ARE YOUR EYEBROWS OUT OF CONTROL??

it’s time for another mind blowing makeup tip. girls and boys, we sometimes underestimate the importance of our brows. a perfectly tweezed arch can give us a mini non-surgical face lift, brows truly frame our eyes and when done right can really open up our eyes. Most clients start the sculpting of their brows completely in the wrong place leaving the arch flat. so when tweezing or filling your brows in with color follow the simple chart below:

begin at point A, this is where you want the highest point of your arch to be, and connect it to B. now you have your highest point you can connect point C to point A. This will give you a brow with a perfect arch every time. using this method you can still decide how thick or thin you want your brow to be.

remember ladies, and my metro-sexuals, that each of us has a male and a female brow (all brows are NOT created equal). your female brow is your brow that is more beautifully arched and esthetically more pleasing, while your male brow is the one more unruly. when tweezing, you want to make your male brow look as close to your female brow as possible. and remember…you pluck a chicken and tweeze your eyebrows!

SHE'S FASHiONABLE

i think that there are just some things that i will never get use to….one of those things is going to a famous, or semi-famous, person’s hotel room and kicking it with them while i get them ready for an event. it just feels weird! Yesterday i had the opportunity to head over to the uber swankified CLIFT hotel (www.clifthotel.com) and do hair and “make-up” for RACHEL ROY (www.rachelroy.com), a fashion designer. she was so super sweet and so great to work for, it was sad that she was a little under the weather. she asked me to give her hair some volume at her crown and was into me blowing her hair dry using only my fingers. she wanted her ends to be textured. after steaming up the small little makeup room with my heat gun...aka blowdryer, i had to figure out a way to cool her off so she didn’t sweat out all my hard work. i used my master thinking skills and busted open the windows to get a breeze going through the suite. it was funny, because she actually crouched down to stick her head out the small opening in the window. she does her own makeup and only asked me to put some individual eyelashes on her, serious, like a whole package plus!!! She wanted them thick. rachel was in town to do a segment on a local television show – ViEW FROM the BAY -- and to promote her new affordable line at MACY’s. you can see my work and her interview at this URL:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/fashion_beauty&id=7026873

check out her fashion, i found it incredibly cute and she is such a sweet girl i strongly recommend supporting her. i get to head down to monterey this weekend to do a fashion show for her and will have pictures from that for you to enjoy.

It's an ERA

i have been asked many times what is my favorite eye shadow color and my palette can’t lie – it’s ERA. this color is by MAC cosmetics (www.maccosmetics.com) and as they put it, "it is a soft golden beige with shimmer." it’s definitely my go to color for natural looking make-up or weddings. it can be used all over the lid or place it as the darker shadow for the crease. Of course it has a little sparkle to it so for crepe like eyes a good alternative would be malt, it’s a little more matte.

7 x 7 SEPTEMBER iSSUE

for those of you that don’t live in san francisco or the bay area and can’t grab yourself a copy of this months 7 x 7 magazine; i thought that I would share a few shots from the magazine and perhaps a couple not chosen.

the shoot was shot by the super cute and absolutely talented CHRiSTOPHER KERN (www.christopherkern.com), styled by TAYLOR McCARTHY, and the model ALEX JAY was from LA. a fun little fact about her is she started her modeling career on JANiCE DiCKiNSON’s modeling agency, a reality show.

PLAiN JANE, her new cd

photographer: RAPHAEL mazzucco hair: BRENNAN at FORD makeup: ME

as part of my job i get to meet and work with many wonderful people, but every once in a while you run into someone who is beyond inspiring. a little over a year and a half ago i got to travel to vancouver canada and spend a day making one of their beautiful songstresses look glamorous; and along the way i fell in love with her. CHANTAL KREViAZUK (www.chantalkreviazuk.com) is a woman with a gigantic voice and an even gigantic-er heart. i have been able to work with her, or maybe i should say on her, several times through out the year and have seen her as an incredible mom, talk with her about her many charitable contributions, and enjoyed her radiant soul. i wanted to share her with you because we don’t get to experience her here in the US. i strongly encourage you to check her out on itunes and for sure watch her new music video on facebook.com -- http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=152182244803. the little boy catching butterflies is her oldest son ROWAN, he is so adorable.

