Just another glamorous Saturday night! :)
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Enter to win a beauty prize package courtesy of Marcelle Cosmetics!! You could win your own Marcelle Ultra Glam look (value of $70 CAD) which includes the following products:
Concealer Palette in Universal Beige
Wet & Dry Eye Shadow Quad in Blue Moon
Khol Eyeliner in Soft Black
Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Very Black
Volume Precision Mascara in Black
Vita-Lip Plumping Gloss in Nude

See here for my review and Ultra Glam look! ;)

All you have to do is:

1. email rhia[at]artistrhi[dot]com with the words "Marcelle Contest" in the subject line. In the body of the email tell me what makes you feel ultra glam.
   It doesn't necessarily have to be a make-up product, it can be an item of clothing, a certain way you wear your hair, etc. You can keep it short and sweet...I just like learning about my readers! :)
   
   AND
   
   
2. you must be an artistrhi reader! or rhi-der (get it!). If you aren't already, subscribe either
   i). as a fan on facebook OR
   ii). as a follower on twitter
   If you're already a fan on facebook or twitter, then all you have to do is submit part 1 above!
   

Important notes:
Contest closes on November 27th, 2009 at 10PM EST. Winner will be chosen by random draw, but the above criteria must be met to be eligible for entry. Contest is open to legal Canadian residents only. I will announce the winner here on the blog on Monday, November 30th.

Good luck everyone!! :)

It's always a pleasure working with the incredibly talented and kind Claudia Hung and not to mention her super cool clients!! With the weather getting colder and the days getting shorter, I thought Claud and I were done with e-shoots for the year! :( ...but thankfully we managed to sneak another in with Katherine + Andrew...in fact, all the stars aligned and even the weather this past weekend agreed with us for the shoot! :)

As you can see, Katherine (aka Kippy) is a natural beauty...she was also an absolute delight to work with! From our quick make-up session to prep her for the e-shoot, we learned what a small world it was...we both went to school at Waterloo and turns out we have some common friends!! Go figure!

See more from Katherine + Andrew on Claudia's blog. (Thanks for the shout-out, Claud!!) :)

CONTEST ALERT!Marcelle Cosmetics is offering one very lucky artistrhi reader the chance to literally GET THE LOOK with their Fall 2009 Ultra Glam collection! Stay tuned for contest details!

In the meantime, I've been test running the items myself (don't worry...you'll get your own brand new Ultra Glam kit!). Here's what the lucky winner will have to look forward to :)

Concealer Palette in Universal BeigeThis (aptly named) universally flattering palette contains four pans of creamy concealer, including a yellow colour correcting shade. I mixed the pink tone (see top left of the pan above) with the yellow (see bottom) to achieve the perfect shade of camouflage for my dark undereye circles. The texture of the concealer was smooth and creamy without being too thick. I was able to build up coverage without the concealer creasing into the fine lines around my eyes. Love!

ARTIST TIP: Apply some of the concealer atop the eyelid to act as a base for your eyeshadow application. This helps to prevent creasing throughout the day, and also helps the eyeshadow appear more intense and truer to its actual colour.

Wet & Dry Eye Shadow Quad in Blue Moon
This palette of blue-greys is a knock-out choice for blue-eyed gals (as in the Marcelle ad above)! Even though in my own smoky eye routine I normally reach for greys, browns and blacks, I really liked the overall look of the palette on my brown eyes. The blues of the palette are neutral enough that they work well with nearly any skin tone. I did have to dig at the navy eyeshadow a bit to get it to appear more intense. The pigment quality of the shadows is decent, but the shadows leave more of a blended and natural finish overall. The palette is a great option for anyone that wants to incorporate a little colour without going overboard!

ARTIST TIP: The beautiful thing about navy is that it makes the whites of the eyes seem brighter (anything that makes me look brighter and more alert scores high in my book!) Use a little water with the navy eyeshadow and it doubles as a brightening coloured eyeliner!

Khol Eyeliner in Soft Black & Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Very Black
A soft, khol eyeliner is essential when doing a smoky eye and Marcelle's doesn't disappoint: it smudges how you want it to but also holds in place making it a perfect choice for a gorgeous smoky eye. Everything stayed put and didn't require a touch-up until my usual check-in of 4 hours. I have very oily lids so I tend to lean towards using liquid eyeliner, as it's less check-up fuss. Thankfully, Marcelle sent over a liquid eyeliner too - see next!

I swear by liquid liner because of its long-lasting abilities, even through sweat and tears! Yes, liquid liner does take a little practice in order to achieve a steady and clean look...but often the choice of product also makes a difference in application. Marcelle's liquid liner is a great choice for both beginner and pro liquid liner users. For the beginner, the full-size of the liquid liner gives your hand steady balance and control over where the line will be applied. For the pro, the super precise felt tip (see pic above - it's as fine as a sharpened pencil!) allows you to achieve a very thin and fine line with ease. It's as simple as using a marker to line your lashes. Easily one of my favourite liquid liners ever!!

ARTIST TIP: For added balance when using a liquid liner, rest your drawing hand on your cheek to counteract any shakinesss.

Volume Precision Mascara - Black
An ultra glam look would never be complete without a glammed up mascara! Mascara is like icing on the cake - everything is just better with it :) Marcelle must have heard about my lash gripes, because they sent over a volume precision mascara to help me achieve a full lush lash. I love the tiny stiff bristles of this mascara brush - I was able to get at all my tiny little lash hairs too! Check it out...another instant fave!
ARTIST TIP: Enhance the ultra glam look with a pair of falsies!! Apply false eyelashes and curl to blend with your natural lashes before applying Marcelle's Volume Precision Mascara.

