Sneaky Peaky!

Sorry I have been MIA. I have been a busy busy bee. Here is a sneak peak of a project I had the pleasure of working on this weekend...

More behind the scenes and final product to come!

Stay Tuned!

XOXO

Brian "Head" Welch - Love

Hoy toca una canción del ex-guitarrista de KoRn, Brian Welch, más conocido como Head.
Este vídeo está muy bien realizado por un aficionado utilizando imágenes de una entrevista al músico californiano. "Love" es una de las canciones del álbum debut de Brian llamado Save Me From Myself, que en mi opinión ha sido todo un éxito siguiendo con la esencia de KoRn, perdida por el grupo.
Actualmente, Head parece que está a punto de sacar un nuevo trabajo que llevará el título de Stronger y según fuentes importantes saldría en esta primavera próxima.
Esperemos que este segundo disco siga el camino marcado por el que publicara en el 2008.

Mailbox Monday for 1/31/11

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at The Printed Page and is being hosted all this month by Rose City Reader.

I received an ARC of The Survivor by Sean Slater for participating in the Mystery & Suspense Challenge 2011, which is hosted by Carolyn of Book Chick City.

I received a hardcover of Afterlives of the Rich and Famous by Sylvia Browne for an upcoming TLC Book Tour.

I stopped in the Friends of the Library Book Store and bought a trade paperback of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, a trade paperback of The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, and a hardcover of Laced by Carol Higgins Clark.  They were only $1 a piece.  The best part was that they were in almost new condition.

My roommate and his mom went to the flea market and came back with two records for me, both from The Jets.  He got their first album which is self titled and a record single of "Private Number."

It's a Zoo Out There

72 degrees in Dallas in January. Can't let weather like that go to waste. "Ray, what shall we do?" I checked the paper and it's Penguin Days at the Dallas Zoo. The promotion is that prices go down along with the temperature. So, today was an aberation but the prices for January and February are $5 admission, $7 to park, and yes - you have to ride the monorail for $3. I've lived in Dallas more than twenty-five years and had never ventured to this zoo. I was suitably impressed. Now I didn't get up close to the lions - this female looked ready to pounce on something.

On the monorail ride, you enter the river flow habitat. It's quite pretty.

This rhino was hungry. He kept pacing back and forth in front of a door. We figured he knew it was chow time and the maitre'd was running late.

This little fellow looked perfectly content, chewing on something and surveying the land from on high.

I love giraffes - so goofy looking and yet graceful. The new Wilds of Savannah area featured elephants, giraffes, and a feel for an African safari. Well done and entertaining. This fellow knew some food was in reach, if only the kids dangling over the rail would throw it.

So, no reading or writing this weekend. Just too darn pretty to stay indoors. It's obnoxious when so many folks (hey Dad!) are shoveling snow back east. However, Ray and I felt it was our solemn duty to take advantage of the sunshine - we wore our t-shirts and absorbed sunshine and zoo atmosphere.

A few quotes - one young girl (age 7 or so) said, "Mom, I just love the zoo."

One young fellow (age 5 or so) - "This is boring."

All in all, it was fun to watch kids spot hidden creatures - nothing quite like a pit viper in the Reptile House. Yikes!

Ray and I spent about three hours wandering the grounds. Thanks Dallas Zoo - well done!

