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! 

Makeup, Hair & Photography for Amber! [Mountain View Portrait Photographer, Makeup Artist]

Model: Amber

Makeup, Hair & Photography: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)

Meet my gorgeous client Amber! She wanted some portraits done for herself, just to look back and remember how great it was to be young and beautiful! ;) She also wanted some for work, and brought along a jacket! Amber selected the "Single Natural Headshots and Portraiture Package" that includes 30min of shooting time, and one fully edited photo (including skin editing). She selected the top left photo, which also was my favorite one!!  Yay!  We managed to fit in 3 outfits in 30min!  While I was doing her makeup & hair, her friend was calling her for financial advice, and Amber patiently listened to her friends' concern, and found the answers meticulously - I can tell that she is a person who cares a lot, and definitely very trust-worthy! So when it came to the more 'work' type portraits, I wanted to capture her trustworthiness :)  We had a fun and productive afternoon ~!

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