Darais... doing MakeUp on Model Meki in New York at Hudson Stuidios Part 2

Franklin Covey makes some good lashes! HA! I love being creative everyday. Try it... you just might smile a whole lot more! :o)

model meki and darais

And my runway look is complete! Thanks Meki, you are a most beautiful canvas. I hope to work with you again soon.

Darais... doing MakeUp on Model Meki in New York at Hudson Studios Part 1

New York is a lot of fun if you can't tell by this video with me and my model
Meki. Thanks Carin for not talking but playing checkers with me!!!

NORDSTROM TREND SHOWS FOR THE 2010 FALL & HOLIDAY SEASON

So I finished another season of Trend Shows at Nordstrom. Can't believe that 2010 is almost over! The Video above is the beautiful model Amber and I getting the look on from the Lancome Beauty Box in the cool colors... sorry Amber for the lighting... it was 6 am and the store hadn't turned on all the lights yet but you looked amazing on stage... and because you had me for a partner!

Out on stage all the beautiful hundreds of women along with the gorgeous host Kari Larsen makes it feel like it's not that early! Thanks everyone in attendance for your energy and smiles... especially when talking about my mustache! ha

Here is a look at all the looks from the Fall/Holiday 2010 Trend Shows. Thank you Nordstrom, Models, Executives, my Pro Team Artists, and Starbucks!!!!!!

WHAT IS YOUR SKINS UNDERTONE? TRICK QUESTION? IT SHOULDNT BE!!!

One of my favorite things to do, to this day, is to choose foundation color for someone. I wish I could jump through the computer and help each and everyone one of you shop for the perfect shade of foundation. Its the most important thing you should be in search for and you got to be picky when it comes to it too.

I often ask when teaching about foundation colors, "How many of you women like your foundation color?" I am shocked when only half of the room raise their hands. 50% is not acceptable...especially when I meet about 6,000 a year. Have you ever noticed that when your foundation or skin color is off, that no matter what you do to your eyes or lips you still don't look that good? Yep! It's your foundation shade... and its distracting all the attention away from your eyes and lips and trust me... people are noticing. I always say with the perfect shade and amount of foundation you can go without eye shadows, liners, lots of lip stuff and you are still going to get compliments on them. There is nothing stopping people from noticing them naturally.  Also if you have the wrong shade you have to end up putting it everywhere, even sometimes down the neck, just to make you look normal. Let's try to put a stop to that now!

So why is it every time you go to the store to buy a foundation you are given usually a different color? It's time for YOU to take control of your skins undertone and own it forever!

Now this is probably one of longest lessons I had while learning make up. It took me a while to understand it and I don't expect anyone to be an expert at it right away. I think that's why you go home with so many different colors of make up each year from different artists. The first thing that everyone should know and become familiar with is an UNDERTONE. An Undertone in skin, is a subdued color that comes through your skins color. This determines not only what color your foundation should be but also what colors, shadows, jewelery, lipsticks, blushes, clothes, anything that will be the most flattering on you and your skin.

There are 3 Undertones that you should know about: COOL, NEUTRAL, and WARM.

Now there are a few different ways to figure out your undertones in your skin. Once you become well trained in it and know what to look for it will just come natural for you. Lets see if I can get this lesson started!

Some people look at the veins on the inside forearm in daylight. If you see Bluish veins this is usually a sign that you are a COOL tone. If you notice more Green or Yellow veins then you are more a WARM tone. If you look at your veins and see both the blues and the greenish yellows you are considered more a NEUTRAL tone. Now this works for some people but sometimes veins are harder to see. So many people see green veins also and it brings out the red in the skin (Complimentary Color Theory) and automatically think Pink=Cool tone. Don't make that mistake.

Another way to figure it out which is pretty easy is with Jewelry. Silver and Yellow Gold are quick ways to determine your skins undertone. When placed on the skin, YELLOW GOLDS look best with a WARM Undertone and SILVERS look best with a COOL.

The last way, without coming to see me, ha ha, is with a white piece of paper or fabric up against the face.  Pull your hair back so that it doesn't distract you or your coloring and hold the paper or fabric close to your skin. This helps to bring out the skins undertone and make them more identifiable. With the white next to your skin a WARM tone will appear more Yellow. With a COOL tone you will see more Pinks. Lastly, NEUTRAL, your skin will appear Olive, almost Greenish looking.

Now that you know this you can make sure that the shade of foundation you are getting matches that of your skins undertone. It's usually right on the bottle of make up or box it comes in.

