Editorial Lip Focus And Male Grooming By Orlando Santiago

I had the pleasure of attending 2 classes by celebrity makeup artist Orlando Santiago.  One was for men's grooming (as I have been working with alot of male models recently) and an editorial lip focus class.

I must say, Orlando was one of the best teachers I have ever experienced.  He is someone I would genuinely like to kick it with!  After our very unprofessional male model didn't show up, Orlando simply offered himself as the subject and we were all thrilled.

As far as the editorial lip focus goes, you see he dresses the model's face in an extreme black and glitter color, but the focus was still on the lip with colors and textures as you can see.  Enjoy :)

Orlando Before

Orlando during

Orlando after

Orlando after

Model before

Model during

After

After

"On Location" Photos

Shooting with another team from Chile this week, and I have been to more "touristey" spots than I have ever been as a New Yorker.  Enjoy the photos I took with my Instagram :)

Multiple Sclerosis "Fearless" campaign shot for Elle Magazine

Multiple Sclerosis Image for "Fearless" campaign shot for Elle Magazine


http://fearlessms.org/


Photographer Angela Cappetta http://www.angelacappetta.com/
Hair: Mili Simon http://www.milisimon.com/
Makeup: Samantha Lennon http://samanthalennon.com/

Makeup Forever "Decorative Skin Detailing" Class.

A Few Images From today's Makeup Forever Class "Decorative Skin Detailing".  The teacher was Jenai.  She is extremely experienced in the body art area, especially in tattooing.  She did 3 lessons in 1, including a tattoo, a stencil, and a rubber stamp tutorial.  Here are a few images I took :)

This is her website:
http://www.jenaichin.com/

Bronzing... For Correction, Not A Tan!

I am a huge fan of Bronzer.  On myself, for my clients, but it is not the same kind of bronzing I'm talking about that would only accommodate someones tan.  Don't get me wrong, I love the pale look (& I am pretty pale lol),  It's just about giving the face dimension, depth and contour.  The bronzer can act as a color corrector to your chest, and arms.

On alot of people, their face tends to be lighter.  Maybe its because of the SPF applied everyday (as you should be) or the fact that we get facials, scrub etc.  Sometimes even in photos, the face photographs so much lighter (as I used to notice on myself).  If someone has a much tanner (or redder) chest and body than their face I would not make the foundation for the face dark to match the chest, I would try to find a common ground between the colors, and apply a bronzer around the temples, under the cheek bone, down the bridge of the nose and neck.

This is a big pro tip if you plan on being photographed.

Photo Shoot For Suite

Photography: Meg Urbani

Designer: Jennifer Diederich ( Suite)

Makeup: Samantha Lennon

Hair: Amanda Forsyth

Model: Kellyn Lindsay

New Beauty Insider Columnist For Beautynewsnyc.com

Hey guys! I am extremely PUMPED to let you know that I will be the new Beauty Insider Columnist for beautynewsnyc.com, the first online beauty magazine. I have contributed here in the past, but this time it will be a consistent monthly column, and of course with a down to earth approach on makeup. I look forward to sharing this with you all the beginning of March :)
http://www.beautynewsnyc.com/

The wrapping up of a great week...

Working this week on a Skechers Sneaker documentary with a large crew of folks from Chile (3rd year in a row), was just as awesome as can be.  It's just reassuring that through the sacrifices I am making through my journey to becoming a business owner are paying off.  The most rewarding factor of it all is having an opportunity to connect with random people I might have never met otherwise, from all over the Country and World and spending hours coming together to create a finished product.  It's also ironic because the slogan for their campaign this year is "Be The Next One".  Sounds a bit corny, I know, but it focused on "real" people in NYC, their stories, dreams, and lives.  To one native New Yorker, this touches a soft spot, and I plan to make the most out of it.  Work hard for what you want and deserve, and it is inevitable.

Published Work, Modacycle Magazine - Designer Gary Graham

story by Sia-Alika Battle
photography by Aeric Meredith-Goujon
styling by Zimir Hernandez
makeup by Samantha Lennon
hair by Sonia Castleberry
model is Aleksandra from Fenton Moon

all shoes provided by l’Autre Chose

Updated Work From Makeup Artist Samantha Lennon

Photographer Aeric MG
- makeup -
samantha lennon
- hair -
sonia castleberry

Model - Parisa

How Much Makeup Do You Really Need To Own?

My adorable kit, below...

Sometimes, when I am consulting with clients on their personal makeup situations, I see a shocking pattern:  Most women, especially ones that have serious trouble with applying their makeup, have so much makeup they don't even know what to do with it.  Before it expires, and before you run your pockets thin, you might want to learn how to use a minimal amount, and master what you have before you choose to start adding to your collection ;)


I would like to help everyone out and give you a few tips on what you really need in your personal makeup kit.  I am a makeup artist, but I have my own personal makeup that I use on myself.... of course!   Little tips will be included to actually help you downsize the amount of makeup you need to own, and buy.  Save that money for a house, or vacation, or a rainy day!


Now keep in mind, what looks minimal to some may seem excessive for others.  I will try to find that middle ground.


Your daily moisturizer with SPF- both should be fragrance free, a mattifying lotion for oily skin, a hydrating one for dry.


Tinted Moisturizer / Foundation-  No primer is needed for Tinted Moisturizer, but a primer for foundation is optional.


Concealer - Foundation bottles have a secret hidden in their caps... concealer!  Liquid foundations naturally thicken in its cap, so grab a concealer brush and go for it.


Loose / Pressed powder- You can really use both with a large powder brush to set your makeup in the T-Zone area.  Your preference


Eyeshadow Palettes (1-2) Quad (4 colors) - This would be between 4 - 8 colors.  Try a warm palette (beige, gold, brown) & a cool palette (light blue, olive green), or 2 warm palettes for more options.  I feel everyone should have a warm palette.  If you make sure to add a black color, you can use that as your eyeliner with a small angled brush (if you want to remove an additional product and not need an eyeliner)


Gel eyeliner / Pencil eyeliner.  Don't be afraid of the gel.  If you are, just draw a rough outline with the pencil, and go over with with a brush and the gel.


Mascara- Your preference, and believe me, all women have their preference :)


Lip Palette - Some women love to try many lip colors, but realistically we are only going to wear a few most of the time.  So although I am recommending a lip palette, try an emptly palette so that you can customize it yourself.  Most lip palettes come with many options, so if you are ok with that then it is for you, but for me, I just need a couple.  Bobbi Brown has an empty palette you can buy (here), that holds up to 6 lipstick colors.  You can buy any color and brand lipstick that you love, scoop out a little and put it in the palette, and take your little retractable lip brush to go. 


Blush/Bronzer are optional, but I highly encourage it.  A little goes a long way to adding depth, dimension, and glow to the skin in seconds.  Try getting one that has both, like Nars (click here) or one from Laura Geller (this is what it looks like) literally both all mixed into one.  Dust on cheeks and temples with a powder brush and you kill 2 birds with one stone.


Blotting sheets- I don't care how dry your skin is, if you are wearing foundation or tinted moisturizer, at some point in the middle of the day, you should blot.  You can get like 100 sheets for $10 at Sephora.


You are done.  Seriously, what is this like 7 products? :)

Behind The Scenes Of The Multiple Sclerosis FEARLESS Campaign

I had the privilege to work among some of the industry's best, (and giving) toward a very good cause, ending Multiple Sclerosis.  The model was Shannon Rusbuldt Fredo and the wonderful brave young lady who inspired the whole shoot, was Suzanne.  I cant wait to show you some of these images, but in the meantime, here are a few behind the scenes photos :)