The Glamorous Life of a Freelancer

As a freelancer for a cosmetic company, I experience a lot of job envy when I visit different stores. People who are unhappy with their perfect position wonder if freelancing is as awesome as it seems to be. I, myself, had the same job envy before becoming a freelancer. So here are some of the pro's and con's to being a freelancer makeup artist.

Pro's:
- Making your own schedule:
Yes, making your own schedule is pretty fantastic. I can come and go as I please as long as I hit a certain amount of hours per store. But it also leaves room for laziness.

-Being able to leave the drama behind:
Because you're not working with the same people every day, you're not subject to the drama that tends to come with working with a lot of women. But because you are a neutral party, they like to tell you the drama and like you to pick sides. Say what?! Ain't nobody got time for that.

-Meeting cool new people:
As you travel from store to store, this allows you the freedom to meet cool new people. And that doesn't just apply to beauty associates. This also applies to clients. I sit really cool clients in my chair all the time and I never hear the same story twice.

-Pay is pretty decent:
Yes, we do get paid pretty well as freelancers. We're specialized selling machines and we're typically very good at what we do. But we also don't get mileage. So we get paid overly well to compensate.

Con's:
-Soooooo much driving:
Ugh. This is the least favorite part of my job. Even though I have gotten used to all the driving, sitting in traffic is the worst. One evening, I was stuck in traffic for 3 hours because they shut down the freeway. Umm, no thank you.

-Paperwork? Eff balls!:
For those of us who are unorganized, paperwork is not a very fun experience. It requires us to become organized (which is really a pro in the long run) and get stuff done in a timely manner. Otherwise, bad things happen like you wait until the last minute to get your paperwork done and it takes you all day or you don't get paid on time. Not cute.

So overall, I actually enjoy my job. I love the cosmetics that I sell and that's half the battle. Just know that being a freelancer isn't as glamorous as it seems to be. Just like any other job, it has its up's and down's.

To Brush or Not to Brush?

So for those of you who use makeup, whether it be foundation, blush, eye shadow, whatever, the age old question comes up a lot: Should I use a brush to apply my product? Now there are those of you who argue for the good ol' cosmetic sponge, you know, the wedge or the flat sponge. And while this may be a trusty friend, but is it such a crime to make new friends?

While a sponge has the reputation of being convenient and disposable, hasn't anyone ever noticed that they kinda eat your makeup? I mean really, foundation is expensive with a good quality one averaging at $35, do we really like throwing away all that product? What kind of friend would encourage that?! So when you use a brush, they tend to eat less of your makeup and they give you a more even coverage. But wait! Your trusty sponge can still have a place in your life! Many woman have opted to use the sponge to blend any hard edges, that way, less product becomes the meal of your hungry sponge!

Brushes also have the potential to be cleaned. Whether or not you know it, brushes are supposed to be cleaned relatively often with a brush cleaning product. These often come in a spray bottle. These brush cleaners do a lot of things. They kill bacteria so it doesn't cause breakouts, they get all of immediate product out of the top of the brush, and they maintain the life of your brush. A well cared for brush will last you a long time. Sponges, however, are not really meant to be cleaned. They continually harbor bacteria and you can never get ALL of the product out. If you do happen to wash your sponge, you'll notice that they start to fall apart rather quickly. Boo!

Brushes, as far as shadows go, seem to make placement of shadows and the blending of shadows a lot easier. Not to mention the pigment of the shadows stands out a lot more when you use a brush!

Alrite ladies and gents, as always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave some love down below.

Youtube Channel

Hey everyone! I wanted to do a mid-week update. Many of you don't know that I have actually had a youtube channel for quite some time, but I haven't ever put any thing on it. So lately I've been feeling a little more inspired and have had a little more time on my hands due to poor hours at work.

So! With that being said, here is the link to my youtube channel. Also, below is my first video! Check it, love it, share it!

Thanks again everyone for all you do!

Illuminators

First, I'd like to thank Melanie Fioratos for writing me about illuminators.

Illuminators are pretty awesome accessories. They comes in 3 different forms: liquid, cream and powder. Liquids are usually in a pump bottle, creams in a compact and powder is either pressed or loose. Depending on the type of illuminator you have affects what you can do with it/the order you in which you put in on.

The main purpose of an illuminator is to accentuate the high points of the face. There are a few main areas of the face that most people tend to high light.

1. Under eye
Highlighting under the eye is really great for those of you who have dark circles. You can apply a liquid illuminator before your concealer and it'll help to reflect light and make it appear less dark under the eye.

