Prom & Graduation Makeup

The end of a school year also signifies a time that a young girl (or boy) will experience the most important days of their life up to that point... I remember my prom as something so special, a day that I could dress up like no one has seen me before, dance with my best friends, and "maybe" behave a little badly with said friends (when I say "badly", you have to realize that my friends and I were the queens of "goody-two-shoes", and our "bad" never compared to anyone else's "bad"!!!). 

That being said... I did makeup for the beautiful Amanda's 8th grade prom. Seeing as it was 8th grade- what I remember about that prom was nerves and trying not to get sweaty/smelly!!! LOL! For Amanda, I wanted to keep her youthful, clean look, and satisfy her desire for WINGED LINER (without looking too grown-up or harsh)!!! I heard she had a great time!! :)

She's a beautiful young lady inside and out!!! And I hope all her wishes for prom came true!!! 

Then, just yesterday, I received a somewhat nervous call from our across the street neighbor to rush over and do her daughter's 12th grade graduation makeup... I was honored that she thought of me for her special day! Her mom told me she also wanted a clean natural look, and she'd be wearing beige and white robes. Her look was similar to Amanda's but I stayed away from black, I even used the same Urban Decay Basics palette ...

I didn't do her lips because she still hadn't eaten dinner, but, also like Amanda, she had very clear flawless skin, that needed no corrections!!! As always, I used Ofra Cosmetics for that clean look- Beauty in youth!!! :)

Happy Hump Day!!! And if you haven't checked out my hubby's website for our Adoption Fundraiser please visit Gaming For Adoption and learn how you can help us!!! 

Imagine Youthful Skin & Behaving "Badly"- Alexis

Makeup For Adoption Monday

Adoption update time...

So officially we are a "waiting family"!!! Yay!!! What does this mean??? It means, we have been approved by our adoption agency, and at any time in the coming days, weeks, or year we could get a phone call that our baby is ready to come home!!! 

We have chosen to pursue Domestic Infant Adoption... this type of adoption is usually done as an "open" or "semi-open" adoption! We get to choose which level of openness and communication we want with our birth mother. As part of the prep process we made an album, of sorts, showing our life together. With lots of pictures of our lives including friends and family. This book is called a profile book and it will be shown to prospective birth mother's who meet our preferences and we meet their's. Each birth mother is shown about 3 or 4 profiles and they narrow it down to one or two that they want to know more about. This would be when we get "THE CALL"... our agency would call us and tell us that there is a birth mother who wishes to talk to us or meet us and we would nervously rush to central Florida (where the agency is) and we would (God Willing) meet our baby's birth mother. Then, depending on how far along she is in her pregnancy we would wait and keep communication with her and the agency, waiting for our baby to be born!!!

I know many who don't know much about the adoption "culture" will be thinking things about birth mothers that they've seen on TV or in movies. Like, what if she changes her mind or tries to take baby away... well, just like any traditional pregnancy where there are natural reasons you cannot go home with your baby, we will have the same risks. And, just like these risks don't stop women everyday from getting pregnant, they will not stop us from wanting to adopt. And as for the right and wrong things to say to adoptive parents... the bottom line is do not give your opinion... give us support, love, interest, and questions, so you can get the right answers. Now that I know so much about this culture that I knew nothing about 4 months ago, I am very aware of the way people are responding to us. I don't expect people to know the right and wrong things to say, but definitely to use common sense.  I found this blog entry by another adoptive parent trying to bring their baby home... it pretty much hits it on the nail of dos and don'ts, if your friend is adopting a baby. I would love for my closest friends and family to read this (it's short)... it would mean the world to us: 
Unsolicited Advice: What To Do When Your Friends Adopt An Infant 

Like I've said to a few friends and family, please Google, Domestic Infant Adoption. There is so much to learn and understand, that we never even knew existed. We want everyone in our lives to be comfortable with our situation, as comfortable as if we were pregnant... because technically we are! We are "paper pregnant" (as they say in the adoption world)... so maybe we'll be pregnant a little more or a little less than 9 months, but we ARE pregnant!!! We are excited, anxious, happy, nervous- feelings not too dissimilar from the next pregnant couple. So, yes, ask questions, hug us, congratulate us, and support us!!! 

An adoption quote I've learned to love and understand!

Imagine Being a First-time Mommy- Alexis

Quick Makeup Update...

Just wanted to show off my last 2 clients and makeup looks before I take any longer...

