Happy Birthday to Me :-)

So like the dork I naturally am, instead of celebrating my birthday at a normal party with normal friends in normal birthday attire like most normal people do, I was working at photo shoots. Honestly, as much of a home body I would like to be, I'd rather work than do nothing at all.

My first shoot was with Emily Gualdoni, one of my fav photographers.

She cooked breakfast for the team!! I have never had freshly cooked eggs and cinnamon toast as breakfast for a photo shoot before. She made it with love and it was REALLY good!

I did natural, fresh, clean makeup on model Lauren Maria . I couldn't stay for the whole shoot, but the stylist brought beautiful vintage, natural clothing and I know Lauren is a divine model. Here are a few shots from the day :D

My next shoot was with photographer ESCALANTE.

You HAVE to write his name in all CAPS because his PERSONALITY is just that LARGE in LIFE. He is a photographer with over 20 years of experience, he is a real sweet heart and EXTREMELY passionate about fashion and models. I really enjoyed working with him because he keeps it REAL, he let me know things I didn't know I needed to know about the artistry industry, and he genuinely cares about showing people the right way to present yourself and present your work.

Here are a few shots we did for the day with model Steffan. The first look was a 'princess eye' with bold, red lips and a sleek, high ponytail to show off her bone structure. The second look was a simple smokey eye with a pink, nude glossy lip and a ballerina bun to top it off. Simple and clean. Emily is a fresh new model with lots of potential:

At the end of the day, I got a honey bun as my birthday cake and jerk chicken for dinner from my man.

I couldn't have been happier.

To Educate or Not To Educate

I've had a few budding artists ask me whether educating your self is good or bad. I want to explain my views on this as thoroughly as possible.

When it comes to the arts, every one works differently. Some people need a little more time to learn, some don't. I believe people in the art & fashion business succeed through real passion and pure, raw talent. You could have all the degrees in the world, but if you cannot produce a succesful product, (or in our case, a flawless face); schooling doesn't matter.
When it comes to talent and passion, either you have it or you don't.

Bottom line: Knowledge is POWER.
I believe there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with educating yourself.
Education, whether self taught or taught through schooling, is a benefit. As long as you are doing SOME thing with your talents, it cannot be looked down upon and it has to be respected.

I personally wanted to make sure that I knew correct sanitation procedures, I wanted to learn all about the chemicals that go in makeup, I wanted to learn the business side of makeup from Pro Artists, I wanted to learn more about skin and every thing else that some makeup books don't teach artists that seriously want to persue a lifetime career. So I enrolled in a certficate program through MAC Approved makeup school: Make Up First LLC in Chicago, IL.

School definitely helped refine my skills, helped me learn how to work faster, and helped me become an overall better artist. Schooling did not teach me EVERY thing I know now, but just as your life unfolds and you find your self, experience is the real educator. Repetitive trial and error is what makes or breaks your career.

Again, this was what worked for me. The arts are very forgiving, so whether you have been schooled or not is not the big issue, what matters is what you can produce. As an artist, you have to know who you are and see if schooling would work for you as well.

Not only is it important that you know people in the industry, but you really, REALLY need to know your artistry history and you need to know what you're doing so you could be prepared for any and every situation.
In the fashion industry, Ignorance is NOT bliss.

That's my two cents :)

FRITZ

I had the chance to work with up and coming Chicago photographer, Fritz.
He works pretty fast, he knows what he wants, and he gets straight to the point. Which I like a lot.
Here are a few shots from our 5 hour session.

Rhea is so sweet, quiet, professional and she knows her angles well. I LOVE her! We were going for a clean, simple, fresh look with Rhea:

Model: Rhea Fernandez of Agency Galatea
Photographer: Fritz
MUA: Andrea C. Samuels
Hair: Dee Desalu
Wardrobe: Gypsy






More coming soon :)

The Bridal Beauty Salon

So I had to stay quiet about this for the past few days but I can finally tell you my good news!

I have just been hired by
The Bridal Beauty Salon! ;D


They are one of the Top 5 Boutiques in Chicago, IL that specializes in hair styling, makeup artistry, airbrushing and individual eyelash extensions for weddings and any special occasion in a woman's life. I am so excited to be apart of this!

Not only does this company work on weddings, but they have done numerous covers with CS Magazine and one of the owners, Lati, has even worked in NY Fashion Week!



So if you know of anyone getting married soon, refer them to us for a trial run at The Bridal Beauty Salon!

New Work!

Photographer: Nuru Kimondo
Model: Sarah Uchison
Hair Stylist: Dee Desalu
MUA: Andrea C. Samuels








Photographer: Loren Fiedler
Model: Emily
MUA: Andrea C. Samuels