Sunday Funnies

Dioses del metal (Parte 22): Dero Goi

Para mi edición número 22 de Dioses del metal, he decidido elegir al cantante y batería alemán Dero Goi de Oomph!
Dero Goi nació en Wolfsburg el 16 de abril de 1970. Vivió de joven junto a su amigo Crap, con quien posteriormente fundaría la banda de Neue Deutsche Härte Oomph! Formó la banda Phaze junto al propio Crap y poco después, en 1989 y tras conocer a Flux, forman Oomph! cuando apenas tenía 19 años. Esta banda es considerada como la creadora del estilo Neue Deutsche Härte, seguido posteriormente por otras conocidas bandas germanas como Rammstein.
Fue su padre el que lo introdujo a la música, ya que era cantante y guitarrista. Tomó clases de canto con sólo 4 años. Poco más se puede saber de su vida personal a parte de que está casado y tiene un hijo.
Volviendo a los aspectos musicales, Dero ha comentado que sus principales infuencias son Frank Sinatra, Jared Leto, Björk, Mozart y los miembros de KoRn y Tool. En cuanto a bandas que le influencian cita a KoRn, The Cure, 30 Seconds To Mars, Killing Joke, AC/DC, Depeche Mode o The Beatles entre otros.
A lo largo de su carrera ha cambiado bastante su aspecto. Le conocíamos con la cabeza rapada y una barba sin afeitar para posteriormente ir cambiando hasta su actual aspecto, con los pelos de punta, piercings, ojos pintados de negro y un particular afeitado "a cachos".
Tras preguntarle por el nombre de la banda, Dero afirmó: "Era tan extraño ver un nombre como ese... Ya sabes, con las dos "o" y el signo de exclamación al final. También el aspecto visual y su pronunciación nos llamaba la antención. Me parece que es bueno tener un nombre que cuando la gente lo oiga digan ¿Cómo has dicho?. Es como si tu banda se llamara, no sé, "WC 2, 3, 4" por ejemplo. El nombre tiene que ser especial. Y este es un nombre especial, definitivamente".
En el aspecto de curiosidades, Goi es un amante de las motos, en especial de las Harley. Estudió psicología, algo que dice que sigue haciendo porque le gusta, al igual que leer, el cine, el deporte o cocinar. Se declara como una persona agnóstica.
Ha publicado un total de 10 álbumes de estudio con Oomph!
Con esto he repasado un poco la vida de este gran músico alemán, poseedor de la que para mí, es una de las voces más completas dentro del metal.

Some work birding in the snow

Some of my latest bird sightings:


We've been getting huge flocks of American crows here for the last couple of winters; these crows were photographed right across the street from my work. I wish I'd captured the flock of probably 200+ swarming in the air, along with a Red-tailed who swooped through the flock and disappeared; I wasn't fast enough with the camera. Still, I got some good pictures despite the overcast sky. I like that bird on the right in the second photo; it looks like he's strutting.

Another day, I saw this bird, which I'm fairly sure is a Common Raven. I was flying down the highway when I passed him and he looked so huge I was sure it was a raven and not a crow:
He was absolutely HUGE, and I'm pretty sure I captured the "Roman nose" here. I didn't get to see him fly so I could check out the tail to make sure. Note the snow in the photos. Could someone confirm crow or raven?

I also saw another Rough-legged Hawk:The other photos I took were terrible; he was a dark-morph, so about all you can see is his little beak. Rough-legs are everywhere around here this year! Today, a local listserver posted seeing seven!

Ill Niño - This time´s for real

La entrada de hoy será sobre el excelente grupo de nu-metal de New Jersey Ill Niño. "This Time´s For Real" es una magnánima canción que está en el top de sus composiciones más notables.
El vídeo, además, me parece muy bueno. Tiene la peculiaridad de que sale un 7º miembro del grupo, el DJ.
Cristian Machado culmina con su voz un excelente trabajo a las guitarras de Ahrue Luster y por aquel entonces Jardel Paisante y el increíble virtuosismo en la batería de Dave Chávarri.
Sin más dilaciones os dejo el vídeo de "This Time´s For Real":

The Silver Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon

Synopsis:

Silverblade and Tadrith, fresh out of their training for the elite policing/military service, The Silver Gryphons, are sent out on their first mission.  The fact that the mission is to man the outpost that is furthest away from the city of White Gryphon is a boon to both of them.  They have been living under the shadow of their famous parents for too long.  Silverblade is the daughter of Amberdrake and Tadrith is one of twin sons fathered by Skandranon, the famous Black Gryphon.

