Hey Girlfriend!!! Check It Out!!

So I was on a little recon mission in Pier One yesterday, and look what I found!!!





The Hey Girlfriend daily desk calender! This fabulous and funny little item is full of gorgeous things like this:

with delightful quotes for each day. Love it!!! And quite frankly a perfect stocking stuffer, and ideal little gift. I'm picking up a few of them...


They are actually the creation of the brilliant and beautiful humorist, artist, designer Jill Seale, world famous for her Nun For The Road series, which, by the way, I absolutely adore!

Here are some of my favorites


This one is soooo totally me!!! I love a good margarita!


Aren't they fun???

And after all, we are now officially in the season of the soiree. Endless holiday season entertaining. And I think these napkins are perfect! There are tons more to choose from too.
All witty and delightful and endlessly fun. The napkins are available at www.JillSeale.com

You can also go to www.cafepress.com/NunForTheRoad or just click here and you'll find all kinds of cool products in the Nun For The Road series. Everything from t shirts, to tiles, to coasters, to mugs, journals, aprons - you have to go check it out and see.

Totally perfect presents for all kinds of occasions, extra fun with Christmas around the corner!

What did she do to get those beads?????






Jill also has an online store that features other fun and fabulous designs. You can find her items in gift shops all around the world. Or, if you're like me, you can point click and purchase online!








































Emotional Baggage Claim!!!! Sooo love it!!
Any design can be put onto a towel or makeup towel for you too. Just email in your request on the JillSeale.com site

Jill Seale Online Store

Some other items available


If you're near a Pier One, make sure you go pick up some calenders!

xo

C

Pumpkin-o-liciously Fab

I was feeling kinda crummy & didn't want to go out,
so in the spirit of the season I went searching internet-land looking for some fabulosity in pumpkin.

Here's what I spotted along the way...



Burnt orange calla lillies make me happy

Too many fabulous things to count! Love it all!!!


Michael Kors Coat. Love.

Karen Elson, Chanel Fall 2009 fashion show. Fierce.



Ilse Jacobsen boot. If I were going somewhere wet, I would crave these.


Christian Dior Fall 2009. Love all things India. Inspires me so.

Make up from Dior fall 2009 Paris Fashion Week. Love.





I found this cool pic on Miss K's Blog at Aromaleigh.com Immediately felt inspired.





BB Dakota skirt $48. Get your orange on for under 50.

I love the internet.

xo

C

9 Essential Steps To A Flawless Fall Makeup

Now that the seasons are well and truly changing - some of you even have snow already! - I thought it might be a good time to look at what steps you really need to take to make your fall/winter makeup look really, truly, fantastically beautiful.

First up, as always, is the condition of your skin. It is crucial to have it well moisturized before you put any make up on. If your skin is looking dry, or "pulled", or if you wear Bare Essentials style mineral foundations I recommend the incredible Elixir by Make Up Forever.


It boosts your skin's hydration by over 500%. Your skin instantly looks super healthy and luscious.
Its an important piece in my makeup kit, as well as in my personal makeup arsenal.


Number 2:

Always use a primer. My favorite? Smashbox Photo Finish. I like the clear one best.
Let your moisturizer soak all the way in before you apply it.

The third piece of the puzzle is a foundation brush. This one is from the CorinnaB line


Use a simple press and roll motion, rather than "painting" the face. A high quality foundation brush will enable you to do a flawless & gorgeous foundation application.

A little side note here. My favorite foundation? There are 2 that I personally use:

Makeup Forever's amazing HD Foundation when I want more coverage...





And Makeup Forever Face & Body when I want a more sheer finish. You don't want your skin to look "made up". Ideally you want it to just look like beautiful skin. These two foundations are perfect.

Back to the Essential Steps...


Number 4:

You must powder your foundation to set it, and you must use a really good, finely milled powder to do this. You don't want to see particles sitting on the surface of the skin, making the skin look dusty.
I use Makeup Forever HD powder.






Number 5 on the list is using a little something special high on the cheekbone to create a little shimmer magic (keeping the skin looking alive & glowing). I have two favorites.
Nars The Multiple in Copacabana, which I have used for years, and the amazing Julie Hewett Shimmy

















I actually wear Shimmy every day. Love, love looove it!

I also wear number 6 on the list every single day, and don't think I could live without it. Cream Blush

Check out the ridiculously fabulous Julie Hewett Cheekie cream blushes. My absolute favorite? Vampie, shown here.




Now don't be put off by how dark it looks in the jar. It is actually a soft wash of color that you will add to the cheek, giving it a beautiful glow. It's not the goth purple that it appears to be, but more of a warm berry tone. Universally gorgeous, it looks fantastic on everyone.

I love a good cream blush to keep the skin looking vibrant. Most don't have the holding power to stay all day, or they look gooey on the skin. Julie Hewett Cheekie stays on all day, and is movie star perfect. (she did after all, create it for movie stars...)

Number 7:

This season is all about the eyebrow. A beautiful, groomed, full brow to be exact.
I find pencils are too obvious. They are more about an extremely defined, angled brow, so what I am loving this season is the super cool Smashbox Brow Tech, shown here.



