From the Archives....

 

 

 Eliza Magazine Spring 2010

Cataloggin'

For the past two days I've been immersed in a catalog shoot on the West Side of Los Angeles. We started on day one in Marina Del Rey and day two was in Venice. Venice is always an interesting place to shoot; with so many interesting characters on the boardwalk, there really is never a dull moment... "Oh what was that? A man in ankle socks and a fanny pack dressed as an Aztec warrior? You don't say?!" Anyhow, here are some behind the scenes shots that I took with my new iPhone.

Model popsicles... seriously, it's true- whenever you are shooting spring/summer it's always super cold. The girls piled on blankets, sweaters and Ugg boots between shots. Such troopers!

Action shot, all fancy Hipstamatic style.

Video village

Sweet graffiti on the boardwalk.

Fisherman's Village, Marina Del Rey, CA.

I was trying to get a quick shot and the model took a sip of the hot chocolate (yeah, it's a very tropical and fancy hot chocolate)... apparently, it wasn't very good.

 

Miss Alex, so sweet and beautiful. Loved her.

The beasts: Hair & Make-up Kit. 

 

Now that my bones have warmed up a bit, I want to share my favorite things that I used on this job.

This is my favorite new product by far, hands DOWN. I used Smog, Half-Baked and Darkhorse on all of the girls.

With commercial and lifestyle work you want the make-up to be long wearing and unfussy. I like to use this pencil super tight to the lashline and smudge it up just a bit to emphasize the lashes.

I used this color on everybody on this shoot, this bright coral pink is super versatile and makes  a beautiful stain when it's patted lightly on the lip.

I am so in love with Super Lush Lips balm. I have one for myself and one for my kit. It is the perfect cure for wind chapped lips.

Kevyn Aucoin Powder Glow Blush in Myracle- used it on everybody and it looked stunning, I like to use a fluffy brush and get a nice sheer wash of color.

This is my secret weapon for limp hair. Shooting outdoors in a misty environment like the beach can be a hair nightmare especially with when the models are constantly messing with their hair. On day two when we were on the beach, in lieu of weighty product I spritzed a bit of dry shampoo on their roots and had them flip their hair before we started shooting.

I don't know if I'm adding this one more for me or for the models. I like to use a super fine mist to keep the make-up fresh especially after the after-lunch powder and touch up. it keeps the make-up from looking too make-up-ey.... and I really like the smell.

I try to use as little powder as possible, so between changes I like to do a quick sweep with the Clean & Clear blotting papers.

Early Call Times

I am telling you from experience and from the perspective of a non-admitting "morning person"- it never gets easier to wake up and look presentable anytime before 5am. I'm heading to Los Angeles for the next two days for a sweet catalog job with a client from a couple years back and one half of my favorite styling team, Sarah of Sunshine & Sarah fame. 

Oh To Be Fourteen and Gorgeous

Sometimes when I'm on set, I get truly struck by the beauty and personality of the models. I find it very impressive that many of these girls (who are mostly 14-20) years old have managed to survive, thrive and be savvy in such a tough industry. This is one of my new favorites, teenaged Tabitha from Next LA. I had the please of shooting with her last week with Angela+Ithyle. Kristen Ess rocked the hair out, my assistant Teddie Bergman was a lifesaver and as always Sarah and Sunshine CRUSHED the wardrobe styling with a very country cutie kind of vibe which absolutely played into my love for all things Nashville. We decided to go a little bit funky and non-country with the make-up- just glowing, dewy skin and a bright technicolor cat-eye. On Tabitha I used MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in Hi Def Cyan as the liner and created the cat eye my manipulating the liner with an angle brush, I also went really tight into the lashline with MAC eye pencil in Indigo just to give a little more depth to the look and make the lashes pop. Also, don't even ask what she is wearing on her lips- because it's just chapstick... that's right, this girls lips are naturally that color.

The Make Up Show Los Angeles

I'm headed to the California Market Center in lovely Downtown Los Angeles for the final day of the Make Up Show. Today (Sunday) I will be teaching a hands on airbrush workshop on behalf of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics from 3-6pm and I'll be hanging out in the booth slingin' hash, answering questions and generally believing my own hype for an hour or so beforehand. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody's smiling faces, but I am not looking forward to the gnar-gnar Academy Award traffic that always seems to envelope the city once a year- at least it's in Hollywood and fairly far away from where I am.

I was invited to come on the blogger/press preview day on Friday, where I got the pleasure of previewing some of the best products from the brands showing this year. Here are some of my favorites from the goodie bag:

Yves St. Laurent Volume Effect Faux Cils- a mini version that gets the job done.

Make Up For Ever Lab Shine- I love the lot of them, but my particular personal favorites are M4, M0, S26, S12 & D16. Lately in my personal cosmetic wardrobe I've been working out a sort of 90's throwback Mi Vida Loca nutmeg colored lip, so I love to layer S12 over MAC's Creme in Your Coffee and Make Up For Ever Aqua Lip #5C & #7C.  

I was super psyched to see this in the goodie bag.  A dear friend of mine assisted in the product development of Celebre and I played with it on set a couple weeks back and let me tell you, this stuff is like BUTTER. Goes on the skin smoothly and flawlessly and stays put. 

Lip Tars, what are those? Just kidding! If you are reading a make-up blog, you are probably already obsessed with them- as you should be. The colors are sick and the formula is even sicker. My new favorites are Trick, Interlace, Analog and Beta. 

The unsung hero of the bag. Where has this lash curler been all of my life? I never thought I'd like a curler more than my beloved Shu, but this one is better. As it turns out, Kevyn actually assisted in the product development of the Shu Uemura curler, so it makes sense that his would be of great quality as well. 

Hello My Little Lotus Blossoms!

Hello all,

Let me start by introducing myself- my name is Rachel Rose DeSimone and I have been a working as a freelance make-up artist in Southern California for six years now. I currently reside in the lovely city of Newport Beach, CA with my two dogs (Nigel & Henry) and a closet full of cosmetics.  I absolutely love what I do and thank the maker every day that I get to pay my bills by doing what I love. Seriously, even on my WORST day, I make my living doing make-up... pretty cool, right? I suppose the first post in Make-Up Land should be a bit of a mission statement, eh? This blog will consist of product recommendations, tips, tricks, trends and a behind the scenes exclusive VIP pass into my career and the world of being a working make-up artist.

If you would like to check out some of the work that I've done and am doing- feel free to check out my website or my IMDB page.