Thank you so much to Lauren Cowart (she is SO talented it’s ridiculous) & Rhianna (she is so gorgeous it’s ridiculous) !! I am glad I actually stayed in the city the weekend they came instead of traveling home.

Here are some final photos. GORGEOUS! I will make a detailed post later on what products I used. For now I just wanted to share these. So amazing!

Here  are another couple of behind-the-scenes photos from the weekend Rhianna & Lauren came to visit. If you don’t remember the other post or can’t tell it’s the same girl click HERE!

Just a quick look w/ my camera phone (which is terrible as you know). WAIT until you see these final photos. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to see photos like this. I’m getting all anxious thinking about it now so I’m going to stop typing.

I was surfing websites & of course went to Elle Magazine’s site. I came across this post and I’ll copy and paste it below.

“RED EYELINER
Red and green are opposite each other on the color wheel, making them complementary colors. So if you want to accentuate greenish-blue, green, or hazel eyes, technically red eyeliner or shadow is your best bet. While in real-life, most would substitute a subtler pink for red, this wasn’t the case on the runway at Altuzarra—where models’ lower lash lines were boldly smudged with scarlet liner. To adapt this trend for everyday, do as Rihanna did, and opt for a cleaner, more powdery-soft line.”

REMIND YOU OF ANYTHING?? (Of course we upped the amp for a photo shoot going for a very editorial monochromatic look) LOOK OUT FOR THE FINAL PICTURES!!!!

I met up with Gregg Hubbard in Bryant Park again yesterday. He was meeting me to hear about my recent job offers & to offer me advice & put me in contact with a woman he knows who is high up in the cosmetic industry! AND he gave me a Sephora bag filled with cosmetics goodies…

MY DREAM COME TRUE!

The bag was filled with things from eyelash curlers, concelear, to Smashbox eyeliners & eyeshadows, Laura Mercier blue pallette of eyeshadow & an amazing kit of foundations! Gregg wanted to make sure I got the bag before the photo shoot happened… so nice of him!

I had never heard of the foundation before. It is called FACE Atelier & a woman created it. The products are also endorsed by PETA! Gregg told me that she even helped sponsor one of Beyonce’s tours so Beyonce has worn her foundation during performances. Gregg warned me it dries very glowy, so glowy & dewy that I may even want to tone it down depending on the finish I’m going for. I was so excited to use it on Rihanna in the shoot that night.

Rihanna is a model who recently got signed to Wilhemina modeling agency. Check out, Lauren Cowart’s, the great photographer I work with, site where Rihanna is featured. She is the first post so click here!!!

The foundation was amazing! It is a full kit & Gregg was so kind to give it to me. Check out the Face Atelier site here to see the amazing products. The foundation was so silky & blended RIGHT into the skin & had an amazing finish. The entire kit retails at $499.00!! WOW! I have such an assortment of skin colors – it’s amazing.

I used a MAC 188 Small Duo Fibre Face Brush $34.00. I have two of those brushes and have had them for probably two years – I wash them about once a week or more depending on what makeup I have going on that week.

Wait until you guys see this pics. Here’s a couple behind the scenes photos! Excuse the suckyness that is my camera phone – I hate the BB Curve.

First things first, big thanks to the wonderful photographer Lauren Cowart & my beautiful friends Kelcie & Jessica who were the models!

Check out the behind the scenes photos here & peep two of the final photos below! Hope you all enjoy. This was a dark and edgy shoot as you can see. I love them! Thanks again ladies.

Makeup by me. Models: Kelcie Glass & Jessica Couch. Wonderful photographer: Lauren Cowart

What more could you ask for?

A few weeks ago Lauren Cowart & I managed to schedule a photoshoot we had been meaning to do for awhile. My mentor, Keith Venable who is the Creative Executive at Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, told me my portfolio was great, but needed more edge. After hearing that I had to get this photoshoot in before I parted ways with Lauren (tear). Well, we did it & I have some photos I took during the shoot.

Kelcie was of course the first person who came to mind when I thought of an edgy shoot – her face can easily handle the makeup & her poses are always immaculate. Then I thought about Jessica Couch – her face can also handle makeup & her bone structure is amazing!

We went for something dark with unusual makeup – heavy lashes, extra heavy eyebrows & even white eyeliner, which is usually a makeup no no but has been spotted on the runway recently.

I won’t go into much detail because the edited photos are not up yet, but when they are here (Lauren is so busy, she did like 5 million weddings & graduation photos!) I will surely go into detail.

Enjoy! & again, many thanks to Kelcie, who is always willing to model, to Jessica for FINALLY letting someone else do her makeup & an indefinite amount of gratitude for Lauren who is my photoshoot partner in crime!

Do not miss out on their marvelous websites either. Kelcie’s at http://www.playedwithfire.wordpress.com and Lauren’s at http://laurencowartphotography.wordpress.com

Hehe… not like that! Me & Kelcie (& Zewidi too…but I didn’t find any pics easily) all LOVE Cyber from MAC. Check out the link here… it’s the richest smoothest satiniest color ever… this deep plum/purple/violet … I don’t know how to describe it but it’s AMAZING!

Tip: To be extra chic, pair these dark lips w/ just a little mascara – & nothing else!

The other weekend Lauren Cowart, my favorite photographer, & I worked together!! Her stuff is SO amazing! I wanted to do something super colorful on Margaret, who agreed to be the model for the shoot. I choose a vibrant blue eyeshadow from MAKE UP FOR EVER called Turquoise Matte 72 & an amazing lipstick from NARs called “Funny Face” I layered MAC Dazzleglass lipgloss over the lipstick – Dazzleglass is a limited edition high shine gloss from MAC & I love them! Next time: I’m going to leave the lips nude, take some photos then go back in with a bright lipstick.