C=Cool ,N=Neutral, and W=Warm. A lot of times they can get even more custom blended and you can find NC=Neutral Cool, and NW=Neutral Warm.

Knowing this also allows you to find the most flattering colors for you.

Cool= Pinks, Lavenders, Roses, Reds, Pure White, Silvers and Greys. Think Jewel tones.
Warm= Peaches, Yellows, Golds, Oranges, Greens, Coppers, Browns. Think Earthy tones.
Neutral= you are lucky, you can get away pretty much with both!

Look at post: "Lets Learn Color Theory ABC's "to better determine cool and warm colors and HAVE FUN!

Lancome National Makeup Artist, Darais Talks About Seasonal Beauty Trends!

Trend show call time is 6am. So early but so much fun. For any of you who haven't experienced a Nordstrom Trend Show... Thank you Stevie Wilson for filming your interviews and bringing some of the excitement to others! Always a pleasure to see you!
Find Stevie on my facebook and or as one of my followers on this blog. She is incredible!

stevie and darais

Kari Kimmel - Its not just make believe. MY FIRST MUSIC VIDEO MAKE UP

Here is my very first Make Up for a Music Video. Im was so lucky to work with someone who still, to this day, is the sweetest singer to work with. I'm so glad that we became such good friends!

kari and darais

Kari Kimmel and Darais for a Charity concert at the Greek Theater Los An...

KARI KIMMEL... My Beautiful Canvas!!!

I want all of you to get to know my very favorite singer/songwriter. I met Kari Kimmel about 7 years ago when I did her make up for one of her first record signings. I followed right away with doing her first music video for the movie "Ella Enchanted". I continue to work with her and can't wait to show all of you all that we have been through. Here we are doing something for a great cause. I hope you can all check out her website and the video up above on Youtube. Kari, I love you and will forever have your cd's on repeat every week!

http://www.karikimmel.com/

first time i met and worked with kari kimmel

                                                                   sound check

all grown up now and still young as ever

TIPS 4 TEENS

Lexie's question:  How do you incorporate Make Up with skins undertones?

Answer:  Lexie, everyone has an undertone of either warm, cool, or neutral. I believe you were neutral when we did your masterclass. Now I always say there are no rules but it is found that if you go with the same colors below, based on your skin's undertone, that they can look the most flattering on you. If you go opposite sometimes the colors can jump too much or appear to flashy! Here is the undertone breakdown with the colors from my most popular post!!!
Cool= Pinks, Lavenders, Roses, Reds, Pure White, Silvers and Greys. Think Jewel tones.
Warm= Peaches, Yellows, Golds, Oranges, Greens, Coppers, Browns. Think Earthy tones.
Neutral= you are lucky, you can get away pretty much with both!



Lexie's question: How can you apply eye shadow that is loose powder without it getting on your face or making a mess?
Answer: Good one Lexie!!! Many girls out there have the same frustration as you do. Loose eye shadows or also known as pigment powders can be a huge mess. I love using them though because they can be a lot more fun and dramatic than a regular eye shadow.  They can also have a lot more glitter and sparkle. There are a few things I do that will help. First you want to make sure you are using a nylon or synthetic haired brush. They hold the mica/shimmer better and wont sweep it all over the place like a animal haired brush. Also you can get the brush slightly wet. A wet brush will hold the powder on the brush better, keeping it from falling on the face. When applying the powder to the eye, use a pressing motion, rather than a sweeping  back and forth. I promise it doesn't fall as much. Next it all depends on the skin. If skin is dry or has no tack to it powder just falls right off. I love using concealer, foundation, or eye shadow base on the eyes first really thin to get the shadows, especially loose ones, to stick. I have also been known to use nude lipstick shades on the eyes first and it makes them stick well. I hope that helps and if all else fails... Do your eyes before you do your complexion... Then if anything falls its easier to clean up and you don't have to redo all of your foundation and concealer.

Lexie's question: What is Eye Shadow made out of?  

Answer:  Lexie, eyeshadow is made up of a whole lot of ingredients that most people can't pronounce. All of these ingredients make up the 3 main ingredients. Powder Base, Mica Pigment, and Powder Binder. Powder Base is made from mostly talc it can come in all colors and is ground really fine. Mica is where the shimmer and texture comes from. An Eye Shadow that is matte has no Mica usually. The Powder Binder is usually sprayed into the powder base and mica which makes the powder stick together and pressable. Lets make some when I come visit!!

Lexie's question: Why do you have to take off your MakeUp every night?          

