I'm no elf but I work on Christmas Eve

The so called glamorous life of a makeup artist often sees us working at times when we shouldn't, like Christmas Eve. I did makeup for Bronwyn and her daughters, they were hosting Christmas dinner and this family always goes all out no matter what the occassion. They are great to work with, they always have a fully stocked bar and they never let your glass run dry... my kind of people! .... this is the SPARE fridge, just in case!

Misery loves company so I was thrilled that Shane was the chosen photographer for the evening, hey if I'm gonna work then someone I know had better be working too. And Shane isn't just someone I know, he is my gay husband's husband, Days of Our Lives! Shane and I both invited him to join us as Bronwyn's family are cool like that, but he ditched us for some stupid online gaming thing, on Christmas Eve!! It was really nice though cause I've never had the chance to spend time with Shane alone, he normally leaves us girls to chit chat. In between working we had a long talk about religion and life, really interesting stuff....is it legal to marry my gay husband's husband? Hmmm I think I should schedule separate visits with each of them from now on!

The only downside to having Shane and his fast fingers there was getting caught pretending to make out with a giraffe, and then being forced to pose for a proper photo! I hate photos of myself!


Holy mother of dwarves my skin is snow white!!

Christmas in this house is more fun than most. Even the Christmas stockings are more fun!

There was also a mobile bar with a cute barman who put on a great flaring show which I totally interpreted as lets-blow-this-popsicle-stand-and-go-live-on-an-island. My hands kept being given yet another fancy cocktail so I didn't manage to get a pic of him (that's not a good enough excuse I know!) but Shane has plenty pics from that night, I just need to make a note to nag him and update this post accordingly (don't hold your breaths people...look, a pretty flower in my drink...see how distracting it is, even you forgot about the cute barman for a second!)

So what does a dad who has everything want for Christmas? A piano that plays itself of course! Super cool right? Let me tell you, when you walk into the room and no one else is there and the piano is playing itself you start believing in the Ghost of This Is Your Last Christmas! What the hell is in these cocktails?? I think the barman is trying to get me drunk!

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She makes it look easy

How's this pic? A bit of a mind fuck right? When you first see it you need to stare at it for a couple of seconds to figure out what's going on.

I frikken love this pic! When Johann sent it to me my first thought was 'DAMN I wish I was part of shoots like this', then the couple of seconds kicked in and my next thought was 'OH MY GOD THAT'S FROM OUR SHOOT!!!!!!!'. I WAS part of shoots like this.

Little Miss SpiderGirl is one of the most insane models I have ever worked with. No, scratch that, she is THEE most insane person I know! You could tell her to wear nothing but a piece of dental floss, strap a chandelier to her head, rub moose poop on her face then jog around Antarctica and she would say 'I'm on it, hold my smokes', although it might take her away from her spot in the limelight on reality tv creating drunken lesbians! I love this girl. She's a tough cookie. A fun looney loud cookie with a gooey centre... yeah when she repeats that she's gonna make it sound like I want a piece of her gooey cookie and then she's gonna fondle my boobs and tell me how much she missed them. Love her.

Back to the photo. The day we shot this it was freezing cold. Us behind-the-scenes folk were wearing 6 layers of winter woolies and huddled around a fire (okay fine I was the only one squealing like a stuck pig about the cold). SpiderGirl in her itty bitty outfit scaled the wall and hung around (literally) until we had the perfect shot. And just to show how much we love her and didn't want to see her fall off the wall and get squished like a bug the boys rushed to help her get down
I'm surrounded by gentlemen. And a hot little stick of dynamite that could take them all down! I love my job!

I hate photos of myself

I really hate having my picure taken, it just feels so corny, say cheeeeeeeze!

Ignore the unruly eyebrows, the wild blush, the lazy eyes and the red lips (first and probably last time you'll see me with red lips, my generation is all about a dark smokey eye and nude lip - why do mua's never say eyes and lips? smokey eyes and nude lips is good grammar and a full face, smokey eye and nude lip is really just bad education and half a face of makeup!)

I had many, many, many, when I say many I really do mean a lot, of caiparinhas in me when this pic was taken. It was the first day I had ever worn really red nail polish and the peanut gallery was trying to convince me to wear red lipstick. I wouldnt budge until Mike the barman (complete with feather boa and stories of life in South America) started pouring caiparinhas down my throat. Anyhoo somehow I was part of a bet that saw me in red lips being photographed by Nick who was wearing fishnet stockings and gold heels..... what the hell was in those caiparinhas??? Add 2 drunk models and you have a ridiculously fun shoot.


For anyone thinking its a half decent pic of me have a look at the before pic, god I love photoshop! and omg I need to save up for surgery on those undereye bags, jeez they are more like trolleys than bags!


You can read the full story at http://www.modelbase.co.za/forums/8_3854_0.html, good times!


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Me Me Me!

So I realise I should have started the blog with this post but oh well.

No I didnt grow up wanting to be a makeup artist. I didnt know I was interested in doing makeup until the age of 24 (okay 28 but who's counting and besides Linda Mason also only started at 28 and she's super famous now... erm, okay so she's super famous to some makeup artists not super famous like Brangelina).

