Boo La La

A couple weeks ago I was offered a fun little job by a make-up artist friend of mine, Jenny Ruth (Let's Make Up). The costume shop in North Vancouver called Boo La La was doing new advertising photos for their Halloween Costumes. Along with 5 other make-up artists, I had the pleasure of dolling up some of the models.

It was a long busy day filled with so many hard workers buzzing around the shop. Dani Barnes Productions put all the styles & costumes together. It was fun to watch her at work, encouraging us to go crazy with the make-up on the traditional Hallowe'en looks.

I will soon have my photos & will post them when I can. Until then, I've been featured on their website as one of their artists. If you'd like to read it, click here!

What are you going to be for Hallowe'en?

Only 2 weeks until my Christmas!

xox

Celina

Miss B

I feel as though there are about to be some big changes in my life regarding work. Changes aren't always a bad thing, and I think people may end up being motivated to do better things with their lives because of the changes. 

Miss B herself

It just so happens that my manager at work has decided to leave. In a normal work environment this wouldn't be a big deal. But I don't work in a normal work environment. I don't have a normal job, and I for sure do not have a normal manager. Never in my life have I ever connected so well with woman in the workplace who has taught me so many things over the last 8 months. 

Her name is Belinda. It's impossible to describe this woman, you'd have to meet her to believe it. The first time I saw her I remember thinking I was looking at some sort of 5'3'' 1950's mirage. The best part about this, is it's a daily routine. There's not a moment in her life that she doesn't look glamorous. 

think pink

The first time I set foot in her home it was like walking on to a movie set. A pink bicycle with pink boxing gloves in the basket, surrounded by different pairs of high heels greeted me at the front door. A vintage hair salon blow dryer chair with a life size sock monkey under it was just around the corner which lead me into the tv room of red walls and leopard print couches. Marilyn Monroe and Fashion coffee book tables in the centre of the room, and a small martini bar in the corner. Not to mention little chiwawa's running around waiting patiently for you to drop some food on the floor for them. I sneaked a peak in her cozy bedroom and oggled at all of her jewelry and perfumes layed out across her vanity. Another hallway with a sewing machine lead me into a small costume shop where she sold clothes & vintage apparel. She sews, she bakes, she drives an old T-Bird to car shows, she has an amazing sense of humor, she's a mother of 2, she knows everything about cosmetics and the beauty industry, and she is the best manager I have ever had. It's no wonder she was able to put together a team of beauty experts (which I am so happy to be apart of) that have been chosen in the top 10 team finalists (& the only team finalist in BC) for the 2011 Cosmetics Outstanding Service Awards. 

It doesn't matter whether or not we win, it's the fact that she got us that far. 

mini B for a day

For my last official shift working with Belinda, I decided to pull a prank on her. When I got ready for work on Tuesday morning, I put on a black wig and styled it in a 1950's fashion, with the bangs curled in a loop down my forehead and put a big flower pin in the back - just the way Belinda does.

I filled in my eyebrows with a bit of an exaggerated arch, put on false eyelashes, drew on a cat eye, applied pink lipstick and lots of rosey blush to my cheeks - just the way Belinda does. I put on a highwaisted black pencil skirt with a lace slip underneath - just the way Belinda does.

the Dave that made a difference

And just as an added touch, I put on some big black framed glasses, and a tee shirt that says "What a difference a Dave makes" (Dave is her boyfriend)

When Belinda walked into work and saw her new coworker that was a mini version of heselfr (I named myself Celinda) she was overwhelmed with how funny I can be, and was truly amazed that I would want to be her for a day. I am sad to see Belinda go, but it won't be the last I see of her. The rug that she has swept some of her goals under has created too big of a bulg that she's tripped over one too many times. It's time for her to redecorate, and live her dreams.

Celinda & Belinda

xox Celina

School of Rock

Last week we had our Fall Gala at work!

All of us creative girls put our heads together and decided to give this Gala our all. We took advantage of the back to school time of year & our love for rock n roll and made a School of Rock Gala.

Each of us decided to go as a famous rock star for the day (funny how we all ended up dressing like men.. where are all the female rock stars?) I naturally took this opportunity to find a rock star with awesome trademark make-up to copy, and although KISS came in a close 2nd, I chose Davie Bowie.

I didn't quite commit to the slick back red hair as I have had some bad experiences with that "hair spray dye" so instead I gave myself some nasty makeshift dreadlocks. 

Then I took out my face paints and sparkles and voila!

I got a few funny looks, and lot of people thought I was crazy. I say, I'm not crazy, I'm just dedicated.