Answer: MakeUp usually wont make your skin worse as long as you are taking it off daily. Make sure you cleanse/tone/moisturise am and pm. All make up that you wear during the day will start to form bacteria due to body heat and other natural conditions. GROSS!!! Bacteria causes break outs! I tell all the celebrities that your pillow is not a make up remover...no matter how tired you are!!! While you are sleeping your pores sweat out toxins that your body is trying to get rid of. Make sure to once again Wash/Tone/Moisturise so that they don't get mixed in with your Morning MakeUp!

My niece Lexie is wearing make up. At 12 it started with brown definicils mascara, 13  was eyeshadow and bronzer, you are almost 14 Lexie... hmmm.... what's next? I'm pretty sure not as much as in this photo shoot, but remember, we didn't use any foundation or any black liner or shadow and still got dramatic just like I taught you. I'm starting a side column called LESSONS 4 LEXIE / TIPS 4 TEENS so that putting on make up isn't so scary... Scary looking! HA!!! You are beautiful Lexie with and without make up. I'm glad you know that first! Keep your questions and your friends questions coming!  I'll answer another one every week. We will shoot some tutorial footage soon!

My Very First MakeUp Experience!

I was 22 years old and living in Utah Still working up at Sundance Ski Resort and going to College at Utah Valley State. I loved doing my homework up in the greatest snow on earth. I loved it when I would get snowed in up there and I found myself in constant deep meditation. The whiteness of it all was extremely relaxing and uplifting. I mentioned before, that still to this day, Sundance is my spiritual place.

my last day working up at sundance

I was dating a girl named Lindsay and she had an appointment to get her make up done downtown Nordstrom at the MAC counter. Our date was directly after so I went with her for her application. I watched every step of the transformation done by an artist named Kjord. I was fascinated by everything. I remember seeing brushes that were like mine in my art set, and limitless colors textures and tones.  It started a thought process within as I pondered what I would do if I was painting Lindsay's face. It was later that week that sure enough I was over at Lindsay's place painting her eyes for the night. I remember how amazing it was to look at my work over dinner across the table. It felt good. I got lots of practice and learned a lot. Lindsay was a photographer and I started doing small photo shoots. I was even a model in some of them doing my own make up and also the girls I was shot with.

lindsay's first head shot of me

lindsay's uvsc photo shoot

photo class assignment

my first make up on a girl in a photoshoot

Every time I found myself downtown Salt Lake City I would stop by Nordstrom and each time found new friends in the cosmetic department. It was then that I had the conversation with my Papa when he told me that most artists don't get paid very much. He told me that maybe painting faces, a three dimensional canvas, would bring me happiness and a living, travel and success. The next time I was up in Salt Lake I mentioned the idea of applying for a job.

It was about a month later I was walking through Nordstrom and a MAC artist Jennifer and Manager Beth grabbed the Stila girl Sue and sat her in the chair.

my first mac manager beth

She told me to do her make up. I was nervous, thrown off a bit, and remember Sue whispering to me to use a different brush or the next step while Beth was busy helping customers.

stila make up artist sue

I left that morning not knowing how or what I had just done but by noon I had received a phone call from the department manager Vera asking if I wanted to fill a full time position at the MAC counter. I took it!

make up artist jennifer

make up artist teresa

make up artist michelle

make up artist holly

make up artists amber and beth

I owe many thanks to the artists I worked along side for their coaching, teaching and sharing. I will never forget what they taught me and how much they wanted me to be successful. To this day I try to teach anyone that wants to learn when it comes to make up because without my co workers I would have made a lot more mistakes until getting it right. My dad always says, "Perfect is good enough!" I feel the same way with make up.

my very first creative make up on a old girlfriend jax

I remember my very first day at work behind the counter. It was a MAC Pool Party event, a collection featuring Sandra Bernhard. They sat a girl in my chair to do her make up and she was Asian. My eyes got wide as I had no idea what to do or were to begin. I hadn't been trained on eye shapes. I laugh now and apologize to whoever you were that sat there through it all with me. Hilarious!

Another amazing story I had just finished register training and it was not even two weeks of me working there. It was my first night closing on my own. My co worker at the time Teresa got me all ready with directions on what to do. She is the one that taught me how to put on lashes but at this time that hadn't happened yet. It was 15 minutes until closing and in comes Kobe Bryant's mother. She was in town while her son was playing against the Utah Jazz in the play offs. She needed lashes on for a celebration party. I looked around and found no help. She sat in my chair and I got the right side on perfect. I remember saying, "Wow, that was pretty easy!" Good thing she didn't hear me or notice my boost of confidence. I proceeded to apply the other lash and when she went to open her eye she couldn't. I pretty much glued her eye closed! OPPS!!!!  She laughed about it as I fixed it and she gave me a big tip anyway. Thanks Pam for letting me practice for the first time on you!

