Uncategorized

Sexy Hair Soya Want It All 22 in 1 Review

September 24, 2015April 29, 2019 tracyfettig228

Sexy Hair Soya Want It All 22:1
Do It All Leave In Treatment
Aerosol spray. 5.1 oz.

You wash it too much. Blow dry every day. Highlight. Curl. Straighten until it can be straightened no more. Whatever your favorite damage method is, this hair saving leave-in treatment can fix it all. The Sexy Hair line has great products and I use quite a few of them in my professional hair kit on clients when I am styling hair for various gigs in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Soya Want It All 22:1 is a leave-in conditioner that is made from a soy, cocoa and argan oil blend. What are the 22 things that it helps with you may ask? Thermal protection, humidity resistance, moisture, nourishment, bodybuilding, repair, shine, smoothness, color protection, detangling, elasticity, environmental protection, anti-static, anti-frizz, anti-aging, soothing, strength, style control, damage control, lightweight, priming and damage prevention.

Along with the long list of benefits, it also smells divine. Like a fruity cocktail that you drink from a coconut while lying on the beach in Hawaii. Mmmmm…..Hawaii……

If you don’t over use it, will leave your hair soft, shiny and healthy looking. Start out with a smaller amount and see how much your hair needs. I like to use a few spritzes of Soya Want It All in my hair before blow drying or doing a blow out with my John Frieda Hot Air Brush. I keep it in my professional hair kit for clients who have unruly hair that is damaged, frizzy or dry and they always comment on how wonderful it smells.

There’s my Sexy Hair Soya Want It All 22 in 1 review for you. Do you use it and love it as well?

May your hair be gorgeous and smell like the tropics!

All photo rights: http://www.tracysotirakis.com

Uncategorized

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer Review

July 18, 2015 tracyfettig228

Is it worth the hype?

Colors here L to R: NC15, NW20, NW25, NC35, NW35, NW40

It gets rave reviews online and was voted as the top high end concealer in Allure Magazine’s Readers Choice Awards for 2015. Must be awesome, right? Let’s see!

What it’s all about:

16 Shades
Medium to full coverage
Natural, matte finish
Lasts for up to 15 hours
Good for under-eye circles and other discolorations
Comes in a glass vial with a pump dispenser
0.30 US fl oz
$20.00 at MAC stores and http://www.maccosmetics.com

I feel like I have been on a never ending quest for the perfect concealer. Many formulas have let me down in the past, so it’s a little frightening introducing a new one into my professional makeup kit. I decided to take the plunge and buy a range of shades of the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer. What initially intrigued me about the product was that it was a long wearing formula and it was a liquid, not a thick cream.

Will it cover dark circles? Erase blemishes and discoloration? Will it crease horribly? Is it worth all the hype?

After testing on myself and clients, here’s what I discovered:

What I like:

It has a good amount of coverage. I like it for more of a medium coverage concealer, but it can be layered or applied on top of another concealer to make it full coverage.
Nice range of colors.
The matte finish is great. Depending on how oily your skin is, you may need to set it with a translucent powder.
Application for under the eyes is best with clean fingers or a concealer brush. For a larger area of coverage, use a damp Beauty Blender sponge or synthetic foundation or concealer brush.
It mixes well with other products. Mixed with a light weight foundation, like MAC Face and Body, it makes a lovely medium coverage foundation. Blended with face lotion, it makes a nice tinted moisturizer.
Stays put. Once it’s set, it holds. Even survives sweaty situations.
The bottle is pretty small, but only using a small amount, it will last quite a while.

As you can see, quite a lot comes out with one pump.

What I don’t like:

With as concentrated as this formula is, the pump dispenses way too much at a time. Great for concealing a large area, but wasteful for small areas like under the eyes. The solution to this is to use a little sample container to pump a full pump into and use that for a few days. Ask for a sample container when purchasing if you go to the MAC store. Or, you can try to dispense it very gently and slowly so only a little comes out.
It can look a dry on some people, especially in the eye area. If that’s you, prep with a good eye cream.
It may crease unless set with a light dusting of a translucent powder.

Top row L to R: NC15, NW20, NW25. Bottom row L to R: NC35, NW35, NW40

The MAC Pro Longwear Concealer can definitely stay in my makeup kit for now. I think that it has mostly lived up to all the hype. I would give it 4 stars out of 5. I hope you like it if you decide to try it out!

Uncategorized

Matching Bridesmaids Hairstyles

July 1, 2015 tracyfettig228

Matching bridesmaids hair styles – a do or a don’t?

Becoming a trend again in the world of weddings is bridal parties with matching or coordinating hair styles. You have to admit it, there is something really pretty about wedding party photos where all the bridesmaids look like they belong together. Not looking like clones, unless that’s what the bride wants, but at least looking like they all harmonize with the bride. Fun and creative photos are also becoming more common with wedding parties. Why not incorporate matching hair styles as well to make the pictures even better?