One side is color, the other is a wax that you can use to control those wiley strays, should you have them. Smashbox has fabulous color choices that work with your skin tone, rather than against it, as many brow products out there do. I also like the formulation, as it really does disappear into the brow, and not sit there glaring at the world for all to see.


Number 8 on my list? A really, really killer mascara.
Avoid the drug store cheapies completely. They're not doing anything good for your lashes, and they tend to crumble and drop.

I have long been a major fan of the incredible DiorShow Blackout mascara, and buy it in bulk.
However I just got turned onto Julie Hewett's mascara with rose oil.
You can really extend and build a fabulous set of lashes with this divine mascara, and it smells like roses!
I'm sure the rose oil has all kinds of conditioning benefits for the lashes, but the thought of roses when you're batting those babies is really quite sensual!


Finally, step 9, is a really, really high quality lip balm. Every night, and throughout the day you must keep that kisser supple and hydrated. Flakey, cracked, chapped lips? Not so zexy.

I've been using Julie Hewett Organic Camellia Lip Balm for ages. I have it in original, and in ruby.
Camellia oil is an amazing conditioner, and this product has the right texture, so your lips aren't slimey, and it doesn't ball up on the lip.

I keep these in my car, my handbag, my nightstand - everywhere.

I know it sometimes seems that I talk about the same companies over and over, but my commitment to you is to only tell you about products that I really do use, both on myself and on makeup jobs as part of my professional kit.

And now you have the Essential 9 Steps To A Flawless Fall Makeup...

xo

C

Commercial shoot

This past week I scarcely blogged at all, as I was shooting commercials all week. And it was great fun!

I took some behind the scenes pictures for you so you can see more of what its like on production jobs.
Sometimes they're glamorous, sometimes they're not, but invariably they are a good time.


This one was shot on location in an office building.

So here is the makeup palace. It was a make-shift set up in one of the back rooms. Some times you get a full makeup room with lights etc, sometimes a makeup trailer, sometimes you just find a space to work out of. Its all good!


Hurry up and wait is the order of most production days. It takes a long time to re-light the set & do all that production dude stuff.
Here a couple of the actors are made up & chilling out.
I normally put kleenex collars on my dude actors to keep makeup off their shirts while they're hanging around. The girls never seem to need it.
Our actors are playing office workers today...




Some of the interior lighting is actually lit from outside the room.
I loved the painting on the wall here.
Check it out...




Its Kramer!!! Haaaha! I knew I was in a good place when I saw this!


Another wall has a signed Elway shirt. You know you're in a cool, vibey office when this is how they decorate! They also had tons of Rolling Stone magazines, so I was super happy!



Some lighting stuff in the hallway. When we arrive somewhere to shoot, we take up heaps of space.
This was a single camera shoot. If you've ever wondered what a "dolly" is or a "dolly move", its the camera moving down these dolly tracks as the shot is happening.


This is an HD camera. So love shooting HD!


The second scene was shot in the same room, but with different lighting, from a different angle, and with different props in place, so the two shots look completely different, as though we were in different offices.

I can't show you the actors in action, but once the commercial has been edited and has aired, I might be able to post it for you to see.

Commercials are pretty cool to work on. Generally they only take a day or two to shoot, and the make up isn't particularly complex, so there tends to be tons of time to hang out & enjoy life.
I actually really enjoy watching them light the shots - its interesting to see how they create the environment and ambience to make you believe the story they're telling.

xo

C

Shooting On Green Screen

Busy week shooting TV commercials, but I brought my camera along yesterday to try and get you some behind the scenes stuff...



And today, this shall be my domain...


These are some of my makeup cases. I travel with sooo much stuff!
There's all kinds of wardrobe & props behind there including plastic chain with scary looking manacle things, and under the clothing rack a plastic loaf of french bread.
I wonder what that shoot was about???



all set up, ready to rock n roll. The styrofoam head isn't mine. I think it belongs to the french bread people.


Hard at work (haha!!!) but looking oh so craptastic.
The actress was really good fun to work with.
I do absolutely love my T shirt though.
Its from Drag Strip Girl Designs www.DragStripGirlDesigns.com

Behind this door is the green screen studio. Its HUGE.


Kinda hard to see, but the walls curve into the floor, so there are no edges or corners.


This was a single camera shoot. The computer will separate the actress from the green background, and they will digitally place her somewhere else.
Although they can isolate that particular green, you still dont have any wardrobe or makeup with any green undertone to it.

We were shooting HD too, which is always cool. Completely unforgiving, but very cool.



To the right of the camera is the monitor. It too is HD. I watch the monitor while we're shooting so that I can really see what the camera is taking in.


The director stepped in for a minute

Blurry (courtesy of my brilliant photographic skills!) but we're about to do another take.


So now when you hear people talking about "green screen", you know what it looks like!

xo

C

Sweep This Sisters!!!

Sooo. I've been dying to tell you about this skin treatment I had a few weeks ago. Too fab!