I wanted to learn as much and as fast as I possibly could. I worked in Salt Lake Nordstrom MAC for 6 months...but I wanted to be where the celebrities were, I told everyone that New York was only a fantasy, where as Los Angeles was my reality. I packed up my Lexus full of everything I owned. I still remember my moms tears as she ran after my car in the rear view mirror. I cried 3 hours down the road on my way to California listening over and over to mine and my dads song Father and Son by Cat Stevens:

Father

It's not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, i am old, but i'm happy.

I was once like you are now, and i know that it's not easy,
To be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you've got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

Son
How can i try to explain, when i do he turns away again.
It's always been the same, same old story.
From the moment i could talk i was ordered to listen.
Now there's a way and i know that i have to go away.
I know i have to go.

Father
It's not time to make a change,
Just sit down, take it slowly.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, i am old, but i'm happy.
(son-- away away away, i know i have to
Make this decision alone - no)
Son
All the times that i cried, keeping all the things i knew inside,
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.
If they were right, i'd agree, but it's them you know not me.
Now there's a way and i know that i have to go away.
I know i have to go.
(father-- stay stay stay, why must you go and
Make this decision alone?)

WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? LOOK CLOSER!

Eyes are extremely unique. We all have different variations of colors within our eyes. One thing that is true is that all eyes have some kind of color within them. Yes that goes for all of you with brown eyes as well. Don't believe me? Listen up!!!

Your eye color is genetic and depends on the amount of pigment or melanin found in the iris. The distribution of that melanin is also a factor to what color of eyes you have. Light gray and blue eyes contain much less to no pigment or melanin than extremely dark brown eyes. There are many many other shades of eye color in between the two.

Blue Eyes are only about 8 percent of the worlds population. Blue and Grey eyes are categorized usually together because both have little to no melanin covering the iris making them appear in all shades of blue from light blue/gray, medium, to darker blue.

Green Eyes contain much more black and yellow pigment or melanin than blue eyes but not as much as brown or hazel eyes.

 Hazel Eyes  or Brown-Green are described when eyes contain elements of both green and brown. These eyes appear to change in color based on different lighting and or by wearing different colors of clothes. A lot of people get hazel eyes confused with green eyes.

 Light brown eyes or Brown-Yellow, like mine here, contain a large amount of pigment over the iris but not as much as dark brown eyes. They appear golden in most light and have no hazel mixed in.

Dark Brown or Brown-Orange have the most amount of pigment over the iris and can even sometimes appear to be black. Look closer into the eye and you will see shades of orange and copper in certain lighting.

ONCE YOU KNOW YOUR EYE COLOR WITHIN, YOU CAN LOOK AT MONOCHROMATIC COLOR SCHEMES TO MAKE THOSE COLORS LOOK THEIR STRONGEST.!!!
check out my post: Lets Learn Color Theory ABC's!!!

MY FIRST SCHOOL OF ART! Junior High/High School

With the start of 7th Grade, began a new way of learning. I had my own hour of Art class every day with an Art teacher dedicated to the one subject. My first teacher was Lorna Teeter and her passion for art was easily recognizable by me, to that of my Papa. Each day in class I felt and learned the fundamentals to function in my life. To be expressive, passionate, creative, and artistic.

With each year came new lessons, new media's, and new learning's.

I learned that  light rushes to meet dark. Light makes things appear bigger. Dark makes things appear smaller.

white pencil on black paper

stamp

scratch board

scratch board

I learned Symmetry, Proportion, Balance, Contour, Highlight, Lighting, Shadowing, and Shading.

when I fell in love with the face with pencil and paper

stamp I carved from rubber. won 1st place in art show

scratch board

Quickly learned Technique, Brush stroke, Texture, Tone, Hue, Transparency, Opaqueness, Shimmer, and Matte.

mixing sand and acrylic

my first watercolor

my first acrylic

wax and dye on fabric batik

mixing ink, glue and acrylic

my favorite was surrealism

I enjoyed art so much I found myself at the end of my sophomore year with every art class completed that my high school had to offer. Lisa Olsen was my high school Art teacher and helped me understand my artistic side and to apply it with every brush stroke. I use all that I learned to this day in my Make Up and painting today.  11th and 12th grade were hard to get through without my set time each day to paint in school. I studied Architecture to keep creative in design.

senior picture