During my shift I ate Halloween candy, I learned how to play Guitar Hero, & watched my manager walk around dressed up as Slash. How many of you can say you have this much fun at work?

xox Celina

Canucks Fan

So today at school, we had a little extra time on our hands and decided to go back in time 2 terms and practice face painting again. My friend Kelsey is a die-hard Canucks fan. No seriously. Her nails are manicured as the Canucks logo, she wears a blown glass Canucks heart pendant, she has a closet full of Canucks jerseys (she wears them to school on game days) she knows all of their stats, I'm pretty sure she's stalking Alex Burrows and knows where Luongo lives. She's a little coo-coo for Canuck puffs if you know what I mean.

So I did Kelsey a little favor and got her ready for game night! I think I did a pretty stellar job painting the Johnny Canuck V for the first time. Courtnay even asked me, "Do you have a lot of practice face painting, or are you just that good?" My answer, "I'm just that good". Hah!

Go Canucks Go! You know Kelsey is cheering for you! 

(p.s. I'm scared this is going to become a weekly thing until the Cup is won)

xox Celina

Poor Old Granny

Get ready for the magic of theatre makeup. It's big, it's bold, it's to be seen from afar. Well, not that far. Hopefully. It sucks when you get bad seats. 

Today I aged one of my classmates using cream based makeup so that she looked like a little granny. On the left is Dore, on the right is Dore in like 60 years as Delores.

Delores, your age spots are so sexy.

Then I turned Delores into a wicked witch, just for fun. 

Note the ugly protruding mole on her nose. Ew.

Snow White better run.

xox Celina

Squeaky Clean

On my last day of learning about my airbrush we used all of our new skills and airbrushed half a body! (final exam is Full Body!) My beautiful classmate Melania was my model and I did my best to airbrush her into a little bubble bath girl. Everything is done free hand, other than the small seahorse stencil I made. I used waterbased airbrush paints for the majority of the body, and some silicone based paints (as well as some shimmer and sparkles I mixed in with the paint!) for a sheer shine on the bubbles for a final touch.

 And with my little rubby ducky prop and some bubble wrap around her shirt, voila!

Then I made her stand outside in the freezing cold to get some photos! What a good sport.

My boyfriend found these awesome false lashes around Halloween and I've saved them until now!

What a doll!

So squeaky clean! Thanks for reading!

xox Celina

Tiffany & Co.

Every girl loves diamonds, and there's no place to get them other than Tiffany's! 

My charming boyfriend bought me a Tiffany's key for Christmas this year, so I put my new found love for Tiffany's into my assignment on Friday. This was a my half body painting make-up using oil based and water based make-up. I created a fancy little Tiffany & Co. themed make-up - little blue box approved! Pretty adorable don't you think? It was so much fun doing this theatre/avante garde look. I love to let my creative juices flow.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend!

xox Celina

Skulls

Touch your face. No seriously, touch your face! Feel the bones underneath those chubby little cheeks of yours. Feel the edges around where your eyes sit nicely in your skin. That my boney friends, is your skull. Yup, it's true. Take away the flesh, the muscle and the fat and you get an emotionless rock hard face starring back at you. Today I did Skull make-up for Theatre using an oil based make-up. I had a lot of fun creating a little scary skull face, and in the back of my mind the whole time was, "Halloween is going to be amazing this year."

Zis face iz lookin'k veh-ry spoooookie!

Thank you for lending me your face, Reham.

By the way, you have a beautiful smile.

xox Celina

Meanwhile...

*CRASH!* *BANG!* *POW!*

I L-O-V-E creative days at school. It's a day when you can do literally anything you want (within certain guidelines) and just experiment and have fun! I wanted to do something really creative for my last avante-garde day. Unfortunatly my partner went home sick (feel better!) so I had to do it on myself. It is so much harder to be precise on your own face because all you have is a mirror. There's no steping back and seeing what isn't symmetrical. Regardless, it was a challenge and I nailed it! I can't say that this was totally my idea, I did see a cool picture similar to it on the intenet. But I did change it and jazz it up to be my style.

 Now all I need is Superman to come fly into my picture box and sweep me off my feet!

Here is my Comic Book Girl

I think it turned out really cool. 

I make a pretty cute 2 dimentional drawing.

What do you think?

xox Celina

Drag Race

For those of you against cross dressing, you should probably stop reading.

Last Thursday was DRAG DAY and I thankfully have a nice enough male friend who was gung-ho about becoming a little lady boy for the day!! Let me walk you through how to turn an ordinary handsome young man into a queen!

 This is Vayo, he lives in Vancouver and he enjoys long walks on the beach and red wine.

I blocked out Vayo's eyebrows using Spirit gum, wax, powder and concealer. Then I drew in over-dramatic eyebrows above his natural eyebrows to open up his eye lid space for the illusion of bigger bolder eyes.

Using bronzers and highlighters, I contoured Vayo's face to emphasize his cheekbones.

