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makeup to go blog tania d Russell makeup educator Los Angeles San Francisco behind the scenes

Tania D. Russell...

Tania D. Russell is a career media makeup artist of 25 years and counting with a career that has run the gamut from early hip hop videos to print advertising. Her work has appeared in magazines such as Elle Sweden and Runners’ World, on TV shows for clients such as BET, MTV, and HGTV, and for more commercial fashion and beauty clients than she can remember.

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makeup to go blog tania d Russell makeup educator Los Angeles San Francisco

makeuptogoblog

Nothing beats the feeling of wrapping up a great j

Nothing beats the feeling of wrapping up a great job with a great crew and knowing you were a part of a great project.

And nothing kills that feeling faster than having to fight to get your coins.

While many jobs stop the madness by just going through a production payroll service, there are many totally legit jobs that require a freelancer to invoice. Once we do, anything can happen. These tips help me make sure things happen in my favor.

1 - Contracts are not a magic wand that gets you instantly paid. However, they are a legal tool that you can lean on in the event something goes wrong. With no contract in place it's *beyond* difficult to collect from a difficult client.

2 - Invoice PROMPTLY. Just as we move on to new projects so do our clients. And Producers are often freelancers themselves, so they need to wrap a project up so they can move on to the next. Plus always remember that your due date timing (net 30, net 14, etc) starts when the invoice is received, not when the job ends.

3 - Invoice PROPERLY, meaning include everything that needs to be included - IRS forms, Kit Rental Inventory, etc. - along with your Invoice so that they can process your invoice quickly. (You can keep a pre-filled Kit Rental Inventory on hand so you don't have to make a new one from scratch every time. Comment KIT if you need an example of one)

4 - Make it easy to pay you! Yes electronic payments cost money, but clients who can pay via those methods can often pay within days if not immediately. I once shot ecommerce and received my payment via Venmo Business on my way to my car in the parking lot, literally. That is far superior than waiting 30-45-60 days for payment. Whatever my fee was for accepting the payment was a small price to pay.

The more professionally we handle our biz, the more clients treat us professionally (mostly). Thusly negotiations/billing/payment feature prominently in the Five Small Things Membership. Want info? You know what to do! (Link in bio). Pre enrollment starts next Thursday on my Birthday! 🥳

What are some of the ways you ensure a smooth payment experience?

Revolution Beauty Balm Glow or Jones Road Beauty M

Revolution Beauty Balm Glow or Jones Road Beauty Miracle Balm. Which one is the winner?

As with anything in makeup life it will ultimately depend on your own personal preferences, but here are my thoughts (TL:DR - I still prefer Jones Road but the Revolution Beauty was good).

When I discovered that two of my most used and loved Jones Road miracle balm colors were kaput I decided to go ahead and give the Revolution Beauty balms a try. They're way less expensive ($8-$12 vs Jones Road $38), and available in like Ulta and Target thus making them more readily accessible.

Revolution Beauty Pros
- Inexpensive. If I didn't like it I didn't spend a lot of money on it.

- Available at regular degular Target or Ulta. (You can get Jones Road at Credo stores)

- Creamier texture may be easier for people to work with.

- Didn't last as long as JRBMB *but* it did last well. It didn't move or make the makeup migrate and I didn't have touch it up too much (I did use a setting spray).

Revolution Beauty Cons
- The lighter colors gave more of a sheen/luster. They didn't give me the same kind of smoothing glass effect

- Also the lighter colors gave pretty but very minimal color payoff. (TBF - similar can be said about Jones Road. JRBMB gives a bit more color IMO, but neither are meant to give as much as a cream blush. It's a different kind of product.)

- Didn't dry down as much as Miracle Balm, stayed rather tacky like a lipgloss tack feeling.

Long story short as with any product there are pluses and minuses to it. But the short version is it's a good product I liked it, and it worked well for the project I was working on. On myself I liked the way the deep plum looked it gave a really pretty finish and a nice color payoff but it was a little bit too sticky and tacky feeling.

For me the winner is Jones Road. But if you want a less expensive alternative the Revolution Beauty is definitely worth a try. You can hit my bio links or just comment Balm and I will send you a link to check them out. Have you tried these? Are you Team Jones Road or Team Revolution Beauty?
#jonesroadmiraclebalm #revolutionbeautybalm #makeuptogoblogapproved

Because folks are whack a doodle, and trying to ge

Because folks are whack a doodle, and trying to get you to do more work than was agreed-upon for a lower rate is the new black.

