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! ;) 

Gabriele for Lexus GS!

Watch in 1080P!!!

Remember the very handsome & talented model Gabriele I worked with earlier this year for a fall men's fashion story from City Model Management?

Photography: Laura Tillinghast, Wardrobe: Katie Quinn, Men's grooming: Elizabeth Chang

We LOVED Gabriele's look!  He looked so good in that jacket with the orange zipper.  Perhaps our fashionable photos helped him get the gig? :) lol no Gabriele had a fabulous portfolio already!  Anyways, I am very excited to see him in the Lexus commercial! He looks fabulous and now I totally want to by that car - cannot afford it...!  lol..  I drive a Certified Preowned Lexus IS250 2007 - I cannot believe how a car can change my life... previously I drove a Toyota Corolla 1999 and I was fearful of going on the freeways, living in LA.  Going to places gave me significant anxiety and inhibited me from doing things because I was constantly worrying about getting hit or hitting someone due to reckless driving.

Onto some personal reflections... Today I cleared my schedule to focus on office work in preparation for my upcoming trip (will share more on that later!) and the reason being I needed to wait for Fedex & UPS.  I ordered some MUST HAVES for my trip from the MakeupForever Pro Road Show and my peers already received their packages, which of course puts me into a panic.  By 1pm, I decided to phone MUFE office and they informed me that from their end, they saw that someone had signed for it as it was delivered YESTERDAY at 11:45am!  

I totally panicked, and cried thinking that someone had stolen my package!  The thing is, my HOA sent out a newsletter a few months back saying that someone had stolen a package in our complex and the incident was reported.  Then...it turns out they had sent it to my neighbor with a "1" instead of a "7" (me)...so they advised me to walk to my neighbors to retrieve it.  Wiping my tears, I walked and there it was on my neighbor's front mailbox!  It's a lot of stress...I don't have that money just lying around... in fact, I saved up for the Glamcor lights that I had wanted to invest in when I saw it at The Makeup Show LA in Feb 11'.. which brings me to....UPS not showing up until 7:30pm!  That drove me crazy - the wait!  

I kept checking the door like a mad-woman, any sound of any van or truck, I go to the kitchen and o-mi-o-my I slipped, twisted my right foot, which sprang my gluteus muscle! aiya~~~ Today is not a good day.

Finally finally UPS came and as he was bringing my package, I waited for him by the door~ he goes: "oh Hello there! Waiting for this?" I said: "Yesssss ALL DAY LONG!!!!" (in a super chipper voice lol) ~  What arrived was my glamcor lights~ superior design, and none-heat producing LED lights, which is the most important factor in addition to the design and portability for me.  Lights make me very hot and uncomfortable and thank god for such an invention!  OK OK Enough rambling for now! :) 

Top Model Spotlight: Marcus Schenkenberg

Iconic image! My fav!

I was working on my airbrush post...but I got bored of it half way, and..it's been a bit crazy recently, so today I decided to blog about Marcus Schenkenberg instead! ^o^ The first male model to grace the cover of Harper Bazaar - these classic images of him are definitely my inspiration!

How I got to remembering the greatness of Marcus....(lol) If you ever read my reviews on Yelp.com about businesses I patron, one of my stress-relievers is mindless comic reading (mindless=image and fiction appreciation! not deep thoughts and thinking!), and my husband has been encouraging me because he wants me to stop working after dinner time and kind of "draw my boundaries" - one of the difficulties of being freelancers is to stop working! (or start working when you really don't want to! hehe)  So...the only place that I can rent comic books is closing down FOREVER, and there are no other stores in the bay area that lends you photos.  SO...I still had $25 dollar store credit and I can purchase comic books, and the series I wanted to purchase, my husband talked me out of it!! I'm like!?!?!? But either way, thinking about that Taiwanese comic artist, he based his male characters after models~ and in his recent work "獨領風騷" which is incidentally about modeling, there are some poses that were clearly inspired by Marcus Schenkenberg's photos! Especially the one above! 

Calvin Klein Campaign!!