Photo courtesy of Jeff Egnaczyk via Flikr Creative Commons

The bridesmaids in the blue dresses all have an up-style with curls, even though they have different lengths of hair. It looks classy and uniform and goes well with their dresses.

Photo courtesy of Rachel Wilder via Flickr Creative Commons

In the photo above, the bride and her bridesmaids all have different hair cuts and textures, but their wedding day styles are compatible with each other, all up-styles, making them look like they belong together.

Photo courtesy of Shan Owens via Flickr Creative Commons

At first, the above photo is gorgeous. Everything looks well planned with the dresses, accessories and flower baskets. All the bridesmaids have a similar style, half up, half down, coordinating with the bride. All except one…next to the bride on the right. What happened to her hair? Did she miss the memo about the half up, half down style? Her hair looks messy and because of the pose of this photo, it’s covering up some of her face. How perfect would this photo be if her hair matched the other bridesmaids?

Some things to think of if you are considering having matching hair styles for your bridal party:

First, ask your bridesmaids nicely if they would be interested. Get their input and email photo examples to see if they are on board.
If having a hair stylist, who will be paying? If the bride is paying, then she may have more say, especially if she wants the hair an exact way. It may be hard to convince a bridesmaid to wear a style that she hates if she has to fork over payment.
If the bridesmaids are doing their hair themselves, can they execute the style? Is it easy to do? Find a simple tutorial for them on YouTube.
Go with a general style if the bridesmaids are hesitant. Simple instructions like half up, all down, up-do, parted on the side, incorporate a braid, etc.

photo courtesy of outreachr.com via Flickr Creative Commons

Incorporate something into the hairstyle if they are all going to be different, like flowers or hair clips. This bridal party, aka…models, all have different dresses but the hair style is the same with big flowers clipped in.

Most of all, make sure that your bridesmaids are happy with the style. They put up with a lot during a wedding (bridezillas, spending money on a dress they will never wear again) and they want to feel pretty too.

Whether matching bridesmaids hairstyles are a do or a don’t in your book, may your wedding day hair styles be gorgeous and your photos be memorable!

Uncategorized

Bridal Makeup Example

April 24, 2013April 29, 2019 tracyfettig228

Photo by James Sotirakis www.jsimagedesign.com

How do brides want to look on their wedding day? Most would say they want to look beautiful and flawless, but without a lot of heavy makeup. Being a makeup artist, the tricky part is putting enough makeup on for the photos, but not too much to where is looks overdone in the lighting of the actual wedding and reception. Here is how I did our bride’s makeup.

I began by prepping her skin with a light moisturizer mixed with a face primer, MAC Skin Base Visage. She had very few minor skin imperfections that needed to be covered with concealer. For redness, I used Ben Nye Red Neutralizer #2. Under her eyes I used Make Up For Ever’s Camouflage Cream in N13.

Brides like for their makeup to last all day and night, no matter how much crying, laughing and dancing they do. This is why I usually airbrush foundation and blush on brides. Dinair foundation in Light Golden Beige was sprayed lightly on the face to achieve the perfect coverage. I also sprayed a little on her neck and chest area to make the skin look uniform. Dinair Peach Beige Plum was used on her cheeks. Most airbrush makeup requires very little powder so I dusted her with a small amount of translucent powder.

Our bride’s eyebrows were enhanced with a neutral taupe/brown powder and combed through with a clear brow gel to set them. MAC’s Shroom and Charcoal Brown eye shadows were used to compliment her blue eyes. For her eye liner, I used MAC’s Fluidline in Blacktrack on the upper lash line and on the lower lash line I used Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Eyes pencil in 2L, which is brown.

I love false lashes and always recommend them for brides, just not the gigantic showgirl type. After curling the lashes and applying a coat of waterproof mascara, good old Maybelline Great Lash in Very Black, I applied Revlon’s false lashes in Flirty.

On her lips, I used a neutral spice colored lip liner, lining the lips and filling in completely to create a lasting base for the lipstick, Cover Girl’s Lip Perfection in Soulmate.

Do you have to use these exact products to achieve perfect bridal makeup? Of course not, there are countless substitutions that can be made. I just list what I used as examples of colors and textures to give you an idea.

The final result looked beautiful in person and photographed very well, making an extremely happy bride.

Uncategorized

Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream Review

March 17, 2013April 29, 2019 tracyfettig228

Yeah, sometimes I cart this much around.

We have all been hammered by the beauty and fashion magazines lately about BB Creams. BB stands for Blemish Balm, as they are sold in Asian markets, or Beauty Balm as sold in Western markets. They are supposed to multitask and be a primer, foundation, sunscreen, moisturizer and serum. You can wear them alone or with your other favorite moisturizer, foundation or powder.