I put on some Showgirl make-up, with a heavy crease on his eyelid, which is right around where his natural eyebrow is, and I used white and silver eyeshadow with glitter on the eyelid. I also applied false lashes with little crystal beads on them, just for fun!

Then... with the right shade of red lipstick, and a couple props,

I present to you...

Vayjazzle the Drag Queen

Isn't she lovely?

Blondes really do have more fun!

Thanks for being such a great sport Vayo! You look gorgeous!

xox Celina

A Star is Born!

Have you ever been to a celebrity look alike party, and there's that one person at the party that went all out and looks so much like that celebrity that it's creepy? It is so much fun to dress up like someone else, and basically make fun of the way they look so you can pull it off. Celebrity Look Alike day was on Friday and we could choose a celeb (of any era) to do our partner's make-up & hair to look like a famous person. I thought to myself, "Well Celina... there's not too much crazy make-up going on these days. Most famous women in the 2000's have smokey eye eyeshadow. Lady GaGa? Well, my partner looks nothing like her. I need something challenging and amazing... but what?" so that's when I went back in time to the 1960's and found a gorgeous face and even more gorgeous make-up to turn my partner Kelsey into the King's wife herself, I give you...


 Priscilla Presley

 How effing fabulous is that? 

(I put 2 bumpits into that wig to make the beehive by the way)

 

Ooooooh the magic of make-up. I'm telling you people, I can make you look like a star! Literally! And if Priscilla doesn't tickle your fancy, how about looking like a Vegas Show girl?

Believe it baby! xox Celina

Peachy-Keen Photography

My first job doin' my bizzzz.

I had an awesome time being apart of a photoshoot on Sunday! I worked for Teryn Lee of Teryn Lee Photography and provided hair styling & make-up for her friends Cori & Matt. They have been married almost 5 years and wanted some fun photos with each other. After the make-up & hair was done, with the help of some costumes & props the 1950's were alive in their own cozy little home.

Cori is so beautiful, it's not like she even needs any make-up. Her classic beauty definitely pulled off the I Love Lucy feel. It was a lot of fun & great experience working on a "set". 

Please check out Teryn if you are looking for a photographer!

xox Celina

That 70's Show

*queue ABBA "Dancing Queen" music* 

Monday at school I got to watch a retro make-up video made in the 80's, which I jokingly said "I bet this was originally recorded on Beta".. then I realized only one other classmate and I were born in the 80's (everyone else in the 90's)... so no one got my joke. And then I felt old. So then I brought up the cartoon show Jem, only to find I was alone on that one too. Regardless, 70's and 80's make-up is kind of hideous. 70's isn't nearly as bad as 80's, I'm just having issues with the fact that women used to put blue eyeshadow up to their eyebrows. Either way, it was a fun day at school which involved playing with afro wigs and listening to old music. 

Voila:

xox Celina

Sweet 60's

 Think doing your perfectly symmetrical eyeliner is tough? Try mastering the 60's.

You may recognize this look made famous by Twiggy. I gave it a wirl, and with the help with a sassy fur hat and a very volumized wig, bam, the 60's is back. Can you believe women used to actually do this make-up every day? I guess drawing on bottom false lashes would get easier if you did it often enough. Also, I'm sure those women weren't being as precise as they were not being marked in beauty school. (I didn't have a partner this day, so I had to do the make-up on myself, which is harder than it looks. But with quite a bit of patience, it is possible, and can look super adorable!)

Another make-up inspired by the 60's is the traditional Ballet make-up. Both are to emphasize the eyes and make them look bigger than they are. Especially with ballet, as the dancer would be on stage, a lot further away from the audience.

So many fine lines! Symmetry! Bright colours! Literally EYE CATCHING.

xox Celina

Dirty 30's & oh Lordy 40's

More decades! So far the 40's are looking the best to me. Last night Martin and I watched "It's A Wonderful Life" because Martin loves Christmas movies. It was my first time seeing the movie... turns out, it's not really such a wonderful life until you don't have one at all. After the movie was over and I was about to leave, I grabbed Martin by the shoulders and shook him exclaiming, "Now you listen to me! I don't want any plastics, and I don't want any ground floors, and I don't want to get married - ever - to anyone! You understand that? I want to do what I want to do!!" then I burried my face in his chest shaking my head back and fourth screaming "Oohhh Martin! Martin! Martin! Martin!" ie re-enacting both George's and Mary's characters, because I would make a fantastic actress  in the 1940's.

<------ We did half of our model's face with 1930's Film Makeup (more natural) and the other half 1930's Theatre (involves a blocked out eyebrow and smaller lips)------->

For 1940's, I did make-up and hair! 

(Victory Rolls & loose curls)

xox Celina