I saw Marcus by accident on TV in my tween years in the 90s.  Yes yes...giggle giggle~ Dream Boat for a young teen.  Most of the fashion information I paid attention to was from Japan at that time...mostly makeup - but with Marcus, I was just really intrigued by the IDEA of a male super model! It was so revolutionary to me, and sooo fascinating! He's been a model since 1989 and he is still doing it in 2011! He is currently represented by Ford Models in NYC.  That's a 22 year career! Granted, the height of his career was in the 90s, but, it's a fact that he really set the stage for future male super models, and I think...taken some of the most beautiful photos, ever! :)

Marcus more recently~~~

I highly recommend reading this article written in 2003 "Marcus Schenkenberg: Fearless"! You will also see a lot of other classic Marcus photos there, too! In particular, as a 12 year old, I was also particularly in awe that he can rock ANY look - including heels and stockings, whatever makeup they put on him, whatever wardrobe, he just works it!  At times I just need to remind myself that whatever resources I'm given, if I'm part of a team, and maybe my idea wasn't taken into consideration, sometimes you just have to go for it!

Some youtube clips I found - the 2nd one has some of the best photos! The Versace ones? I think? They are BW with a woman..unfortunately I cannot find the images on line! But anyways, check it out!!! :D

Men's fashion story Sneak Peak!

Photography: Laura Tillinghast (Laura Tillinghast Photography)
Grooming: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)
Wardrobe Styling: Katie Quinn (Q the Stylist)
Model: Gabriele @ City Model Management

Super new sneak peak!! After months in the making, it's finally here! Can you tell I'm excited?! lol...I am  thrilled to expand my men's fashion portfolio.  At first it was tough to decide on a model with so many great options, but after taking a vote, we decided with Gabriele but before/during/after the shoot, it was a consensus that we definitely selected the perfect model for our concept~! *HIGH FIVE TEAM!!* Everything came together beautifully - I especially love the orange zipper detail! Katie said the designer made the jacket just for the shoot!  Super neat zipper! Lol that is a lot of exclamation marks! Sorry but I'm excited! :) :) Have a great long weekend everyone!!!

Men's Grooming featuring Mayer Marx @ Ford Models

Models: Mayer Marx @ Ford Models
Makeup & Hair/Men's Grooming: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)
Photography: Novi Angelomio
The Best Reflector Holder in the world: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts) (!! lol)

Oops! I forgot to blog about these! :)  It was one of my favorite shoots to date! The top black and white photo is my absolute favorite from this set!  It's just so emotive...! I was holding the reflector board for Novi, and after that she told me that I'm the BEST reflector holder ever! And I take great pride in being great at that! lol!  Seriously though - it does make a huge difference in terms of contrast and I'm proud to have contributed to the shot in addition to doing the men's grooming.  This is also the first photo shoot that took place in new Critterville (my humble abode!) and I was super excited that the color of the exterior to my building worked perfectly for the shoot!

Mayer is one of the most professional models I've worked with and I was really impressed by how he organized his wardrobe for the shoot.  Everything was perfectly folded and organized accordingly in his bag.  Because I was done with the men's grooming earlier than anticipated, we were waiting for Novi to arrived and in between I had more time to talk to him about proper skin care and sun block and Mayer asked me what he should buy and where he can buy the right products, and ended up buying them!  :)  That makes me super happy too because healthy skin is beautiful skin, and it will extend the model's career!  It's funny that sometimes people think they will never get old in their 20s...and one day you wake up and...well... I don't need to elaborate on what happens!  For me it's not really about what the industry might value, for me taking good care of your skin is part of taking care of your health!!! Healthy skin is beautiful skin!!! @o@  We were all chatting during lunch and talking about what's considered as "women" category (for models) and that apparently after 21 you are considered old! It really reminded me of the song by Ladytron...and Mayer said: "Seventeen!" (the song is called Seventeen, from Ladytron's album Light & Magic) where they sing "They only want you when you're 17, when your 21, you're no fun" !  @o@ But anyways...enjoy these photos! Such eye candy! ;)

Mike, and updates!

