Ooohh! Kiss Me Quick!!!

Oh yeah! I just love it when I get a fabulous new product to get totally excited about!

The divine object of my affection is a gorgeous new lipgloss from Julie Hewett Cosmetics called Chloe.




First up I have to tell you that I'm no push over when it comes to lipglosses.
Yes the color has to grab me, but before we dive into that particular treasure chest, there are other huge considerations both for products that I'm using on shoots and those that I wear myself.

A gloss has to wear well throughout the day. No bubbling or balling up, no tackiness, the color has to hold and distribute evenly, no gooey-ness, no sliming through the lipline. It has to hydrate and condition the lip - plenty of lipglosses leave the lip feeling chapped and irritated by the end of the day. It has to have a nice medium shine, and look really, really good on camera, which also means it has to look really, really good for regular street wear.

Now of course, with Julie Hewett being the master movie makeup artist, she creates products that have to perform not just on us, but on the biggest movie stars in the world, and right up there on the big screen, where they are magnified to the nth degree. So all the above criteria are covered, plus many more.

And then we get to the color. Oh my! Its a soft tangerine with a hint of summer sparkle. I am just loving all over Chloe! I wear it (everyday no less) alone for a gorgeous summery lip, or with Julie's Nude Noir lip liner, which gives it a slightly pinkier hue, and with a variety of other lip liners in my arsenal. I am getting so many compliments on it too - and you just know I'm digging that!

I'm going to write about a few more Julie Hewett products over the next while, because my lovelies, Julie (who is in Georgia shooting the new Mylie Cyrus movie, The Last Song) has given me a special discount for my blog readers!!!

Here's what you have to do.

Come into my blog and click on Julie's link www.juliehewett.net (its being tracked for future promos)
Look through her entire site, because she is extending 20% discount on everything!!!

I am so excited! When you get to the check out, enter the code SUM20. This will give you the 20% discount, and you'll also get $4.95 shipping all over the USA!

This discount is for my readers all over the world. Anywhere and everywhere!

Tell all of your friends, family, co workers etc, because there is no limit to the number of people who can come in and use this opportunity, and you can go back in and order as many times as you want.
Copy and paste today's blog and send it to every girl on your email list.
Facebook it, Twitter it, myspace it, let everyone know.

You can check the archives for a piece I wrote on Julie a while back called "Which Red Are You".
Also make sure when you go into her site to read all about her. You'll love her story to pieces, and I am sure you'll be wowed when you realize how many of her movies are in your list of favorites.

Final note my friends, subscribe to this blog, as there will be more fab items popping up right around the corner.

And get Chloe. And then pucker up!

Calling The Casting Director...

One of the things I love about working in TV/Film/Music Videos etc is all the "behind the scenes" action. Its so cool and interesting seeing how it all comes together. And if its interesting to me, chances are you might just enjoy a little sneak peek here and there too...

I have a fabulous friend who is a big casting director in LA. We met a lifetime ago when we were room mates in London. She'd just been at the Sorbonne in Paris, and I'd just finished Make Up School in London. We both wound up in Los Angeles, living these crazy Hollywood lives - a long way from my life growing up in New Zealand!

Anyway, I decided it might be fun to introduce to her to you, and do a little interview with her. I took up a bunch of time in her crazy busy day, and I've tried to think up questions that might be interesting to you, but feel free to send me more, we can always bring her back for round 2.....

So everybody, meet my friend Mia Levinson!



Isn't she gorgeous? Tons of wild red hair, and one of those Julia Roberts smiles that just lights up the whole room

CB: So Mia, tell me about the process. How does a production find you?

ML: It largely happens thru existing business relationships with producers, directors, writers and studios. They call to see if you're available for the project. Also the networks will contact casting executives who then take meetings with various casting directors who might be a good fit.

CB: How many read throughs of the script do you do before you start visualizing who you'll cast? How does that all happen?

ML: Usually I start getting ideas on the first reading. I take notes while I'm reading it and make lists of potential actors for each part. I always have plenty of names on tons of lists. Sometimes I can be on page 20 and have cast the whole project in my mind.

CB: The job doesn't end when the leads have been cast. What happens next?

