I'm frequently asked what inspires me to create makeup looks and if I ever run out of ideas. Honestly, makeup for me is so much more than just paint so it's easy to be inspired. It's passion, it's expression, and it's conveying your emotions and feelings on a canvas that is naturally animated. Makeup makes me want to grab beauty from everywhere and exude that feeling on a face. Today I want to share with you, in photos, a glimpse of my inspiration taken by a true artist, Kassia Phoy.

Hey everyone! I am so excited to share my first venture out again after being sick, which was such an amazing blessing: getting to visit the Too Faced headquarters! I've got to say, as a beauty blogger and flat-out makeup lover, there are few things that inspire me more than to get to see first-hand the passion and creativity of those behind the products that make it to counters. This visit to the fun, sparkly, PINK offices at Too Faced definitely didn't disappoint. With my bff photographer extraordinaire Kassia (all these photos are big-time credit to her, she's basically made of angels and unicorns) in tow, we set out to enjoy all the pretty at the event!

The intimate event was to reveal Too Faced's Fall 2013 release which I cannot wait to share with you. Definitely the big highlight was this Pretty Rebel neutral-with-sexy-punches eyeshadow palette. Sooo creamy and pigmented, and just enough edginess to inspire something different each time.


Check out more photos of the event below!

Hey everyone! You may have noticed that I've been MIA lately because I decided to give myself a full break for healing from my cold which was stubbornly not going away and also because I've recently had a couple of dear friends from my hometown visit. I wanted to share with you a few casual photos that my amazingly talented pro-photographer bestie Kassia took at Disneyland (you may remember her work from these posts including my wedding) and share with you the winner of my recent giveaway!

After doing the "Confessions of a Shoeaholic" tag video, I went back through my old photos trying to think of if I had ever posted an outfit with my beloved hot pink heels. It seems I haven't done a proper outfit post in so long that the neon beauties got left behind! It's a good thing I happened to take them to my trip to LA last year for IMATS along with my dear Kassia who makes photos magical.

The biggest key to wearing such a loud statement shoe is to go neutral for the rest of the look. Grey tube dresses and flowing blouses make for breezy, comfy summer outfits that are refreshed by the bright heel. If you look closely, you can also see some subtle complimentary color blocking going on.

Hey everyone! As you may have picked up from reading my blog, I really love to share my love for makeup and beauty. This can only mean that one of my favorite things to do is express, express, express myself in multiple facets! I'm so blessed to have some amazingly talented friends to have fun together with, so I wanted to share some of those moments with you. ^.^

A couple of months ago my good friend Kassia, who happens to be an incredible photographer, invited me to come along to her photographer friend Kelley's house to have a just-for-fun shoot. I brought some of my kit and the two talented women brought their weapons of choice (camera, a balloon, jewelry, etc.)

Here's some behind the scenes video that Kassia caught of me applying makeup on Kelley and some of Kelley's gorgeous shots:


And I did my own makeup of course too! It was a pinky-brown look with extra-long winged liner, one of my favorite "natural but popping" looks. The weather was just ridiculously nice and Kelley lives out in the country with acres of land so they caught an incredible sunset that gave everything this heavenly warmth.

Here are a few shots that Kassia took of me.


And some that Kelley took. Can you see a difference in their styles? I think it's fascinating! Love it! :)


And one of the incomparably beautiful Kelley. She's actually currently offering a special deal on mini-shoots for $250/30 minutes of shooting and 15 edited images on a cd for you to print. Contact kelley@kelley-photo.com for more details. :)


For kicks, they also took some old school polaroids. I just adore how authentic these look. Somehow they seem more like you are actually catching reality off guard. Its innate imperfections make it that much more beautiful.


I know it was SO many photos but with these two amazing, friendly, professional photographer friends, everything was just a blast and I am constantly reminiscing about the experience. ^.^ Nothing like good memories caught on film to brighten your day. Thank you so much Kassia and Kelley! You two shine like bright beacons in a world where everyone with a camera thinks they are a master photographer. You don't take pictures, you create art and I will always be in awe of your talent and inner beauty as well.

Hope you could feel transported along with me to our vision of sunshine, giant balloons, yellow grass, brown boots, and smiles. :)

As promised, here are some of the photos from the photoshoot I had with my amazingly talented photographer friend, Kassia. She is the same photographer who took my wedding pictures and I absolutely adore her as a person too. ^^ We decided to just hang out for a day and get some interesting makeup headshots so I only wore one simple outfit: plain black tube top and floral skirt, and I also had my leather jacket.

After feeling like blogger seriously pixellates my photos, I have decided to upload my pics from this post to photobucket to do her photography justice. I profusely apologize for watermarking all over her work, and in respect to her, please do not take or use any of these photos without her and my permission. ;)

We started off with basic beauty shots. Very natural makeup, no jewelry, no fixing hair. For this look I used MAC Studio Sculpt foundation in NC30 and model 21 lashes in style #21 (my FAV boxed lashes! so natural!).



Without changing too much, we developed a totally new look by adding Kassia's red L'Oreal lipstick. I also lined my waterline with a nude pink to brighten the eyes.





