Lori by Jennifer Avello

 It's always fun to work with clients who are open minded to trying new looks! Lori Prestidge was looking to update her portfolio with a variety of edgy and commercial looks to prepare her for NYC agencies. We brought so many amazing looks out of Lori, we were all impressed with how she was able to adapt and change with every outfit! Here are a few of my favorite snapshots of Lori. 

Enjoy! 

 

 For the commercial looks, I kept the makeup very easy and light weight. 

 

I applied Make Up For Ever Face and Body Makeup in #20 to give her a dewy, fresh look for camera. I have been using this foundation for YEARS. Literally, a little goes a very long way and this foundation has been one of my best investments for my career.

I also used a grey tone matte eyeshadow by Inglot #502 to create her soft, smokey eye. Inglot's eyeshadows are only $6, but they deliver so much pigment in such a small size. I LOVE Inglot.

 

 

This was a fun look! 

I slicked Lori's hair back, slapped red lipstick on her, and she transformed! I pumped up her lashes with Maybelline 'One By One' Mascara in Jet Black. Lip liner is 'Scarlet' by NYX and Lipgloss is "Night Out' by Sephora. This combination of cleans eyes and a dark lip was my favorite look on Lori; she pulled it off superbly well!

For this look, I wanted Lori's blue eyes to pop, so I applied Inglot Black Gel Liner in #88 on the inner lower rim of her eyes and lined her upper lids with a thin angled brush by Crown Industries. I created a nude lip with Ben Nye Media Pro concealer palette and highlighted her skin with Inglot AMC "Face and Body Illuminator' in #61.

 I also contoured her cheeks with "Tenderling" Powder Blush by MAC. This is my absolute favorite blush to contour with because it is the perfect shade for camera, whether in color or black and white photography, it always delivers the precise, pronounced cheekbones that I adore.

 Please check out more work of Lori at www.jenniferavello.com

How To: Look Amazing Only Using 5 Products!

You ever have those days where you want to look pretty, but you don't feel like putting in the time to get super glam? I have those days all the time! I never have the time to contour my face like crazy, try on a new lipstick and look like a drag queen, so I keep it very, very simple to save time. Here is what you will need to look like you are naturally flawless with only five products.

Here is what you will need:

1.) Vaseline

2.) Foundation

3.) Mascara Wand

4.) Concealer

5.) Powder

No Brushes Necessary! Watch and See :-)

Step 1: Cleanse, Tone & Moisturize your skin:
My skin is super sensitive, so I use things that are all natural and contain very little to no fragrance. This is my current regimen. I switch up my products every few months, but this is what I have been using for the past 6 months and it has worked the best for me.

I have been using Aveeno face scrub to cleanse my skin lately. Aveeno is one of the few face scrubs I have used that doesn't irritate my skin. The last time my skin was this even, I was in 8th grade! I use Aveeno every other day and it has given me great results.

In high school, I used astringents or sometimes rubbing alcohol as my toner. At the time, strong astringents definitely helped with my acne. Now that I am getting older, I need to keep as much moisture in my skin as possible, so I use an all natural oil to lightly tone my skin.

Benefits of Almond Oil

I usually use almond oil at night time, but for colder weather I use it day and night. I really love almond oil because it's not greasy, it's actually a very light weight oil and it naturally has vitamin E: Vitamin E helps keep the elasticity in the skin for a LONG time. I use almond oil as a toner because it lightly cleanses, refreshes and makes my skin feel really soft after I washed my face. I use a few drops on a cotton ball and it lasts all day. I noticed a lot of expensive eye creams and face moisturizers had almond oil, so I figure I could save money and use straight almond oil for my skin. Almond Oil has amazing benefits for hair, skin and nails.
Here are a few websites that explain:

- www.buzzle.com
- www.naturalremediescenter.com


I finish off with a light weight moisturizer from Simple. I found this product from CVS and I really, really like it. It doesn't make my skin feel tight or heavy, just leaves a balanced moisture to my skin.

This is my skin after my daily regimen. This is normally how I look on set for work: No makeup, no photoshop, straight from my camera phone.

There are times when I am up super late at night and the next day you can clearly see the fatigue in my face. For days like these, I only need a few products to hide a few things. Let me show you how.

Step 2: Vaseline & Mascara Wand

These two products are the perfect combination for two situations: Your brows & your lashes.
This is what I use to groom my brows in one direction as well as creating a little shine to my lashes.
It's a lot less harmful than mascara and looks just as good. If you are blonde and prefer darker lashes, definitely go for a brown mascara to darken them up.

