From runway makeup & hair (A/W 2012) into wearable looks! {+Behind the Scenes with Matt Edge Photography!}

Hello ya'all! Time for an annual makeup & hair trend report.  It's been nearly a year since my last trend report! yikes!!  I try to be more diligent but honestly...I'm kind of a Fall/Winter gal to begin with (Born in September!) so naturally I enjoy the looks that extend from summer to the fall the most.  Enough babbling and onward with the post!

It was such a pleasure to work again with L.A. based fashion photographer Matt Edge and his beautiful and talented sidekick, Allison Edge! The shoot was styled by Allison with our minimal input (my Tory Burch sunglasses made an appearance!) I snapped all of these behind the scene images with my iPhone and then used photoshop curves to portray the colors I want! I've been really into Instagram but in the end, the photoshop curves give you more flexibility and fun (albeit more time consuming)

Meet Sara J. from Scout SF and Conrad from Stars SF! It was so cool when Matt & I agreed on our top choice of models! I always feel invigorated and inspired to work with professionals that share a passion for the art, and then we work together towards executing the vision!

Similar to last year, I've gone through some of the shows, and decided to pick-up and hone into a few of the looks I've selected to shape the type of look that I'm going for...The huge difference is...I put the looks together and presented it, with the help of my wonderful summer intern, Anna! The ones I've selected will be featured after the Behind the Scenes photos! Scroll down! :) 

I selected one to two elements per look to feature:

Look 1 had the pin-curl classic waves that frames the face. The makeup is similar to the Dior/Ralph Lauren look - I incorporated the flirty but still natural looking false lashes! 

Look 2 really focused on the messy french twist.  I thought about doing the side swept thing in the front, but decided in the end to sweep it back for a more natural volume! I wish I got a photo of the back, but for now you can see it below from a side view. I loved the Vespa scene!!!! Conrad commutes around the city in his Vespa, and it was a perfect (and unexpected) prop for the scene! They looked super cute together! 








Look 3, I emphasize the wing liner slightly, but I mostly wanted to focus on the red lips.  I was inspired to leave it half down - so ended up with this look! My goal was to make Sarah elegant and polished!

We'll see how the photos turn out in a few weeks! :) Scroll down to see the Fall looks summarized.


Makeup

• Clean semi-matte skin, full brows, lightly contoured eye shadow, a dust of peachy/pinky cheeks and a tiny bit of contouring for the cheeks, clean winged liner and naturally pinky-nude lip color {as seen in Ralph Lauren & Christian Dior - although I love that Dior added the false lashes, emphasizing the cat-eye shape} Lanvin & Anna Sui had a thicker and more dramatic winged liner, while it may be appropriate for parties, it may be harder to sport on the daily basis!
• Bright Pop of lipstick - orange-red - even though it is also a great color for spring and summer with brighter colors, when paired with classic colors like black/gold/brown/nudes {Featured here in Dennis Basso, but also seen in Zac Posen and Marc by Marc Jacobs}  A brighter lipstick like a soft fuschia, goes really well with darker colors like black/gray and blues and purples, making it a beautiful and versatile color for fall wardrobes.

Hair

• I am attracted to the classic shape of the pin-curl featured in Dior S/S Couture and Dennis Basso in Fall Ready-to-wear and how it frames the face.   Tuck it in for a faux bob, or let it down for a side pony.
• Speaking of ponytails, my favorite is the Anna Sui one with a retro flair that is perfectly sleek. The volume in the ponytail for Ralph Lauren is placed low - you can make it sleek, or wear it textured and messy. The 'key' feature of the pony is that it's a low pony by the occipital bone (above the nape).
• Lastly, I noted the french twists - my favorite would be the messy ones featured in Tory Burch. I was also very drawn to the different placements - in Donna Karen, the french twist is pushed all the way to one side, giving a dramatic asymmetry! But, comparatively I'm more drawn to the ones featured in Valentino - it looks very subtle and elegant in the front, but very dramatic from the side.  

*PHEW* that was a lot of photos to post! Hope you enjoyed it! ;) ;) You can find all the images on my Pinterest as well! ;) Follow me on Pinterest! ;D Until next time!