Only a few days out on their mission, not even having reached the outpost, things go horribly wrong.  Something unexplainable pulls them out of the air, crashing into the dense rain forest below.  They must rely on each other, their training, and their wits if they are to survive.  Something is hunting them....

Where the first book in this trilogy is pure fantasy and the second book is more of a murder mystery, the final book is more like the classic tale of survival.  Now, this is a reread for me like the first two were, but once again I started to look at this book a little more broadly.  It is definitely a fantasy book, but it's so much more that that.  This books is the most personal of the three of them, simply because it's main focus is on two individuals throughout most the of the book.  You are able to get to know Silverblade and Tadrith on a such a personal level that it's hard not to get caught up in what's happening to them.

Mercedes Lackey has long been one of my favorite fantasy writers.  She is able to weave so much into her tales that no matter how many times I read them, I've never bored.  Her characters are always interesting and compelling.  Her plots are always interesting without being too convoluted and hard to follow.  But most of all, she is able to tell the story in such a way that a reader is almost, against their will, forced to invest themselves into the story.  By the end of a book, I'm always left feeling that I know these people.  I feel that they are my close, personal friends and that I've just gone through everything they had to face.  It's a wonderful quality in a writer, one that should be cherished when you find it.

Smooth Criminal - Awesome

Soundtrack - Marla Fenrison

"Hell know no fury like a woman scorned", este quase podia ser o lema da ambiciosa, vingativa e rancorosa líder do clã licantropo Fenrison, Marla. Por isso, acho que "What have you done" dos Within Temptation seria uma boa escolha para a sua banda sonora.

Se  acham que não, força aí nas alternativas.

Love Me To Death by Allison Brennan (Giveaway Included)

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Six years ago, Lucy Kincaid was attacked and nearly killed by an online predator. She survived. Her attacker did not. Now Lucy’s goal is to join the FBI and fight cyber-crime, but in the meantime, she’s volunteering with a victim’s rights group, surfing the Web undercover to lure sex offenders into the hands of the law. But when the predators she hunts start turning up as murder victims, the FBI takes a whole new interest in Lucy.

With her future and possibly even her freedom suddenly in jeopardy, Lucy discovers she’s a pawn in someone’s twisted plot to mete out vigilante justice. She joins forces with security expert and daredevil Sean Rogan, and together they track their elusive quarry from anonymous online chat rooms onto the mean streets of Washington, D.C. But someone else is shadowing them: A merciless stalker has his savage eye on Lucy. The only way for her to escape his brutality may be another fight to the death.

When I was first deciding on whether or not I wanted to read/review this book, I really payed attention to the synopsis and it had me hooked.  On that alone, I decided this was a book for me.  What I did not know at the time was that this is considered a "romantic suspense".  I'm still not sure what the hell that means, but if I had seen that in the beginning, I probably would have passed on this one.  I'm really glad that didn't happen.

The problem is that when I see the words "romance", "romantic", or even "love story" used to describe a book or the genre, I prejudge what I'm going to get.  I picture lots of either steamy or tacky sex scenes that are used to fill out a rather pointless and generic plot line.  Now I'm not saying that that picture in my head is fair, it probably isn't.  I'm sure someone will point out a well written romance to me after this, but as a guy, that's what I think of when I hear "romance" used to describe a book.

Quite honestly, I'm not sure why this book needs to be classified as such.  If that's the case, books like The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie would have to be considered "romantic suspense".  Both books have a likable, strong female lead that is capable of keeping a reader interested in what happens to her.  They both link her with a strong, attractive male that she can't help but be attracted to.  They both featuring amazingly complex plots that takes the reader through some amazing rides of thrill and emotion.  Both books draw the reader into the mystery/suspense, they both make it tactile in such a way that you can feel it coming off the page. Simply put, both books are a ton of fun to read.