Step 3: Foundation

I LOVE Make Up For Ever Liquid Foundation for photo shoots and runway! On myself, I currently use Inglot Creme Foundation #36

It is $18 USD and I LOVE the way it smells!! It smells like a garden, or greenery, or lettuce... it's hard to describe, but it's very fresh and clean. The creme is water based and very lightweight; and this is literally the only foundation I have found that matches me perfectly. I only need a dime size amount to cover my face and I am good for the day. I use my ring finger and apply all over.

Step 4: Concealer
I switch back and fourth between MAC NW45 Concealer and NYX Concealer. For today's look, I used NYX "Nutmeg" Concealer.

I used my ring finger to apply the concealer in areas of hyper pigmentation, such as: under my eyes, around the nose, around the mouth, on scars and my chin.

Step 5: Powder

I use MAC "Deep Peach" Loose Powder. Apply your powder in the same place you applied concealer to set it in and keep it in place. You can use a sponge or flat brush if you feel it is necessary, but I use my finger once again and lightly tap the powder in place.

To wrap it up: I personally love a little highlighter on my cheekbones, so I use Vaseline again as my highlighter on my nose, my cheekbones, my lips and my collar bones. Guess what I used to apply the Vaseline? My fingers only!

The one question people ask me when they watch me do makeup is: 

Why Use Fingers?

The reason why I use my fingers is because the texture and warmth from your fingers can do what no other brush on the market can do to create a natural look: your fingers literally melt the makeup into your skin to make the makeup look like skin and not makeup sitting on your face. The Beauty Blender is very similar to fingers, but it absorbs makeup. Your fingers can glide and melt the makeup into skin which is great for hd cameras, so I personally prefer using my fingers while on set of a photo shoot.

This is the final look:

Here's a before and after (with a flash) and no photo shop was used:

The makeup is SO subtle that you really cannot tell too much of a difference.
BUT what you can notice is:
- the skin looks more even
- there is no darkness nor bags under the eyes
- your skin will look more fresh and 

This is the exact same method I use with models for test shoots. For some models, I do fill in their brows, or contour their nose, but I usually only use very few or no brushes for the first look, then build from there. A lot of people think I am not applying makeup for these natural looking photo shoots, but believe it or not, I am! Very little to no photo shop was used.

For Example:

Arlynn | The Rock Agency

Photography | Escalante

Natalie | Factor Women

Photographer | Jennifer Avello

 Samantha | Ford Models

Photographer | Jennifer Avello

And there you have it!! You will easily be done with your makeup within 5-10 minutes AND look naturally flawless with just 5 products. I hope this helps!

What's In My Kit?

I never really thought this was a big deal, but lately people have been asking me what am I carrying in my mysterious, metal box. So, let me show you what I've got:

For those of you that have never worked with me, I'm very organized; I take organization to a whole other level when it comes to makeup. I wasn't always like this, but after a few incidences of products being randomly stolen from me, I needed to get organized so I can know who is using what while on the set of a photo shoot or fashion show and I would know immediately if something is missing from my kit.



In one section, I have my foundations and a few concealers.
My absolute favorite foundations are Make Up For Ever Liquid Face & Body Foundations:



From my school, Make Up First LLC, I learned that these are one of the best foundations every artist needs in their kit and I live by these. The MUFE foundations are made with silicone, which means they are waterproof, leave a dewy look and feel to the skin and are naturally HD ready. These foundations are great for teary-eyed brides and sweaty models. They are about $40, but they have lasted me for years. Worth every penny.

I also carry a few MAC Studio Finish concealers, mostly in deeper shades:


The reason why I carry MAC only in darker shades is due to the hues in them, they have an orange base. Most concealers from other brands I've tried tend to be too red, too pink, or too yellow and they don't match deeper skin tones well on camera. The MAC concealers work VERY well under HD lighting when blended well.


In the other section of my kit, I carry these products:


Ben Nye Concealer Wheels:

I have about 8 of these, they are amazing. These concealers cover fine lines to tattoos, great product for light weight to heavy weight work.

Urban Decay Primer Potion:

Yep, I love it! I found out about this product from the infamous @QueenofBlending, I tried it and I loved it ever since.

OCC Lip Tars:


I carry NSFW, Hoochie, Banchie, and another name....Basically, red, orange, magenta, and blue. I never remember names! These are SO vibrant and electric in person and on camera. Best lip product investment I have purchased so far.

MAC LipMix (in black, white, red, yellow, blue):

These bring the artist out of me, especially when I am asked to work on colorful projects. I used the lip mix for this particular photo shoot with photographer Jennifer Avello & designer Marta Cebrat-Czernik.


Rosebud Strawberry Lip Balm:


No matter what age or what sex my client is, EVERY one loves the way this smells & feels.

