Basement Academy (6th day)

It's almost my last day in school, and I don't want to leave! In such a short period of time, I've grown to be attached at Basement and I will surely miss the place, and of course the people there. A special shout out to my inspiration and wonderful teacher Cheryl Cabanos, Sir Jeave Gabiana, Blue, Aldrin, Rick.. my classmates Janet, Tet, Karen, Tin, Cherrie.. I will miss you all! :(

Enough of my sentiment though, I'll write about my 6th day at school first. :) The day's topic was Black and white photographic makeup. Black and white pictures requires very heavy make-up, for it to register well on the pictures. Regular makeup will cause the face to be flat, drab, and well.. not so dramatic.

The eyes should be smoky. Two tone color works best for black and white (gray and black.) The contouring should be very intense, and the lipstick should be red (or dark).

Here's a picture of my model from full color to monochromatic:

(COLORED) Oh no!

(B&W) Oh yes!!!:))

That's it for my sixth day at school... I'm about to write about my finals in school which involves avant garde and old hollywood looks. I can say that I'm proud of the makeup that I did that day! Soon!!! :))

With the great lighting in Basement, we can't get enough of taking so many pictures! here are some :

An eye makeup experiment on my classmate Flip.:)
hello me!

Love,
Maru

Review and Tutorial: MAC Russian Red

Red lips brings images of Old Hollywood glamour, of elegantly dressed women sipping cocktails, and red carpets. Yes, it's that one thing you need to instantly add femme fatale to your resume. The red lipstick is like the LBD... classic, and never goes out of style. As long as women wants to glamorous, the red lipstick is here to stay.

With the wide array of lipstick colors that MAC offers, the company formulated several reds that suit different moods, characters, etc.. depending on what one wants to achieve. So then I bought Russian Red from Kate, that imports MAC from Canada and sells it at a lower price. Got mine for 600 only!!!! :)) Russian Red is a matte intense bluish red.. nice!

I was initially planning on purchasing Ruby Woo (matte vivid bluish red), but settled for Russian Red instead because both are almost the same, and 600 pesos sweetened the deal. When I swiped on Russian Red, I instantly looked as if I have somewhere important and star-studded to go to! lol. This lipstick is one staple that every girl should have!




Over all, it gives just the right red... and you can always layer to achieve what you want. Worn alone, it is perfect.:) Applying red lipstick is trickier though, you cannot just swipe it on like other nudes, pales, or pink. It requires precision and a lip liner!

How to wear red lipstick:
1. Carefully line you lips with a lip liner starting at the edges, and fill it out all the way in.
2. Apply lipstick with a lipbrush.
3. Blot with tissue to remove excess.
4. Dust with a little loose powder to seal it in.
5. Fill the lips again with red lipstick.
6. Blot again with tissue.
7. Remove any stray color outside the lip with a sponge or concealer.

An important RED LIPSTICK RULE: Always check your teeth of any red lipstick smear!!! that is so not elegant. lol. :))

Other Red lipstick alternatives at MAC:
-Ruby Woo (vivid bluish red.matte)
-Brave red (bright yellow red. cremesheen)
-Chili (brownish orange red. matte)
-Fresh Moroccan ( Brick red with gold pearl. frost)
-Lady Danger (Vivid bright coral-red. Matte)

Here's a shoot wherein I used Russian Red:

Love love love it! My theme for this make-up is Old Hollywood... a time of outrageously elegant women, especially in the entertainment industry. My favorite time in history!

Until my next post!

Love,
Maru

Basement Academy (5th day)

Hello world!

I'm back to rattle on about my make-up education in Basement, which is nearing its end. (soooo sad :( ) In a span of a five days, I've seen different skin tones, shapes, types, and so on. I've wrestled with keeping to heart the troubleshooting techniques (yes, this is face i am talking about still. haha) that I have to always, always consider. In a span of five days, I've learned so much already. Weeee!

Ms. Cheryl is not your typical teacher. When others teach the techniques, she also teaches what goes on behind the whole male-up regalia. The rates, the horror stories, the worst-case scenarios, and so forth. She is basically a peep-hole of what it is like to work as a full-time living and breathing make-up artist.

So, for the fifth day, it was all about bridal beauty! This may be the most lucrative of all the forms of make-up. Brides expect to be the most beautiful in the most reveled day in their life. And this is not just the bride we're talking about here... there's the MOB ( Mother of the Bride), MOG (Mother of the Groom), Maid of Honor, etc....oh, and let's not forget the groom with the manly make-up!:)

The main objective of bridal make-up is achieving NATURAL BEAUTY. Medium shadows, peach /pink blush, flawless skin usually does the trick.

I'm so looking forward to having my first bride! I'm keeping my fingers crossed! :) Calling out soon-to-be brides, I am ready for your taking! lol :p

I will post my sixth day at school, as soon as I finish this.. I hope. :)


Love,
Maru

Basement Academy (4th day)

It was raining men in Basement Academy on our 4th day. Yep, men of all shapes and sizes.. and they became the subject of our brushes and make-ups! All of them were really nervous with what was to happen, but as the night progressed, they warmed up to us and the army of make-up harassing them, and almost looked thankful for the facial scrutiny they received. haha.