Earlier this month, I finally got to go to my Christmas Gift... we went to see American Idiot the Musical, based on the band Green Day's album American Idiot. That album has so much meaning to me, it came out in a time when I had started college, and was becoming independent. I was learning who I was and was "adult" enough to interpret the album and truly understand its complex meaning! To see it come alive as a Broadway show was very cool and to know that this "little" punk rock band had come so far! 

For this makeup look I really wanted something fun, "Punk-ish" and pink! I did a gradient smokey eye in hot pink that faded to a frosty white, with of course, my frienemy, the winged liner. It was fun, kinda sexy, and kinda punk!!!

A few months ago, I held a raffle at St. Brendan's high school for a free Special Occasion Makeup... and the beautiful Ashley won!!! She chose to have her makeup done to attend her little sister's fashion show... she requested an old fashioned look from the 40's and 50's. She is the sweetest girl with beautiful almond-shaped eyes, she was the perfect canvas!!! 

And, just today, I had the honor of doing makeup on the gorgeous Arlene... she is attending a wedding... and, as she said, she is not used to wearing much makeup and tonight she wanted to look dramatic... different, extreme, elegant, wild, fun!!! The dress she showed me, she will wear, had beautiful fuchsia flowers and I knew I had to make her eyes pop with the same color!!!

As always, thank you to my clients for the opportunity of painting on your gorgeous canvas!!!

Imagine Being Kinda Sexy and Kinda Punk- Alexis

Makeup For Adoption Friday!

Like I said, I want to share with you a little about our adoption story so far...

I won't get into all the dramatic details of how we got here, I will say though, we went through 4 years of infertility and 2 years of infertility treatments and 4 medical procedures to try to conceive. It was not easy, it was not fun, and it was extremely emotional. Thank God for my Boy and the hope he has always instilled in me. At times it felt like a child would never come (I'm a glass half empty gal)but Manny made sure to keep my spirits up and always keep me thinking positive- I wouldn't have survived without him!

So, 2014 arrived and we were planning on our 5th fertility procedure in February, when I had an epiphany... let's adopt! We had originally looked into adoption back in 2012 but quickly decided to try the treatments. Now, my brain had come full circle, knowing in my heart that adoption was the path we were supposed to follow. As far back as I can remember, I have wanted to adopt... even as a child when I would play 
"only-child-house" (which is playing solo with imaginary people), I would have tons of kids and some were always adopted. When we first got married I had mentioned to Manny, that I wanted to adopt someday, not yet knowing of our infertility. So, when my brain began to circle around adoption, it wasn't a difficult thing I had to give in to, or convince myself of... and my beautiful, perfect Boy agreed that it didn't matter how our baby came into the world as long as we had our baby. And some people may think, why wouldn't we continue trying to have our "own" baby... well, hate to break it to you "inappropriate commenters", this will be our own baby... one of the adoption quotes that keeps popping up for me is, "Little souls find their way to you, whether it's from your womb or someone else's." I truly believe, it is God's plan, destiny, meant to be, written in the stars (however you see it)for us to find our child's soul through adoption.

That being said, I quickly contacted a social worker that came recommended from another adoptive couple. After a million papers, background checks, and e-mails, she sets up our homestudy appointment. YIKES!!! Those who know the Boy and Girl, know that "homemaking" does not come easy for us... we are more of a go-with-the-flow kinda couple... well our flow had to speed up because the appointment was for the very next week. This complete stranger was going to come to our house, judge us and determine our future from one 3 hour visit. I didn't sleep that whole week and my Boy had several "sleep walking" fits at night... but my neat-freak mother came that weekend and gave us the white glove, eagle eye of approval. Tuesday was THE day!!!

Our social worker arrived 15 minutes late, which felt like 15 days... the doorbell chimed... this was it...

She was such a delight, she plopped herself comfortably on our loveseat and we seat across from her on the big couch, and talked for 2 1/2 hours straight. She would ask a question and I would answer for 10 minutes, then it was Manny's turn. We did this the whole time (Manny mumbled a little more that I did) and it went by in a flash. Questions, about how we grew up, childhood, schooling, parents, traumas or not, medical history, current finances... we answered everything honestly, anxiously, and comfortably. (I like to brag, I even made Manny cry- happy tears!!) It was great!!! She took a quick tour of the house, didn't open a single drawer or closet (which I had compulsively picked up and cleans), she had no white glove or eagle eye, she was kind, and interested in us. By the end of the interview she was excitedly telling us, "I can't wait to come back and see how you decorated the baby's room!" We knew we had passed with flying colors... and we did! 