Photography: Rummy Makmur
Makeup : Liz (Skyla Arts)
Model: Mike @ City Models

Where should I even begin? September passed by in a haze...Let me begin by introducing the new photo I'm uploading!  I worked with Rummy whom you must be very familiar with by now! :) He's been slammed with like 5-7 photo shoots a week (let me tell you that that's just CRAZY! and amazing! That someone can do that!) and we arranged this shoot early September or late August (I can't even remember...) but this was literally right before our move to our new place so my studio was super messy!  Thanks again to Rummy and Mike for being uber tolerant of my mess!

It's been 2 weeks and 2 days since our move to our new place and...well it's still a big mess because out of those 16 days I worked 13 out of those 16 days.  Which is why this afternoon when I'm trying to update my blog, I'm like WHAT should I post? lol...  For some of those things, and also including some projects I worked on in September I'm still waiting for the photos/film.  (Oh..those days never end will they?  I talked to another model and she says: "It's ALWAYS the case.  We're ALWAYS waiting for our photos!"  Liz: "Sigh.....I'm never getting those photos am I..." lol...

I am waiting to post some of my latest works and behind the scenes (upon approval of the models and photographers) and also waiting to receive photos from the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Tailgate  ("The Ultimate Tailgate Party") event I worked as a lead artist last Thursday!  Little did I know..the event featured Tommy Hilfiger himself, and Third Eye Blind~!  Since my last update I also participated in a bridal makeup competition~ and of course some very interesting photo shoots!

 Photo Credit: Erika Taniguchi

I am touching up the lips for Alana @Look, whose character from "The Hilfigers" is Julia I like this photo a lot because it's one photo of me applying makeup and not looking scary while doing it! lol~ I guess this is a teaser...!  And I promise I will write those other blogs about exfoliation and skin care very soon! More on Tommy Hilfiger and the other photo shoots to come!!  :)  Thanks for visiting and not forgetting about me!

June & Gary - Lifestyle/Commercial

Models: June (City Models) & Gary

Men's Grooming, Makeup, Hair & Photography: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)

Wardrobe Styling: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts) & June

Finally an update! The photo above looks so weird resized - it looks like there's something on her cheeks but there really isn't! GrrrRrrr! Please click on the photos to view the full version! After receiving feedback from the agency, I decided to take matters into my own hands (the matter of improving my portfolio!), and called up June to ask if she knew any male models to add to our already planned lifestyle shoot on Saturday, and June also took matters into her hands and found me 2 great candidates, found the location, and then we told Gary what to wear ;) I really don't have a background in fashion, but was really inspired by a yellow umbrella and we were hoping to find one, but we ended up with a yellow hat, and its complementary color, purple - and voila! Spring is here!  Grabbing Peet's Coffee was totally spontaneous (Gary's Idea), and it was a great prop! :) Here is June's before & after photo for hair and makeup! It took me 1 hr - I'm improving my speed, so I was super happy.

I started a new picasa Lifestyle/Commercial Gallery. You can sneak peak my other recent project! ;)

Jason - headshots & men's grooming

Model: Jason (Ford Models)

Men's Grooming & Photography: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)

Anybody needs a corporate headshot? :) You know who to hire to make you look approachable, yet confident and chic! 

I'm a bit backed up with updates...It has just been a whirlwind last 2-3 weeks with me scheduling photo shoots, trying to lock-in some bridal contracts, bridal trials,  fixing my car, deciding on this and that, trying to buy a condo (gaaaaah), taking my makeup portfolio to get evaluated (last Thursday) by an agency in San Francisco....Phew~! The good news is, I received very positive feedback on these images I did with Jason! Thank you, Jason, for raising my chances of getting into the agency by at least 25%! :D

Anyhow...! I was getting nervous being behind the camera because it seems I only pick up my camera 4 times a year (literally!) so...naturally I made a few mistakes due to lack of practice!  I also panicked because it was drizzling, and I thought I had to reschedule. I need to stay really calm next time.  Thank goodness I did end up with a few good shots!

I started a new picasa Men's Grooming gallery. There's one more photo in there! I'll be updating it as it gets filled up.

Rummy sent me some more edits of June from our previous shoot, but we did another shoot last week and he also sent me his edits! Happy! :D And...I also did a photo shoot with June & Gary where I controlled everything from styling, location (with the help of June! ^^), makeup & hair, men's grooming, and photography! woohoo!  Stay tuned! :D