Check out the Fashion section rhiaamio.com for more beautiful imagery by amazing Alice Xue and make-up by me!
We shot this at High Park in Toronto...and can you believe that in all my years of living in this area, that that was my first time there?! Next time, I'll have to go back just to enjoy the scenery :)

Credits
Photography: Alice Xue (www.alicexue.com)
Make-up/Hair: Rhia Amio (www.rhiaamio.com)
Model: Annabelle (Ford)

Here's a preview of a beauty shoot I did recently with insanely talented Alice Xue (love her!). The model was Lauren from Elmer Olsen, and she was a perfect beauty model...I mean, c'mon look at those lips! I can't wait to show you more of these when they're ready!! :)Credits
Photography: Alice Xue (www.alicexue.com)
Make-up and Hair: Rhia Amio (www.rhiaamio.com)
Model: Lauren (Elmer Olsen)

This past weekend I had the pleasure of working with wonderfully talented Alice Xue (www.alicexue.com). Here's a little preview (taken from Alice's homepage) of an outdoor shoot we did with the gorgeous Annabelle from Ford.Be sure to check out Alice's portfolio/site - she's definitely one to watch...aside from being obviously talented, Alice is such a sweetheart....and oh yeah and did I mention she's only 17?! Such raw talent. Simply amazing.

Over the weekend, I had the chance to also work with Claudia on a photoshoot for the lovely ladies of a string quartet. Check out some of the pics from the shoot below. Claud did an amazing job as always...and all from her very own living room! Good times :)

On a side note, I wish I could play the violin...

Photography: Claudia Hung Editorial
Make-up: Rhia Amio

Here are the final images from a creative a few weeks back with my amazingly talented photographer pal, Nadia Cheema! Love.

See more pics from behind the scenes here and in larger resolution under Beauty at rhiaamio.com.
Credits
Models: Sara J and Allana C (ICON Models)
Photography: Nadia Cheema
Make-up: Rhia Amio
Hair: Carlos @ Spellbound
Assistants: Khalid Mutlaq and Robert Boic

Q: Do I apply eyeliner before or after eyeshadow? Before or after mascara?

A: The answer to this is easy....do both! I apply eyeliner as my first step and as my last step always...and here's my rationale (you can decide if it's actually rational):

1. Applying eyeliner first lets me get as tight to the lashes as possible, without having to worry about smudges that may imprint and ruin other make-up I have applied. If it smudges at the beginning of my routine - then no biggie - I can target the smudge and easily remove with a q-tip.

2. Applying eyeliner at the very end of your eye make-up routine gives the look a fresh and professional polish. When you apply it at the end, you can refine the line and fill in any gaps where the application of your eyeshadow/mascara you applied may have dulled it.

At the end of the day, the answer to this question is a really a matter of personal preference! If you only have so much time and prefer to apply eyeliner a maximum of one-time, apply it at the very end for a stronger look. If you prefer a less-is-more make-up approach, use a pencil liner first and then blend it with your eyeshadow to lightly define the eyes. If you like working with liquid liner, apply it as a last step always to preserve its intensity. (If you apply liquid liner first, make-up that gets applied over top of it tends to dull its intensity or cause breaks in your line! Always apply liquid liner last and spare yourself the grief!)

Whichever method you choose, you want the line to be continuous and smooth for a professional finish! Hope that helps!

Hey folks!! It's been a while! What better way to get back into things than to post some pics of what I've been up to.

This past weekend I worked on a beauty-focused shoot with the lovely Nadia Cheema. Last time we did a shoot together was way back in November, so needless to say I was excited to get back to the studio with her! The snaps below come courtesy of our wonderfully talented hair stylist for the shoot, Carlos, of Spellbound Hair Design at First Markham Place. It was great to finally meet Carlos and he didn't disappoint; he did an amazing job for our shoot this weekend, and of course, made it all look so easy! (Damn him - cue Rhia for hair skill envy!!!)

Allana from ICON (before)

...getting there

va-va-voom! Allanna's after :)

Sarah (ICON) getting primped and pouffed

can you see the Katie Holmes resemblance? Big Hair is awesome by the way!! :)

where I should be...behind the camera!

beauty!!

the uber-talented Carlos of Spellbound Hair Design and I!

I'll be posting the final pics from the day as soon as I can...stay tuned! :)

Red Riding Hood - the final installment from our Fairy Tale series is now up under the Fashion section of rhiaamio.com!

Rapunzel's still definitely my favourite of the fairy tale looks we did...what's yours? :)

Be sure to check out Nadia's blog to see how a photo gets transformed into the finished product...enjoy!

Irem Harnak and Nicole rock! I'm really happy to have the chance to work with these talented beauties!

More pics from our shoot can be found at rhiaamio.com...enjoy! (I sure did!)

It's so good to be working with Nadia again. We always have a blast on set, and doing a shoot just gives me more time to hang out with a friend :)

Our last shoot together was back in November for our fairy tales set so as you can imagine I was excited to finally get back into the studio with her! Here are the results of our shoot with the lovely Emily Jane (Ford)....enjoy!
For some behind the scenes photos of the day, check out Nadia's blog!

Photography: Nadia Cheema
Make-up/Hair: Rhia Amio
Model: Emily Jane (Ford)

New pics added to the Beauty section of rhiaamio.com. Photography by Mathew Wilson and Make-up/Hair by me!

