I’ve just added a Calendar at long last to my website so folks can see when I’m in LA, when i’m in SF and when I’m doing classes. I’m trying to keep it updated 2 weeks at a time, but we’ll see how that goes. Makeup to Go Calendar.
Turns out the shoot I did for WalMart earlier this year was not only for their weekly circulars, but was used a part of a national advertising campaign. Gotta love it when that happens…
free makeup for the first person who can write in and tell me where I got that title from (seriously!). email me at tdrmakeuptogo @ gmail dot com
Anyway, how is everyone doing? Well and busy, I hope! I know I certainly am. Since switching over to the Ford agency, I’ve been hustin’ and bustlin’ and doing some great work. Recent projects include work for Mervyn’s, WalMart and one of my fave recent shoots Roots Clothing out of Canada. I don’t know if my work is still up on the site or not since I shot their Spring looks (the guy and girl on the rocky beach. The shoots in the studio or in the forest were done by other artists), but anyway the pix are gorgeous and the crew was Fab! Here are a few samples from that shoot;
other than that I’ve just been either working or working on working (phone calls, emails, meetings, OH MY!) so the busy life of an artist never stops!
SO WHAT ABOUT MAKEUP TO GO?!?!!?
Ah yes. Well… looks like MTG is the little engine that Could and will be making a comeback. I don’t mind saying that I got quite disillusioned for a bit and thought hard about sacking the whole thing. Here’s the deal; the information about our industry on most messageboards is just completely wrong. Myself and my fellow Sr. artists find ourselves repeating the same things over, and over and Over only to have it seem to fall on completely deaf ears. Then I realized it’s not falling on deaf ears, it’s falling on eager ears of people who want to work in this industry. The real problem is that Aspiring Artists™ can go to some of these other “industry” boards and here a completely different set of answers that sound far more appealing than the “hard work, hard work, hard work” mantra that myself and my peers constantly espouse. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do if I were an artist just starting out. Would I have the fortitude to go the long-haul or would I hit an internet short-cut? Honestly, the “short cut” usually ends up being a long cut as many of those folks never reach the ultimate destination. You would think that people would be more apt to listen to those who are actively doing what it is that they want to be doing themselves, but then Dawn ’til Dusk got away with their schtick for a long time and new “schools” with completely unverifiable histories and unknown instructors are popping up daily. I had to come to the realization that I can’t compete with all that. A ) I do work, so I don’t have time to throw classes as often as these people do (although I am thinking of doing Workshops in May…more info to follow…) but more importantly, B ) it’s not for me to go there. I’m not here to appeal to every person who woke up one morning and decided they wanted to “try makeup”. I’m here for the select few who know that they are makeup artists and are willing to do what it takes to achieve that goal.
So with that, Makeup to Go is back in operations for 2008.
- Tania 
It’s been brought to my attention that spammers have been using my email address to send out non-stop foolishness. My apologies! I had no idea this was happening until it was brought to my attention.
It seems to be happening from eventslist@makeuptogo.com so I’m going to close that account FIRST and hopefully that will fix that. Then ultimately I will be closing all of the @ makeuptogo dot com addresses and finding a new system for them that’s less spam prone. In the meantime, I’ve moved everyone to the Aspiring Artists list and then if you need to contact me you can do so at tdrmakeuptogo at gmail dot com .
Hope everyone is doing well. Holler at me and Let me know how your’re doing! 
- Tania
Finding good assistants is a chore. You will hear that same sentiment echoed over and over again by many (if not most) Key Artists. Despite people emailing me telling me that they want to be a makeup artist more than anything in life itself, when it comes time that I actually *need* an assistant… ????? And I PAY assistants whenever possible, and still ??????
I will be needing assistants in both LA and SF. Delia, Faces by Delia, is my Main Assistant in LA. A seasoned makeup artist in her own right, she can take over for me if things happen on a job, etc. So she’s not going anywhere - I’m not letting her. 
HOWEVER, I often have jobs where I need folks not to apply makeup but to really assist me keeping me clean, organized and ready to go for my client. Maybe some small makeup applications, but mostly the gig is to Help. Me. I have one artist I’ve been hiring who has been FABULOUS in this role, and I need a couple of other folks I can call in cases where she’s not available. And I’ve needed some assistants in SF for a while and have found zippo. Just so we’re clear; I’m not looking for a second artist, who can’t/won’t take direction because think they know better than me and the client will hire them “next time”. LOL! None of that. I’m looking for folks who are hard-working and dedicated, who wants to learn the biz first hand, and wants to be a Great Assistant. I usually start people off on a test or a small job, and then if you’re FAB I’ll hire you for my regular gigs. So if you were serious when you said you wanted to assist me, now is your chance. I want to keep a very small roster of assistants on tap for when I need someone. 1st priority will be given to those also willing to assist with HAIR. (Reality Check: You aren’t going to work on the West Coast unless you do both makeup and hair so might as well start learning basic hair styling now.) Up for the challenge? Email me at tdrussell at gm dot com, please put Assistants List in the subject, and please tell me where you are, where you’re at in your career, the type of work you want to do, and link me to any of your current work.
