IMATS Los Angeles

IMATS is in town! This Weekend!

OK not in "town", I actually have to drive for 2 hours to Pasadena ...but it's so totally worth it!

So... like every year, I have my product list ready, my pre-selected list of classes to take and this year I added a secured bed to crash on, (yeah) that way I get to go for both days!

Master classes are offered on Friday but that is something for next year.

I'm ready! Who will be there?

Check out the fab Schedule!

Nibbles,

Random Toughts...

Tomorrow is my son's last day of school, (before summer vacation...) for those of you that have kids, you knows that this is a mixed blessing...no more rushing out of the door with a tooth brush in your mouth to, no more late night homework, no more cutting the weekend short so we can prepare for Monday's test...for the next 2 months we will be at peace!! yeah right!!!..now we start the ... what camp? how much? what about family? can he stay home with grandpa? what are we going to leave for lunch so he does not burn down the house? what about snacks? can you get home for lunch so he does not give grandpa a heart attack trying to cook chilly? What about summer activities?

AHAHA! The joy of motherhood! The never ending circle of joy!

The only advice I got...sunblock 45 minimum to apply 30 min before allowing the little gremlin to run off in to the sunshine...and stock up on water and some of those fun Kool aid stuff!

BTW...Kool aid + a bit of petroleum jelly or olive oil = nice natural lip stain.

Nibbles!

Stylish Blogger Award

Thank you so much Amandita! So Sweet of you for Awarding me this Stylish Blogger Award!

Rules:
State 5 facts about yourself and award 5 others
1. I'm a painter
2. I'm in love with Nutella
3. I love Paranormal Romance Novels
4. I love to take long naps
5. I can cook a fabulous ragu'...from scratch!

Ladies with Super Stylish Blogs:

Alex

Kandee Johnson

Jessica Jean Myers

MakeupbySaj

Samantha Nandez


Cheers and Nibbles,

Makeup and Accessories

As a Makeup Artist I am often asked to help out during the shoot...


Fix a hair here, a strap there, hold a light/shade or camera, make the model laugh, prevent the model from dying of thirst by providing a straw for her/him to drink from, and adjusting or enhancing wardrobe ...some would say that this should be the job of the stylist, but if someone asks me to pick a piece of jewelry for the shoot I would not say no...that would be silly and not very professional.


After so many "I do not have any, sorry" I got tired of feeling unprepared!


So aside from an emergency nail kit (no, I am not a manicurist), hairspray, brushes and curler (I am not a hairstylist) I also carry some "decorations" for the model to wear, just a small baggy with some decorations that can be used during a shoot.


Decoration Kit Must have:

• Some pieces of Fabrics (this is especially useful for nude shoot)
• a pair Scissors
• a box of Safety pins
• a few "fake" flowers
• A variety of Jewelry (not the expensive stuff your grandma gave you...unless you want to)

I always have an idea of what the shoot would be like: natural, fantasy/creative, fashion, wedding, body paint etc. Knowing what the shoot will be like helps me prepare the decoration baggy or and at time custom make some of the accessories.

One of my favorite spots for jewelry is Johanna Gatdula Designs, here I can have custom made pieces, re-enhance old pieces, buy new styles, and all without breaking my bank!

So there I am now prepared for anything!!!

Nibbles

2010 Walk For Animals!

Napoleone (my precious Papillon) and I will be Walking for Animals on: Saturday May 1st, 2010 at the Crown Point Shores in Mission Bay! If you are in the Area come out and support! if not and sill want to support Animal you are welcome to make a donation here.

We are super Exited!!
I'll post pictures Promise!

Nibbles,

I love your blog award!

My First Blog Award!!!

Talented and Inspirational Jay Anne Cosmetics has passed the “I Love Your Blog Award” on to me. I am honored and grateful that such a talent would think of me!
Thank you so much Sweet!

So here are the Rules:

• *Post the award on your blog
• *Link the person who has give you the award
• *& Pass the award to other 15 blogs you've discovered

So, I pass this award onto these talented ladies! You ladies brighten my day!