Are they really worth the hype or are they just another sales pitch for one more product that we can’t possibly live without. I have so much makeup it’s frightening (or drool inducing), but that’s my job. See picture to the right and you’ll see what I mean. Is a BB Cream really going to change my life? Probably not, but I had to try one anyway. Those magazine ads really do work. I had received samples of different brands and I liked them but they always made my skin look a little shiny after a few hours. For my personal use, I usually like more of a matte look to my skin. I don’t wear a full coverage foundation, maybe just a tinted moisturizer or a very light coverage foundation. Too many freckles to cover up and then I just look weird. BB Creams seem to be marketed to gals like me.

In a beauty magazine recently, they had an ad for Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream for Combination to Oily Skin. My interest sparked. The ad came with a coupon and a handy color chart. Most of us know what color spectrum we fall in when the cosmetic companies group us into only 3 different skin tones. Although, light may not be light enough for you or deep is not deep enough. Trial and error is sometimes the only way to figure out which color is appropriate for your skin tone. I went with the Light/Medium for combination to oily skin. I purchased it at my local gigantic one stop shop for $11.97 and used my $1.00 coupon.

Garnier’s BB Cream Skin Renew for combination to oily skin is supposed to control shine, minimize pores, even skin tone, and hydrate. It also has SPF 20, which in my opinion is not enough for daily wear (SPF 30 is recommended), but at least it’s something. It also has “Mineral Perlite + Mineral Pigments”.

I have been wearing it for a few days now and here’s my opinion: OK, not a life changing “miracle”, but I kind of like it. The color is a tad dark and a little too beige for me, so I have to use it sparingly and blend well down my neck. Most BB Creams are supposed to be used very sparingly anyway. I do really like the fact that it is not dewy like other BB Creams. It does feel like more of a light coverage foundation. My skin looks very pretty with it on and I did set it lightly with a loose translucent powder. I wore it out one day and got caught in a rainstorm and it seemed to hold up pretty well, my hair was another story. My only note of caution is that some users with very sensitive skin have reported that this product was irritating to them. I haven’t experienced any blemishes or itchiness.

The texture is not thick at all, not what I would call a “cream” but more of a liquid. You have to be careful when dispensing it from the bottle, a lot can come out at once. The smell is alright, it doesn’t really bother me. After it sets on the skin I can’t smell it.

While this product may not be technically a true BB Cream like the real ones sold in Korea, I will continue to use this bottle of Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream for combination/oily skin. Are you going to be sucked in also and try a BB Cream for yourself?

** Update: I have been using this product now for a while and I have come to completely love it. I even put one in my professional makeup kit and intend on purchasing the darker colors as well.

Uncategorized

Bridal Photo Shoot at a Ghost Town

October 22, 2012April 29, 2019 tracyfettig228

photo by http://www.jsimagedesign.com

This past week, I had the pleasure of working on a photo shoot for a bridal magazine at a ghost town. Luckily it was not one of those very spooky ghost towns where if you accidentally take a rock you will be cursed until you return it. The weather was wonderful, around 80 degrees with a light breeze. Being a ghost town, there was no power or anywhere to set up all my goodies so I used my favorite outdoor setup area–the back of my truck. It always pays to be mobile and flexible and be able to do makeup and hair anywhere the client wants.

We had two models, one female and one male, “bride” and “groom”. Luckily they were a couple so that made the hugging and kissing shots more comfortable. The look that we were going for was desert bohemian. Our female model, Ashely, had beautiful blue/green eyes, pale skin and “ombre” dyed hair–dark on top and light on the bottom. I used a full coverage cream foundation to give her a flawless finish and a nice amount of powder. For her eye makeup, I filled in her eyebrows with a matching powdered brow color. I wanted her eyeshadow to really make her eye color pop so I used a cream colored base, a cool shimmery taupe that borders on the purple side and a dark burgundy to contour. She had nice eye lashes, but I put on false eye lashes to thicken them up. For her eyeliner, I used brown and black and smudged it in well to make it a little smoky. I then applied peach and light taupe blush and a pinkish nude lipstick. Lastly, I curled her hair and teased it a throughout the curls to give it a little volume.

Now you may ask, how did I curl her hair if I had no power? Out of all the items that are in my makeup/hair kit, the one that has saved me the most times is my butane powered curling iron. All you have to do is attach the butane cell to the small iron piece, start it up and curl away. It’s not a gigantic curling iron but it produces a great curl. I highly recommend it to anyone who travels or needs to do their hair where there is no power, like a ghost town!

photo by http://www.jsimagedesign.com

For our groom, Todd, he received some makeup and hair action also. I used a little bit of a creamy concealer to even out his skin tone and take care of a few minor skin imperfections and finished with powder. I ran a whole bunch of anti-frizz cream through his hair and then just let it do it’s thing. He needed to be able to run his fingers through his hair so I didn’t use a ton of hair spray.

The shoot went great. We had fantastic late afternoon light. Everyone came together to produce some stunning images. As I was packing up my stuff, the florist, Olga Goddard from myfavoriteflowers.com came over and gave me this lovely arrangement to take home. Thanks, Olga!