ML: Well, you cast the first 10 then the smaller parts.
The first 10 are your leads, any big name actors attached to the project, and the parts that have the most shoot days.
You look at the "Day Out Of Days" (which is like a shoot schedule for the various characters). You see which roles have the most days on the D.O.O.D, then start casting the most top-heavy parts first, and work your way down.

CB: How does casting a movie differ from casting TV shows?

ML: The pace. On TV you might be casting 25 people every 8 days. On film maybe 25 people in 10 weeks.
With TV you may only see an actor the day before or two days before he shoots his scenes, in film you see them six weeks before (on average).

CB: We all know the big name actors, but how do you find the others?

ML: You get a good working knowledge of the actors who are around. Over the years you're taking tons of meetings, doing endless auditions and readings. You're watching all kinds of movies, agents are sending you recommendations. You meet people, watch their reels etc. They might not be right for the role you're casting today, but they stay on your lists. You never know when something will come up that they'll be perfect for.

CB: What are the hours like?

ML: Depends on what you're working on. For example on Touched By An Angel it was 9.30
til 7 pm, Monday thru Friday. Life was 10 - 8 Monday thru Friday and some weekends. Movies can be 10 - 6 or 9am til 11pm - it just depends on the job.

CB: Whats your favorite part about being a casting director?

ML: Having a lot of creative input, and helping paint the picture and create the vision of the people who wrote the piece and are directing it.
And its cool, and its fun!!!

CB: You have met and worked with everyone. Is there anyone left who would you get a kick out of meeting?

ML: Johnny Depp. Meryl Streep. I've always thought Cate Blanchette and Emma Thompson would be cool. Javier Bardem.

CB: Who have been some of your favorites? (I'm including some production stills that Mia sent me, just to keep this nice and juicy!)

ML: Alec Baldwin - he's just great. I had a fantastic day working with him.
Bill Paxton, Shia Le Boeuf (awesome guy! really good head on his shoulders)





John Travolta is one of the nicest people I've ever met. Bruce Willis, James Franco.

CB: ...more...more...

ML: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are both super nice, really good guys.
Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Courtney Cox.
Damian Lewis (from Life) Gabrielle Union (both Life and Nightstalker)


Robert Downey Jr is fantastic. He's just great. Fun, nice and also really clever.



(CB is just beside herself here - Robert Downey Jr is one of my absolute, absolute favorite actors! I just LOVE him!!!)

ML: Steven Spielberg is cool, and Kate Capshaw too. Harrison Ford, I love Eddie Izzard.
Stuart. (Townsend who she cast in Nightstalker - that was me talking again...)







Mia and Stuart in her office.

ML: and I just love Lawrence Fishburne. He is just super, super nice! Really cool guy!



Lawrence Fishburn with Mia's daughter Logan...

CB: Mia has worked on some really cool productions including:
Touched By An Angel
Life
Nightstalker
Kiss Kiss Bang Band (Robert Downey Jr!)
How To Make An American Quilt (Winina Ryder)
House of Wax
George of the Jungle
Firewall (Harrison Ford!)
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Murder at 1600
US Marshalls (Tommy Lee!)

If you'd like to see more of what Mia has done check her out on imdb.com

Thanks Mia!

Who's Gaming Who???

Have you ever wondered how they make the animated faces work in video games? Not the Super Mario kind of animated, but the kind where it looks like real people animated? Well, frankly, neither had I. I can't even do an excel spreadsheet, let alone play Call of Duty.

But then I got booked on a very cool job with a company called Captive Motion, and that is exactly what they do! They have become a great client of mine now and I work with them often.
Their specialty is animating faces and bringing them to life with all the facial tics, expressions and characteristics of a real person. Oftentimes a video game is designed to accompany a blockbuster movie, and so a specific actor has to be recreated. That, in and of itself, is a crazy difficult task.

Then Adam Kraver, the mastermind behind Captive Motion, came up with a brilliant new technology for creating faces on computers for video gaming, and all manner of other applications.
I don't even pretend to understand it, but it is completely genius!

Without giving away the proprietary secrets, I can tell you that the actor comes into the Captive studio, and into the 'make up' chair, where I start coloring in the face for the computer. Its all actually very specific.







They then act out their scene on camera, the colored dots talk to the computers and next thing you know a face gets created. Either a brand new fictitious person, or the replica of the actor.



kinda creepy, huh?




inside the studio...




Fierce!