P.S. I will give brownie points to those that recognize a familiar face in the images above runway looks! The big clue is, she is from Stars Model Management in SF! ;) 

Inspirational Trip to The Makeup Show Los Angeles

A brief update! Not too long ago I just returned from The Makeup Show Los Angeles to pick-up some essential makeup and hair tools, take some inspirational classes by seasoned & famous makeup artists, receive priceless portfolio reviews and critiques from industry experts, and finally I got to work with film fashion photographer Matt Edge whom I've hoped to work with for a while now!  The whole trip was filled with lots of inspirations! From the classes, to reconnecting with familiar faces (it's like a mini-pro artist family reunion!!), meeting for the first time artist I've been in touch with for a while and recognizing/spotting them, and chasing them down to say hello!!!  :P And now I am getting ready for my lovely brides this weekend!

I started 2012 just hitting the ground and just work work work...and I was starting to feel a little burnt out already. And it's March! Even though my LA trip was a bit exhausting ("Only" 19 hours of driving in a 5 day span!), and not to mention driving in LA lol...  -  I do feel that my "creative" batteries have been recharged.  I also got to visit my family in LA - which was great. It was also cool to see that the building that burnt down across my old apartment in LA (Yes, the one where my sweet, beautiful bridal client Jeah was getting her makeup trial done, and suddenly we saw heavy smoke heading our way!!!) being rebuilt and re-inhabited, and that a new and DELICIOUS Korean BBQ place has opened around the corner where I used to live.  

I am just filled with gratitude that The Makeup Show and The Powder Group are around to continuously provide education, support, and also, building our community.  I can't even tell you how nice it feels to be with people who know and understand support you.  In the creative industries or any other industry actually, unfortunately there are always going to be unprofessional people who treat you badly.  Even if you think you are in the "right," there's no referee or anything like that, and there's no point to argue with unprofessional people.  It just gives you perspective on how to avoid working with them in the future, or how to handle it graciously, and move on from negativity.  Fortunately, we have positive energies - like our local makeup artist community to support each other, and events like The Makeup Show to meet true professionals, and of course - there are people who are not only professional, but inspirational!!! Those are going to be the people we should focus our energies on!!!

And I shall end this personal reflection post with some behind the scenes images with my shoot with Matt, and Ford Model Thais (from Brazil!), and Alison who styled the shoot! :) It was a great pleasure to work with everyone, and I'm really excited to continue my 2012 year!!!!  :D Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

Make Love!

Happy Valentines Day!

Towards the end of last January, I volunteered in a community art project! The team collected polaroids of people's lips and then you would pick up somebody else's lips to get your portrait taken!  The portraits will then be auctioned off to raise money for First Exposures, a youth photography mentor program that provides art mentoring for underserved youth. The gallery opening & auction will take place on:

February 27th from 6-9 pm
SF Camerawork - 1011 Market St @6th, 2nd Floor

Featuring the portraits Daniel Castro took that weekend! So if you are in town and are free that evening, definitely go check out the exhibit!  :) 

The shoot took place at the Yerba Buena Gardens, and since I was working on Saturday, I could only volunteer my Sunday!  You can check out the behind the scenes video where you can catch me paint the lips of the participants before they took their polaroid! This was my set up for the day!! At first I thought "omg that many lips! I need to go out and get lipstick" so I ran to buy supplies - but it turns out I didn't really need to buy all that stuff!  Good thing I can still use it for other stuff! 

Before I started, I'd ask the participant if they want something natural, or something adventurous!! Most people opted for natural, but a few brave souls wanted something fun! Kim (Daniel's intern) suggested I did the Japanese Geisha Lips - that was certainly a fun one!

One lady asked me to draw a heart on the side of her lips so that she will be able to find her lips! Voila - there it is! EASY to spot! ;)

And then another participant was adventurous and wanted to try out the Yellow colored Lip Tar from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (the color is Traffic)!   

I was also happy to see some familiar faces - Ashley & Alana from Look Models! <3 <3 <3

It was really nice to participate in this community event! I really enjoyed it - especially the cause is for the arts, and it's local!!! While it's nice to help out for causes around the world, for me if it's possible, I prefer if it's closer to home and more immediate.  As a believer of karma, after volunteering I came home with 5 inquiries! :)  lol...

Either way - Spread the L.O.V.E.!  

Be sure to like the Make Love facebook page to find out the latest updates! 

Did you watch season 1 of Scouted on E?

How did a month just slip away, just like that? *snaps finger* I think this may be the busiest January since I moved to the Bay - which is a good thing - but not so much for my little blog! Which is why this is like 3 posts in one post, blogging about *new* work for 2012 and previous work from 2011 that never made an appearance on my blog because I have a bad habit of not blogging chronologically.  I guess that could be a goal for 2012?  Ok! Onward!