Film Noir
Photography: Nadia Cheema (www.nadiac.com)
Make-up: Rhia Amio (www.artistrhi.com)

Check out the awesome results (click the above to enlarge) of a client shoot with Nadia Cheema. Our model and client, Komal, is such a striking lady...and has a killer wardrobe to boot (the outfits we used were all her own!)!! Love!

I think pics like these would make great gifts for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day, no? One thing's for sure - femme fatale Komal's definitely breaking hearts with these pics! :)

The second set from our Grimms' fairy tale themed shoot is now up under the Fashion section of rhiaamio.com. Rapunzel was hands down my favourite theme of that day; I loved the hair, make-up (ok slight bias!), styling and of course the finished product!! Everyone did such an amazing job while still having fun on set. I'm very excited to see what Teama Cheema comes up with for 2010! xo!

Credits to the awesome team!
Photography: Nadia Cheema
Make-up: Rhia Amio
Hair: Fabio Persico
Styling: Cisya Paramita
Model: Asha (Ford)
Furs courtesy of Pelliarts

New photos under the Beauty section of rhiaamio.com, courtesy of Mathew Wilson!

I'm always super-impressed by the maturity and professionalism of the young models that we work with, and Jenna was no exception. She was visiting Toronto from Calgary this past weekend in order to build her book. She had plenty of shoots lined up for the two days, but you wouldn't have been able to tell she was working so much from all the positive energy she brought to the set! I'm happy to have worked with this young beauty....a few years done the line into her promising future, I'll be able to say, "I worked with her when..."

Keep an eye out for this new face, folks! Awesome.

Photography: Mathew Wilson
Make-up and Hair: Rhia Amio
Model: Jenna (Elite)

New photos by Mathew Wilson are now up on the Fashion section of rhiaamio.com! Check out some pics from behind the scenes here.

I'm itching to get creative and do more creatives...can't wait to see what 2010 will bring!

Creative Team
Photography: Mat Wilson
Make-up/Hair: Rhia Amio
Stylist: Emily Harris-Brandts
Model: Tara Elizabeth

Check out the "Men" section (under Fashion) at rhiaamio.com for the latest from a creative session with photography by Mat Wilson!

(...yes, men sometimes need make-up too!)

Photography: Mat Wilson
Grooming: Rhia Amio
Stylist: Emily Harris-Brandts
Model: Mike (Icon)

Check out the Fashion section of rhiaamio.com for a shoot with photography by Denny Lee and styling by Ashley Storm. I had a great time on set with these folks and with our striking models! I hope you enjoy the pics, as I definitely enjoyed helping to make them! :)

credits
Photography: Denny Lee (http://www.dennyleephotography.com)
Make-up/Hair: Rhia Amio (http://www.rhiaamio.com)
Styling: Ashley Storm

I love doing shoots with Nadia Cheema aka Nads - the creative juices get to flow and we just understand each other! She's a truly talented photographer, and I'm happy to call her a friend as well.
Ok, getting back to our latest collabo! The theme behind this shoot was Grimm's Fairy Tales. Now I don't know if you've ever read the original Grimm's tales, but the stories are quite the opposite of the Disney-everyone-lives-happily-ever-after versions. Just saying - something to think about....and now, here's something to look at - check out the Snow White set in the Fashion section of rhiaamio.com! :)

side note:
We did 2 other Grimm's inspired looks that long, but awesome, day with Teama Cheema. I think my favourite look of the day was Rapunzel. I'll be posting the rest as soon as I get them...stay tuned! :)

With all the weddings this past season, I've definitely missed doing creatives. Don't get me wrong - doing make-up for weddings is always fun, but creatives let you really push your own artistic bounds and do make-up looks that are otherwise non-conventional (a different kind of fun!). Similar to fashion runway make-up, make-up for creatives usually aren't looks that everyday people like me (in other words, non-models) would wear on the street. Well, you could rock it with the right attitude, but expect some double-takes from passers-by!

The Metal Eyes creative is definitely 80s inspired, and we've seen a return to that decade's aesthetic for both fashion and make-up trends this Fall 2009. With so many trends and so many products, it's easy to feel overwhelmed trying to nail the season's it look. Remember the thing with trends is that they're meant to inspire and not to be interpreted literally. To easily add a little 80s glam to your look without blowing the budget, sprinkle a little glitter atop your usual eyeshadow routine, or switch to a coloured eyeliner versus using your usual black. Interpret the trends in your own way and experiment. If you don't like it, you can wash the make-up right off AND you can take comfort in the fact that you didn't invest in the sharp shouldered boyfriend's jacket look (yes, the style you thought you'd never wear again)!

TGIF!! It's Friday so I'm going to (try to) keep the text light:

Here are more edited pics from the Almost Famous shoot (which you can also find on Toxic Vision's Facebook fan page). With the help of the lovely Christine Buijs, I actually just had these printed out recently on 11x14's for my portfolio.

It's been a while since I've actually had photos physically printed, particularly with the onslaught of all the online photo-share utilities like Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. I'm sure you know what I mean - everybody has instant access to your pictures so you don't feel the need to print anymore! But it's an amazing feeling to just have your work in actual print and to know that you played a small part in the finished product. More to come! Enjoy the pics for now :)