In order to really see what I'm getting at here, go to their website, www.captivemotion.com and watch the video demo.

Here's a little teaser...






Its quite something! In fact, I'd have to say, it's amazing!
I just love being a very (very, very)peripheral part of something as exciting as this break through technology, even if I cannot even begin to understand it.....

When A Good Girl Needs A Big Boost...

Ooohh! I've got a favorite new thing!!!

I am always telling girls that your make up will never look fabulous unless you really, really take extra good care of your skin.
Nothing in beauty-land is more important than a great complexion , so I am always on the lookout for new, exciting, fabulous skin care products. And guess what? I just found something really special!

My new favorite thing is a product by Philosophy called Booster Caps. These are individual capsules that you twist open and add to your nighttime serum or moisturizer to give it a super boost. You can look at their website for details on ingredients etc, but here's the low down:
this product is all about restoring youth and elasticity to your skin. It's anti aging and firming, and will give you a smoother, more radiant appearance (and we all want that!). It contains retinol, which is going to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and even out and improve skin tone and texture. Told you this was special!

I am a firm believer that we need to keep our skin really well hydrated. It is quite difficult for well hydrated, robust skin to look aged, in fact, it tends to look quite gorgeous instead.

Consequently I'm constantly seeking out ways to add more hydration and make moisturizers pack a bigger punch without leaving a greasy film on the surface, so I am just love love loving these Booster Caps! They are significantly add to the power of your products, and you can use them with any moisturizer or serum. Just make sure they're part of your bedtime routine, not your morning routine.



For more info on these little gems check out the Philosophy website

A little side note here, I do a lot of long haul flying to Europe, Australasia etc, and when I'm on those big flights I don't wear make up. I pack on the hardcore skin care products and reapply them during the flight, so that when I land on the other side of the world I don't have that beat up, tired, jet lagged looking skin, but instead am waving the flag of the fabulous. These Booster Caps will be going on all long haul flights with me now.

It's The Beach Bag, Baby!

The holiday weekend is here, and I know most of you are heading to the beach/lake/river/poolside for some aquatic fun in the sun. I can't help but notice that I'm not in the Greek Islands at the moment, or somewhere delicious along the Amalfi Coast!

But after blogging about the after work beauty repair tools, I started thinking about what to put in the beach bag for the holiday weekend. Even though I'm not in the Aegean, the products essentially remain the same.

After the super- hydrate, super- moisturize in the morning, once all the lotions and potions have well and truly soaked into my skin, I like a super-liberal slathering of La Roche Posay Athelios SPF60 (at least). If not Athelios, then Neutrogena Helioplex SPF7o or above. Either will give you extra good sun protection, and wont leave you with a greasy coconut smelling face.




I cant tell you enough how fanatical I am about protecting face, throat and chest from the sun! A gorgeous healthy tan today will leave you looking like a wrinkled old boot tomorrow. So not worth it! And melanoma has no glamour value whatsoever. You really must invest in a really good facial SPF product.

Ideally you want to really give your SPF some quality time to do its magic before you apply anything over top. I'm not into a completely naked beach face (well, not on me anyway) and a face full of make up looks silly at the beach, but these products let you cheat it a little.

I love Julie Hewett Shimmy products.
A little dab here and there on the upper cheek bones, I use it on eyelids just to add a tiny bit of dimension and some shimmying love.
I'll blend it with a little Cheekie cream blush, just enough to give a hint of color and break up the endless beige that the face can become.
Now it should be noted that I am talking about dryer climates. If you are in a humid place you may want to keep your skin a little more bare. Don't try and fight the humidity though - it will always win. Add a little shimmy high on your cheekbones and go for a dewy, fresh faced look.




The only time I advocate waterproof mascara is when we're by the water. And why not use the mac-daddy of them all? I love Diorshow Blackout Waterproof. Build up some serious clump free lashes. Give it several coats, as this is going to be the main attraction on our pared down face.


I avoid anything much else around the eyes. If I know with 100% certainty that I'm not going in the water I may use a little smudged out liner, but really you want to avoid makeup-face.
That being said, my eyebrows are always on, groomed and fabulous!

Often ladies forget about their lips. You must wear something with SPF protection. I have tons of MAC SPF15 tinted lip conditioners. I like a hint of color and moisturized, protected lips.