After shooting Margaret, I really wanted to do another look ,but it would have been too much to take all the makeup off of Margaret so Margaret and Lauren suggested I do a quick look on myself while they finished taking the last photos downstairs. I took about ten minutes to do a quick face on myself using another NARS lipstick I picked up called “Heat Wave” I did a winged eyeliner with my Loreal Lineur and used my Covergirl Lashblast Mascara that I love.

Check out a sample of the photos below – we took tons and played around.I love the colors!! Thanks so much Margaret and Lauren.

Check out Lauren’s blog here!!!

Lauren Cowart is doing photos for soon to be graduates. Her packages are April 18th-28th – check her flyer for details.Check out her website here for her great photography skills, if you don’t already know.

Contact Lauren at laurencowartphoto@gmail.com and if you want makeup, then contact me!

I’m also doing special makeup packages for graduates. Each face is $30 & I use MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Makeup which is specially made of photographs, as well as their silicone finishing powder that seals your face for a flawless photo finish.

Email me at anna.miya.88@gmail.com to set up times for makeup application for graduation photos.

Not Nicki Minaj, but Nicki Nickole (or Lee Ann to be correct) got her makeup done with me for a night out. She had sent me her outfit earlier so I had a little idea of what to do. We did a simple smokey eye with a deep emerald green I recently bought & went in on the eyelashes!

LeeAnn said she loved how it came out & she looked amazing! I hope she’s having fun tonight (While I stay in & watch TV haha).

I was super excited to finally go & do my friend Brittney’s makeup. She’s a senior in high school & has been so excited about her AKA Debutante Ball – her dress was GORGEOUS.

I headed to the Marriott in downtown Durham where I did her makeup. I met her mom & she was so sweet. I spent about an hour doing Brittney’s makeup. We wanted to do something classic, glamorous, & sophisticated – I think we achieved just that! They required the girls to wear lipstick so Brittney’s picked out a red from MAC – Viva Glam V (I think). Such a good color on her.

Check out the pics below. I didn’t get a before picture but you guys get the idea. These pictures are taken with my camera phone & unedited. There’s one of the makeup mixing that went on on my hand too. I tend to get messy while I do makeup haha.

Here are some more pictures from the NYU Fashion Show I worked on last weekend. The photographer, Orville ‘Coche’ Wright II, was great & captured all the moments backstage. Check out his website here.

& check out the photos below. He took TONS but I just included ones that I did the makeup for.

Let me start off by saying I had an amazing trip to New York City. I absolutely love it there as it will be my new home in May. I feel so at home & at peace there… it just feels right.

This trip wasn’t just about play…I had some business to handle. The first stop was the Stevie Boi Fashion Show at the Soho Hotel with Nyne (@nynelyves). We met some great people there who we hope to run into in the future! Stevie Boi’s glasses were great & I’ll definitely be ordering a pair. Check out the website here.

The next order of business was the NYU Fashion Show…

put together by @thelovelylou. Please hit her up on twitter. @Nynelyves debuted her vintage clothing line in addition to about give other designers who showcased their original lines. I loved watching the fashion show, but more importantly I loved doing the

MAKEUP!

I arrived at the Kimmel Building on NYU’s campus after an emergency run to MAC to get @nynelyves some eyelashes on the way there. I got there at 3pm& immediately went to work on male & female models. There were 3 other makeup artists there – I think all of them used to work at MAC, but now freelance for MAC & do their own individual projects on the side.

The male models just needed smooth even skin & some countouring. I used my MAKE UP FOR EVER foundation along with Bobbi Brown powders & concealers & used a MAC powder to contour.

The female models had the theme of color but we were given a lot of freedom to do what we want. We each did several models & worked straight through until the show started at 8pm.

I was EXHAUSTED to say the least & parked my behind in a chair next to @dctobc to watch the show.

Because I was so busy doing makeup all afternoon I didn’t even get to get many pictures – but the ones I did get are below!

It felt so AMAZING because the hair stylists & models kept giving me compliments about the makeup & asking for my cards – I hope I get some good business off of this! (Shout out to @c_lux for the business cards too.)

Hold on!! Here is the amazing Zewiditu Ruffin (@nynelynes & www.nynelyves.com) in TIME OUT magazine. Check out her spread here… she’s in the top 25 best dressed person in the city !! Congrats Zewidi.

If you guys remember the post I did a few weeks ago about doing her makeup while I was in NYC –> check HERE… Zewidi and I had so much fun working together – as always – and I’m looking forward to working with her again. I’m heading to NYC the 18th of February to do some makeup for the NYU Fashion show – pictures to come of course

This wasn’t an official photo shoot or anything, but it was an official birthday which is just as important….

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELCIE (even though it happened a few days ago) follow her @_thefire_ !!

As well as being a great friend Kelcie Glass let me use her eyeliner while I was in DC this winter break. My MAC eyeliner was drying up & I need another tube but Kelcie had L’oreal Paris Carbon Black Lineur Intense. This stuff is great… check out the website here for the product!

L’oreal claims that The Carbon Black is 2 times darker that regular black & it’s definitely true. I LOVED the liner!! It’s priced relatively well too around $9.

We did a little makeup for Kelcie’s birthday. I say we because Kelc did her lips I just did the skin and eye bit. Her face looks BEATTTTT! Take a look for yourself.