Then we decided to totally amp up the look with a Japanese girly-punk concept. Since we originally were just intending to do headshots, it was completely spontaneous but I think it came together well! This is probably one of my favorite photoshoot series' that I've ever done. I added a hot pink clip-in hair extension and curled my hair (see Japanese Hair Curling Tutorial). For the eyes, I used my Ben Nye Grande Lumiere Palette for a rainbow-look and added extra black eyeliner especially to the inner corners of the eyes for a cat-eye effect. Lips were NYX Round lipstick in Power, my favorite nude-lavender lippy.










Kassia, thank you so much for your grace and talent while you work! I had so much fun getting lunch and bubble tea, then shooting with you. What a great day! I can't wait until next time. :D

xoxo

Aughhhh! I just wrote the entire post up for hours and for some reason, almost all of it deleted and autosaved with almost nothing. T_T Anyway, here's me rewriting everything.

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Hey everyone! Sorry I have been posting less frequently lately but it is because my 1 year anniversary is coming up on Sunday! I can't believe it has already been one year and I can't imagine having lived any other way. It has even been, dare I say, easy?

It could be that we had dated for 7 years before we got married and got a lot of bumps out in the past but being around my best friend has been so rewarding emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. We are both really good about filling up each others' emotional bank accounts with hugs, laughter, and inside jokes and that helps to sustain us for when times get rough. As long as you are really ready, there is nothing better.

Now, on with the wedding photos.

Size 4 Linea Paolo heels. Mmm, shiny and sparkly!

Tiara


The bouquet. LOVE orchids, they were the theme of my wedding.


My tools. :D


The bridesmaids' dresses. I loved the Grecian goddess bust and the black velvet waist.


My dress


The gorgeous church. Orchids on the pews!


Getting ready


Last minute touch-ups on my maid of honor


I love the little buttons at the back of my dress


Getting my bling put on


Omma adjusting my necklace. <3


This dress had SO many layers that needed to be puffed out!



Crystal lily centerpiece. My mom and I put these all together. :)



Getting the giant veil put on


Pastor and hubs


Appa and me (and my bouquet! Both of which I were gripping onto for dear life!)


Ring, ring!


The kiss (or as my pastor called it, "You may now do the... Holy love action."


Too ridiculously happy


It's all over, we're hitched!



The after-party with a bit of my favorite, salsa dancing!


Our choreographed "Thriller" dance


Our couples dance


That's it, goodnight everyone!



Haha, sorry for so many photos but it was just too hard to choose! Thank you so much to Kassia for her wonderful photography to capture my wedding day. It still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Now onto the makeup talk! There are a few rules that you are going to want to keep in mind for your wedding or special event like prom. I know rules are meant to be broken but for the makeup to last all day and look good in photography, these are good rules to keep in mind:

1. Stay away from glitter and shimmery makeup. You want the photos to show your face, not white reflective dots all over. This includes mineral makeup.

2. Stay away from sunscreen or anything with spf because it will give your face a white cast in photos. The only exception is an outdoor wedding. :)

3. USE PRIMERS! Urban Decay Primer Potion is always great for eyelids, and a face primer is sure to keep your face matte and looking smooth with no touch ups for longer.

4. Consider using long-wear lip colors. I used Maybelline Superstay Gloss in 160 Glass Rose.

5. If you are bent on using lipstick, first apply liner on the entire lip and then the lipstick. Blot lips on a tissue, apply a second layer of lipstick, and dust loose powder over the lips through a tissue. This will set the lipstick and make it last.

6. I recommend using all matte eyeshadows. You can get away with something with a satin finish on the lid or crease, but at least get a good matte highlight color. I used NYX single eyeshadows in white and brown, and the Revlon Colorstay quad in Copper Spice.

7. Exfoliate your skin and lips the day before so you have a smooth canvas to work on.

8. Consider using false eyelashes. They really make eyes shine in photos!

9. Buy and use a new tube of WATERPROOF MASCARA. You will cry. Other people will cry. You will cry because other people cry. Even if you don't, you still want to be safe. ;)

10. Practice! If you are doing your own makeup, you want a game plan before the big day. You'll want the least amount of surprises, trust me. If you are having a makeup artist, is really pays to have a trial run so you know what you are getting. There is nothing worse than feeling awful or self-conscious because you weren't prepared for an uncomfortable makeup artist job. Same goes for hair!

11. Go a little more dramatic than usual, but stick with a classic look that you will be comfortable with. Trendy is fun, but you want everything to stand the test of time. Just look at old 80's wedding pics! Ahhh, the hair and makeup!!!

12. Don't forget your nails. So many people will ask to see your ring and your hand will be photographed more than usual. A simple pale pink or french manicure is really clean and classy.

13. Hire an awesome photographer! Your pretty makeup and dress will all be just memories without a great photographer to capture them. Do not skimp on this, and check out photographers' portfolios before you agree for them to shoot your wedding.

14. Get plenty of sleep and drink a lot of water. You will be going at full speed so it will REALLY be needed!

15. Relax, have fun, and don't sweat the small stuff. No wedding is perfect so whatever happens, just roll with it and have a good time. :)

Good luck and congratulations all of you who are getting married, have already been married, and want to get married some day. It's a truly beautiful thing and I hope you guys enjoy having read about mine as much as I had sharing it with you.

XOXO