Thanks Y’all!
So as one can tell by my last post, this has been a hecka year for moi. HOWEVER there was another issue lurking in the background that you haven’t known about and that is it was time for me to change my representation. I am greatly indebted to my first rep for being the one to take that first chance on me. I’ve learned a lot about the ‘biz and about myself.
With that, I am proud to announce that I am now represented by Ford Artists out of their San Francisco office. As many of you know, I work between SF and LA so this will allow me to more fully be of service to my clients in both cities. HOORAY!
Secondly, Makeup to Go recently underwent a website renovation, and will now be undergoing an entire services renovation. I’ll be focusing MTG pretty much exclusively on the Lessons aspect of the service. I’ve thought long and hard about what I want MTG to be, and for both my individual clients, and for my Aspiring Artist clients (y’all!) I want Makeup to Go to inspire your own creativity, educate you on how to really get there, and motivate you to keep going! Towards that end I’m going to be re-vamping the Lessons for Aspiring Artists Workshops (creating set dates so people know when they’re going to happen and plan for it), I’ve found the PERFECT photographer for the Portfolio Development workshop I’ve wanted to do so she and I are planning that now to roll out in Spring 08, and I’ll be doing my continued education lessons as a newsletter subscription WHICH I’ve ACTUALLY started to ACTUALLY write (information to come soon, I promise ). In addition, this Blog is going to become way more active with Product and Service reviews as well as my insane ramblings on the State of the Business.
In short, 2008 should be a Rockin’ year and I hope you’re all there to share it with me. Tell your friends too! It’s gonna be quite the hootenanny!
So what work have I been doing? Well, despite all the drama, quite a bit actually;
* I’ve shot editorials for Renew, Vision and Real Groove magazines.
* Mucho local commercials and corporate industrials.
* More delicious beauty editorials from Teen. Here’s the latest that was actually a story focusing on hair rather than makeup. Images © N. Horne; Hair was done by the outrageously talented Eric Sebbag of the Cloutier Agency;
Happy Holidays to all and Best Wishes for a Prosperous New Year!
On Tuesday, October 16 2007 I had a normal day like any other; got up, exercised, had my coffee, and headed out for job #1. Job went well, came back home and changed out my kit in preparation for job #2. Get to job #2, people seem cool (new client whom I didn’t know), good working environment, all seems positive.And then the phone call came.
I excuse myself from set and step out on the Patio.
My dear friend is on the phone crying. This is not a good sign. She then says “I don’t even know how to say this…” and frankly my immediate thoughts are “Who is dead?” praying that it wasn’t her mother or anyone else from her family… Then she said the words;
“Jack was killed today…the car he was working on fell on him and he died at the scene…”
We spoke briefly, and as my brain scrambled to understand the words I was just told, I told her that I was just starting a job and I needed to get back. And go back and do the job I did; no tears, no mention of what the phone call was about, everyone was happy with the job and in fact the client booked me for another one.
That’s our biz. For better or worse. The situation wasn’t my client’s fault or frankly their problem. They hired me to do a job that they needed to have done for their business, they were paying me to do it, so my job was to get it together and do the best job I could as I do on any job. To use the Tom Hanks quote from the movie “A League of Their Own”; “There’s no crying in Baseball”.
If you frequent the EmElle Industry Boards, however, you may have noticed a post from me stating that I needed to take a Time Out, and this is why. After the job was successfully completed and I had time to really process what happened I was upset to say the least. However, it also gave me time to really think about some things…
Jack was a dynamic, funny, kind, open and warm person who also embodied the spirit of fully living in the moment on every level. He died doing what he absolutely loved to do most, and doing it for a friend. Even his clients that started out being clients ended up being his friend, because that’s the type of person Jack was. An email was set up for his many friends around the world to send in memorials and stories about their relationship with Jack. By the time of his memorial service - a week after his passing - there were over 13,000 emails in that account.