Make Up For Ever HD Powder:

I think this should be a staple product for all artists. I definitely noticed a difference working with this translucent powder compared to other powders: very smooth on skin, works amazing under camera, creamy texture on moisturized skin. If you use too much powder, it does look chalky, but just brushing away access solves that problem.

NARS Sharpener:

Best pencil sharpener for all sizes.

Brushes:

My brushes are from everywhere, I don't have a specific favorite, but I prefer synthetic bristles over natural hairs any day.

Pencils:

I found this cute box from Urban Outfitters, and I use it to store all of my lip & eye pencils. Convenient, colorful & cute. I don't have one particular product for pencils I use, I use a little bit of everything.

Palettes:

MAC Blush Palettes, Make Up For Ever Eyeshadow Palette & Nars Individual Cheek & eye colors.

Lipsticks:


I found these clear, cute containers from The Container Store.
I melted my lipsticks in the microwave and ta-da, I created my own lip palette!
The other containers store random lip gloss, my mascara and liquid eye liners.

Mascara: My Favorite mascara at the moment is One by One by Maybelline.


It doesn't clump, defines all lashes very well and the best part is that it dries fast, so I don't have to clean up after my client closes their eyes. GREAT mascara.


The Cross:



Only a few people have noticed this, but I keep a cross in my kit just as a daily reminder of my faith and to keep me grounded during my highest high's and my lowest low's.

That's what's in my kit!

(Photos provided by Songine' Clark & Sephora.com & the internet.)

Ruby Yo!

After a long but worthwhile wait, here's the debut of Ruby Yo!'s Video "Fire It Up-Fuego"

Don't know who Ruby Yo! is?

Please read my previous blog from February about her here
----> Ruby Yo! <----

Enjoy!

The Makeup Show

Thank GOD for the production team of The Makeup Show for FINALLY bringing the event to Chicago. It was long over due!! I went yesterday (June 12th) with my friend and client, Jenna Marie Christian, and we had an amazing time. As soon as we walked in, I felt like I had the jitters. We went from booth to booth to booth and sampled and Ooh'd and Aawed over the colorful array of gorgeousness from every product line. I also bumped into a LOT of familiar faces.




First products I purchased: Crown Industries
I stocked up on nine brushes, a palette of cream foundations, a packet of lip wands and mascara wands for only $25.
$25!!
$25!!!!!!


Second products I purchased: Make Up For Ever.
I finally stocked up on a few of my favorite face & body liquid foundations as well as a neutral eye shadow palette. Everything was 50% off!! I was going nuts. They were also doing live demos of theatrical makeup and their newest products on a few agency models.


Third products I purchased: Kevyn Aucoin
I purchased two of his cheek colors: Fire (Mango hue) and Dolline (Apricot hue)
The texture is SO thick and the pigment is really amazing. You literally only need a small amount for it to show on your cheeks. The best part was they were selling it for only $5 each!!


Fourth products I purchased: Inglot
I wanted everything, I truly did. But I ended up purchasing their Face and Body Illuminator in #61 and #68. These have stunning color power. Absolutely stunning. I cannot wait to highlight the cheekbones of my next model with these. These were $11 but they are SO worth it.

So at this point, I had to check myself because I was wrecking my money. :-/


We checked out an airbrushing seminar from Temptu. I learned the difference between silicone and water based makeup, silicone is mold-able and takes longer to set on skin while water based airbrush tries quickly since it isn't oil based. Temptu also showed how to add depth with contouring the eyes as well as the cheekbones. The host was fun to watch and I learned a few tricks with airbrushing for my next bride.


I also bumped into Jennifer James. I love her blog and her notes, she is FULL of wisdom. Ofcourse, her skin was flawless in person.


And for the main event, Sam Fine was in the building looking flawless, classic and dapper. we also got to check out Sam Fine's seminar on "Careers in Beauty" and stood in line for an hour just to gain some of his knowledge and see him work up close and personal.


First off, WOW. Talk about preaching to the choir. He was so refreshing to listen to. Sam mentioned the good and the bad side of the industry, and I really liked that he mentioned that IT IS OK to say NO to a job that doesn't suit you or make you happy. Sam also mentioned that everything you do, from facebook to simply talking to people, is a market of you. EVERY thing he mentioned was full of humble wisdom and I was so proud to be there.


He was selling his dvd, but the line was WAY too long. Just going to get it later at Borders. I noted that he likes to stipple the face with sponges and stipples heavily around the under eyes. That's a new technique for me, because I typically stipple with my fingers and/or a brush to create a similar effect. What also surprised me was the few products he used to create a flawless canvas. Sam also mentioned he had an art background so makeup was second nature to him. What an inspiration!

I'm undecided whether I will go the second day because I spent enough money!! But I had A LOT of fun. I will be there next year :)