Magic Show

Behind the Scene is where (most) of the magic happens... 

And I love being the one to hold the magic wand!

Here's a peak at the makings of a Beauty Story I directed with my dear friends, Model: Allison Lageeste, 

Photographer:  Daeja Fallas, Hair & Makeup: yours truly! Featured in Hawaii's national fashion magazine, DISFunkshion.

 

Kaleidoscopic

You’re a cheerful, vivacious woman... why should your makeup be any different! Let your little light shine this spring with a splash of citrus hues on the eyes and kool-aide stained lips for an undeniably radiant you. It’s kind of like Crayolas for grown-ups... only now, you don’t have to worry about staying within the lines. 

Funkshional Trend: Pop Art. 

Bright is Right.... Now! Go ahead, summon your inner Picasso as you embrace the colorful world of spring! Pick your favorite shades of the rainbow, and go for it. Brush on complimentary golds and violets for an intensified duo that’s sure to make your eyes pop. 

DISfunkshional 

Trend: Art Major. 

Legendary Makeup Artist, Kevyn Aucoin once said, “There are no rules in makeup.” We couldn’t agree more! In the past we’ve been told to pick just one color to use to play up the eyes; this time around, the skies the limit. Express 

yourself with all the colors of the wind... all at once!

Loud Mouth: 

Don’t forget about your pout. Lips play a supporting role in this work of art, but that doesn’t mean they go unnoticed. Cotton candy and cherry stained lips should be served sheer and shiny this spring. 

For this editorial take on the trend, start with a neutral cream shadow to help intensify the vibrant color you’ll be painting with. “I love to think of makeup as an art form,” says Makeup Artist Jessica Hoffman, “and not just the paint-by-numbers sort of makeup we do day in and day out. I love to push myself to create looks that are outside the box. Color doesn’t have to stay within the perimeters of the lash line and brow bone. Take it to the extreme. Use different application techniques as well. For instance, I took a tapered crease brush and picked up bright orange loose powder eyeshadow and sprinkled the color over the eyes by tapping the brush off the back of my hand. Some pigment even landed in the eyelashes... I loved it!”  

Work with warm and cool colors to create balance within this otherwise arbitrary application of color. Hoffman uses cool colors such as purples, blues and greens to extend to the temple and down on the tops of the cheekbone. She keeps the warm splashes of orange and gold near the lashline to draw the attention back to the eyes. 

When you look good you feel good, and vice versa. So let the world see just how wonderfully 

multi-faceted you are; you happy, vibrant, colorful you... Now that’s a bright idea!

Products you’ll love:

Bobbi Brown 'Brights' Eye Palette (Limited Edition) $70. / Nordstroms

Guerlain 'Ombré Éclat Exotic Paradise

 Eyeshadow Palette $58 / Nordstoms

Makeup Forever 12 Flash Color Case $93 / Sephora.com

Credits: 

Written By: Jessica Hoffman

Makeup and Hair: Jessicahoffman.net

Photography: Tommyshihphoto.com

Assistant Photographer: Elliot Takane

Model: Kristoria for Premier Models and Talent

Little Surfer Girls

About a year and a half ago, I got a call from a London Based Magazine called Cooler, they were going to be shooting in Hawaii and wanted to book me as the Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist. I was stoked! I ended up working with Sanoe Lake, Sonya Balmores and Alana Blanchard. All of whom are beautiful girls and I so enjoyed working with them all.

Alana Blanchard is the best friend of Bethany Hamilton, a modern day hero since she survived that infamous shark attack, and someone I really admire. Alana and I talked a bit about Bethany, and the attack... but we also talked about life and adventures, travel, boys, boards and of course makeup and surfing! (Not necessarily in that order!) Here is some behind the scenes look at the cover shoot we did with Miss Alana for COOLER Magazine. 

Close up of the behind the scenes... reapplying lip gloss on the beach!  

And the big picture... 

And finally the Cover Shot with our cover model, Alana Blanchard. Makeup and Hair by yours truly! 

I was inspired to post these pictures and write about the shoot after a chance meeting yesterday with some pretty incredible men of film making. They shared their story, and I shared mine. Enjoy the story below!