Desiree

Janel

Nalini

Gena

Crystal

Sara

Klaudia

Keisha

Anastacia

Amandita

Aiyoh

I_HEART_RED

Mauryzya

Nina

Unicorn

Check out these Fabulous Blogs!

Nibbles,

MI Contest Winner Wednesday, April 7th 2010

Model Insider Contest Winner Image of the Day!!!

Wednesday, April 7Th 2010

This image is one of the "Black and Gold" set that I worked on some time ago, this set is still one of my favorite and it seems like a favorite of others since it is the 2nd Contest Black and Gold Wins!

Model Hopeful
Photographer John Wishard

Makeup by Yours Truly Naiyana

Aspiring Makeup Artist, Hair Stylist and Models should join the MI community http://modelinsider.com/

Nibbles,

LipStick on The Cup is Having a Contest!

Hey Pips!!!
Check this out!!
http://lipstickonthecup.blogspot.com/2010/03/bold-bright-intense-make-up-contest.html

Some things are tooo good to let pass by...

Nibbles,

MI Artist of the Week 03/30/2010

New Week, New Contest!

3 Images Submitted, A whole community of peers as judges...and One Winner per week.

Yeah Me! OK that is not very flattering of me to yeah myself...but hey!

Thank you Larry, John and Nancy!!

You guys ROCK!!

Check out the new modeling network site! http://www.modelinsider.com/

Nibbles,

The Makeup Artist and The Manicure!

As makeup artists, we are responsible for every single square inch of skin on a model/client body, especially it it's a photo-shoot, advertisement or TV commercial.

The overall look is as important as the close up beauty shot, many make-up artist out there forget that and they are done as soon as the face is done...well I hope they have at least blended the foundation into the neck!

That said, one of the little things that are ofter forgotten are nails...finger nails toe nails...claws... some say that they are not necessary the makeup artist responsibility, but I personally hate chewed out, uneven nails. Sometimes I have been guilty of forgetting, and let the client move on without checking... and more often than not I have regretted the over-sight.

I say that when it comes to the hands and feet the minimum should be: clean and tidy.

No washout blues, chipped out oranges and bite marks!

So... I am going to be the good example and start caring a mini nail kit in my make-up kit...just for those "occasions where the clients nails are going to ruin my day.

What to Carry:

• Alcohol
• Hand Sanitizer
• Nail Polish Remover (Oil free and suitable for both natural and acrylic nails)
• Hand Cream
• Nail and Cuticle Clippers
• Emery Boards
• Cuticle Pusher
• Top Coat
• Nude Polish
• Red Polish
• Soft Toothbrush or nail brush
• Small Bowl
• Buffer
• Cuticle Oil
• 2 or 3 Trendy Colors
• 1 or 2 sets of Stick on Nails/Acrylics for really really bad cases of chewed nails.
  

Great! One more excuse to go out shopping! Now some o

The other side of the coin...if you carry a kit you should know how to use it...
YouTube and google will help, or just pay attention next time someone give you a manicure! I should know I get my nails done....once a month...or every 5 weeks, my nail technician hates me!
The same way I do not believe in shaving or permanently re-styling the model/clients eyebrow, of hair...facial or otherwise...I will not do the full spa manicure. You want a massage? Go to the Experts!

Here are the basics of the basics...must know bare necessities...
1. Remove any old polish.

2. Apply cuticle oil and soak in warm soapy water if required.
3. Gently push back the cuticle using either a cuticle pusher. Practice makes perfect...practice on yourself to avoid damaging someone else's nails!

4. Shape the nails with an emery board. Cut if necessary (this is the case of 4 long nails 3 eaten ones and 2 medium size ones).
5. Lightly buff the nails to prep the nail. (if necessary).

6. Wash Hands.

7. Apply color or clear coat or nothing.

8. Apply hand lotion.

Golden Rules when giving someone else a manicure:

1. Avoid blood

2. Still Avoid Blood!

3. AVOID BLOOD at all cost!!!

4. Wash your hands before you start...

5. Wash and disinfect all tool after each use.
6. Unless you are a licenced and trained nail technician do not go out there and start cutting and chopping people's nails!!

7. If there are any open Wounds. STOP!! Get the client to wear gloves or something...I am not touching blood...and neither should you...

