush to apply.  The Lip Tars dry matte, so you may want to add gloss over them, depending on the look you are trying to achieve.  They are very, very long lasting.  If you are going out for the night, you don’t have to worry about faded lips, if you are glossing the lips, then bring your gloss of choice out for touchups.  And to add to the long list of things I love, they are also 100% Vegan and Cruelty-Free.  

This amazing product is now available at Sephora, in stores and online.  They come with a handy little lip brush and bag.  My must have colors in my kit are: Hush, Narcissus, Trollop, NSFW, Beta, Pennyroyal and Hoochie.  I also use Feathered and Tarred, white and black, to lighten and darken colors.  Which brings me to yet another great feature, these products are easily mixed to create a perfect custom color.

Happy lip tarring!!!! 

Here is the link to buy at Sephora.com: http://www.sephora.com/lip-tar-P376506?skuId=1455385

National Suicide Prevention Week and World Suicide Prevention Day

Nearly two years ago, my life was turned upside down.  I got the call that my father had passed away.  In complete and absolute shock, I asked my sister, “What happened?”  Thoughts quickly raced through my head, my father had heart trouble and he had been having stomach problems for years, but what happened?  My sister quietly replied, “Dad shot himself.”

There still isn’t a day that could pass by, that remembering those words and that moment that makes my chest tighten, my breath stop and tears run down my face.  That day I became a suicide loss survivor.

A suicide loss survivor is a person left behind in the wake of someone’s suicide.  It may be a friend, mother, daughter, parent.. anyone close to the victim.  They are the ones who deal with the shock, grief and guilt of losing someone to suicide.  It’s a struggle that many of us did not ever expect to encounter, and one day, our lives are never the same because that person you loved made the choice to leave you and this world.

I’ve spent two years reeling from the death of my father.  There were many days early on that I couldn’t leave the house, talk on the phone or even go on Facebook.  There were reminders everywhere, people who still had their father, people who joked about suicide.  And still, someone saying, “Today just makes me want to kill myself” or even looking at a handgun sends me into tears.

My emotions have been so complex, from a heavy feeling of guilt, thinking there was something I could’ve done or having anger towards my father for doing what he did.  Recently, I lost my mother too (not suicide) and the anger I felt towards my father, thinking he should’ve been here for me and that by losing him and then my mom left me alone in the world.  The letter he left behind offered very little understanding or closure to what happened, only that he felt it was what he needed to do and to the friend who found him, to give his daughters comfort because we would take it hard.

The only peace I have begun to find with losing my father is in talking about my experience and helping people see value in life.  It was one of the big reasons for my decision to begin a career in the beauty industry.  I have contact with so many people day to day and I’m given the special opportunity to make them feel more attractive, beautiful and special.

Death is often a very quiet subject that people don’t like to hear about or talk about.  But I know that by sharing my story, people may be more willing to talk with loved ones, especially if there is suspicion of suicidal thoughts or for themselves to get help.  People have dark days, some people have many more, much darker days than others.  I speak out and share my heart wrenching experience in hope that you and others can see, that life is a gift and that everyone deserves to live their life to the fullest.  There is no reason to be afraid, ashamed that you or someone you know is hurting.  Everyone deserves to live and pain is only temporary… everyone deserves another day.  Nobody is alone and suicide is not a solution. We can give each other strength, love and hope.  Let your friends, family, all people close to you know that you love them, it’s quite possible it’s exactly what they needed to hear.

I love and miss you Daddy.

 

A video I did in memory of my father: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNld17z1DOQ&feature=g-upl

Las Vegas Magazine – September 2012

I had the great pleasure of working with Las Vegas Magazine for one of their September fashion issues.  For the looks, Creative Director, Erik Stein, told me that he wanted 5 very distinct, different looks on one model.  The model was going to be wearing dresses made out of shopping bags from 5 stores, Victoria’s Secret, Guess, Saks Fifth Avenue, Michael Kors and Ted Baker.  I did a bit of research before to nail down a signature look for each store and of course there were the obvious, the Victoria’s Secret sexy hair, the Guess red lip…

To create the Ted Baker cover look, I did a beautiful deep plum smoky eye and a pop of lime green in the water line with a beautiful red lip.  For the hair, all the hair was brushed to one side, leaving out front section and sculpted to create the waves in her hair.  The front section was pinned back in a bit of a asymmetrical victory roll.

For the Saks Fifth Avenue look, I went with a lightly contoured eye and a strong winged liner.  I decided on the pink lip once I saw the accessories for the outfit.  On the model’s hair, I did classic french twist, not too tight and overdone, just simple, classic with some movement.

The Victoria’s Secret look was probably my favorite.  I went with a more natural look, the eye having a subtle contour and top liner, rosy light pink cheeks and a pink nude lip.  I kept her hair loose and tousled with volume and movement.

Todd Hanshaw, our Accessories Stylist, wanted glasses on our model for the Michael Kors look, so I did a nude lip.  To show as much of her face, even with large glasses on, I did a deep side part on her hair.

Finally, on the Guess look, I did a signature red lip and taupe/ burnt orange smoky eye.  I had her hair very voluminous with lots of curl. 

I had some major must have products on this shoot.  I used Make Up For Ever HD Foundations.  OCC Lip Tars were perfect to help me create the perfect lip color for each look, my favorites are NSFW, Hush, Narcissus, Queen, Tone and Pennyroyal.  For the hair, considering the many look changes, I needed a great working spray that I could brush out and re-style and Paul Mitchell’s Worked Up spray was life saver.

Here are the pictures from the magazine. Thank you for reading!!! 🙂

 

Photography by Robert John Kley

Art Direction: Erik Stein

Dress Stylist: Jennifer Henry

Accessory Stylist: Todd Hanshaw

Hair and Makeup: Sarah Barker

Model: Taya Sopikova