Photo Shoot Update

Hi ya'll...

Just a quick Miami pride comment... Go Heat!!! The Miami Heat won last night and will be champions tomorrow night!!! Woot Woot!!!

Ok... just wanted to share the pictures from that photo shoot I did a few weeks ago! The lovely photographer Celia put the full shoot up at her blog... but here are a few that really show off the makeup I did and the beauty of boudoir:

If you are interested in doing a boudoir photo shoot (Local in S. Fla) you can get more info at blog.lascelias.com ... don't forget to get your makeup done by me :) 

Imagine Lingerie & The Heat Winning- Alexis

Crazy Hair, Crazy Girl, & a Wedding Party!!

So, like I mentioned last post... I'M FREEEEE! Which means I am home a lot, which in turn means, I got bored right away!

The good thing is, I have been catching up on a lot of house work and exercising, the bad thing is... I am self-diagnosed with ADD and tend to easily- SQUIRREL! You get the idea: I have caught up on Dr. Oz, TLC marathons, The View, Boy Meets World, Saved By The Bell... again, you get the idea! So, what did I decide to do my first week off??? 

Bleach a chunk of my hair!!! In this pic it looks all nice and blow-dried but... let's be realistic, it'll look like this once a month... you don't want to see what it looked like all the other days! I had actually bought pastel blue hair dye to do a streak within the chunk... I couldn't summon the gall to do it (even though I've done pink and crazy before)... so I thought about my options: black, which I love, or keep my wild side on the surface?

What do you think? I like it... it's a little punk meets sophistication! LOL! I'm not saying I loooove it, but I am getting used to it, and everyone else seems to like it (unless they're just being nice)... so, I think this will be it for a while until I get bored again!

Last weekend, I did makeup for a bridal party... a friend of mine from my old job (who I hadn't spoken to in a while)randomly called me and asked me if I still do makeup... Ha, do I do makeup? LOL! Her daughter was getting married and needed a makeup artist for her bridesmaids... and so I took the job! I did 3 bridesmaids and 1 Jr. Bridesmaid... the bride asked for a natural look, using peaches and other light colors.

Thank you Dania (the bride) and Ana (my friend and mother-of-the-bride) for letting me be a part of your special day! I hope you have many years of happiness and fun with your hubby!!!

Imagine Pretty Brides and Wild Hair- Alexis

A Birthday, My Birthday, My Birthday, & a Regular!

So the last couple of weeks have been crazy hectic for me (in a good way!)...

I'll start at the end and make my way to the beginning... 1)This last weekend was my aunt's surprise birthday party, my cousin-in-laws pool party, and Memorial Day (friends came over)... it was a typical hot, sunny, beautiful Miami weekend!!!

Me and my mommy at my auntie's party... check out my lips... my mother says I can stop traffic with this lipstick, I think I love it!!! It is called Lip Tar from Obsessive Compulsive and can be found at Sephora (click the link)... it is extremely pigmented and comes in a ton of colors... and surprisingly stays on like a stain yet comes off easily!!! Thanks to my "Bratty" cousin Natalia for this B-day gift!!!   

 

2) Last Friday was finally my last day of my "day job"... all I'll say about that is, that it is a bloody relief to be out of that job... the end!

3) Two Saturdays ago I had a second birthday party for myself with all my BFFs (some were missing)... we had a blast... it rained, as it always does on my B-day, and our pool was cold, but who needs a pool when you have liquor... I'm not much of a "drinker" but when I'm with people I love and in the comfort of my own home... well lets just say we felt "good"! (I'm way over 21, I can do this)... here's what we looked like: 

Did I mention it was "Rainbow Themed"?

4) Then the Tuesday before that was my actual B-day... my immediate family came over and absolutely pampered and spoiled me (as they should!) My Boy even made me a Birthday mural...

... My fave part of my B-day, though, was my grandmother trying to figure out what was wrong with my lips... I'll show you:

These little lip tattoos were extremely fun!!! A little bit difficult to accomplish, because you have to cut and adjust to your lips, but way worth it for a special occasion... this little find is called Violent Lips... they come with a template that is very helpful...

 violentlips.com

5) Lastly, I did makeup for two of my friends... My friend Emy was a little worried about wearing too much makeup for her event, she made it very clear that she wanted a natural look but wanted to look made-up...here's what I did:

She even mentioned to me that she was worried when she saw how much color I was using... that's the importance of blending, the more you blend the lighter and softer it will look... thank you Emy for letting me do your makeup! xo

Then there's my "regular" client, Jackie... she too was worried about wearing too much makeup but told me she wanted a smoldering, dramatic look... she wanted to go outside her comfort zone... so I told her I would expand her comfort zone to include "drama"!!!

I hope you enjoyed this little update... now that I have more time on my hands, I plan on working on my makeup career at full-force... this is something I love and feel passionate about and I hope I can enlighten someone along the way!

Imagine B-Day Girl lips and Rainy days, Alexis

Mommy & Boudoir?!?!

This weekend was a lot of fun for an up and coming makeup artist...

   On Friday night my school makeup teacher invited me to a "Makeup Artist Mingle"... Which meant free food and drinks and casual awkward chat with a photographer and some clothing designers! Awkward? Yes... as I usually say, if you know me, you know I'm not exactly a social butterfly when surrounded by people I don't know. This new direction in life I have chosen is definitely a challenge for me (that I am ready to face!)... So, I sat there, like the weird girl I am, and tried really hard to be "cool"... yes, folks, I have "high school syndrome"... I'm still that innocent girl trying to be accepted by my peers and yet my inner monologue tells me otherwise... and because I am almost 30 and comfortable in my "nerd ways", the inner monologue struggles with the idea of trying to be someone else! So, I'm taking it all one step at time and perhaps I'll find the inner cool I've had lurking inside me dying to come out! HeHe! So somewhere in between the popular girl and the girl eating lunch in the toilet stall, was me at a table for 12 at the restaurant/nightclub Kitchen 305.

