Giambattista Valli Lipstick Collection by MAC

Giambattista Valli by MAC

The Giambattista Valli lipsticks launched last week on July 9th, 2015. Giambattista is an amazing Parisian fashion designer who teamed up with MAC Cosmetics to create 5 beautiful shades for the summer. Here is my review of the lipsticks I purchased from this collection:

First Impression

The last time I purchased any MAC limited edition makeup collection was when they launched the Hello Kitty makeup line from 2009. 

After 2009, I have not really been impressed or felt the urge to purchase anything else from MAC's makeup collections; I noticed their products have gotten less pigmented over the years and I started to lose my interest until the Giambattista collection launched.

 The packaging really caught my eye, I loved the color choices and I really loved the designer they teamed up with. So I saved up my coins and ended up purchasing four out of the five lipsticks from the collection. 

 Light Test
I did a quick light test under 3 types of lighting to see what looks the most flattering.  The Bianca B lipstick looks almost white under the cool and flash lighting, which is not complimentary for women of color but I think the other shades look great under any lighting.
The colors look the most true under the pure white flash light.

Bianca B

Color

Bianca B is a pastel pink.  This shade is opaque so it comes out a bit chalky on dark skin tones.

Pastel lipsticks are not very flattering because you will end up looking really washed out and ashy. 

 I personally don't like this shade for myself on my entire lip, but I absolutely love it as a highlighter for pink lipsticks. 

Lipliner

I used lip liner "Hover" by MAC to try to make Bianca B more neutral on my lips.

Longevity

Nude colors tend to wash out fairly fast. Bianca B faded on me after two hours.

Duplicate

If you don't want to go out and spend $18 for a MAC lipstick, here is another brand Bianca B reminds me of: 

NYX Lip Butter in "Hubba Bubba" | $5.99 at Ulta.com

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Tats

Color
Hot Pink/ Magenta lipstick; compliments all skin tones.
I added Bianca B in the center of my lips to create an ombre effect.

Lipliner
I paired TATS lipstick with BEET lipliner by MAC

Longevity

This color lasted about 3-4 hours on me without any touchups

Duplicate
There are TONS of pink lipsticks all over the world; and if you're an artist on a budget, here's a duplicate for TATS

Ruby Kisses Ultra Matte Lipstick in "Gossip"
$2.99 at HouseofBeautyWorld.com

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Charlotte

Color

Deep Red with a slight orange undertone. The packaging has a more blue undertone which threw me off, but when applied it melted into my skin with a bit of an orange finish. I personally would use a much darker lipliner to create a true red tone on my lips.

Lipliner
I paired Charlotte with Cherry lipliner by MAC

Longevity

This has a pretty decent staying power, it lasted me about 4-5 hours without touchups.

Duplicate
Here's NYX to the rescue if you are trying to save some money

NYX Matte lipstick in "Pure Red" | $5.99 at Ulta.com

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Eugenie

Color

Plum/Brown shade, compliments every skin tone.
This shade is my absolute favorite!

Lipliner
I paired Eugenie with Currant Lip liner by MAC

Longevity
This has the same amount of staying power as Charlotte, about 4-5 hours without touchups.

Duplicate

Revlon actually carries a nice range of dark lipsticks, here is one that looks super similar to Eugenie:

 Revlon Black Cherry $7.99 | CVS.com

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Overall, I like these shades but I only LOVE one shade from the whole bunch. 

I hope MAC will keep collaborating with more amazing fashionistas and adding more unique collections to their line.

U.S. Polo | The Polo Book in Oak Brook, IL

The Polo Book

U.S. Polo Assn. and Hinsdale Living Summer 2014 Book

Photographer | David Leslie Anthony Photographer of 10 MGMT
Lead Model | Miranda Carranza of FACTOR WOMEN Model Management
Wardrobe | Theresa Alleva of Factor Artists 
Makeup | Kerre Berry of Factor Artists
Hair | Andrea C. Samuels of Factor Artists

DIY Lipstick Palette

I am in LOVE with The Container Store! 

 

This store is THE go-to place for every artists organizing needs. I always head to the store on North Ave in Chicago, IL. I'm pretty sure I could be an employee there because I know the store a little TOO well. 

I wanted to show you all how you can use one of their unique containers for your benefit. There is a section of The Container Store with tiny, random containers. They are very inexpensive, between .50 to $8, depending on the size, color and style you choose.  

So I found this container for $2.99. 

It's flat, wide, and perfect for any kit. It will keep all your lipsticks in order!

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So I took this home, cleaned it out, and grabbed all my random Maybelline, MAC, and Inglot lipsticks in tubes.

I used a spatula wand to scoop out all the product from the lipstick tube, then used a q-tip to smooth the surface of the lipsticks.

If you want your lipsticks to look smoother, I would microwave it for 8-10 seconds.