Scouted season 1 had its finale last Monday on E!  The show documents scouts from smaller markets and small towns, and submitting them to a scouting company in NYC where the experts put the model to the test on a photo/video test shoot, and then showing the images & presenting the model to Scott Lipps/Owner of One Management. Scott then announces his decision to sign the model.  Each episode features 2 models, and their home town and their lives is also documented on the episode.  We here in the San Francisco Bay Area were very excited for the show because one of the highlighted scouts is Kristen Kotik from Stars Model Management!! It also highlights San Francisco, and as Kristen said: "It puts us on the map!!!" I think it's really great~ considering the recent events of Ford SF closing their office.  Many artists/photographers/models are moving to LA or NYC - it's a bit disheartening BUT I believe that sooner or later San Francisco will return to its former glorious position in the fashion/commercial industry!  How can it not...We have silicon valley - we are the leaders of technology and such a high concentration of creative people! That's my opinion anyways~ =P

If you've been following my blog, then you might know that I love working with Stars & their models!  The models have great hair, great skin, and a great attitude. Oh and they are punctual! :) I first had the pleasure to work with a Star model Mackenzie Drazan back in Jan of 2010 with photographer Laura Tillinghast, who told me all about Stars! But the next Star model would be Jan of 2011, exactly a year later, when I worked with Kris Jung! So Jan of 2012, I was invited by Calvin Ma to do a shoot with Amber Robertson from Utah, who was on the show and now part of the Stars roster!  It was a cool morning, but surprisingly sunny upstairs!  My classroom of 3 months, Cinta Aveda Institute, is one floor down from Stars, so I was very familiar with the building, but it was my first time on the roof top!!! I think Amber has that girl next door appeal/bombshell combo, and maybe she can go as far as a VS angel! She definitely has the looks for it! 

Here is a behind the scenes shot of me fluffing up her hair! I'm into fluffy hair textures these days haha

Photo: Calvin Ma

The one below is my favorite shot of the day!!  I really love the colors! And the two following were my picks! :) There's a few more but I thought I would just post my favorite ones! 

Photo: Calvin Ma

Photo: Calvin Ma

Photo: Calvin Ma

OK! This is PART II - Lindsey was also featured on Scouted.  The previews of that episode really did magnify her morality/ethical contract and portrayed her as a Christian but when you watch it, I think they are great guidelines for a model under 18 to follow - like, no negative influences such as drugs/alcohol, no sheer clothing.  Watching her on Scouted, I was like...what was I like when I was 18?  Thinking about it...Ya know..when I was 18 until my 20s, I was much more outspoken, sometimes a bit too outspoken for my own good because it got me in trouble, and actually didn't benefit me - so I went the complete opposite and became too quiet/reserved/withdrawn; over time, unsure of myself, losing confidence. My goal for 2012 is to really tap into my inner confidence again - find my inner-18 year old, who wasn't afraid to speak her mind!   In regard to the confidence thing, I think I'm making giant strides and it's still only January 24th! I remember last year I'd feel hesitant about walking into a room full of strangers to network with them and feel the need to bring someone along - don't get me wrong, it HELPS when there are familiar faces, but I think I'm getting used to it, and as I find small successes, I will slowly regain the lost confidence back! :D

These are two shots from the 60s inspired fashion story, shot by Calvin Ma & styled by Cindy Tran

Photo: Calvin Ma

Photo: Calvin Ma

Last but not least, CONGRATULATIONS to Alwyn for being signed to One Management in the finale of Scouted! I had a lot of fun with my new Ben Nye color palette that day.  Sometimes, you just feel like playing and doing something new! I was really pleased with the dewy skin, and dewy nose and cupid's bow here!

Photo: Rummy Makmur

OK! The end of a really long post!!! Happy year of the Dragon!!  I hope you enjoyed some of the photos! I'll be sure to blog soon! ;) 

Laurie & Aviv Wedding Video by Thomas Hughes Films

Laurie & Aviv, Thomas Fogarty Winery from Thomas Hughes Films on Vimeo.

Special thanks to Alex at Thomas Hughes Films for sharing Laurie & Aviv's Wedding Video with us! You can catch a sneak peak of us in action in the very beginning!

