29.5.12

Girls Day

Posted by jachacosmetics


Last month, the girls from THREE in Guelph decided to get together and do a girls spa day for young girls in crises.  We decided to reach out to the community and get donations of makeup and styling products, and then teach the girls how to do their makeup and hair.  We also received donations of professional clothing, so these young ladies could dress the part for an interview.  When Margie from fresh images learned of our event, she decided she wanted to donate professional portraits of the girls, and joined our cause.

With all the wonderful donations and the generosity from not only the Guelph Community, but from friends and family members wanting to help, we were overwhelmed with the success of this event. Although, the girls were hesitant at first as to why complete strangers would want to help them, they ended up loving every minute of being pampered. The girls left with bags of brand new makeup and hair products, as well as some key wardrobe pieces. The girls could not thank us enough, and had an amazing time. After seeing themselves in pictures, they thought they might have a chance as super models. Hearing those comments made me feel so proud to know that spending four hours with these girls , helped to build confidence that will last a life time. Below are some pictures of the wonderful event, so that you can see the happiness your gifts gave to these girls! Thanks again for your support, it means a lot to myself and the staff at THREE.










27.5.12

A Wedding Day Experiment

Posted by jachacosmetics

            Brides Hair and Makeup           jacha minerals Makeup and THREE Hair


You have finally found the partner you want to marry, you spend months looking for the perfect venue, your best girl friends are gathered to be your bridesmaids, and of course, you have found the dress of your dreams.  With all your wedding day wishes coming true, you notice your bank account dwindling fast. You do your own makeup and hair every day, and you feel you have it down to an art form, so the question is do you really want to spend the extra money to employ a professional makeup artist and hair stylist? What difference does it really make? 

When a newly engaged bride recently asked me this same question, I decided to actually show her the difference a professional makes.   Even though I agreed she did a great job doing her own hair and makeup, I knew that we would be able to provide her with little tricks and techniques to make her look like the princess she wanted to be on her wedding day.

The look: The tear sheet the bride wanted to recreate for her wedding makeup was a dramatic smoky eye with a purple hue, and a beautiful red lip.  She wanted her hair to be off to the side in a soft bun.
Implementing the look:  Using her tear sheet as a reference, our bride pulled out her makeup kit and styling tools, and created the look she envisioned on her wedding day.   LaCreme provided us with a beautiful dress and accessories, and Margie at fresh images captured pictures of the overall look.   After the photographs were taken of the brides makeup application and hair styling,  I (jacha minerals) and Steph( THREE Salon and Spa in Guelph) recreated the look using the same tear sheet as the bride had brought in for reference.
The Brides Observations:
1.       Her eyebrows were filled in when the professional did her makeup and she had not done that on her own.
2.       Her skin looks a lot more healthy and bright with the professional makeup, and she felt that the makeup she did on her own washed her out.
3.       She thought that her own liner application actually made her eyes appear smaller then when she had her makeup done professionally.
4.       She noticed that her cheek bones looked more defined in the picture with her makeup done professionally.
5.       She was a bit surprised when the purple she applied on her eyes, almost came out as a soft pink when we looked at the results in the pictures.
6.       She also noticed when a professional did her hair is looked more polished and finished, and the flower was placed in a more subtle way.
Final Conclusion: Hiring someone to apply your wedding day makeup and hair will help complete your look. Even if you are great at applying your makeup and doing your hair on your own, professionals understand how to make you look your best in photographs.  She also felt that when she did her own hair and makeup she was stressed and struggled to recreate a specific look.  When she had someone else do her hair and makeup, she was much more relaxed and was confident her team of professionals would be able to achieve the look she had wanted for her wedding day.   After this experience, saving costs by not hiring professionals was no longer an option for her.  So brides, it’s your wedding day, sits back and gets the royal treatment.