You've all probably heard of microdermabrasion, the process where you get a maximo exfoliation via a cool machine that uses crushed up crystals or diamond point to take the top coat off your skin & suck it up a little hose. Something along the lines of taking a sandblaster to your face.
I have long been a major fan of it. In fact, I have had a microderm before every big event or special occasion, so that my skin looks smooth.

Well, there's a new sheriff in town, and his name is Derma Sweep. And I have to say this is one of the most innovative, exciting things I've seen in a very long time!



Its a similar principal - kind of - but that's where the similarities end.

Dermasweep uses specially bevelled bristles to lift away dead skin. Unlike the particulate systems this doesn't scratch the new skin beneath it. Traditional microderm uses a pushing motion, Dermasweep utilizes a lifting motion, which actually promotes circulation leaving your skin more robust and glowing.

This lifting motion not only takes away the skin debris, but cleans out all the pores at the same time.



There is a selection of bristle heads for the operator to choose from, so that even those with the finest, most delicate and sensitive skin can have this treatment and love it. Ladies with very fine skin have typically been exempt from traditional microderm treatments, but now they have an option too.
The entire process is fully customizeable and can be personalized to provide the most inclusive skin care system in the world.

Traditional microderm leaves you with grit all through your hairline, inside your nose and in your ears, and frequently there is a peeling occuring a couple of days later, as well as day of treatment redness. So if you have an event you have to schedule a microderm several days out.

With Dermasweep there is no grit on the skin, in the hairline etc, so you can have a treatment on the same day as your event. Which is exactly what actresses & musicians & celebs do on the day of award shows (think Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys, Music awards) and major events. And if its good enough for them, its good enough for us!
There is also no peeling and no redness. I can't even tell you how fabulous the skin looks after a treatment! I had mine three weeks ago now, and it is still absolutely glowing. (and I am soooo loving that!!!)

Dermasweep is a 2 part process. The second part of the process is an infusion. Depending on what your skin's needs are, the technician/aesthetician will create a cocktail of fabulous solutions (which are paraben free) to infuse deep into the skin with the machine. By reversing the vacuum they can send product significantly deeper into the skin than you can with a manual application.

The infusions deal with everything from hydration (me!) to acne, to sundamage to hyperpigmentation, to photo damage, to surgical scars(!!!) to uneven skin texture and many more skin conditions.

This is not me on the table, however, I was all zenned out like this lady is...

After the infusion your skin looks beyond amazing. Make up glides on smoothly and perfectly. No wonder celebs are so on top of this thing!

Depending on your skin needs you can have a course of treatments (for conditions such as acne, hyperpigmentation, fine lines & wrinkles, overall skin tone and texture, chronic dehydration etc) or you can have single treatments for special events.
Check out this before and after shot for fine lines and wrinkles. (Again its not me) Her skin tone and texture have evened out, and the hyperpigmentation looks like its disappearing.
Can you see how the skin looks lifted and firmed as well as smoothed?




For me the bottom line with any skin care product or skin treatment is, do I see an immediate difference in my skin? I want to see it, feel it, know it, right away.
And I'm not interested in any 5 minute miracles - I want to see continued benefit over time.

I have to say with Dermasweep I saw a drastic difference in my skin as soon as she had completed the treatment. And it is still looking that way.
People are constantly commenting on my skin too, which is always a good sign.

Dermasweep treatments are performed in dayspas and medi spas, as well as in doctors offices.

To find a Dermasweep location near you check out the website at Dermasweep.com

I honestly can't recommend strongly enough that you try this out. I love, love, love it!!!

When You Do That Voodoo...

I so love this time of the year. Love it so very, very much.

There is magic in the air, the evenings get so soft and delicious, clothes get a little more interesting, boots come back (don't even think about going there today CB!) make up is kicked back up a few delectable notches, and we meander up to the doorway of the season of my most favorite flower in the world....

Black Magic Roses.



I honestly think these are without a doubt the sexiest, raunchiest, most decadent flowers ever.

They evoke passion, sensuality and a certain hypnotizing naughtiness. And with the softer light that's coming around now, and the long, slow evenings leading us to the holiday season, this is the time to relish in their perfection.

You do something to me, something that simply mystifies me....



Although not quite black, they have a depth to them that you can fall into. I find them mesmerizing.

Let me live 'neath your spell...





Last year the adorable Will McFabulous gave me a giant bouquet of Black Magic roses, approximately the size of Bono, for absolutely no reason other than that I love them.
(Sometimes I think he should write a guide book for straight men, because he just really, really knows this stuff!)
For a week my home was all candles and black magic (sans Santeria), deep full bodied red wines and sheer lip gloss the color of night. I wore strip lashes every day, the world was right. And I loved it.

And then they went away.



Tell me why should it be, you have the power to hypnotize me?

I bet Dita Von Teese's house is full of them.

Maybe this year I'll get them from someone else? Or maybe I'll get them from Will again.
Either way, I've got to have them. And its nearly that time. And the anticipation hangs thick in the air.
Sometimes a rose is not just a rose.

Do do that voodoo that you do so well...

P.S I also love Cole Porter songs!

xo