This scenario has happened to all of us. And it's never a pleasant situation. But if you don't have a contract that clearly outlines not only what your rate is but what you have to do to get said rate, you won't have a leg to stand on if things go awry.

And make no mistake: a production contract is different from bridal and other types of contracts for makeup artist. There are clauses and terms specific to photography/production that you will not want to miss.

If you do not know what I'm talking about right now the Five Small Things Membership is coming to save you! Hit the Comments with "Membership" and I'll send you a sample copy of a production contract. Members get a customizable/fillable Temple version 👍🏾

My birthday and ye olde Black Friday are coming soon, so hop on the mailing list so you can be ready.

#mediamakeupartists #makeuptogoblog

This was my first time attending a @BlackBeautyRos

Wanna know a secret to a long makeup career? Mas

Wanna know a secret to a long makeup career?

Master clean beauty.

That's it. I wish I had something more exciting and dynamic to tell you but this is the truth. Master clean beauty and you will work as long as you want to. Even as I'm becoming a "older Makeup artist" and certain types of jobs might be aging me out, there's always a job that needs clean makeup. Always.

I had the pleasure of doing my annual trips to Milan Institute in both Las Vegas and Palm Desert on behalf of #PigmentCosmetics.

I really focus in on commercial beauty for a couple of reasons; first of all most people are seeing a certain type of makeup online so I try to make it a point to do something else. And secondly I know that if you master the tools of your artistry – which includes knowing and manipulating your product – you can adapt the skills to any type of makeup you want to do.

Because clean/commercial makeup is such a broad category. No makeup makeup for an Allstate ad is totally different from no makeup makeup for runway. Likewise clean makeup for a lifestyle ad is different from clean makeup for a beauty campaign. The only limitations to one's artistry are the limitations in one's mind. 🤗

My Signature Commercial Glow Makeup lessons are available as private lessons or as workshops (workshops launching 2025). Comment "glow" or DM me and I will tell you all about it. 👍🏾

#mediamakeup #mediamakeupartists #makeuptogoblog #commercialmakeup #commercialbeauty

How do you keep things moving when things are a li

How do you keep things moving when things are a little bit slow? The idea of "Five Small Things" is to keep doing activities that keep you working on your business even when you aren't working in your business. But also when things are slower there's a tendency to kind of isolate when in fact that's the time you should reach out and build community more.

There really are ways to keep you in your business and moving forward, that can be fun weekend activities, and that don't necessarily cost anything. Win 👍🏾

1. Plan next week's content/have a content day with a friend
I try to plan out my content every Sunday. There is no law saying you have to sit alone in your living room while doing this. In fact some of my most fun times have also been some of my most productive when I've gone out with friends and we took pictures of each other and made it into a content day.

2. Take a class/go to a Pro store
Last weekend I went to a fabulous class for pro makeup artists. Not only did I learn some great things, I saw some of my makeup buddies and I met some new fabulous makeup artists. And the class was free! Even just going to a pro store you can run into folks, talk to folks, and learn about new product. 👍🏾

3. Volunteer
Periodically I volunteer at a retirement home near my area and I just love it. And it was as easy as me introducing myself and asking them if they ever wanted volunteer little beauty days, and they said yes. I go do some makeup, I give out some product, it's delightful.

4. Go to a library/bookstore and have an inspo day
A few years back a makeup buddy and I holed up at a Barnes and Noble's, and just went through all the magazines, fashion books, etc. Super fun and lots of inspo. We probably went to lunch afterwards but the inspiration sesh was free 👍🏾

5. Have a product share/swap day
Periodically my girlfriends and I will have clothing swaps during the year. Who says you can't do that with makeup? Or a kit-split party? Or kit clean-out? Get together with friends, have some wine, play some music, and do some kit organization. Just don't invite any dirty-bird makeup artists LOL

Have you done any of these?

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All images copyright of respective photographers | Many thanks to Sonya Bowman Photography, Saryn Christina Photography, and Together in Wellness RN for BTS and Portrait Images

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