10 things I love about L.A.

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1. Restaurants. I love Mastros in Beverly Hills. This place has a great atmosphere, it is quiet downstairs for a relaxed dinner and festive upstairs with a piano player that sings. The singer is an older distinct gentleman that sings new and old songs and gets you in the mood. With great cocktails and the best steak in town, I love going there for dinner with a group of friends or just me and my husband. Kid friendly too. Their new Vegas Mastros Ocean Club just opened at the new Aria resort.  My husband and I took our friends Perla and Slash there for Perlas birthday last October and we got busted, check out the paparazzi video below. My husband is talking with Slash and I am standing next to them. Go to http://www.mastrosrestaurants.com/ for location info and menu. I recommend the porterhouse but beware it is HUGE!

2. Now that our stomachs are full lets move on to desert. When it comes to frozen yogurt Pinkberries used to be but Red Mango is my new favorite flavor for the moment. Go to www.redmangousa.com/ for locations. Love it!!!
3. We are in California people, so that means sun kissed skin and healthy tanned people walking around. I recently met Ashley Blair and she has a company called Mobile tans L.A..  You can check out her website at http://www.mobilespraytansla.com/ to book your appointment. She comes to my home and tans me the safe way with 95% organic solution. What I love about it is that it does not smell bad like most and the color is not orange but actually brown gold. It takes minutes and you are transformed into a golden Goddess (or God).
4. Before you cover up that beautiful skin of yours with a tan you got to make sure it is clean and clear with no sunspots or unevenness. You got to find a good dermatologist and that is hard. Los Angeles and Beverly Hills have a great amount of what I call “beauty doctors” those are the dermatologists and plastic surgeons.  They can make you or break you if you are not careful and do your research. A great team of plastic surgeons are Dr. Stephen Svehlak  and Dr. Yamini. Go to http://www.sunsetcosmeticsurgery.com/ to find out more about the doctors.

5. After getting your consultation about a new jaw, you need a pick me up. Java time. Sunset plaza is always an elegant L.A.ish way to eat, hang out and shop. It has been a regular hang out of mine for a few years now. It is small and you can seat outside, enjoy the fresh air and people watch. Few celebrity sightings for your out of town friends,too. I like to go to El Primo cafe. Real Italian coffee, gelato, Panini's and crepes. Great hang out! It has an outside patio area. It is between H&M and Ketchup restaurant, which are both also my favorites.
6. Now that you got some extra energy, it’s time for a new outfit. Beverly center is down the street and it has a great variety of shops for whatever your heart desires. It is a luxurious but simplistic mall that hosts stores like Bloomingdales, Macy’s, H&M and many more brand names for a variety of budgets. Go to www.beverlycenter.com/ for more details. Located on Beverly Blvd. and La cienega.
7. I don’t know about you but all that shopping made me a bit thirsty and I am not talking Evian from the French Alps. FALCON on sunset has a great atmosphere for an appetizer and drinks. Young, hip crowd and dressed very European. Exotic drinks that will satisfy your curious and adventurous palette and very interesting dishes. FALCON is located at 7213 Sunset Blvd. (Alta Vista Blvd.). We suggest you call for reservations 323-850-5350.

8. Now, I love the real Hollywood and by that I mean Hollywood Boulevard. The Pantages Theater always provides two hours of great performances that can leave your artistic taste buds fully satisfied. Check out what is playing at www.pantages-theater.com . Take a stroll on the boulevard after the show and get a yummy hot dog at “Scooby’s” (I like it better than PINKS). Check out the wax museum, Ripley's believe it or not and have a cookie at the Nestle store next to Sephora at the fabulous Hollywood&Highland outdoor mall. I know it sounds touristy but if we do not love and appreciate our own city, who will?
9. Ooh! a day well spent and full of excitement. Time to relax. A massage is the ultimate in relaxation for me. Burke Williams has two locations in Hollywood and the Valley (which i prefer) but honestly it is the Korean spa by my house that stole my heart. The Olympic (Korean) spa has been around for a while and people like it because it is very inexpensive but I am taking it one step up. The Korean culture and techniques with the luxury of a clean beautiful relaxing environment in a very reasonable price. So, i am combining the best of both worlds at the Renaissance Spa. Click on http://www.whrenaissance.com/ and enjoy the music.
10. Now that you are all relaxed, lets keep it that way. The best way for me to stay in nirvana is to go to the beach. I love Leo Cabrillo beach, it is located north on beautiful PCH right after you pass Zuma  beach. It is quiet and not overcrowded. If you like camping  there is campgrounds across the street from the beach. Lots of fun and still staying cool and calm. Make sure you reserve your spot if you camp. http://leocarrillo.com/.com/
There is so much more our city and state have to offer that I don’t feel that 10 is doing any justice to it but I am sure it will get you started. Enjoy our sun kissed land. We are so lucky!

