On Second.. and Third Thought (the gift of being indecisive)

So I just posted breif thoughts about being asked to start vlogging and offering video tutorials for my makeup applications...in that post, I'm pretty much giving in and stating that i'll be venturing into the world vlogging soon, with my main focus being on showcasing the bold possibilities of Mary Kay makeup. 

Well, I stayed up fairly late last night and I thought about a few things. Clearly, these video tutorials will offer a better explanation of what to do to achieve various looks, but it'll also give ppl a look at who I am, what I sound like, how animated I tend to be when I speak, as well as allowing me to reach a bigger audience. Sounds like a winning situation right?! Right!...

But then I started to think about other things... Like, do I want that? I don't mind letting ppl get to know a bit more about me, I don't mind showing ppl how to beautify themselves... but I really feel like i'm better suited to do that in person. The best part of being an MUA, for me (besides sitting back and enjoying your work post snatch) is the conversation. Being in a position to get to know new ppl, make ppl laugh and feel extra comfortable while I work is the most fun. Showing ppl first-hand who I am as well as what I can do....
 Ok, ok...maybe this is me attempting to make my fears and insecurities into a legit reason to not vlog it up. But damn, it is true tho! I'm way more of a fan of myself in person than via video.
 Confession time: I thought to myself that I should try easing into posting videos and started a KEEK account. I posted 1 video about tbe fact that I was just going to try out getting used to seeing myself on video... then I realized that KEEK only allows you about 35 seconds per video.. BOOO! So then I posted a video about how idk if I liked KEEK at all.. and that's how far I got. hahahahaha! If u wanna check those out, my KEEK name is, of course, RacquelMUA. feedback is more than welcome!

 well, the jury is still out folks. I really think if I do venture into the wotld og vloghing, i'll start with some reviews of products and then eventually get into tutorials. in the meantime, i'll get back into my step-by-step collages.

 Find me on:
 Instagram: @RacquelMUA
 Facebook www.facebook.com/YourMK
 Path: Racquel Guess
 KEEK: RacquelMUA
 email: RacquelMUA@gmail.com

To Vlog or Not To Vlog...

For a while now, i've had ppl ask me y I don't have a youtube and y I don't do video tutorials of my various makeup looks. To be honest, while in photos and in person, I can be fairly outgoing, when it comes to talking to a camera, not saying um, not rambling on about a bunch of nonsense and, above all, watching it and feeling satisfied... i'm not too sure of myself. So, as somewhat of a pacifier, I started making step-by-step photo collages. Even still, I am getting ppl asking me to actually show the steps being performed rather than pictures. Jeez Louise! That's not even asking for much, but I'm just so scared to do it. "scared of what?" u may be asking. And that's a good question!...... Look, as a youngster (yup, I said youngster, and shall not be judged!) I wasn't very confident in my appearance as a pre and early teen. of course, I grew out of my awkwardness and into feeling like I am a reasonably attractive girl, but the fact of the matter is that I still look at myself and see every little flaw... I know, I know, everyone is like that... but I don't care. haha!
    Anyhoo... a friend of mine pointed out to me that Mary Kay tends to showcase their cosmetics through soft, very neutral makeup looks. The blues, purples, bronzes... all super buildable and can be really vibrant, are super subtle in the catalogs and online. When I first got started with Mary Kay, I got a few Mineral Eye Colors and realized how rich the colors really can be. I have posted quite a few looks using all Mary Kay products just to show what these shadows can really do... But have I truly done my part? Today, one of my IG followers asked me to start doing video tutorials because she had just started her Mary Kay business and wanted to learn how to do great looking makeup with the products.... Sigh... I guess it's time for me to man up. maybe the good ol' folks at Mary Kay will see what i'm doing and.. shit, I dunno. lmao! I got some things to figure out... like when i'm going to attempt to create my first video tutorial! And now i'm scared. lol! stay tuned.....