Male make-up is a lot different from women's make-up! Although it is simple, the key is to find the perfect shade of foundation, and it is not associated with the color that is visible in the male model's face. Women's foundation application banks entirely in the compatibility of the skin color, and this is what will make the look natural and not cakey. With the guys, the foundation should be three-tones darker than the skin tone, as this will adjust accordingly. Applying foundation that is the same as the skin tone will immediately make your male model perfect for a role in the Thriller music vid. :) White, pale, ghost like, and worst of all ( what guys dread)... being obvious that they are wearing makeup! (which will brand them for life lol).

And the most important of all... Hold out on the eyeshadows!!!! haha :D

Luckily, I got the perfect foundation tone for my model. Surprisingly, the darker foundation I applied to him really matched his skin tone! Amazing ,really :) From the right foundie and contouring, his looks really improved after the make-up. I wonder if he will purchase the products that I used on his face! lol.

Day 4 was fun as usual, impromptu photoshoots for everyone aspiring to be a model (especially for Vincen, a former haircutting student at Basement.) Strut your stuff!

Some snaps from that day:

Tin's model

A candid shot of me applying brow powder, a must. :))

The Basement People, with Flip (Blue, Aldrin, Flip, Rick)

Janet (a classmate) in action :)

I learned so much in 4 days.. and I don't want to graduate soon! (Monday July 20). Wish me luck guys, I'm gonna pull-off a avant garde cheetah look, a make-up that I've been wanting to do for a long time already! rar. :))

Wish me luck! :)

Love,
Maru

Train Case

I have to pay homage to the thing that keeps all my make-up together.. my train case! I just had to rave about "her" since she's a real beauty, albeit her weight problem. lol. Since I don't have enough moolah to spare for a lighted case or a trolley, my current train case will do.

Here's a picture:

closed

opened

The padded interiors shield my babies from damage, and it the beautiful vintagey exterior is a nice plus! The only disadvantage with this train case is the strap. It's very thin and doesn't give enough support to the weight of the train case. I resorted to trading it with a laptop strap (a friend's idea) I found at home, which is far more durable.

Hooray for my train case, I love it! :)

Love,
Maru

Basement Academy (3rd day)

WOW.

Time really does fly when you're having the time of your life! And I'm loving every minute of it. :)

I was quite satisfied with my look for the third day, which was one-color smoky (which is a subtle smoky). It's like the instant noodle of makeup. Depth and drama is created, with the use of one pigmented black eyeshadow. And the best thing is that my model loved it!!

Tips when doing a (subtle) smoky eye:

-skip on the foundation and powder first ( except on the lids), so that unwanted pigment will not settle anywhere else on the face.

-for droopy eyes, utilize the "winged effect" to lift it up.

-4U2 ( available in Watson's) is really a pigmented black. and very cheap too!

-use light/nude lipcolor to balance the dark eyes, (MAC in Blankety gives a really nice pinkish nude color)

BEFORE

AFTER

What I used:
Face:
Lorea'l Tru Match Foundation in Golden Beige
MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC35
ELF Clarifying Pressed Powder (tone 4)

Eyes:
4u2 Dream Girl Quad (Black)
The Face Shop brow powder
The Balm Mascara
Prestige Eyeliner in Black
Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

Lips:
MAC (amplified) in Blankety

My friends from LCI dropped by with their BF's which made the night extra fun. Kate, which sells MAC products also stopped by, which made us hover over her like bees to honey. ..and the lowered prices made her extra sweet! lol. My friends and I all trooped to JJ's Inasal after class, and once the food were served, it was gone in like, a snap. Yes, a snap. (Sisig rice was definitely an "I will return" food)

I learned a lot on my third day, especially with eyeshapes and eyebrows. Make-up has a technique, and at the same time a rythm to it, that must mesh well together. Considering the face structure, shapes, features, etc, is always the first step in make-up application.

On to my fourth day in class!

Love,

Maru

Basement Academy (2nd day)

Evening look was the lesson for the day. We were also taught how to transform the typical day make-up into evening make-up. In the evening its all about drama... nope, not about drunk-dialing your ex-boyfriend to profess that you still haven't gotten over him, but... IN THE EYES. ;)

On my second day, I'm getting the hang of how Ms. Cheryl Cabanos teaches... theory, lecture, tips, then demos, then actual application for us students. She constantly goes around, checking our work, never letting us get through the night without really absorbing the right way of application. WHICH IS VERY GOOD! 2 months away from delivery date (she is 7 months pregnant and very radiant :)), she is ever enthusiastic of her craft, and very relentless is making sure that her students learn. Thank God for Cheryl! :)

Her long time affair with make-up is equally inspirational, as she once belonged in the corporate jungle, with her own office, fat salary, and , well you get the picture. In spite of the ultra-luxe lifestyle, she braved what was once considered a very unglamorous job ( compared to the status of makeup artistry today), and pursued the call of pallets, foundations, lipsticks... she pursued Make-up. Her humble beginnings have grown to having expertise that is only inherited from experience and right attitude. :)

Back to my Day 2 at Basement Academy, I chose 4 colors for my evening look. 3 shades of monochromatic violets, and 1 black. Too bad I wasn't able to take a "before" picture of my model (again), and the lighting in the "after" shot washed out the color on her eyelids. Someone has to remind me next time! lol.

To document the day, here are some of our class pictures, with our glowing teacher :)





Can't wait for Day 3!!! :) I'm loving every minute at school... and to think this is just my second day!


Love,
Maru