HOW ALLURiNG!

my hair and makeup work has been featured in many local magazines, my work has been on many online sites, my work has been in a couple national women’s magazines (shape magazine, women’s health, and fitness magazine). i am very grateful for all of the amazing jobs and people i have gotten to work with along the way, BUT my long-term goal is getting it in a magazine that has a bigger focus on fashion or makeup. today I have become one step closer to that goal…my work is featured in ALLURE magazine. although it wasn’t a five page spread, it was pretty amazing seeing it in the magazine. so if your in your local grocery store or book store pick up this months ALLURE and play the “can you find preston’s picture page.” watch out vanity fair here i come…

HAMSTER GiRL

have you ever wondered, “what is he/she thinking?” here is a peek into the crazy that is me:

yep, that's right, i thought it would be amazing to take a striking girl and put her into a hamster cage! the whole idea was to put this girl in some ultra extraordinary workout gear and totally glam her out with rockin’ hair and beautiful makeup; then slather her up with baby oil to make it looks like she was glistening from running on the hamster wheel. i was only able to accomplish this AMAZiNG photo because of the terrific photographer BRYAN DAViS (www.bryandavisimages.com) and the brilliant DENiSE GOMEZ (www.dmgstyling.com).

TiPs and TRiCKS

a couple months back FORD (www.fordartists.com) teamed up with the mega hip and super swanky personality hotels, www.personalityhotels.com, to host a little beauty party for some of the hotel’s clients. MONiQUE FORD, a fellow makeup artist at FORD, and i did some quick one-on-one makeup lessons; while my hugely stylish friend and stylist for FORD, TAYLOR McCARTHY (www.taylormccarthy.com), spoke to the ladies about clothing. the women each received a little gift bag and FORD had asked me to put together a little tips and tricks flyer that the ladies could take home to study, so i thought today would be a great day to share that with you.

photo: CHRiSTOPHER KERN www.christopherkern.com hair and makeup by ME model: LUNA with FORD

HAiR TiPS

1. WASH: You don’t need to wash your hair everyday. It is better for your scalp to go a couple days between washing, after all, your head produces oil for a reason. Plus your hair will style better the second day.
2. CURL and HEAT: Heat is what puts a curl into your hair, but to make it last all day you need to let it cool in a curled position – dropping the curl right from the iron lets gravity ruin the curl you put into your hair while it cools hanging. Try pinning your curl up until they cool, or something easier than a curling iron is using hot rollers.
3. CURL and VOLUME: Remember the bigger the barrel on your curling iron or the bigger your roller the more body and volume you will get. The smaller your barrel or roller the more curl you will get.
4. PRODUCT: When applying product, especially pomades or oily products, start in the back at the nape of your neck. That way, if you apply too much product it won’t matter as much if it’s the back of the head. This makes sure you won’t ruin the volume you created, or grease down those bangs of yours (the horror!).
5. DRY: Dry hair? Once a week while you are watching your favorite reality show dampen your hair and apply deep conditioner to it - focusing on the ends, unless you have damaged hair than work in throughout (if you have a shower cap throw it on over the top – the heat from your scalp will really help the process). Once your TV show is over wash it out, you will adore the improved feel of your hair.

photo: JEFF TSE www.jefftse.com hair and makeup by ME model: MOLLY with FORD

MAKE.UP TiPS

1. SKiN: Great makeup starts with great skin. Use sunscreen and moisturizer everyday! If you feel you get too oily just skip the moisturizer and apply your sunscreen - the sun is what ages us.
2. LASHES: Try applying mascara with a fan brush rather than with the wand that comes with your tube. You’ll have more control and it will reduce clumping.
3. LiPS: To make your lipstick last a little longer apply your lip pencil over your full lip before you put your lipstick on.
4. WRiNKLES: When dealing with mature skin or eyelids that are crepe-like do not use shimmery products. Shimmery makeup only brings attention to your ‘trouble areas” by reflecting light. Stick with matte shadows and foundation.
5. SHiNE: Blot papers are a girl’s best friend – too much powder just makes us look cakey.

ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS.

when working in the beauty industry the most important feature is flawless skin, we all seek to have a striking face that has no imperfections and evenly toned. i wanted to share with you two of my most favorite face products to help capture a dewy fresh face (I spoke a little about them yesterday and used them on ellen).

LAURA MERCiER formulates a lightweight tinted moisturizer that i feel stomps on the competition. most women don’t need full coverage or want to take the time to apply heavy foundation everyday – this is for you. these are a few reasons why i love this moisturizer: it feels as though you are wearing nothing, it is created to provide a “natural glow” to your skin, it provides enough color to even out skin tones, and if offers 20 spf (i can’t express enough how important it is to wear sunscreen on your face EVERY DAY – even when it is cloudy).

LAURA MERCiER also has an incredible concealer, it really leaves me speechless. when I first started out in the industry i refused to use concealer under the eye because it was always dry, heavy, cakey, and I felt like it would emphasize the fine lines…a girls worst nightmare!!! this concealer is a miracle worker. MERCiER has devised a concealer that is moisture intense and brightening while providing full coverage. The moisture in the concealer is in my opinion the most important thing about the product, it keeps you looking young by not accentuating fine lines making you appear older then you are.

you can find both of these products at www.lauramercier.com or also shop online at www.sephora.com. i highly recommend both of these products for a flawless face.

the GLORiOUS HOUSEWiFE

this last thursday, september 10^th 2009, i had the opportunity to work with the ultra groovy CODY RASMUSSEN (www.rasimage.com) on a test shoot inspired by the idea of a glorious housewife. the absolutely stunning ELLEN HANCOCK from look models (www.lookmodelagency.com) played the over-worked and yet dazzling wife. she dusted, baked, ironed, and cleaned with such grace and finesse! it was all styled by the ever so lovely and lady gaga look alike PAULiNE MONTUPET (www.paulinemontupet.com). my favorite part of the wardrobe was that she included some type of hosiery in each shot – and i love me some sexy stockings!

as for hair and make-up concept they left it completely up to my vision so i decided to make ellen’s stellar doe eyes pop by using a heavy black liner and adding some feathery lashes to frame their beauty. of course i love that porcelain-like mannequin-ish skin so I made the complexion as perfect as possible using laura mercier’s tinted moisturizer and concealer (www.lauramercier.com). i left the lips very neutral or beige -- i really am a boy who truly LOVES brown lipstick, the girls tell me i'm crazy. as the shoot progressed i added more shine and sparkle with lipgloss with each look. the hair i wanted to have a sexy wavy look and added hair extension to make it super full. Of course through out the course of the shoot I got bored and made sure that each photo the hair looked a little bit different in each shoot.

eat your heart out blair waldorf....THiS is a headband!

pauline putting the finishing touches on the outfit. pins and clips make the wardrobe work.

ellen working the iron with her little fuzzy friend.

it's me! it's mE! it's ME!

i like to think that i lead a simply glamorous life….i mean pink and sparkly is for sure my favorite color, nothing is more fabulous then that combination! plus how great is it that i get to fill my day with glimmery eye shadows, lushes lipsticks, shimmery blushes, and candy scented hair products? i actually get paid to make others feel or look absolutely beautiful. i have an artillery of scissors, hot tools, extensions, brushes, and pink clips to assist me in taking over the world and making it more glamorous one face of makeup or head of hair at a time. follow me as i paint, spackle, decorate, shine, spray, buff, and play with my friends!