Before I get yelled at by the Agatha Christie purists, I'm not saying this book is in that league.  I will still take an Agatha Christie book over this one.  What I am saying though, is that in many ways they are similar and if publishers/authors/readers feel a need to keep insisting on labeling books into very narrow genres, readers will keep miss out on some wonderful reads.  A good mystery, is a good mystery.  Why do we need to break it down into subcategories that by the nature of the "title" will turn off certain readers?  Anyway, that is the end of my soapbox, so I appreciate you reading this far.

My final thought on the book, if you couldn't tell from the above, is that I really enjoyed.  It had everything I look for in a well told mystery.  I'm now going to have to go back and read her books in order, because even though this can read like a stand alone novel, there is information and characters from her previous books.

Now for the fun part, the publisher has very graciously offered an extra copy of the book to one lucky winner.  All you have to do is leave a comment with your email address and you will be entered.  The giveaway will last until 2/11/11 at 11:59 PM, CST.  I will email the winner, who will then have 48 hours to email back or a new winner will be picked.

I would like to thank Lisa at TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to review this book.  If you would like to read other thoughts on this one, please visit the tour page.  On the tour page you will also find links to the author's website, twitter page, and Facebook page.

Challenges:  M&S

Mask of the Day {Pink Pop}

As the heat wave continues in the land of the "LAh", it's hard not to be Spring and Summer inspired. However, it is still only January, and I just can't bring myself to pull out the summer dresses and sandals. It's just not natural. So instead, in an attempt to be brighter and pull myself out of my neutrals rut, I have instead done a Spring inspired make-up look. I'm loving all the coral and fuschia cheekies and lippies! SO fresh and vibrant. If this were a shoot I would have probably kept the eyes simple. A wash of shimmer (MAC Naked Lunch comes to mind) with lots of lashes, A creme pink blush to keep it dewy and a pop of pink on the lips. BUT.... since this isn't a shoot, and is something that needs to last the day (not to mention with the humidity here my skin has become super oily so cream blush wouldn't be the smartest idea), I did more of a twist on a "classic" look.

I had just purchased two new glosses by Revlon (Pink Pop and Coral Reef). They were the exact colors of what was being sent down the runway this season. So Today I chose the pink one. In the pictures Pink Pop had more of a lilac undertone however in person it was more of a hot pink. I used a liner to define the lips alittle more for the pictures, but I think it wasn't pink enough and maybe that's why it has a more purple tone. I Loved it though!

The lighting isn't ideal. I didn't have time to take pictures before going to my store, and didn't get off till after the sun went down, but hopefully you get the idea.

Products Used:


Face: MAC Strobe cream with MAC Studio Moisture tint in Medium Dark (it's there version of a tinted moisturizer), Neutrogena loose powder in Medium, MAC Mineralized Skin finish pressed powder in Medium Deep (I use this as a bronzer. The Best!)

Cheeks:
MAC Dollymix blush

Eyes:
Lid: MAC Goldbit (this is not available anymore :( However Urban Decay Cowgirl is VERY close)
Crease: NYX Brown
Browbone: NYX Highlight
Liner: MAC Blacktrack fluidline (top), MAC Teddy kohl (waterline)
Brows: MAC Omega (lightly)
Mascara: base coat of L'oreal Lashout waterproof, MAC Falselash top coat

Lips:
MAC Dervish Lip liner (if you need a liner go pinker, this turned it more purple)
Revlon Super Lustrous gloss in Pink Pop

(please excuse dear in headlights expression, I hate smiling because I have the worlds largest cheeks!) 

And my attempt at model pose......

Well, I guess I won't quit my day job.

Tips and Tricks:

When it comes to the winged liner the best advice I can give is PRACTICE! I have been doing this for alot of years and I STILL haven't perfected it!!! And forget about being able to do it in a single swipe! I envy those who can. Brava! But one little trick I do (and I always do this on shoots) is do your eye make-up FIRST, then your face make-up. Especially when doing a smokey eye (so you can clean up color fall out easily) or winged liner so you can clean up and tweek it to make it symmetrical without messing up the rest of the face. I also have other little cheats that I'm working on a post to share with you in the future :)

Hope you enjoyed.