If you like, you can label your lipsticks on the back of your palette with a label maker, permanent marker, or whatever floats your boat! I personally like my palettes to look clean and simple, so I chose to not label this palette. 

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This is one of the fun parts of working in your passion, re-organizing and re-thinking how to save space for yourself is not a chore! I'd love to see what your custom palettes look like when you finish.

;-)

Corn Nuts

I had the awesome opportunity to work with photographer Ross Feighery for the Corn Nuts 2013 advertisements. Tattoo artist, Jason, created the old english "Lopez" tattoo by freehand with sharpies! So talented!

I was brought in to create a dirty, slightly sweaty effect on the talents skin for camera as well as lightly grooming his facial hair. Here are a few behind the scenes shots as well as the final shot chosen for Corn Nuts.

 

Head to www.cornnuts.com to see the full ad!

HD Ready and Safe for All!

This past weekend, I was assigned to a commercial job and I had to make sure the talent was HD ready with a fresh, clean look. As soon as the talent sat in my chair, we had a brief chit-chat and I asked her, "Is there anything you are allergic to?" I was not prepared for what she was going to tell me:  -Petroleum
-Mineral Oil
-Gluten
-Parabens



So I calmly looked at my foundations, looked at my lip balm, looked at my concealers, looked at my lipsticks and realized: OMG. That was almost ALL my favorite products.   I will admit, I freaked out for a second :-O

More like 20 seconds.

No, more like 1 whole minute.

I was frantically searching for something with OUT these ingredients..... and then I smiled. ;-) In case you EVER have a client that is super sensitive to certain ingredients, here is a brief list of products that are safe for EVERY one to use AND they are HD ready. These are the products that I had in my kit that worked for my client:

 Face Moisturizer: Kiehl's Face Moisturizer

This has no frangrance, contains SPF 15, and doesn't leave the client feeling under or over moisturized; it's perfectly balanced for all skin types. Kiehl's also has an alternative for people that may be allergic to spf.  Eye Cream: Kiehl's Facial Fuel Eye De-Puffer

They key ingredient in this cooling eye cream is caffeine. Caffeine reduces puffiness which is a great natural alternative to hiding those bags under your eyes! After a few minutes, it reduces the puffiness which is GREAT for HD camera.  Eye Primer: E.L.F. Mineral Eye Primer

I found out this was 100% mineral based which means: No parabens, no dyes, no chemicals, nothing too crazy in this primer. Not only is it safe but it works very fast and adheres to eye shadows very well.  Eye Shadow & Skin: Dinair Airbrush

I applied water based Dinair as her eye shadow, her concealer, and her foundation. I applied them all with synthetic brushes & my fingers first, then followed up with a thin layer of foundation with the airbrush gun on top. I lightly powdered over everything to make sure her skin doesn't 'crack'. Sometimes, water based airbrush tends to 'crack' in the skin if there is too much product dispersed at one time, so I lightly go over it with my fingers or powder to take out the 'cracks' in the skin. My client was relieved that I was using water based products because she mentioned problems she had with silicone based airbrush products in the past. A majority of my favorite concealers contained petroleum which I was very surprised about, so I stuck with airbrush for her skin and applied the airbrush a few extra times over her blemishes. The end result: She looked very natural and her skin looked refreshed under camera.  Mascara: Clear Gel from The Body Shop

I used a clear gel and a mascara wand, used a small amount of black eyeshadow and created my own mascara for her. I didn't want to chance it with the mascara's I had in my kit, I didn't have the time to google the ingredients for each mascara brand I had, so I custom made it for her.  Lips: NYX

I used this palette that I purchased from the American Beauty Show. I was very happy, surprised and relieved to see that the main ingredient was beeswax in this palette. The talent loved it and it showed up beautifully on camera.  At the end of the day, I was happy to have this challenge and try new things that I would not have done before. I suggest to new and seasoned artists to be open to trying new things and don't stay stuck with your 'favorite' brands or doing things the same way that you usually do while on set; switch it up and try some thing new to prepare yourself for any situation that is thrown at you while working.  I hope this helps! :-)

McKey Sullivan

Photographer Jennifer Avello, Stylist Marta Cebrat, Assistant Stylist Clarissa V. Pierre and myself worked on ANTM Cycle 11 Winner McKey Sullivan. The story was created December 19th, 2011

McKey is amazing, she is really truly amazing, EVERY frame was usable; that was the first time I have ever witnessed this type of greatness in my life!!!

The photos were submitted to two magazines, but they are now published in the Ben Trovato Blog :-)

Here are a few Behind The Scenes images:

And here are the final images chosen:

Photography by Jennifer Avello
Styling by Marta Cebrat-Czernik
Hair & Makeup by Andrea C Samuels with The Rock Agency
Stylist Assistant – Clarissa V. Pierre
Model – Mckey Sullivan @ Factor Women