I find when something like this happens it’s at first difficult to see the divine wisdom in why a tragedy like this should have to occur. But in the days since then I’ve thought about what the lesson has been for me. I’ve held back many times in my life out of fear. Fear of rejection, being different, not being accepted, this that the other. These random fears have impacted both my personal and professional life, but PARTICULARLY my professional life. Jack NEVER operated based on fear. This is a guy who moved here from Minnesota and with each passing year that I knew him only became more authentic and more true to himself. He wanted to change the world, and he meant it. And the more he meant it, the more things fell into place where he was really able to do things that on paper sounded “Pie in the Sky”. And as he did so he became only more successful in his pursuits and more happy and joyful in his life. So even though Jack only lived 34 Earth years, he lived each one to the maximum level, free from regrets of what he “wanted to do” or what “could have been”.
Can we all say the same? What’s holding us back?
Thanks Jack for helping me to see a bit more clearly. We’ll dance under the moon together again one day.
Howdy all. 1st of all I’m proud to announce that Makeuptogo.com has undergone the first of it’s two upgrades! I’m really happy about it ’cause the site was looking bad for real. Now it looks all snazzy, so take a look at Makeup to Go!
Secondly, my superfly editorial from Teen is out. It’s a beauty editorial with a twist. This type of shooting is called “Macro” beauty, meaning one feature at a time shot in extreme closeup. It requires just… beyond attention to detail as there is very little retouching done. This is my work, y’all! And yes, the ‘eye’ does have on false lashes…
Thirdly, on the Important tip, if you or anyone you know attended Dusk ‘Til Dawn Makeup Academy, your assistance is needed. Email me at info at makeuptogo and I’ll email back with details. But I know that at least 2 of my students went there and had… less than desireable results. So this may be a way for you to recoup BUT you must take action!
Alright y’all that’s it for now. More exciting-ness to come soon… (including the @#$% education newsletter… more on that and workshops in an upcoming Blog).
- Tania
Remember when I had the great idea to have a little newsletter of tips to help keep you on your path of becoming a working, pro artist. I even did an initial, opening newletter featuring the contents and tools or a professional kit? Remember that? Whatever became of that you may wonder?
Nothing. LOL!
I wrote some articles, but then got too busy with working and life to actually do it. Well, many of you have written me with enough of the types questions that let me know that this would probably still be a worthwhile resource to most of you. From “I Took the Class, Now What Do I Do?” to “Oh Gosh! I’ve Gotten My First ______ Job, HELP!” I’ll have friendly advice to help you through the various milestones of building a professional career. And if you have specific questions, you can ask me and I’ll answer them. The newsletter is free to all my past students and a mere tuppance to anyone else who’s interested.
Look for the first installment - “I Took A Class, Now What Do I Do?!?!” in your inboxes soon.
- Tania
And so another 2007 IMATS has passed. While I enjoyed it, I’d have to say I did not enjoy it as much as last year. This is probably in part due to the fact that I didn’t have time for any of the education workshops this year, and so I just had time to hit the shopping area. Honestly, this years educational offerings weren’t as interesting on paper as last year’s were. But who knows, if I’d been able to go I may have thought it was amazing. As it was, I had a good but not great time.
The event was held in the same location as always - the Pasadena Convention Center - but with a slight twist; the Convention Center is under renovation and it was announced early on that the IMATS would be in “tents”. Many of us were concerned about that ’cause it’s sum-sum-summertime and being in some hot tents was not sounding like a great idea. However, this is a professionally produced show not a middle school play so we needn’t have worried. The classes and competitions were still held in the main convention center building so they had room to do their thing. The tent for the Exhibition Hall was like the tents used for Fashion Week in Bryant Park so they were very comfortable and felt the same as being in a permanent structure, complete with air conditioning. Love. (and actually if I’d taken a moment to think I’d have realized they would have to provide a temperature controlled space for all of that product…) The exhibition floor was a straight-up zoo, and that I did NOT love. Flow was not great and I couldn’t get in to see several things for people standing right in the middle of the damn walkway (???) or a vendors’ booth being a layer deep in people, etc. I think part of the issue is that IMATS does not require any type of credentials (the Powder Group’s Makeup Show doesn’t either, for that matter) and with IMATS having that $20 Exhibit Only pass, a lot of non-professionals go to the show just to shop. Frustratingly - since I went there solely to shop - several vendors were out of things I wanted by the time I got to their booths on Sunday mid-morning. I got the impression that a lot of vendors weren’t expecting that many people to attend. That’s part of event planning (my last job before becoming a full-time MUA was at a 4-star Hotel that is a premiere convention/event venue in the Los Angeles area), so that was a bit of a faux pas, IMO. You need to tell your vendors how many folks are going to be there. My last observation was that the economy really showed because a lot of vendors show prices were just OK and/or you only got a discount if you purchased in quantity so that stopped me from purchasing from a few places. One of which was a product a TRULY love but, hey, I love ya but I don’t need 3! Once would suffice! Ankywhoo, I’ll quit my bitchin’ now…
“Tania; What vendors did you see?”