Vita-Lip Plumping Gloss - NudeA nude gloss is a great choice to balance out a strong eye look. I was weary to try this lip gloss out, because although my lashes need plumping, my lips do not! In fact, usually I try to de-emphasize the size of my lips. I've also had bad past instances with lip plumping formulas - from awful smelling formulas to irritated lip reactions - I usually shy away from a product if it has the word 'plumping' in it. I felt a very slight cooling sensation (like a mild Blistex sensation) when I first applied the gloss, but no overall discomfort nor negative skin reaction. In terms of 'plumping', although it defeats the intended purpose, the effect was (thankfully) not noticeable!

From the looks of the gloss in the tube, the colour appeared to be quite 'bronze' (and probably not a gloss colour I would usually buy). Once applied though, the colour neutralized the naturally red-pink colour of my lips to appear more of peachy nude colour. Overall, this Nude lip gloss makes a great choice of colour - it warms up the face and balances the cool tones of the Blue Moon smoky eye.

So, plenty of information here...stay tuned for the contest details on how to win your own Marcelle Ultra Glam look!!!!!!!! Here's me after having fun with all the products:

:)

This week's Q&A post is a slight departure from the usual make-up related questions. Throughout the emails and inquiries I receive, there tend to be a few repeated questions about me and my background so I thought it would be useful to post the answers here. Whether you're an aspiring make-up artist or just looking to get acquainted, here are the top 5 questions I get asked!1. How long have you been doing make-up?
Make-up is one of those things that has just come naturally, so it’s hard to say when it all really started. I would say I’ve been doing it since my teens, but that doesn’t mean I was doing it ‘well’ back then! I technically did my first make-up for a bride when I was 14 years old, and I would give make-overs to friends and pretty much anyone who would volunteer to be my guinea pig. My kit and experience were more limited at the time, so my very first ‘clients’ were probably subjected to the heavy wing-tipped liquid liner that I liked to do on myself! With experience, I have come to realize and appreciate the vast individuality of each person I work with...and the beauty in not making everyone look the same, but enhancing individual features.

Throughout university, I worked for different make-up brands (like Shiseido, Estee Lauder and Lancome) and continued to do make-up on any willing subjects (mainly girlfriends as we got ready for a night out!). Once I received my BA in Psychology, I actually started working my first full-time real world job in the financial industry. I could never suppress my love for make-up so simultaneously I took on a part-time job as a Make-up Artist with Inglot Cosmetics and continued to freelance. It has been about 3 years since that time, and I continue to freelance with a focus on make-up for bridal, fashion and commercial photoshoots.

2. Do you do this full-time?
Yes, and well no depending on your definition of "full-time". I have appointments mainly on weekends and some throughout the week, but I do work a full-time office job from 8:30 to 5, Monday to Friday. If I’m not working on a wedding or a photoshoot, I devote the spare minutes I have to blogging, picture editing, and using social media (Twitter, Facebook) all in the name of artistrhi. In terms of how many hours per week I spend doing make-up (or make-up related things), I lose count...mainly because it doesn't feel like work!

3. Are you affiliated with a make-up brand, a blog network, etc? Do you get paid to blog?
I am not affiliated with a make-up brand nor blog network, and nor do I get paid to blog on artistrhi.blogspot.com. I get samples here and there from companies that would like their products reviewed. So other than that swag, I do not receive direct payment. I even avoid having advertisements on the site just because I don’t like the look (I find them too distracting and irrelevant!) The pay-off for me is having people read what I hope is useful information. I simply have too much information in my head about make-up to not share with others! When I talk about make-up, it's weird to explain - it just kind of flows out of me (most people that know me will testify that once you get me started about make-up, it’s hard to get me to shut up!).

4. Do you take your own pictures? What kind of camera and settings do you use?
Yes, unless otherwise credited, the pictures are taken by either my wonderfully supportive cast (of my boyfriend or sister) or myself. You will see credits assigned if the photo used is from a photographer or from a web source. To take the pics, I have a Canon Rebel xti with a portrait lens. I rely on natural light (when possible) to take accurate pictures of the make-up. If you're just starting out as a make-up artist and looking to build your portfolio, it helps to invest in a decent camera and tote it around with you to any jobs you may have to start documenting your work.

5. Do you work with a team or on your own?
Simply put, my work wouldn’t be possible without the help of a supportive cast. In terms of doing make-up, I do all of the actual application, but have someone on hand to assist with washing brushes. In terms of back-office stuff, I handle the emails, the scheduling, the blogging, taking pictures of and reviewing products for the blog, editing pictures, adding graphics, twittering, updating the facebook fan page, accounting, marketing, etc, etc! My sister is also my webmaster and graphic design consultant. There are so many others...I'm also fortunate to work with talented photographers, like Claudia and Nadia, who inspire me and make my ‘work’ look good! Also, a look isn't complete without polished hair...to which I refer talented hair artists like Trisha, CJ and Isabel. Artistrhi just wouldn't 'work' without the combined talent and efforts of all these people (and then some!)!

Hope that helps to answer some of your questions about me + artistrhi! I'm seriously flattered by the inquiries and I hope the answers were helpful....but really at the end of the day, I'm just like everyone else: an ordinary person looking to connect, working to pursue my dream and figuring out my place in the world! Thanks everyone for the love and support :)