Stay Tuned!

XOXO

Información sobre el nuevo disco de In Flames

El pasado martes, el grupo sueco In Flames ha anunciado el nombre de su nuevo disco que verá la luz posiblemente este verano. El disco lo han finalizado este martes 25 de enero y su título será Sounds of a Playground Fading.
Éste será el 10º álbum de estudio de los de Göteborg y el primero sin el guitarrista fundador Jesper Strömblad, quien abandonara la banda hace casi un año.
Anders Fridén ha dicho que este disco será mucho más oscuro y con más registros vocales, reduciendo los gritos y las voces guturales.
Esperamos con ansia más noticias sobre este trabajo y deseo que sigan la línea de sus últimas publicaciones con discos espectaculares como Come Clarity, Reroute to Remain, Soundtrack to Your Escape o A Sense of Purpose.

January Jolly Reads

Alice Munro is a smooth writer covering complex emotions and the unpredictability of life. If you are looking for happiness, this book might make you feel better, since her characters are rather miserable. I enjoyed the writing in these stories - descriptions, dialogue, and quirky twists of entangled lives kept me interested and yet not entertained. Each little world of thirty pages, fraught with anger, sadness, and pain, left me bereft of feelings, hollowed out inside and anxious. So, for reading pleasure, I can't recommend this book. For a master class in writing, Alice Munro's Too Much Happiness gets an A plus.

Michael Lewis' Home Game is heartfelt, well-written, and at times appallingly funny. He kept a journal as his kids were born. Instead of sunny delight and enthusiasm for fatherhood, Lewis discusses why it is parents don't hurl babies off balconies after many sleepless nights. His exhaustion, his descriptions of reality - his two girls arguing over everything, and his realization that he's more of the third string quarterback kept me chuckling throughout the book.

P. 42 At some point in the last few decades, the American male sat down at the negotiating table with the American female and - let us be frank - got fleeced. The agreement he signed, foisted all sorts of new paternal responsibilities on him and gave him nothing of what he might have expected in return. Not the greater love of his wife, who now was encouraged to view him as an unreliable employee. Not the special love of his child, who, no matter how many times he fed and changed and wiped and walked her, would always prefer her mother in a pinch.

p. 108 Small children are also a mood altering substance with financial consequences

p. 109 I know for a fact that my children are insane

p. 154 I've sometimes felt that we are using the wrong manual to fix an appliance - that say we're trying to repair a washing machine with the instructions for the lawn mower. But my wife presses on, determined to find room enough for three children's happiness.

Home Game is a quick, entertaining read and Mr.Lewis' love of his three kids, wife, and life shines through. I relished his exasperation, trials, and down home astonishment at family life in general.

p.187 Like dreams, these fatherhood moments are easily forgotten, and no doubt also a lot more interesting to the teller than to anyone else.

Michael Lewis' writing will keep you interested.

The White Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon

Synopsis:

After ten long years the survivors of the magical Cataclysm have rebuilt their lives and a new city, White Gryphon.  Built on a cliff face overlooking a vast ocean, White Gryphon is a stronghold ready to protect it's citizens from any threat. 

When a fleet arrives from the realm of the Black Kings, things are looking a little murky.  The Black Kings control this area and unless the survivors can prove themselves they will once again have to fight a war for their lives.

Skandranon and Amberdrake are forced, once again to protect those they care about.  They agree, along with their families,  to be envoys to the Black Kings in order to try and forge an alliance with them.  That alliance is quickly threatened when a series of noblewomen who opposed the alliance are found slaughtered in their rooms.  All evidence points to one of the envoys and it's up to them to prove their innocence.

I have read this book countless times but for some reason I ended up taking a different approach to it this time.  In the past I've just thought of it as a good second installment in The Mage Wars trilogy, fun fantasy that is a pleasure to read.  This time though I found myself looking at it as more of a murder mystery.  Granted it's not your typical Agatha Christie book, but all the elements of a good mystery are there.  You just have to ignore the more outlandish setting and characters.