Marley Twists... Determination Lead to Uncertainty

 Hey! So... my little cousin shows up to my husband's birthday celebration with this... doo. and it caught me off guard, not because it wasn't dope, but because I always associate her with a very girly and sleek look, so seeing her with such an earthy style was a slight shock. I asked her all kinds of monkey questions about them... very much like when straight-haired ppl ask questions about dreads or course hair... I was all kinds of out of the loop. I hadn't even heard of these... "Marley Twists". But, since I had been contemplating getting dreads for a little while, I thought this is thee perfect way to experience that look without the decision being permanent. I mean, what if I twist my hair up, and I hate it? With these, I just untwist that shit and pretend I never did it. ha!
 After deciding that I must try this style... I couldn't find the hair in my bright ass blonde color! Granted, I only looked in 2 beauty supplies, but... well... ain't nobody got time for anymore than that! lol! Anyway, I went to the beauty supply owned by the creepiest men in the world, ran in, found my color, screamed out "TEN FUCKIN DOLLARS A PACK?!?!?!?!" u know... in my head, bought the damn hair and eventually installed my very own marley twists.... I ran into 2 problems: #1 my hair is not coarse at all so I couldn't use the common twist-in method. I had to start each one off by braiding and then transition into twists.. no big deal. #2 My hair is fine and trying to do these twists as big as my cousin did was NOT a good idea. I looked like Joy in "Friday".. u know, honda civic, bumpin luke and the 2live crew, booty shorts, crop top, "Foo!... Where Craig at?!" Joy?.... yea... Fuck that! so I had to take them all down, split each pre-divided section in to and make my parts smaller. Good times on the reg.  After it was all said and done, I wasn't crazy about them, but they weren't so bad. I figured i'd give them a few days to marinate. It's been like 2 or 3 weeks now and I still don't know how much I really like them! hahahaha! But I get a shit-load of compliments on them and they are pretty convenient... plus i'm just too lazy to take them out. ha!

Here's me thinkin i'm cute... while showing off my ring BOOM!

I tried a little fish tail action when I first put them in... that was a bust.

And this is how I rock them most of the time. lol!

Highlighting and Contouring...... is my new bf!

Highlighting and Contouring... the beginning!

 so, i've always been a fan of the glow and definition that highlighting and contouring gives. but for a while, I didn't know how to properly execute it without looking like a drag queen.lol! truth be told, I remember using a brown lip liner to contour my face when I was 9 years old, messing around.  those days are over! ha! in the picture above, I have applied a thin layer of my Mary Kay Time Wise Matte Wear Liquid Foundation. The Highlight is a light concealer from my Coastal Scents Camoflage Palette which I love because it's not heavy, and just creamy enough to blend. I used an E.L.F. small stipling brush to apply it on my cheeks, chin and forehead and a concealer brush down the length of my nose. For the contouring, I used the same Camoflage Palette and a concealer brush on the sides of my nose, the underside of my cheekbones, my temples and a bit at my jawline. From there, I took a flat top powder brush by E.L.F. and blended it all. I used a clean small stipling brush to blend my nose. then I use a powder brush from Mary Kay to dust a light colored pressed powder over the highlighted areas and an angled blush brush from MAC to brush a darker pressed powder along the underside of my cheekbones and on the sides of my nose. then a powder that matched my skin tone around the edges of myface.... blush, of course and i'm done....

And there you have it!

Gotta love a little side-by-side action.

 For booking:  RacquelMUA@gmail.com
  Instagram: @RacquelMUA
 Facebook.com/YourMK

Prom Season Has Started!

Today I had my first (and hopefully not my last) prom client of the season! This lovely young tenderoni (yup, I just pulled out my bobby brown handbook) was just beautiful! No makeup, amazing skin, just exactly who you'd want to show up at your door. She had just a few requests 1. not too much shimmer. 2 although her dress was lime green, no lime green shadow. and most importantly, 3. she wanted a Kim K.-esque look. I took that as a smokey eye, highlighted and contoured face and a pale lip. DING DING DING!!! I was right! She loved her makeup and so did everyone else... her mom, however, felt that the pink lip was just a little too "grown up" so she ended up having to wipe some off. lol! Well,i was happy to work on such a beauty. a pretty face makes doing makeup just that much more fun! I love what I do! Here are some pics of the prom princess:

this is just after I finished, so the pink lips are still in tact.

she and her date/ best friend! her dress is BEYOND!

For Booking:

 RacquelMUA@gmail.com
 Instagram: RacquelMUA
 Facebook.com/YourMK

Target Clearance On My Lips!

 So, as i've said before, Target's Endcap of Glory has seriously brought joy to my heart! this is a look at my lippie finds in the clearance and also, an example of why i'm such an advocate of finding good makeup, no matter what it costs or what the brand is....

This is a Milani Cosmetics Lip Flash Pencil in Hot Flash. It's creamy and goes on smoth, wears all day, doesn't dry out AND cost me $1.78!