Today I had the incredible pleasure of catching the sunset at the Turtle Bay resort while having cocktails (well, okay... so I had a strawberry/banana smoothie!) with a wonderfully talented group of men; the Producers, Writers, and the Director of the new movie on the life story of Bethany Hamilton called Soul Surfer. I was enthralled by their stories, moreover, Bethany's story. I've had the great privilege of meeting Bethany and her family in the past, and was really touched by Bethany's faith and strength, but also her gentleness and love that just poured out of her. I remember talking to her mom about possibly doing makeup on the set of the movie that they would one day be making of her beautiful daughter's powerful story.... well that day has come, and Hawaii will be happy to hear that they begin filming Sept 15th. (The day before my mom's birthday... easy to remember!) I was excited about this major motion picture coming to Hawaii, but after this fateful, joyous encounter on the shores of Turtle Bay, I'm even more elated! I was in the company of dreamers, visionaries, achievers, story-tellers and I left so high on life and eager to create myself!! It was a glorious day on the North Shore... and this was only the beginning to the story of Soul Surfer comes to Hawaii. Many more to come... 

This is the cover of Bethany Hamilton's Book, Soul Surfer, that will soon be a major motion picture. (Just to clarify, I didn't do the makeup and hair for this cover) Wait till you hear the ALL STAR cast!! I'm talking all-star. I can't wait to finally read this cover to cover, and as I linger in my Turtle Bay room overlooking the East Bay, with the sliding glass doors open to reveal a summery, sweet breeze, this seems to be the perfect time and place to do so. Let me please, entice you with an excerpt of Bethany's book. This is actually the opening paragraph.

" It came, literally, out of the blue. I had no warning at all; not even the slightest hint of danger on the horizon. The water was crystal clear and calm; it was more like swimming in a pool, rather than the deep ocean waters in Kauai, Hawaii, where I go almost every morning to surf with my friend Alana Blanchard or the other girls on the Hanalei girls' surf team. The waves were small and inconsistent, and I was just kind of rolling along with them, relaxing on my board with my right hand on the nose of the board and my left arm dangling in the cool water. I remember thinking, " I hope the surf picks up soon... ," when suddenly there was a flash of gray. That's all it took: a split second."

And she sums it all up pretty incredibly toward the end of her book:

"But for me, knowing that God loves me and that He has a plan for my life that no shark can take away is like having solid rock underneath me. (Matthew 7:24-27) Look, lots of bad stuff happens to people. That's life. And here's my advice: don't put all your hope and faith into something that could suddenly and easily disappear. And honestly, that's almost anything. The only thing that will never go away, that will never fail you, is your faith in God." 

I'm so blessed by her story... and I'm excited to see her story come to life this September, here in Paradise! 

Survival of the fittest!

I had the pleasure of working with Miss Sydney Wheeler (who just survived 8 episodes of Survivor!) in Newport Beach last week on a shoot for Protest, a Holland based surf wear company. We had an amazingly fun time working... if it can even be called that. When you work with fabulous, professional and fun-loving people... a 13 hour day, goes by in a blink of an eye. I never looked at my watch once! It was a four day shoot with the one and only, Michael Voorhees Photographer, and his talented tight-knit crew! All of whom I just love. Looking forward to many more exciting shoots with this team! Look for coming blogs all about the Protest shoot!! Here's a sneak peak at our colorful cast!! 

Here is a beauty shot of Sydney! I just love how her hair turned out... and it's so simple to do! First I started with volumizing spray (Add Volume by KMS) at the roots, then spritzed each individual lock of hair with Sea Salt Spray (again by KMS) as I twisted each strand and wrapped it into a mini bun, securing each with a hair pin. I continued that process until I had about 5-7 twisted buns. Then we proceeded to do her makeup while letting the hair set. Once we did the makeup, it was time to shake out the hair. I ran my fingers through the tight coils to smooth it out. (I avoided using a comb as to not take out too much curl) We finished by having Sydney flip her hair upside down, as I sprayed and teased (this time using a large tooth comb) to add even more messy volume. Once she stood up right, it was time to add a lil shine serum/ anti-frizz spray to leave the waves with a glossy finish. And waaa laaa... Here is the finished product!

