Dear diary: I'm writing a book!

Soo yeah did I tell you guys I’m writing a book?

I have absolutely no idea where this year is taking me, last year I was studying I had work experience in films and photo shoots, I travelled to LA last year for IMATS there, special workshops learning from the best and the experienced, it was also the first time I went overseas. Last year was a great year for me, I was busy I was studying and practicing something that I loved.

This year though, I felt a lot was going to change, it was the year that my life would sort of get started if you get me. This year has definitely been about growing up and figuring out what I really want to do and make some serious decisions that would affect the rest of my life.

I had absolutely no idea that this blog would be doing this well, or the fact that I was even going to start blogging, a huge surprise for me and a happy one too. It’s something I definitely look forward doing, chucking my thoughts out there and sharing some makeup and beauty tips we all love and of course this crazy world we call life in there as well.

So as a part of wanting to become not just a good makeup artist, or a great one, not just an ordinary one but I want to be amazing. I feel even though yeah okay I have my certificate I’m qualified to do make up, but I was only taught basics and I think there is a huge difference between getting your certificate in makeup and being a makeup artist.

A makeup artist puts in that effort, they give that bit more,  I’m not talking you just do amazing makeup I’m talking about everything, the whole deal.Skin care, skin prepping, knowing your skin types, knowing what products suit what person, how to deal with contra-indications, recognizing every contra-indication there is out there, the ingredients found in makeup and beauty products, what is it made of or what is it in general, understanding the skin’s pH balance, oil and water based products, face shapes, corrective work, eye shapes, the use of lighting and how it will affect your makeup, black and white photography, seriously I could go on.

 There’s so much we need to know about makeup, it’s not as simple as slapping on concealer and foundation, it’s about what products can we use to get that makeup to last longer to work for you. I think that’s why I was definitely turned off doing makeup on film sets, people are really mean and they treated makeup artists like we were nothing, that we’re all about being pretty and if only people could see what I see and that is every element in a film set needs to work harmoniously with one another and it’s a shame, it was great experience, but it was shocking, I know rude but that took rude to another level. You’d be surprised at how bad that would make you feel.

I want to be that makeup artist where people ask me anything and I’ll have an answer for them right away. I want to be able to fix problems on the spot and not to be afraid of what if they don’t like the look I do for them. So yeah because of ALL that (sorry about the rant, couldn’t help myself) I’m writing a makeup guide book, everything you need to know and more. Another project for me but it all works to becoming an extraordinary makeup artist, that and even if it doesn’t get anywhere it’s my makeup guide, I’ve put a lot of effort into it and learnt so much along the way.

Right now I’m still on chapter 1, all about skin care, there is a lot to it but I feel like I know even more now. 

Dear diary: Compliments go a long way

I think no matter who you are, compliments go a long way.  You could be the most confident person out there or even the shyest, but we all love receiving that little bit of attention which can make you just feel great about yourself.

It doesn’t matter what they compliment you on, it could be what you’re wearing or your makeup or your new hairdo, it gives you that instant pick me up and makes you feel great about yourself.

So I think ladies, give someone a compliment every day it could just be your mum or sister, a friend, a stranger if you’re working in retail like me, little things like that can really make a difference to somebody.

You never know.

Dedicated to my beautiful friend who’s been dealing with depression. Just know that things will get better.

A nifty gift idea

When it comes to birthdays and present giving in general, I get so excited because I love to make things. I like to get all artsy and just creative. The only downside I think about being too creative is you have way too many ideas that you just want to put out there all in one go and sometimes it just doesn’t work.

I decided this year as a gift to one of my closest friends, I would make slash buy her something and I haven’t done something like this in such a long time and making this gift for her reminded me of how much I love being creative and having wonderful friends that inspire me to make these things.

The theme for this gift is purple as it is her favourite colour. So I went to the shops and just bought a whole heap of little nick nacks that she might like and could be useful for her.

Here’s what I put in, rose clips, a compact mirror, powder puff, falsies, nail polish remover wipes, nailpolish, iphone case, lipgloss, bracelet, 3 piece baking tool set, chopsticks (random) and a nivea sample for her face.

These are the things that I bought to make this gift which cost me $10 and I had some craft stuff lying around as well.

-        Gift box ($4)

-        Tissue paper ($2)

-        Ribbons ($4)

First decide what fillers (that’s what I like to call them) that you’re going to add. For me I decided to put in

-        Lots and lots of ribbon

-        Some mini bells

-        Some dowels

-        Tissue paper

-        A bunch of sequins that say happy birthday or are purple

Think of a birds nest and when the person opens the gift they just start digging around to see what else there is and it’s something exciting because they don’t know what you’ve put in and don’t know how much stuff there is.

Second get the tissue paper and fold it so it fits inside the box ensuring that there is an excess amount at the ends. This excess will “wrap” the gifts.

Third place all the ribbons inside the box. Make sure you curl the ribbons as well and try to use different types of ribbon some curly maybe even add some shredded paper. The whole messy look gets the receiver of the gift more excited because they’re just going to keep looking. It’s like opening 12 gifts in 1 thing every time they find something.

Fourth, add in the fillers, sprinkle the sequins around the box, the bells, the dowels anything you want. Be creative. A lot of these things I already had from previous arts and crafts projects, it helps to keep them all in a box and pull it out whenever you need it.

Fifth, place the gifts inside the box, hiding some under the ribbons so they can keep looking for what else is in there.

Sixth, with the ends of the tissue paper, fold it over and seal it with a sticker. Here I chose to stick a little purple present sticker I thought looked really nice. It shows you’ve put a lot of thought even for the simplest of things.

Next, for that added touch or smell I should say, spray some perfume onto that tissue paper, the scent will be absorbed onto the tissue paper and close the lid on the box so the smell will be there when they open it.

With the gifts, I thought I’d make it even more personal and I wrote a little bit about what the product was and what she could use them for. For example, with the nail polish I wrote,

-        BYS nailpolish: Getting your nails in touch with the fashion world. Don’t forget the toes too, because feet are ugly.

That’s just a little inside joke between her and I because she knows I hate feet. Just something like that shows how much you value your friendship adding things about each other and why that product reminds you of that person.

So I wrote them onto little cards and just tied it up with ribbon, making it look like a parcel and it just adds something extra to the gift.

I know when you think of giving a gift, you think a card, you need to buy a card. I hate buying cards to be honest with you, I just like making them and coming up with my own nifty little sayings. Have you guys watched 500 days of summer? I should have a job like that.

But what I did instead was on the lid of the box on the inside, I placed a piece of ribbon across the box and slipped under a note that I wrote just for that person, saying happy birthday and how much they meant to me and all kinds of soppy stuff, like you would, especially if she’s your best friend. 

Finally, wrap the box around with a piece of ribbon and here I added a little musical tag with her name at the back which just gave the box some added décor and it looks pretty snazzy too if I say so myself.