Here are some inspirational images:

Nibbles,

Hair Magic and Me

Makeup is my passion...hair is my nightmare...I can not do hair to save my life!!

OK I can do very very little with hair, and it's very very basic...most of the times I just tie it in a bun and put paint. My luckier models get my friend and partner in crime Amanda...she can do hair-magic!!!

Anyhow like many makeup artists I would like to become more comfortable in working with hair, know more than the basics, and perhaps increase my job opportunities., etc...but where to start?

California does not require a Makeup Artist to be a licensed/certified Esthetician or Cosmetologist. One can be a Makeup Artist by just doing makeup and owning your own kit...I do not agree with that I think that the basic Hygiene, Sanitation and Makeup 101 is essential if not a must in my mind, one can not be to careful, how to get these...Well that is a different story!

But because there is not "licencing" requirements it does not man that a MUA should not know the basics. I believe that since I was able to learn makeup I could, eventually, one day, hopefully in the future...learn some basic hair.

So what is the plan?
I have various Options...
1. kidnap Amanda and force her to teach me
2. take a class at the community college
3. buy books on hair
4. Watch as many YouTube tutorial till I drop
5. Experiment on my own hair

Come to think of it a combination might be more appropriate...

OK I can woo Amanda into teaching me or threaten to paint her again...I can get some books and watch some tutorial and if all else fail I will take a class (I'm not big in school at this time in my life, even tho this would probably the most reliable and safe bet)

HA!!

On that note let me show you some inspiration Hair Styles...Maybe in my next life I will be able to create some of these...


Andreas-H & Toni Kalin

Adam Livermore & Steve Rego

Kimmi Le & Noogiestyles

PS. Images are from ModelMayhem Members :)

Nibbles

If I Were...

If I were a month, I’d be October.
If I were a day of the week, I’d be Friday.
If I were a time of day, I’d be 9:00 a.m.
If I were a planet, I’d be Saturn.
If I were a sea animal, I’d be a Orca.
If I were a direction, I’d be East.
If I were a piece of furniture, I'd a Antique Chaise Lounge .
If I were a liquid, I’d be Baileys Irish Cream .
If I were a gemstone, I’d be Tanzanite.
If I were a tree, I’d be a Bonsai.
If I were a tool, I’d be a Paint Brush.
If I were a flower, I’d be a Bird of Paradise.
If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a Warm Spring Morning.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a Harp.
If I were a color, I’d be Purple.
If I were an emotion, I’d be Love.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a Pineapple.
If I were a sound, I’d be a calm river.
If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be a sexy pair of high heeled boots.
If I were a car, I’d be a Mercedes SL 600.
If I were a food, I’d be Fillet Mignon.
If I were a place, I’d be an Ancient Castle.
If I were a material, I’d be Silk.
If I were a taste, I’d be Sweet.
If I were an object, I’d be a Easel.
If I were a body part, I’d be a Heart.
If I were a scent, I’d be Sandalwood.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be a serene Smile.

If I were an element, I’d be Water.
If I were a song, I’d be Madonna's 'Live to Tell'.

I found this while browsing around the web and somehow bumped on Makeup by Crystals' blog :)

Nibbles

MI Contest Winner Thursday, 18th February 2010

The Swamp Lady

Model Insider Contest Winner Image of the Day!!!
Thursday, February 18Th 2010

Model Amanda
Photographer John Wishard
Makeup by Yours Truly Naiyana

Join the New Modeling Community got to http://modelinsider.com/

Nibbles

MI Contest Winner Wednesday, January 20th 2010

Indian Princess

Model Insider Contest Winner Image of the Day!!!
Wednesday, January 20Th 2010
Model Thao

Photographer Nancy Wishard
Makeup by Yours Truly Naiyana
Join the New Modeling Community got to http://modelinsider.com/

Nibbles

Fragments of the Art Show...Chosing Images...

How hard is it to chose the perfect images to convey all the passion, the love, the dedication, and the pain I put in my craft? How can I, with just 4 images, convey to all how much this all means to me? or what all this matters...well the funny part is...I'm a Libra...Libras have a hard time choosing...ask any Libras to chose and you send them in a tail spin...ask the hamsters...they know.