24.5.12

Putting the Artist back in Makeup

Posted by jachacosmetics


I've been a makeup artist for over 7 years now.  No this does not mean I wasn't smart enough to go to school to be a lawyer, it means I spent 9 months in school learning all aspects of makeup.  I choose to become a makeup artist because I knew I had the talent and the drive to make it in this competitive industry.   Above is a picture of the Anatomy of the Human Skull, and I had to study this to become a professional makeup artist.  Not only do you need this information to know where to create bruising if someone is supposed to have a broken nose, or if a producer says you need a laceration on the maxilla, you need to know where that it is.  They may just tell you the mental protuberance has broke, you need to know what that would look like if your recreating it through makeup. Below are pictures of the different eye shapes that people have.  When you are a professional makeup artist it is your job to identify what eye shape your client has and how to apply shadows and liners to accentuate their features.   
We also work with the contours of the face adding highlight and shadows in order to enhance different aspects of the face.  You can actually change your face shape by countering and highlighting in the right places.   A professional Makeup Artist, is meant to be an artist, and we see your face as our canvas.   Yes I understand there are some individuals out there who are taking the artist out of makeup artist, but please don't disrespect those who are keeping the art alive.  




































20.3.12

Spring/Summer 2012 Makeup Collection

Posted by jachacosmetics





The Spring and Summer 2012 Collection is inspired by strong beautiful women, and defining beauty by the confidence you have in yourself.
The trends for this season are bold pops of colours on the eyes and lips, along with illuminated skin.  Oranges are a big colour trend, and although they seem a bit intimidating, it actually flatters and makes almost any eye colour pop!  

Try to mix up the traditional smokey eye by using purples,blues and greens instead.

BOOK A JACHA MINERALS MAKEUP PARTY AND LEARN WHAT COLOURS WOULD WORK ON YOU, AND LEARN THE TECHNIQUES TO APPLY SHADES THAT YOU MIGHT NOT NORMALLY BE DRAWN TO. 

IF YOUR IN THE GUELPH AREA, BE SURE TO ALSO CHECK OUT OUR NEW COLLECTION AT THREE.

25.1.12

Boudoir Contest Winners

Posted by jachacosmetics

This blog has been a while in the making.  I am not sure if you all remember a contest I did last year with Fresh Images photography to win a boudoir photo session?  We were on a search to find one lucky deserving woman, and give her a day of pampering and confidence building photography.  The entries came flowing in and we had some great competition.  It didn't matter how beautiful our contestants where, they all are searching for the same thing, confidence.  I feel like a boudoir session, whether it is for yourself or someone else, is an amazing experience.  You get pampered with beautiful hair and makeup, put on sexy outfits and pose in the most flattering poses.  This mixed in with a bit of photoshop, you get to feel like a super star.   Here is an over view of our entries and of course, the finished product :)

We narrowed the competition down to three lucky contestants and the voting did the rest :) Char ended up winning, but because Christine put on such a fight, we ended up giving her a boudoir shoot too.

On the day of the shoot, I packed my hair and makeup kit and headed off to Oakville.  We decided we would do the boudoir sessions at Chars condo as it was pretty and girly and filled with light.  Char and Christine were both pretty nervous in the beginning, but Margie is great at making you feel relaxed and comfortable during the shoot.  Char is used to my makeup expertise so that part was nothing out of the ordinary for her, but Christine seemed to light up when her hair and makeup were all done.  Nothing like a beautiful soft smokey eye and false lashes to make you feel like a sex kitten.  Here are some of the final images, obviously I was limited to what photos I could use as they are private, but they are still gorgeous.

Enjoy the transformation!







Since the boudoir session, Charlotte has ditched her "douche bag" boyfriend and has got the confidence back to play the dating game. She is currently going on dates with men that are "worth 20x more then him" and I have a feeling her prince charming is around the corner.   

 Since the boudoir session , Christine has decided not to adopt cats, as she is way to sexy to be "eaten by cats."  She tried to purchase her billboard, but was denied due to the fact it would have caused a dangerous frenzy of ciaos.  She decided to plaster her condo walls with photos of herself instead, and every morning when she wakes up she looks at them and says "who wouldn't want to be with me?" I assume she works less because her agenda is packed filled with dates, but this is not yet confirmed.






