serenaded by Nicole

for those of you who don't know, i call MTV Live's Nicole "talent" and she calls me "makeup". stupid nicknames that just stuck and have gone on for years... here's Nicole singing to me in the makeup room:



sorry for cutting you off, talent.

holidays!

(gratuitous photo of my dog Jose)



just a quick post with a link to an Eye Weekly article i'm in. check it out here... ironically, i also did the makeup for the headshots that Dan Levy and Amber Mac submitted for the same article!

i also recently did a makeup test with the new hosts of MuchMusic's brand new show New.Music.Live. ... turns out Phoebe is a big fan of Paul "the intern" so i surprised her and brought him in to meet her! she was shocked to say the least...


i also ran into fellow blogger Arianne who does The Glitter Geek at the MAC Pro store today!


happy holidays everyone! put on some red lipstick and false lashes already!!

shoot with krystal 2

here are some more photos of my friend Krystal... we have shot together before, you can view that post here. this time, we shot with the immensely talented Christopher Wadsworth... look at his site here and let your jaw drop.

i picked a few from the shoot that are some of my faves to show you here:











special thanks to Danielle Kil for coming out last minute to do Krystal's hair.

Special Effects Legend

today at the Toronto IMATS i had the pleasure of meeting Tom Savini. i told MTV Movie Night about Tom's speaking engagement there so i also got to hang out and listen while they interviewed him. it was really interesting to hear his opinions on CGI vs traditional effects makeup... kind of dying to go to his special effects school now. pretty inspiring.

here's me with Mr. Savini:


some memorable quotes:

"You must make your dreams come true because otherwise they will haunt you."

"The more you do, the more you can do."

"The less you have (time, budget, etc.) the more creative you become."

it's hard to believe this dude is in his 60's. i certainly admire his career and hope you check out some of his work if you aren't familiar already.

Hallowe'en 2010

Photos of Johnny Hockin (zombie) and Aliya-Jasmine Sovani (Katy Perry) courtesy of Gregg Hunter and Aliya-Jasmine's blackberry. :)

FORA Magazine Fall 2.0

To see Fora issue click here. To see my beauty article, click here. All photos by Gary Samson and Ron Ruiz:

The FINAL Hills Aftershow Finale: A Hollywood Ending

I thought it would be appropriate to do this post now as Jessi's farewell special is now airing on MTV!


We shot the final episode at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. Apparently this hotel is haunted by the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift, but the only bumps in the night that I heard were from drunk patrons returning to their hotel rooms! Here's a shot of the crew building the stage over the famous pool:


i love street art...


i had a good laugh at the kind of stuff you can casually buy in any drugstore in Hollywood:


speaking of which, the hotel mini bar wasn't so mini!!


of course we had to go to In-N-Out Burger. if you ever go to LA, order it 'animal style'.


the day of the show, there was a bit of stress as Jessi's dress (that she co-designed with Mikhael Kale) wasn't ready. i was sent out to find some other options for Jessi to wear for the big finale. (no pressure.) if you are a fan of Jessi's at all, you'll know that she has a very distinct eye for fashion, and she's extremely picky about what she wears on a regular day, nevermind the finale!!! so i ran out to shop for our lady (i only had about 3 hours to do this) and she was really pleased with what i chose for her. this is the only time you'll see what she *might* have worn, as the Mikhael Kale dress arrived last minute *phew*!
from left to right: J.Mendel, Azzedine Alaïa, Proenza Schouler


the production desk:


the makeup area:



mr. levy studies his notes: (i thought he was extra handsome that night...)


commercial break:





did i mention all the drama that was going on in front of the hotel during the red carpet? Spencer Pratt apparently had tried to book a room overlooking the pool, but having failed that, he dressed up as an old man and pestered the cast and paparazzi.







i love this photo. it really sums up how we all felt in this moment...


after it was all said and done and everyone was packing up, Lauren Conrad (whose makeup looked flawless thanks to my dear friend Gregory Arlt) came in to say hello, which i thought was just so sweet that she remembered me (i guess we did see each other numerous times over the years!!). i'll never forget the time LC, Audrina and Whitney came to the show together... i had seen something on the internet about one of their co-stars that they hadn't seen yet and i was giving them the scoop. suddenly i realized that i was living a Hills moment, in real life. bizarre. even more bizarre is that The Aftershow is over!!! i have so many fond memories of working on this show that i will always treasure.

Jessi Cruickshank: My MTV Life

Be sure you watch Jessi Cruickshank: My MTV Life on October 21st at 11pm!! See the preview here! It's bound to be hilarious... I certainly miss seeing (and painting) Jessi's face every day!!

shoot with krystal

Yesterday i did a shoot with my friend Krystal Garib. She's a singer/dancer/actor with a heart of gold... she also just happens to be from my hometown in British Columbia!! We did 3 looks and Krystal had a great time dancing to some of her favorite music while we shot. Salem, the stylist, was hilarious and kept us in stitches all morning! Everyone on set gave each other the nickname "hooker" (thanks to Salem... or Lafayette from True Blood!).

It was a fun morning and the camera loves Krystal! (thanks to Alberto Espinal and Krystal's iphone for the photos!)












the infamous Brose dress:






typical Okanagan girls:




keep your eye on this one!! oh yeah, random side note: while shooting outside (before we got kicked off the property!!) we ran into some of the boys from Down With Webster:


yep, that's them in the background. trust me.