2. Top of the cheek bones
Highlighting the tops of the cheek bones, along with some contouring, tends make the face look thinner. If you put the illuminator in a C-shape, it also give the eye a natural lift, which is a great technique for my mature clients.

3. Top and bottom of the eye brow 
If you follow the shape of the brow with the illuminator, it'll accentuate the shape of the brow.

4. Bridge (middle) of the nose
Placing the illuminator in the middle of nose in a straight line makes your nose look flatter and straighter.

5. Cupid's bow
Putting the illuminator there and around the top of the lips will make the lips look fuller.

The type of illuminator is also very important to the order that you put it on. If it's a liquid or cream, you can put in on before the makeup or mix it with a bit of foundation and put it on afterwards. But if it's a powder, whether loose or pressed, you need to put it on after you've powdered over your foundation. Otherwise, it'll look cakey and it won't blend.

Other uses for illuminators:
-You can mix it with your foundation if it's a liquid and not only will it water down the foundation, it'll also give you a dewy look.
-You can use it as an eye shadow base, on top of a primer to give your shadows more shimmer.

Favorite Eye Shadow Brands

So with all of the brands out there saying that they have the best eye shadows, how do you know which ones are really awesome? Some of them are obvious, others not so much. But here are my favorite shadows:

1. Urban Decay

So this one is more obvious as to why I like them. Frosty, awesome colors and they're really creamy. I have a few of the new ones and a few of the old ones. I have to say that they both are amazing. Plus, they always come out with the best palettes. Basically the only thing that I don't like about Urban Decay is that they don't have enough matte colors. Frosty colors are great, but you can't always make a look with frosty colors. $18 each.

2. MAC

While MAC shadows are not nearly as creamy as the Urban shadows, but the frosty ones are pretty nice. They also have a lot of matte colors, which aren't as pigmented as I'd like, but it's still better than none. Plus, you can get them pre-depotted. And there is one obvious perk: the back to MAC program. For every 6 eye shadows you return, you can get 1 shadow or lip stick/gloss. Awesome! $15 each?

3. NYX

NYX is a cheap brand that can be found at a variety of venues, from HEB to Ulta. But don't let the price fool you! While I'm not partial to a few things in the NYX line, I love their shadows! They're really pigmented and they also have a ton of frosty AND matte shadows. Plus, they have a lot of good palettes at really fair prices. 

4. Bare Minerals

When I was first introduced to Bare Minerals, they only had loose pigments. Some of them are VERY pigmented and some of them are not. Some of them stay and some of them blend away. Overall though, for a mineral pigment, they are pretty great. Just make sure to use a primer underneath them. The pressed ones, while convenient, aren't in my opinion as good as the loose pigments. They're very pigmented and smooth, but perhaps I'm set in my ways. The only real complaints I have are they don't have many matte colors that don't look chalky or difficult to blend.

5. Pur Minerals

While they don't have many colors and they're not overly pigmented, the colors they have are matte and they always seem to have the perfect color I'm looking for. They have the perfect matte pink/cream color. I like them as accessories to a look, not necessarily as a total look. Plus they're easy to blend.

Favorite Fashion Icons: Then and Now

So throughout history, there have been women that have been known for their statements in fashion. These are just a few of mine.

1. Marilyn Monroe

2. Audrey Hepburn

3. Jackie O

4. Kate Middleton 

5. Kate Moss

6. Dita von Teese

7. Blake Lively

8. Nicole Richie

9. Leighton Meester

10. Heidi Klum

11. Twiggy

License or No License?

For those of you who don't know, I'm eventually going back to school to get my estheticians license. I've been talking to a lot of people who went back to school to get their license and most of the time I get positive feedback about it. There are those, however, that don't think it's necessary. So this poses the question: To get license or not to get licensed?

One of the major benefits in my books is that it opens many a door for you. If you run your own business, you can take your skills and license on the road. You can work in a salon if you so choose, as either a makeup artist or an esthetician. Or both! Double the money.

So the obvious benefit to going to school is the education. In order to get a truly beautiful makeup, you really have to understand the skin that the makeup will be on. So much can go wrong if you don't understand the skin you're working with.

Another thing people have told me is that it's really not worth getting an estheticians license, that it's more practical to get a cosmetology license. And to those people I give a straight up no. I toyed with the idea for oh, maybe half a second, and then I realized 2 things: 1. Not only do I hate hair, but 2. It would be a great injustice to who ever got stuck with me as a stylist. So I've decided to leave it to the professionals that love their jobs.

So what's your opinion: license or no license?