They make really beautiful wedding videos and had celebrity clients like Courtney Cox & Alicia Silverstone! 

60s Inspired Mod Makeup Tutorial & Photo Shoot!

I...am afraid to be in front of the camera but somehow I managed to do it!  Thanks to my friend and esteemed colleague Tim Prestoza from Low Tek Studios !  We worked together earlier this year (yes that secret video will be up, soon! woohoo!) on a big project, and this was another BIG project for us.  It is our first time doing a "real" tutorial (please discount my first ever Tutorial which is more like a photo tutorial than a video one).  I'm excited to share it!! :) Watch it in HD!

This is my 2nd time working with Kris - the first time was the beginning of 2011! it feels like so long ago - it was then that Kris told me I should totally do the makeup tutorials and we should do it together! 10 months later, it finally happened!  We were definitely on the same plane of creativity as I already had this look in mind and when I discussed it with Kris she said she wanted to do a 60s mod look and that she loves this type of makeup! :) It all came together!

Tim has been really encouraging - and he even made my arms look thinner! :) During the filming, Kris/Tim and I were having great conversations, talking about this and that and everything~ we had loads of fun! 

Here are the results of our shoot with Rummy Makmur:

Photography: Rummy Makmur (www.rummymakmur.com)
Makeup : Elizabeth Chang (Elizabeth Chang | Makeup & Hair)
Videography: Tim Prestoza (Lowtek)
Model: Kris Jung @ Stars Model Management

and last but not least, the behind the scenes video!

Behind the Scenes [Beauty shoot - Jordan Part I video]

Makeup & Hair: Elizabeth Chang 
Photography: Novi Angelomio
Model: Jordan @ Scout SF

Woohooo!!! A reel!!! This one I recorded myself with my little CanonS95 and used CS5 After Effects for the first time~~~ It was really intimidating opening that program, so I had to watch a few youtube tutorials and ask Erika for her advice!  Anyhow...the indoor lighting during the shoot was very warm, so I applied a cooling filter to color adjust the video!  Again it's my first time fiddling around with that stuff, so nothing fancy, not effects or anything. 

We did a clean look before this, and I wanted to keep the look very 'classic.'  Jordan's face looks a bit like Rachel McAdams/Kristen Bell/Rachel Evan Woods combined in some of the angles, but she is stunning!  A lot of my work features really clean makeup, and I find that perhaps people might think that's the only look I know how to do...so I really wanted to do the classic smokey eye look and add some variety - I also want to do different colors smokey eyes later, but I  wanted to start off with the "classic" one!  I'm looking forward to see the images! :) 

Because Jordan's skin was a little dry that day, the foundation had a bit of trouble adhering in the nose area...which is why I decided to pull out my airbrush. Now if I didn't tell you that, could you have known and noticed the difference? :)  Like I say..the airbrush is just another brush, another tool in my tool box (Albeit a slightly more expensive one).

The whole shoot had a bit more of a New York vibe to me than the Bay Area...but I feel like it's good to change it up, keep it loose and interesting! 

Outtakes & Behind the scenes

My hands are perfecting Rachel's hair! ;) I'm happy only my hands were in the shot! 

natural WIND in the hair  - not from a fan!~ 

Model: Rachel @ Ford SF

Makeup & Hair: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)

Photography & Styling: Audre Van Broers Photography

Some outtake shots courtesy of Audre! ;) It was windy!!!! 

Behind the Scenes [Beauty & Hair Editorial Story]

Model: Morgan @ Stars SF

Makeup & Hair: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)

Photography: Rummy Makmur
Wardrobe Stylist: Andrea Schultz Igreja
Makeup & Hair Assistant: Erika Taniguchi

Is it me, or is it getting HOT in here? :P  Rummy approached me about submitting to an editorial and I thought...we need a stylist! Fortunately, Andrea whom I've worked with previously came to the rescue! The focus of the editorial is hair accessories, and the theme is the model needs to look hot/bothered/frustrated. & of course sweaty! This photo shoot took place at my humble abode, and I had to REALLY clean my kitchen hard core - it was my own idea to best utilize the cool colors of my kitchen to contrast the neon colors for the wardrobe and makeup.  I have to say...my kitchen never looked so good...and it would never look so good again without gorgeous Morgan sitting on it!  I loved Morgan's look and her energy.  She goes for it, and has a positive aura around her and a pleasure to work with! 