Your hair and hair color need sun protection too. I love Phyto's Protective Beach Spray. It keeps your hair supple and shiny, and has UV filters.





You should always have a nice, big, sexy hat on to protect your scalp (melanoma often goes undetected in the scalp) and to shade your ears, face and neck. This year I am loving these hats by Juicy!





You will never catch me out there in the sun without huge glasses on. I like a nice wide arm on my glasses to protect the outer corners of the eye area.







Last but not least, a good book! I am re-reading the fabulous Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I've got the eating part down, now for some praying and some loving.....

What's in your beach bag this summer?

Ron Capps/Michael Waltrip Napa Spot

OK, so I just have to tell you, this commercial just kills me! Everytime I watch it I just die laughing!

I would have given my eye teeth to have been the make up artist on these Napa commercials - I bet they were an absolute blast to work on!

And frankly, who knew that Capps could draw so well?



"Y'all's turn!"!!!
So brilliant!

What's your favorite commercial?

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Are You Ready For Happy Hour?

So I was cruising through one of my favorite beauty blogs , Beauty Addict, and she had the best terminology ever! She was talking about keeping the mini version of Michael Kors leg shine in a desk drawer and she referred to the product as "not taking up valuable real estate" in your desk.

Frankly, I thought that was brilliant! Why didn't I think up that one?
It got me thinking about which products I would keep in a desk drawer for some instant fab, summer, happy hour transformation, and that didn't take up too much "valuable real estate". (love that so much!).

For a little high speed, post work, pre drinks lovin, here's what would be in my desk drawer (if I had one!)

First up, Touche Eclat/Radiant Touch by YSL





This is one of my beyond favorite products. You just click the end of the pen, and then paint a little of the product under your eyes, pat it in lightly with your ring finger, and voila! Instant undereye renewal!
I cook up my own brew of this in the make up room, but on the go I don't leave home without it!

Next I'd have Fix+ (with rose water) by MAC.


When you need to bring make up back to life, either after a full day in make up under the lights, or just regular day wear make up in real life, Fix+ is a Godsend. Lightly spritz over the face, and it rehydrates, refreshes and renews your make up. Love it!

I'm a big fan of Make Up Forever, and I love their Duo Matte. Its foundation and powder in one, so its ideal for some repair work. You can add back in any color you've wiped off during the day, and use it for a little powdering too. It contains an ingredient called Nylon12, which gives the most exquisite finish to the skin.



Keep Duo Matte in your desk drawer year round.

A great way to high speed refresh your make up and breathe some vitality back into your look is to give your cheeks some loving. I'm a huge fan of Nars blushes


particularly Orgasm and Sin. Sweep a little Orgasm over your cheekbones, and sister, you are good to go!

While on the subject of Nars fabulousity I also love the multi stick in Copacobana.
I dab a little on the top of the cheekbones& temples with my finger to give a dewy quality to the skin. Use it sparingly, but enjoy the lovely youthful hue it gives. Perfect for summer!

On to the lips. I adore the MAC lip pencils. The quality is fabulous, and the color choices divine.



I'm a big fan of a color called "Whirl". You can use it with so many different lip colors, or with plain gloss, and it is universally so flattering!

Because we're talking about a little apres-work romp here, I'm going to tell you to pair it up with Nars gloss in Orgasm. Looove it!




Teeny picture, because I couldn't find a bigger one....

And now the bare legs. Summer legs should be bare, but need a little glimmer or sheen for an evening out. I have two recommendations for the desk drawer (and the bathroom cabinet)

My favorite beyond favorite is Sally Hansen Airbrush Shimmer. I've used this for ages both at home and on shoots. Just spray a little on and you're good to go! It really does give your legs a lovely sheen.

Then, of course, there's the product that got me thinking along the lines of what to have in the desk drawer in the first place, and that's Beauty Addict's recommended Michael Kors Leg Shine.

This one looks best if you've already got some color in your skin. It has a slightly oily texture, so it takes a little getting used to, and it is fragranced, so you need to be a fan of Michael Kors perfume (...and I am...). You can get it in a mini size at Sephora for $10.

And, of course, it just wouldn't be a night out without Jimmy!
How completely beyond fab are these???


They'll look gorgeous with your summer legs - just please, please, please dont cram them in your desk drawer!

And now ladies, there's an ice cold margarita calling...