She e-mailed me last week with the finished homestudy report and she will be sending it out next week to our adoption agency. Once, the agency has our homestudy, we will send them a profile book of our lives and our application, which will make us an official WAITING FAMILY!!! In my next adoption post, I will share more on how the process will work, and a little more about Domestic Infant Adoption!!!

We are soooo excited for this journey and cannot wait to meet our baby!!! Please, if you have any questions about our process feel free to contact me, I'd love to share!!!

Till next time, Imagine Adopting Babies- Alexis

BFFs &, Cats &, Babies, OH MY!

So if you follow Alexis the Makeup Girl on Facebook, you know I've been a little preoccupied with another big event in my life... My boy and I have started the process of adopting a baby!!! I won't get too into it in this particular post, I'll just say that we are EXTREMELY excited and this week we'll be starting a new step to our process... I would like to share a little more about adoption and our experience in particular to bring awareness to friends, family, and followers, so once a week I'll do an "adoption" post and update you all on our journey!!!

But, this is a MAKEUP BLOG after all, so here it is... 

The best thing about being able to do makeup, is making up my friends for their special days. I had the honor of doing my best friend's makeup for her Baby Shower!!! She was absolutely glowing and looked sooo beautiful!!! I've known My Bubs since we were 8 years old and it was very emotional, 22 years later, doing her makeup for her BABY SHOWER!!! I am soooo excited to meet her little one(which is due any day now)and hopefully soon, raise our babies together!!! Love you Bubby!!!

The whole gang of gals from childhood to motherhood and beyond!!!

In the face painting world... I was booked to do a small Kitty Cat birthday party! The Birthday Girl's mommy (who is a photographer), had a look picked out that she wanted me to duplicate... I added my own touch of glitter and eyeliner, what girly kitty doesn't need glitter and cat eyes?!?!

 

My Goddaughter slept over our house a few weekends ago, and she wanted Lexi to do her makeup, but she had to keep her little eye patch on... so her Lexi incorporated a dragon into the mix... being the "girly-tomboy" that she is, she looooved it!!!

Last but not least, this weekend was another BFF's special occasion... She was taking her Engagement pictures!!! She wanted a soft, natural look, while still looking glammed up!!! She looked gorgeous and I can't wait to see how her pics turned out!

I hope you all enjoyed this post and I look forward to sharing a little more about our adoption... in the meantime please visit my husband's website, GamingForAdoption.com , to find out more on how you can help us reach our goal of baby!!! 

Imagine Future Babies- Alexis

Face Painting Fun!!!

I have had the best time face painting the last few days... not to say it's my new following but a definite positive add-on!!! Last week I practiced a few cat faces for an event I was commissioned to. It was a high school homecoming fair and their school mascot is a green saber (or sabre as they spell it), and I knew I had to follow a cat theme.

  

Being the crazy cat lady that I am, I attempted their mascot and my own little blue kitty face.  

 For the event day, I got my cute handcrafted apron and rainbow face accent (and my Boy for support)and headed off to 4 hours of meeting, greeting, a painting: 

I painted enough green paws to last a lifetime...

Even a teeny baby one!

I also did my share of super heroes!!!

I love that my super heroes were mostly girls!!!

I really enjoyed doing these... tested my detail skills!!!

And the extent of my "cat theme", was dwindled down to 3...

This pretty blue kitty was my first of the day and my favorite... I had the time for detail and favor!!! This sweet little gal loved it... We saw her flaunting it all day long! :)

I hope you all enjoyed these fun faces because I really enjoyed doing them. There were so many painted faces that day, I wish I would've photographed everyone!!!

Imagine Happy Blue Faces-Alexis

Alexis the Face Painting Girl

As some of you may know, my makeup career began years ago when I was an actress!In high school I was very involved in the drama program and learned a few theatre makeup tricks... but it wasn't until college that I took a Stage Makeup class that I knew I loved the makeup thing. As much as I love the beauty/bridal/fashion makeup; I love (a little more) the freedom of fantasy makeup! And, I think that's why I am really enjoying face painting. I am able to use my theatre background and love of children to make little tiny works of art. This is something I am really looking forward to doing just as often as beauty makeup. Being able to do both would be the perfect balance for me of fun and work. 

I am currently using Mehron face paint and Silly Farm Rainbow Cake! 

If you, or anyone you know, are in South Florida and would like to book me for face painting (or beauty makeup), 

please contact me on my Facebook page @alexisthemakeupgirl 

...in the meantime here are 2 face painting looks I worked on last week... a little something for the girls and boys!!! 

Imagine Happy Face-Painted Kids- Alexis