The challenge is to make Morgan look sweaty - but it was actually a cool evening. Not only did we crank up the heat, my special formula to create the "sweaty look" worked fairly well I must say! woohoo!  Since it was an evening shoot, we were running short on time towards the end of the evening - The first look in the photo above (top left), was for my book - I had purchased some hair accessories for bridal and was eager to put it up in a photo, and special thanks to Rummy & Morgan for allowing me to put my vision into reality.  With editorials, sometimes you really have to look at the concept, and the wardrobe, and decide on the spot what you wanted to do for the makeup & hair.  Because of the bright colors, I decided to play with my OCC lip tars that I had purchased from The Makeup Show in LA, and went for a gorgeous orange shade. Morgan had long and voluminous hair, which is exciting to work with, but I decided on the spiral curls which was time consuming. We changed from up-do, to bohemian-chic curls, to sexy teased mane, to side pony, to side fish-tail braid.  We really rocked it, team! :) *high five* Special shout out to Erika, my talented assistant for this shoot! Because I don't have curtains installed, I wondered if my neighbors could peer in, and I wondered what they would think: "Wow there's a GORGEOUS girl sitting on her counter top...not the usual Asian lady cooking in the kitchen today" lol.....! This story will be out in June! Stay tuned for more of beautiful Morgan! 

My Kit: as it is April 2011! [Image Heavy]

I've always enjoyed seeing how other makeup artists pack their kit and recently there was a request on a forum to see specifically a ZUCA kit...so here is mine! ;) with captions! I bought the ZUCA Pro at the MAC PRO store my first year, and I decided to do that because it was the same price as the regular ZUC A, just that I had to pay shipping on top of the sales price and sales tax...so it's just annoying that there's a "MAC" logo on it, but I bought the ZUCA Pro backpack at LA IMATS in 2009, and there was a *small* discount and FREE shipping and I found out that they are based in Los Gatos, which is here in the BAY! I snapped these photos as I was unpacking my kit from a shoot~

Crammed in there is my hair kit, makeup brushes & hair brush, extension cords, and MISC. items like extension cords, body lotion/hand lotion/oil, extra ziplock bags! Hair dryer has a nook there to hang ~

My brush roll - from the sigma kit~ I keep face brushes here!

And..other brushes in my Jane Iredale (discontinued) hard brush case, and all my bobbypins/hair ties

Tissues/disposables, hair products, polish remover, brushes

Top left pocket: hair sprays, altoids (!?) and mirror

Lower left pocket: Mousse, dry shampoo, and...magnifying glass~ ^.~   

Right pocket (with the heat protected pocket): Hair straghtener, 1inch curling iron, Heat protecting matt

and in the inner pocket, teasing brushes/rat tail combs

On to the outside of the rolling case..I use the outer pocket to put my "SOILED" ziplock, tape to tape up trash bags, and plastic bags for my trash if there is no trash bin~

Main inner pocket: makeup cape, disposable palettes, and palettes

Upper pocket: Transforming gel, loose pigments~ so if it spills, at least it would be in this pocket 

lower pocket: alcohol sprays, brush cleaner etc.

4 of the clear cases, and the top one is the smaller one from the Zuca artist backpack!

Hiding on the mesh top is my Nail polish kit!

Nail polish!

All laid out~ my other curling iron was hiding on the side~  there's also room to put a brush roll if you wish~

Prep & Prime materials~ and yes, my favorite PCA Anti-redness serum!  Also in here are highlighting cream/gels, and HD blush

Face - foundations, concealers, powder, blush~ 

Eyeliner, mascaras, brows, eyeshadows

my yaby pink foundations, lip gloss, lipstick palettes, lip liners, MUFE flash colors also live here

...and voila~ restored into their rightful places in my studio! 

Another view! 

I do need space to lay out the clear bags, but I don't need to remove every product out of them. I unzip them all the way, or half way, depending on the space, and I stack it on top of one another, and move it to the one I need~ and only grab the products I need - but I can place them right back in there when I'm done, so packing is literally unzipping everything, and stuffing it back to the case.  The hair kit/backpack contains most of the materials I have to completely remove out of the cases, so there is a bit of 'tetris' involved in that one~ But I'm getting more and more used to my set up! I think the most work is involved replacing it back into my studio, or moving it from my studio to my kit for cleaning or having clients at my studio...unfortunately I don't have $$ to have 2 setups and never have to move it~! 

I hope the photos were helpful and/or interesting!