As a mystery, it's developed nicely.  One of the villains is set up fairly early but in such a way that it may come as a surprise when he shows up again.  The suspense and danger are palpable in this book and are driving forces behind most of the action.  As the story develops, so does the tension, and it never really lets you go.  It's blended in with the whole fantasy aspect of the book though so it never becomes overwhelming and has at it's core, the fun that Mercedes Lackey brings to all her work.

Challenges: M&S

Matt Heafy cumple 25 años

El vocalista y guitarrista de Trivium, Matt Heafy, cumple hoy 25 años.
Matt Kiichi Heafy nació el 26 de enero de 1986 en Iwakuni, Japón. Con apenas 17 años fue contratado por el grupo de metalcore de Orlando tras verle en un concurso de talentos tocando una canción de The Offspring.
A pesar de su cortísima edad es un importante personaje dentro del mundo del metalcore, habiendo sido escogido con 19 años por la Roadrunner, como uno de los capitanes para la creación del álbum The All-Star Sessions.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Benson DuBois

I'm going to finish this month's theme of 1980s sitcom characters with the title character of the first TV show I remember watching that took place in a political setting.  Benson DuBois as played by Robert Guillaume was one of the funniest characters from the 80s, and I don't think he is as remembered as often as he deserves.

I've always had a fondness for wisecracking, sarcastic characters and Benson ranks up there as one of the best.  He always has a witty comeback and is never shy to express exactly what he's thinking about anyone or anything.  Throughout the series Benson rises from the head of household affairs for the governor's mansion, to state budget director, Lieutenant Governor, to running for Governor himself. 

What I liked most about him though was that behind the rather gruff exterior, he was a good hearted man who only wanted to what was right for those that counted on him.  For a refresher, I watched the "Big Buddy" episode and I was reminded of who Benson was as a human being.  He is a man who uses his sarcasm and wit to display his emotions towards those he cares about.  He has a big heart and will do anything he can to make things right.

Times of Grace hace oficial el nombre de sus componentes para la gira

Times of Grace estará de gira próximamente y para ello, Adam y Jesse quieren estar rodeados de músicos de confianza. Sin duda, la gran noticia está en el guitarrista, que será ni más ni menos que el gran Joel Stroetzel, compañero de Adam Dutkiewicz en Killswitch Engage. La formación se completa con Dan Gluszak en la batería y Daniel Struble al bajo.
Se espera con ansia el primer concierto del nuevo grupo de Adam y Jesse tras el abrumador disco publicado la semana pasada.
Han publicado un vídeo de Dan, el batería elegido por Adam, aquí os lo dejo para que le echéis un vistazo:

The Black Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Skandranon Rashkae is everything a gryphon should be.  With gleaming ebony feathers, majestic wingspan, keen magesight, and sharp intelligence, his is the fulfillment of all the Mage of Silence, the human sorcerer called Urtho, intended to achieve when he created these magical beings to be his champions, the defenders of his realm-a verdant plain long coveted by the evil mage Ma'ar.

And now, as Ma'ar is once again preparing to advance on Urtho's Keep, this time with a huge force spearheaded by magical constructs of his own, Skandranon is sent to spy across the enemy lines, cloaked in the protection of Urtho's powerful Spell of Silence.

As days pass and Skandranon doesn't return, all in Urtho's camp wait anxiously.  But there is one among them fro whom the possible loss of this great bird will be more than just a major military defeat.  Amberdrake - a Healer of body, mind, and spirit whose talents are essential to the army as those of any general - waits on the landing strip with anguish in his heart.  For Amberdrake has come to value the vain, cocksure, and brave Skandranon as his closet friend and comrade, and now he fears that this prince of gryphons will never return.

Once again when it comes time to review a fantasy book I'm resorting back to the publisher's synopsis.  There is just so much going on in this book (and the series) that I'm afraid this review would be so long that everyone reading this would age ten years before they were done.  The synopsis gives a pretty good idea of what happens in the book even though it doesn't even begin to tell you everything. 