Signature Image and the only Image that I knew from the moment it was snapped that it was the one image I had set in stone...

"Black and Gold"

I fell in love with this image before it even left the camera, John showed it to me after taking it, and my mind did a slip. This is it!!

The rest of the images where chosen later... with a more strategic and less emotional mind, and with the help of my husband and suggestions of others, chosen to portray different aspects of my art.

The Empress

Nature's Reflection

The Jester

Nibbles!!

Fragments of the Art Show at the Escondido Municipal Gallery on Jan, 9th 2010

My Artist biography...
For all to see ... or for all those who wanted to see it ...

Roberta Naiyana Merino is an Artist, Makeup Artist, Body Painter, Henna Designer, Writer, and sometimes is referred to by those who know her well as a model in retirement. Born to an Italian father and Thai mother, Roberta was raised in a multicultural environment and was blessed to live throughout the world in places like Italy, Algeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Las Vegas and most recently San Diego, California.

Inspired by her mother an artist and art collector herself, Roberta’s love and passion for color and patterns began at a very early age. This love was then shared with the introduction of makeup during her teenage years when Roberta, a then inspiring international model, attended a school for modeling in the U.S. Her training in the arts comes from drawing and art history classes taken both in the U.S. and abroad in Europe, hours of Henna applications and design in Kenya, and countless hours working with some of the top Makeup Artists and Body Painters in San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Roberta is considered one of Southern California’s Premier Body Painters and Makeup Artists. Her skills have won her numerous awards and acknowledgments from her peers and industry professionals. She is now working on a project inspired by her beloved husband entitled “From Canvas to Body: A Doodling Experience from the Patterns in my World”.

More information on Roberta’s work and adventures can be found on her blog www.naiyanatheartist.blogpsot.com.

Again I wonder at times, why do we torture ourselves in writing things like this...does it really make a difference to you?
Can it really make or break one's life/career/evening/or simple enjoyment in life?
One has to wonder...

Nibbles

24 hours from Show Time

The count down begins... the "to do list" is almost done, just a few last minute details to ensure a successful outcome and then ... then what?
Then I just wait, with the hope and all the dreams of a 14 years old.

Tomorrow...Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for ... 16 years ...

From that day in the kitchen trying desperately to explain to my mother why I should to go to art school and not language school, from the cold and almost emotionless answer "no, there is no money, no future in art", to the inevitable tears and broken heart that resulted from her logical reply and the dead run down the corridor and up the stairs to my room.

Now it's here ... the day my work, 4 of my Creations, will be displayed in a public gallery for all to see. It's a scary and exiting feeling, one that I want to share with all my loved ones and people I like, but at the same time so fearful of their reactions...what if they do not like it?

What then?

Nail appointment in the morning, 2 bottles of wine to buy, one more print to make, and just be there at the gallery at 5:30 pm...sounds easy.

I wounder if it will really be that easy...

Wish me luck...

Nibbles

MM Picture of the Day 12-22-2009

Scared of Spiders - Arachnophobia
First Place Winner Image for the Model Mayhem Picture of the Day Original Edition!!

Photographer Nancy Wishard
Concept Idea by Nancy Wishard

Model is the Beautiful Akara
Makeup and Hair by Amanda Whiterspoon
Body Paint By Your Truly
Body Paint Assistant John Wishard Makeup

Nibbles

MI Contest Winner Monday, 14 December 2009

Model Insider Contest Winner Image of the Day!!!

Monday, 14 December 2009

Model Aimee Addison

Photographer Larry Nixon

Makeup by Yours Truly Naiyana

Join the New Modeling Community got to http://modelinsider.com/

Nibbles

MM Picture of the Day 12-11-2009

Zebra!

First Place Winner Image for the Model Mayhem Picture of the Day Original Edition!!

Photographer John Wishard

Concept Idea by Nancy Wishard

Model is the Beautiful Akara

Makeup and Hair by Amanda Whiterspoon

Body Paint By Your Truly

Body Paint Assistant John Wishard Makeup

Nibbles