Makeup was kept quite fresh and pure! Just the way I like it :-) I used a lot of cream and gel products to keep it looking glossy, but not sweaty. Some of my all time favorite products are:

Tarte Cheek Stain (Sephora) and Neutrogena Shimmer Sheer (now discountinued! Ugh!) Both of which I apply with a foundation brush using a patting motion. When you 'rub' a product on to the skin, you just move product back and forth, patting motion is more intentional... you have to be in control of the makeup, and tell it where to go! More on this makeup in my next blog!  

CYBER SWIM PHOTO SHOOT at Turtle Bay/ Day 1

There are those days when you thank God you do what you do, when you feel so blessed and over joyed to be in the career that you are in... and this was one of those days!

Day 1 of 6 for a print photo shoot for a bathing suit catalogue for Cyber Swim. I was booked to do Hair and Makeup for 8 girls throughout the week. The client, Lisa (who is incredibly sweet & professional all at the same time) put me up at the Turtle Bay Resort for the week, and I booked one of my best friends and extremely talented artist, Crystal Pancipanci as my second artist for the dream job. We also had Meileen Ramos assisting us throughout the day as well. With three artists to four girls, everything went by so smoothly and there was time to enjoy the talent and the day. Of course, having a wonderful, efficient, easy to work with photographer always sets the tone for a beautiful day. Thank you Michael Voorhees Photography!! Overall we were all pretty happy campers! Here is how Day 1 unfolded....  

Me with Cameron Diaz... actually I got to work on the lovely Valentina Hubsch, a dead ringer for Miss Diaz, even down to the happy, bubbly, joyful attitude! Nothing like sitting on the sand, under the shade of a palm tree working away!

The talented and very lovely ladies of Cyber Swim! What a phenomenal group... we were friends from the get go!

The hilarious and beautiful Nathalie Geld! What a treat it is to work with her... she'll keep you laughing and mesmerized the whole day through. 

Group shot! We happened to find Jane, a beautiful older woman, who was lounging in the sand, and she happened to be wearing a Cyber Swim Bathing Suit... so.... we put her in the shot! She was a fantastic sport. We were all inspired by her beauty and confidence! Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

This was our tent set up on the beach, so the models could change quickly between shots! And my sassy Makeup Artist Panci striking a pose. 

Day 1: 13 hour work day. With a 3 hour lunch break in between. 

Great day at the office!

Sneak Peak

Always so enjoyable getting to work with your friends in the industry. Here's Brigitte Patton as DISFunkshion Magazine's newest model.... and here's what she has to say! 

Ohhh... I love you too Brig! 

Here's some sneak peeks behind the scenes... but I can't give too much away, you'll just have to buy the new issue when it comes out! You can pick DISfunkshion up NATION wide now at any Barnes and Nobles store!

The makeup and hair for this story was equal parts rock n' roll and girly-girl... just like our model. For each look I used sequins, jewels, glitter, stickers and applied them to the skin, eye and eyelash with Duo lash adhesive glue. Even the flower in the hair was embellished with rhinstones and glitter. 

We rocked it out for this shoot... literally. Microphone included. 

My set up! Thank you to my amazing assistant, Lorena for helping me with the shoot &  of course the clean up as well! 

Jumping in between shots to freshen up the rock star- barbie hair. 

Hit up your local craft store for some bejeweled goodies for your makeup kit! 

Brigitte in action. Doesn't she resemble Vanessa Millinno?? (Gosh, I love this hair!!) 

It ain't over till the phat lady sings (phat: pretty hot and talented!) 

All photos are of course, at this point, un retouched.  

In the LIME Light

beauty |ˈbyoōtē|noun ( pl. -ties)1 A combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, esp. the sight

We know that beauty can't be judged objectively, for what one person finds beautiful may not appeal to another. Therefore all shapes, all colors, all forms may in fact be, beautiful. That's the thing about beauty.... you can find it anywhere, and in anyone. Now isn't that beautiful? 

Here are some shots I think are just beautiful....

 

Rich, saturated, vivid hues, using bold shapes.... I love having the freedom to create the makeup that makes me melt! And with this artistic interpretation of beauty... it's sure to be in the lime light.  

Thank you 2 DISfunkshion Magazine for publishing such compelling Fashion & Beauty Editorials & thank you to Allison for being my muse!