Well, MAC was still the biggest booth and, sadly, they were inundated with people. Sigh… moving on…
My first actual stop and purchase - as it has been for the past 10 years - was Parian Spirit to get my brush cleaner. I just get the big 64oz bottle and keep it moving nowadays. But if you aren’t familiar with them and want to give a try they have a show special every year of a bottle of cleaner, a filled small spray bottle, and an empty jar for on-set cleaning for $20. OR you can pick up a few of the cleansing wipes for less than fifty cents each (remember these are Show prices, folks)!
Happily, Nixie had a very large, very busy booth this year. The bad news for me was that they were out of what I needed. 
The good news is that they kept their promotions for professional artists for professional artists . Therefore, even though I got there at the time that I did, I was still able to receive one of the new Foundation Palettes they’ve introduced. Nixie had a system wherein you showed your pro card (or ID and Biz Card if you’d forgotten your pro card), and they checked you off of their list. That approach may not be feasible for every vendor, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask that a pro provide a business card, promo card or SOMETHING in exchange for the promotional items. This is, after all, supposed to be a TRADE SHOW meaning it’s supposed to focus its energies on THE TRADE. *I* need to know about products for my business and while I may expect a discounted price, I will spend way more on product than any layperson EVER will. Sorry… there I go ranting again! LOL! Ankywhoo, Nixie’s booth was impressive and I was pleased to see that they seem to be successfully staking their claim in our industry
Makeup For Ever was part of the Frends Beauty Supply booth (which makes sense because Frends honors the MUFE Artist discount, carries the full line, has a MUFE artist on staff, etc.). They were another one that was running low on product and unlike last year they were running low on staff. The poor woman who helped my friend and I was running around by herself while we were there and was clearly overwhelmed trying to help people. I passed on buying there. I’ll just hit Frends some other time.
Cover Girl was there for reasons that were completely unknown to me. 
Next to CG was OCC aka Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. This is one of the new(er) entries in the airbrush world and I hear quite it is quite good. I had a nice chat with the woman working the booth at the time I was there (Mr. Klasfeld was I think teaching a class during this time) because what *I* am particularly interested in with OCC is that they are 98% Vegan. That’s something to bear in mind when building your kit because vegan-ism is no longer a small, fringe community and while some folks may “let it go” when it comes to makeup, I’ve encountered talent that does NOT (full disclosure: I’m a strict vegetarian myself and would prefer to one day have a fully Veggie kit).
Also representing the airbrush world was Kett Cosmetics. I’ve heard NOTHING but good things about Kett and I so wish that I could have taken the workshop they were doing today but I’m booked this afternoon. Dammit! The man working the booth was extremely helpful, however, and I’m making plans to take one of their NYC workshops later this summer. He gave me a lip balm.
Auraline was there again this year with new products and a new look. Unfortunately, they also changed their lipstick palettes that I liked so much. The palettes are now a mixed bag of lipsticks and lipglosses together. That doesn’t really work for me because I have about 50-million glosses already so I look for lipstick formulas in palettes. I’d planned to buy the companion palette to the one I already own, but I ended up skipping it. Unfortunate. Know when to leave well enough alone, folks! (but if you aren’t hip with Auraline, keep them in your vocabulary ‘cause their products are excellent.)
In addition to the old guards, I like tradeshows to discover new products and those booths usually aren’t as busy ’cause most people just flock to what they know (i.e. MAC 
). I made a couple of exciting discoveries that I can’t wait to try. …And no, I’m not saying what they are! … alright, alright… let me try the products first and I’ll make a report.
In the “new products” category, I noticed a lot of small companies that seemed really to be geared towards end-users. I say this not only because they were selling things that were no big shakes (lipglosses, lip palettes, etc.), but then the packaging was just all wrong for a professional kit. And because they weren’t the “big name” brand (you know who), the lookie-loos/non-professionals weren’t going to their booths either. Note to Vendors: Know your Trade Show.
In any event, I was once again happy I attended the Trade Show. I just feel that Trade Shows are an important part of one’s business because it’s important to see what’s going on in your field, meet other artists and see what other artists are doing, find out what new products and tools are out there, etc. And only at a Trade Show are so many of the world’s top artists going to be gathered in one place so that alone – for ANY level of artist – makes it worth attending.