to my dancing friends.

or those who have dancing friends.

Nationals is almost upon is.  It breaks my heart a little bit knowing that my dresses will be out there without me, but I'm excited to watch my friends dance and to spend the weekend in that dungeon with all of you.  I'm already doing makeup for a few people, but I wanted to let you know that I'd love to do makeup for multiple people.

Look here to see some of my older work that I've done on myself.

As I said back then, my philosophy is easy: you need to stand out for the right reasons on the floor.  Your entire look is paramount to placing well, and makeup is a huge part of that.  I wish I could do hair... but unfortunately I cannot.  I am not a professional makeup artist by any stretch, but I am a little bit more adept at that particular form of beauty.

These days my appearance is crucial to my profession, and I often photograph what I do with my outfits and makeup, so I've got some more recent photos to document what I've done (complete with a cameo by my dad's remarkable walk-in closet).  The lighting is horrid and you can see that I rely on one hairstyle more than others and this is getting dangerously close to turning into a style blog-esque post.  Forgive me.

As you can see, I'm not afraid to play with color, whether on the lip or the lid.  I also believe in being brave with styling.  A final word on styling: not everyone appreciates mine.  My gowns have been christened things like "chocolate hershey kiss" or "chocolate mousse on tinfoil" and I've done things with my hair and styling that confuse people, such as my high bun that became the norm for me in competition or my lack of glitter on my face or the lack of silly eyeliner everywhere.  I believe in taking my cues from the fashion world, and while the high bun was mostly borne out of inability to do anything else, there's no doubt that it is incredibly on trend right now... so say what you will!

Perhaps what I'm trying to say is - Trust Me.  I'm happy to offer you consultation on hair, even if I can't necessarily execute it, and of course your overall look.

Please leave me a comment here, or at my facebook if you'd like me to do your makeup.  $15 - full face; $10 - eyes only.  When we chat we will discuss your wardrobing for the competition, and all I ask is that you bring your own makeup.  I have a more than ample supply of brushes to use (and yes, I will sanitize between each use).

Best of luck to all of you!

get thee hence.

to MAC.  Preferably at Nordstrom Fashion Place.  You should call me ahead of time.

But really.

Get there.

And get the latest line, Shop MAC.  It's a little cheesy and gimmicky and wonderful.  And it has the most perfect red I have ever worn.  Ever.  Seriously... you need to try it!

neon and freedom.

See this picture?

This is a picture that I uploaded onto my own server, however it is originally a Bobbi Brown photo from their Neons and Nudes collection.  Neat stuff.  I bought the orange lipstick AND the pink lipstick.  For realsies.  And I fully plan on rocking this look ALLLLLLL spring long.  The image belongs to bobbibrowncosmetics.com.

You've heard of SOPA... right?

Internet piracy is bad.  Stealing things that aren't yours is bad.  Sharing things you don't own with others to use is bad.

The United States government regulating and controlling the internet is bad.


If you want to be able to post cool things you see (with the proper citation, of course), or if you want to be able to pin things on Pinterest, or if you want to generally avoid being like China, send a little message to your representative who will be voting on this.  There's also one called PIPA, which is essentially the same thing, but in the Senate.

Take a lookie and see who your reps are.  MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.  And just for good measure, I'm linking you to the list of legislators who support either SOPA or PIPA, as compiled by Wikipedia, a website that would be ruined by such legislation.

the trimmings

No sleep.  Perfect candy.  Pure fat in the form of scones.  A cute missionary phone call.  Assembling baby toys (okay, finding a way to get the baby toys out of the boxes).  Clothing necessary for my next endeavor.  New makeup.  Games.  A Christmas song sent through a text message from a friend.  Inception with Whitney.

The makings of a near-perfect Christmas.

Hey Ballroom Ladies

Yeah yeah yeah... I'm doing what every other ballroom person is doing: I'm offering services.

BUT.

I'm offering services most don't offer.

You may or may not know this about me, but I love makeup.  I lalalalove makeup.  Eye shadow, lip stick, lip gloss, blush, eye liner, etc.  While I might not wear a lot of stuff on my face in terms of foundation or powder (I hate that stuff), I go all out with my eyes and lips.  Why?  Well, it's fun!  Also, I enjoy creating different looks for different occasions: school, work, dance parties, costumes, ballroom, pageants, dates, etc.

The first time I had a ballroom competition, my makeup was pretty bad.  I looked around at what the other novice girls were doing, and I copied it.  Essentially, I was trying too hard.  Later, in different competitions, I started incorporating the things I had learned about highlighting and showcasing your best facial features on stage and for pageants.  Rather than throw on intense amounts of WHATEVER, I began crafting each look that would compliment my costume, as well as helping me to stand out in that massive crowd.

A word on the importance of makeup: I know people say your costuming doesn't matter, your hair doesn't matter, your makeup doesn't matter, that it's your dancing that matters.

Yes, your dancing matters.  But a lot of us are on the same level and how are the judges going to differentiate between us?  Take two couples with similar style and ability, the judges are going to pick the couple that looks more professional.  The couple whose appearance is completely together.

Many girls who ballroom dance glob on the bright white eye shadow around some purple or blue color, thinking that if blue matches their eyes or their dress, that will tie it in and the white will make their eyes stand out.  They then use either bright red, or black, or nude lips without considering the entire look.  Many go overboard with the eyeliner.

Bottom line: you want to stand out, but you want to look beautiful.  Frankly, you don't want to look like a hot mess with tranny makeup.

I'm not the end-all in ballroom makeup: my makeup comes from a different view.  But if you'd like, I'd be happy to do yours for the November competition this week.  My only request is that you bring your own makeup and you put on your own eyelashes because I have a hard enough time putting them on myself.

15$ for full makeup; 10$ for eyes only.

And finally, let my work speak for itself.  I've included photos from ballroom competitions, costume parties, and pageants.  It's all the same principle: looking your very best, and highlighting your unique features that set you apart from all of the other competitors.