10.1.12

"Little Fish in a Big Pond" a post on Networking

Posted by jachacosmetics

When you work in the freelance industry, no matter what your service is, if your a Photographer, a Makeup Artist, a Hair Stylist, we are all just "Little Fish in a Big Pond".  We only get work by being great at what we do, and by getting the word out there the best we can.  When talking to Rebecca at Heratage Photograhy, she used the term "Little Fish in a  Big Pond" and inspired me to write this post.
In this industry I feel it is very important to network whenever possible and get to know everyone in your field, you should not feel threatened by the artists in your area, but you should get to know them and always take the cards of anyone you meet.  Whenever I meet a new Makeup Artist in the area, I take their card, and instead of competing with them, I refer them when I am booked.  This not  only helps them gain business in this crazy industry, but you hope that they will do the same.  If you are confident in your skills, then referring others in your field can only be a positive thing. It is also a great way to base your pricing, being new to Guelph area, I found Meghan Barbours information, and emailed her about her pricing, to make sure mine was on par.  I did not pretend to be a client, I was honest with her, and the more I talked to her and read her work, I began to refer her to others when I was booked.  I personally know how hard I have had to work to get where I am today, and if I can help someone else gain business, then why not? If I can give a piece of advice to anyone who is freelancing in the wedding industry, sign up with http://www.theweddingring.ca/, they have been fabulous to me and my business.

I have also found in my field and again in the freelance world, there are a lot of people who claim to be "Makeup Artists" and "Photographers", and charge ridiculously low prices.  So if I can help those of us who have spent years of school and time, building our careers and charging rates that we can make a respectful living off of, why not.  Feel free to start networking with each other as well, it never hurts.

Makeup Artists:




Of course I fall under this category, and you can see my full services and rates at http://www.jachaminerals.com/, but because I am fortunate enough to constantly have bookings, I would like to pass on some other great artists I have come across lately.

Jamie Sweeny-Freelance Makeup Artist-Niagara Region/ Toronto  Email:  j_sween_e@hotmail.com (website coming soon)

Jamie and I worked together at a spa in Toronto, and we have always stayed in touch and built a friendship.  Jamie is based out of the Niagara Region, but travels to other areas. She is currently employed at Mac, and is talented enough to know how to do dramatic makeup looks, and beautiful natural looks. She has done my makeup on many occasions, and has helped me at my makeup parties from time to time,  so she is definitely someone I trust as an artist.



Meghan Barbour-I came across Meghan under the Makeup Artist Directory, and after seeing her work, I added her to my list of contacts for Makeup Artists in the Guelph Area.  Her clients always appear to be happy with her work, and on the occassions I have talked to her, she seems more then proffessional at what she does.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.makeupartistdirectory.com%2Fmeghanbarbour&h=RAQFppzH2AQGM_DEW3F9z0S-0qb9jQSjAL_pvVgfhloHBbw

Steph Brown-Kiss-N-Makeup

Steph Brown is also a freelance Makeup Artist that I met at the Wedding Ring Bridal show this weekend,  she is new to the area, so I asked to see pictures of her work, and added her to my referral list.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kiss-n-makeup.ca%2F&h=cAQE7sU7L


Photographers:

When I am on location I usually come across some great photographers, and love referring them to my brides to help narrow their search.

Margie Mclean- http://www.freshimages.ca/


I work with Margie often, and as you can see on my website and facebook, I love her work.  I met Margie when I was working at Community Living, and we were happy to find out we both had talents beyond CLO and would work well together. Margie has been the photographer for my Jacha Minerals photo shoots, photographed my products, and lately I have been fortunate to have her at the weddings that I do makeup for.  Margie has also asked me to collaborate with her by doing the makeup for her Boudoir Photo shoots, which you can read more information about on my blog.




Rebecca Zinger- Heritage Photography
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heritage-photography.ca%2F&h=tAQEHesHZ

I worked with Rebecca when I was doing wedding makeup for a fabulous bride Jessica.  I know Jessica had nothing but fabulous things to say about her, and later on I had a friend of mine inform me that she knew her, and again had nothing but great things to say about her work. I am excited to be doing the Makeup for her upcoming wedding, and getting to know Rebecca better.



.

Darlene- Jakal Photography http://jakal-photography.com/





Darlene is located out of Seaforth, Ontario and has been the photographer for a few brides I did wedding makeup for.  I know they both loved their wedding pictures, so I am happy to add Jakal Photographer to my referral list.  I have more pictures to post soon from Darlene.


Nancy French- Photographer based out of Mitchell, On http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nancyfrench.ca%2F&h=nAQFrFTO6
Nancy has photographed many weddings in the Mitchell area, and my brides are always very happy with her work.  She has photographed a few weddings in which I was in the wedding party, and she really knows how to make everyone feel comfortable and relaxed.