The only other plot point I wanted to quickly mention was what comes at the end.  As you could probably guess, major wars between two powerful Adept Mages don't normally end well.  This book is no exception, the cataclysm that occurs at the end of this book sets up the action not only for the next two book in the trilogy but for various books that take place over 2,300 years later.

What I love about this book, and most of her other books, are the characters.  The author is adept at creating believable characters that as a reader, you are so drawn into them that you care about what happens.  Your heart starts beating a little faster when they are in danger, you breathe a sigh of relief when they come out okay, and your heart breaks when something bad happens to them or someone they love.  Skan and Drake (Skandranon and Amberdrake) are surrounded by a fantastic supporting cast.

What sets the author's ability apart though is how beautifully she creates non human characters and makes the reader forget that they don't look like us.  While you are reading about them you forget that Skan, Aubri, and Zhaneel are gryphons, you forget that Gesten is a hertasi (think child size lizard men), you don't see them as anything but human even when their physical differences are as plain as could be.  They aren't merely "talking animals" the way some fantasy authors tend to look at non human characters.  They are intelligent, emotional, and complicated individuals who just happen to not look like the human characters. 

She blends them all, human and non human alike,  into a cohesive group of people that you almost have a vested interest in.  You want them to survive the betrayals and losses that are to come.  You want them to persevere when everything seems to be against them.  But most of all, you want them to survive so you can get to know them even better.

This is a perfect example of what a true fantasy novel should be like and I would highly encourage everyone who has never read her work to start here.

Bagels and Brushes

Before the holidays I got the opportunity to work with Mikaela. A gorgeous model (doesn't she look like Halle Berry! I'm SOOO jealous) and up and coming recording artist. The shoot was for publicity shots and potential album shots. The photographer on the shoot was the very talented Matt Verzola. It was an awesome shoot full of music, sweets and Hennessey! Yes. I have one of the few jobs that allows you to drink while working..... though I usually stay away or the eyeliner will end up in the brows and the lipliner in the nose. Just sayin. And the clothing was amazing! Almost all was Betsy Johnson! I'm dying for the green dress with the guns on it! With my leather pants..... GORGEOUS! Don't mind me in the picture. I had to close my store the night before, so that is the result of 4 hours of sleep, no make-up and putting on whatever happened to be on the floor at the time..... don't even think I brushed my hair. YIKES! All in a days work.

Products Used:

Natural shots:

Face: MAC Strobe Cream with MAC Face and Body foundation, MAC Select cover concealor and models own pressed powder.

Cheeks: I believe I used MAC cream blush in Sweet William

Eyes: Lid - mix of MAC Goldmine and MAC Steamy or Waternymph, Crease - MAC Amber Lights, Browbone - NYX highlight, Brows - MAC Brun shadow, Liner - MAC fluidline in Blacktrack on top lid, and Ardell false lashes in the demi wispies I believe

Lips - MAC Viva Glam V gloss

Smokey Eye

Face & cheeks: Same as above

Eyes: Lid - MAC paint in Graphito with MAC Carbon on top blended to crease and smudged under lower lid, Crease - MAC Carbon with MAC pigment in Rouge Heritage, Browbone - NYX Highlight, Liner - MAC Blacktrack extended further out and lined in the waterline

Lips: MAC Instant Gold Lusterglass

Red Lip

All Face and Eye the same as Smokey

Lips: MAC Cherry lipliner, MAC Queen's Sin lipstick, MAC Red Romp Lipglass

Pink Lips

All Face and Eye the same as Smokey

Lips: MAC Fushia pigment mixed with mixing medium (this was fine for shooting but for real life its not easy to work with so recommend lipstick instead!) with MAC Splashing Lipglass

Un-edited photos

                             

                                           

Edited

I had so much fun doing the make-up for this shoot! And I need the earrings she is wearing. LOVE! Till next time.

Stay Tuned!

XOXO!