   My teacher texts me Thursday morning and asks me, "how many people are you bringing?" DING DING DING! "Can I bring someone?" I instantly thought,thank God I can bring my Boy- but, Oh yea, he works... next best person to be dependent on in uncomfortable situations??? My momma!!!

 In the end it may not have been too much of a step up from nerdy-girl (bringing my mom and all), but  I went, I mingled, and passed out some business cards... for little old me, this was a success! I am very proud of myself for going and feeling somewhat confident and as always am very thankful to my teacher Jackie for giving me a boost, (she texted me during the dinner to give her my business cards so that she could pass them out, since I hadn't)... ladies and gentlemen, confidence is on her way for me!!! :)

   On Saturday was a different story... I was makeup artist to a boudoir photo shoot!!! This was more my type of gig... except the part of waking up at 5am after having gone to bed at 1am! The lovely videographer/photographer Celia Sanchez put together a very planned and creative photoshoot...

 

 it was a tasteful shoot of a model wearing vintage lingerie and night gowns. The ladies arrived at my house at 5:25 in the morning... all of us with sleepy eyes ready to work. Celia and I agreed that a smokey eye would be perfect for her Whimsical Boudoir idea. I used a gold gel eyeliner to coat her lid and smoked it out with gold and brown eyeshadows! She looked elegant and I think she felt elegant too...
I told her in person and I'll tell her again... Celia thank you for the lovely time spent and the great opportunity!

(The Beautiful Model: Aurora)

Imagine Mommies & Crowns of Flowers, Alexis

Special Feelings and Fake Sisters...

So last week was one of the most special days in my 29 years... my "sister/cousin/bff" got married!!! 

I am an only child who grew up with a great big sister who lived in another house with my second parents (haha!)... My parents and my second parents were neighbors before I was born... let me explain further... Latin people have a lot of "fake" family (everyone is a cousin)... My parents saw little baby Alissa living next door and felt an instant attraction to her, her parents, and to the idea of having a baby... so they had me!!! (Yay!) Our two families became family almost instantly, going on Disney trips and great big epic vacations... 

(Our Parents)

we also kinda look alike, which is great for when we get asked if we are sisters... it's an easy "yes"! 

(I also did her makeup for her Bridal Shower)

She originally told me she did not want me to do her makeup on her wedding day because she didn't want me to feel forced to work... even though deep inside I wanted to... but being the supportive Matron of Honor, I nodded and smiled (Whatever the bride wanted!)... but then she asked me to go to her makeup trial appointment in Savannah, GA (destination wedding)... she was nervous and not sure if she liked it... I nodded and smiled and wanted her to make her own decision... LUCKY ME! She didn't like!!! LOL! So with great honor and pride and a very slow, careful hand, I did her makeup.

(The Big Day)

  

She looked AMAZING, (not to toot my horn!)... She seemed really happy with it, and that's all that mattered... I really want to share a picture of her look that day, but with our regular cameras there is not a single good close-up shot of her... so I guess we'll have to wait for the photographers pics.

In the meantime here's a few shots of her and my makeup on the big day... I really need a better camera!

(The Bride & Groom)

(Me and My Boy)

      Imagine Better Cameras and Happy Sisters- Alexis

I'm Done... in a good way!

So here's a blog post... finally! At least I didn't reach the year mark since my last post! :) 

Like the title states: I'm done...  On June 17, 2012 I enrolled at Beauty Schools of America. I did this because of my extreme and utter lack of confidence in the makeup industry. As much as I loved it, practiced it, and may have been good at it... I had zero self-confidence. People would ask me to do their makeup for weddings and parties and my excuse was always, "I'm not a professional, I wouldn't know what to do if I mess up." I felt I needed to become a pro by learning, in person, from a pro... so I went to school.

I had just finished teaching 4th graders, a regular school year, and was about to start summer school/camp when I had an epiphany... Why am I doing something that I am not 100% passionate about? I love, love, love working with children but I didn't (don't) necessarily like the direction the public school system is headed and the freedom that private schools have. It just all of a sudden "wasn't me". I wasn't doing anything artistic and didn't have the freedom to try. If you know me, you know I've bounced around for years with theatre and makeup (my 2 true passions)... why wasn't I free?

Then... I did it! I worked from 8-4, teaching, Mon.-Fri. and went to school 5-10 Mon.-Sat... do the math... I had no life for 10 months. I learned EVERYTHING there is to know about skincare and facials (which wasn't part of the dream, but mandatory for makeup... and guess what? It turns out my theatre and makeup background was all I needed to be a makeup artist!!! It was in these 10 months that I learned the greatest lesson- Self Confidence! (Maybe not in all aspects of my life, but definitely as a makeup artist!) 

Of course I'm not a know-it-all... thank you to my makeup teacher Jackie Jorge (wish I knew how to link you to her)... she saw my talent day one and worked on my self-esteem above all, while teaching me knew tips and tricks! 

In the end... I am done! I am done with school, I am done with being scared, I am done not doing for me... I will be a licensed esthetician and am already a "Pro" Makeup Artist and I can't wait to share this adventure with you! 

Imagine Being Done in a Good Way- Alexis

Here's a handful of the things I did in school! Enjoy! xo