This is my lips lined with Milani Lip Flash Pencil in In A Flash and then Topped with a Sonia Kashuk gloss in Cheerful.. Lip Flash was $1.78 the gloss was $2.79!

This is the Rimmel London lipstick from the Kate collection that cost $1.79! pictures truly do this lippie NO justice!

this is a Wet N Wild lipstick (non clearance) in Bare it All, that costs $1.99! over that is Milani Lip Flash pencil in 01 Lip Flash (clearance find! $1.79) it's a sheer bronze with a bit of shimmer.

This is another Wet N Wild lipstick that goes for $1.99 reg price in Dollhouse Pink over a clearanced Milani Lip Flash Pencil in Photo Flash. LOVE THIS!

So there you have some of my amazing (and amazingly cost effective) lippie finds from Target's End Cap of Glory! I can't express enough how much of a fanatic I am of finding a great deal as well as being all for getting the absolute most for your money when it comes to anything, including cosmetics!                      Stay Dazzling my friends!

inally, this is the fantastic Kate Moss lipstick by Rimmel London pictured above, topped with a Milani Lip Flash Pencil in Photo Flash.

For more me and bookings:                              RacquelMUA@gmail.com
 instagram: @RacquelMUA
 www.facebook.com/YourMK

 

My First Wedding!... A Journal-eque Moment

Saturday was my first wedding as an MUA! Rewind....      I've been doing makeup for a little while now, and i've had an amazing time doing it. as a freelance mua, though, it can be tough bringing in new clients. deciding to become a makeup artist, just like any other artistic career, can be challenging in that there are so many ppl doing what u do and moving toward the same goals as u. let me just put this out there, i'm not trying to be rich from this career move, but I am trying to make enough money to where I can call the thing I love, my "living". anyhoo, celebrities and weddings have always been my top dream jobs. celebrities, just because i'd love to see my work on-screen, or a on stage. and weddings because, a woman is supposed to feel her most beautiful on her wedding day, and how amazing must it feel to help give her that?! of course, transforming ppl for various occassions like proms, birthdays, girls night out and date nights is awesome and I love doing it, but I still, I really hoped and prayed for something a little more rewarding.................. fast forward.... ok, so a friend of mine, whom i've known for years, calls/texts/messages me about something important... I give her a call back and she is planning her sister's wedding and wants to know if i'd be up for doing the makeup!!!... for the bride!!!... and 5 bridesmaids!!! HOLY BAJEEZ!!!! i'm way too excited to not take this job! I mean, I'm petrified at having to do so many faces in a time frame that is waaaay under what I normally give myself.                                                                         so we set up a trial appointment and the bride is happy with the look I came up with. and I now have an idea of what I want to do, what I still need for my kit to be complete enough to run through 6 faces quickly and i'm feeling more confident that I got this.... so I buy more brushes, concealers, shadows, lashes, powders, primer, liners, lippies, blushes... i'm keeping it as cheap as I can, but jeez being a prepared mua can cost! hahaha! the day is drawing nearer and my mom offers her face for me to practice getting my time down... she's amazing! so I set my timer for 30min and get to work... booyah! 35min and I stopped once or twice to deal with my son! I. GOT. THIS!                               the big day is coming fast and the night before, i've packed everything I may possibly need... and a bunch of things I know I won't need. lol! when it's time to go, i'm up super early so I can get there on time. I send out huge thank u's to my husband for being everything and more and to my mom for supporting me. i'm all set up.... then... I wait... no one is there! i'm waiting about 40 minutes past the scheduled start time before the first girls show up... so now i'm on an even shorter time crunch! aaaaaaahhhhh!!!! I get to work, I barely stop, i'm getting them done and finally... it's the bride's turn. i'm fully aware that i'm still on a short time leash... but it's her wedding... I took my           time....                                                                            the day ended with me feeling accomplished, nervous about what they all thought (guests and girls), sore, relieved and yet, ready to do it all again! I sent a thank u message to the friend that hired me and wished them an amazing time at the reception and headed home... a day of 2 later, I received a thank u from the bride.. YES! I did it! and then I got to see some of the photos! I'm beside myself! I feel like a professional... like a real professional! This is my beginning! 

To book me for your big day, or any occassion, contact me at:
RacquelMUA@gmail.com                                     Instagram: @RacquelMUA                                   Facebook.com/YourMK