So how did I become a makeup artist? I had a lipgloss addiction, a Dior lipgloss addiction, a very expensive lipgloss addiction, and I was bored. My real job was managing a model marketing agency, it just seemed like a good idea to do something creative that would also be useful for events and photoshoots I was booking models for. So I chose makeup artistry.

I originally wanted to sign up for an intensive week long course but somehow got convinced to part with 3 times more money and study for 6 months instead..... good thing they were dealing classes not drugs.

Fast forward two years later and I have a pretty darn good portfolio and a fab website www.stavmua.com (yours truly did most of the work creating that website, just the logo and background aren't my work...they are Johann Marx' work). I have worked with many photographers and models, I have done tons of work for free, I have done a fair amount of paid work, I have received glowing references and yet some days I wake up and honestly think I know nothing about makeup :-S

I have been through a I-hate-girl-makeup phase. It was at the time when we were doing a lot of boy makeup shoots and girl makeup just seemed sooooo boring (yes working with gorgeous boys with gorgeous bodies was far more captivating than doing just another natural look on a pretty poppie). Very few photographers are willing to shoot boys so I'm back to doing girl makeup and actually enjoying it *makes a note that Johann owes her a lot of boy shoots*

I am currently going through a am-i-good-enough-phase. Sure my portfolio is great but is it because my work is great or because I have worked with great togs and models?


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Bridal Boredom

I am not a fan of bridal makeup. Uptight brides resisting any colour on their faces, panicked bridal parties, the inevitable peanut gallery that insists they know more about makeup than you do.... I am not a fan of bridal makeup!

My portfolio has beautiful girls in it, they simply outshine any bride I add to my portfolio. Overall I find that brides are not pretty, they are not ugly, but next to the models pics they just do not compare.

So I decided to do a bridal studio shoot complete with a fake bride and borrowed dress. I am a fan of 'frides' - fake brides!

Sweet sweet Jane

My mom has a small box of pink sugar crystals that set her back R80. We arent actually allowed to use them cause they 'cost a lot of money you know!'. My nieces often stick a licked finger in the box while granny is not looking. I snuck the box out and used it for a shoot once, pretty pleased with the result. After the shoot, we hid downstairs, licked and dipped, and I told my nieces all about the shoot and pretty Yolandi

Photographer: Johann Marx, Model: Yolandi Nel

My 'I-can-die-now' Pics

I squealed with delight when I first saw this pic, I squealed with delight every time I saw this pic for months afterwards, I still squeal a bit on the inside when I see it. Absolutely adore this pic!

Our gorgeous model, Morne van den Berg, was extremely patient and tolerant. When I said 'Hey maybe I should splash some pink and silver face paint on you then stick these real purdy flowers on top?, he didnt even try put up a fight, he just let me do my thing. Even Johann Marx (our super talented photographer- aka my gay husband - http://www.johannmarx.com/) doubted my idea at first... but now he trusts me :-)

Oh and just a quick heads up - baby wipes and certain face paint colours create an awful stench that will have you thinking the neighbourhood brats have dropped a stink bomb and you will secretly suspect the models pineapple and fish soup diet *scrunches her nose and shakes her head to dislodge the stinky memory*

I heard you squeal! I dont think I will ever tire of looking at this pic - the colours, the styling (our oh-so-fab stylist Miss Jordan Leschinsky, how pretty is she? http://www.jordanleschinsky.com/), the gorgeous model (super gorgeous Esmarilda Dankaert, http://www.esmarildadankaert.com/), and of course the squeal inducing photography, lighting, and postwork by Johann Marx (http://www.johannmarx.com/)


hmmm seems having your name as your website name is what all the kool kids are doing these days

I was asked to do makeup (tfcd aka for free) for a design student, I figured it was just some girl who would need a couple of pics in various outfits she had designed and really wasnt expecting fabulous results but hey we need to look after our friends

I went off to the shoot half expecting to be bored out of my mind but boy was I wrong! The shoot was based on The Corruption of Alice in Wonderland, these design kids went to so much effort to make sure that every single detail was perfect- from the venue (a garden whose gardener I am certain is smoking the mushrooms that grow there) to the miniature curtains in the house that made Alice look like a giant. The outfits were absolutely gorgeous, the models all took on their roles with as much brilliance as Sawyer's bare chest on Lost. I was blown away by how well thought out and executed the entire shoot was, I hung around for the whole day, what an amazing experience


The photographer Nick Raper (aka Fav) did an absolutely amazing job of the post work. Have a look at his work http://www.timeframephoto.co.za/ (www.nickraper.com must have been taken)

Challenge pic

This was given to me as a challenge by Mark Freebs (cant remember how to spell his real surname!) the original challenge pic featured a girl but lo and behold our model cancelled on the day we were supposed to shoot... thank the gods for Simon Tuit who saved the day! this is the most commented on pic in my portfolio *does a victory dance*

The photographer is Johann Marx, fab fab fab, check out his work at http://www.johannmarx.com/