How to keep your makeup safe part deoux

Continued from my last article.
Foundations: what is their shelf life and how to keep them clean and germ free.
Foundations in a tube or bottle are the safest. You pump them out to your hand and apply, germs do not have a way of entering so you can keep them around for a while. Usually you will be done with them before they expire or start smelling. Keep them in a cool dry place, preferably not the bathroom where you shower because the steam is obviously not cool and dry. Also the car is another no no, especially here in California where the weather is mostly warm. The car generates a lot of heat even if it is not 105 degrees outside.

Cream foundations in a jar or thick foundations in a pan are great for coverage if you need something heavier but be careful when you deep those fingers in it and apply. I am sure like most of us you wash your hands before application but fingers and nails somehow keep a good dose of germs around that are transferred to the product. Also the oils from your face will transfer through your hands and find a new home in your cream foundation. With time this will alter the quality of the product same way it alters it when it is applied on your face over the course of the day. The color and consistency changes over time and that is because the oils from your skin and the ingredients of the product have their own chemical reaction.

The best way to use cream foundations is to take a portion out and put it on the back side of your hand or on a clean surface such as a palette (paper, glass or stainless steel). You can use a little plastic knife or a spatula to transfer the product to it’s new home. Make-up artists do that all the time since we use it on different people but I strongly suggest you do the same for your own personal foundation at home.

Now, although I am a germ phobe I have to say that applying foundation with your fingers tips from palette to face is fine. This way you save some of the product that sponges usually tent to “suck up”. If you do choose to use sponges- which you can find at any beauty store- make sure to use disposables and toss them after each use. If that seems as too much waste and I am with you on that, for your own personal use I would suggest you wash your used sponge with water and regular hand soap and let dry before your next use. (However a little dump sponge makes for a great application. I spay mine with some Evian water before use.)

As long as you follow all of the above your foundations can have a shelf life up to five years as long as they do not smell and the consistency has not changed, for example the oils have separated.

All other products, skincare and all have expiration dates on them now. I would follow those dates only because that is how long the product can retain it’s active ingredients and benefit your skin.

Sun blocks are the ones that I would toss after they been opened for a year. So if you bought a sun block this summer and did not completely emptied it so next summer you decide you will finish it up before buying a new one, beware! Sun block tents to be in a warm environment which with time it sacrifices it’s quality. This is not one to take a chance with! Especially with your child’s sun block. There is a big variety of sun blocks at any price range out there so please do not risk a burn, which will end up costing you way more in the future.

Now, one of the most important part of applying make-up is BRUSHES.

Some use brushes even for foundation application which I am a big supporter of. Less trash for starters and heavier application, for the ones that like that. This is a great way of applying anything to your face since they are easy to clean and you can control the application to your liking. However, a lot of germs can build up in the brushes, so please clean them after every use. You can use a professional brush cleaner, alcohol or just plain soap and water and let them dry on a cup overnight. The powder and blush brush you can use a couple of times if you need to take with you in your purse.

HAPPY AND CLEAN MAKEOVERS LADIES!!!

How to keep your make-up safe

Springtime is here and I am on a break from work, which means only one thing: CHANGE!
Change can be about anything. I started with the garage and my beauty make-up kit. I threw out old worn out things and make-up. I donated things that can be useful to others. Boy! do I have a lot of make-up?
Remember: Make-up can collect bacteria while you use it and especially if you are a professional and that is your job, you use make-up on more than one person. I am very meticulous about hygiene and keeping my kit super clean. It is one of the most important responsibilities I carry as a make-up artist, to not contaminate make-up and to not transfer bacteria from one to another person. With that said, you understand that I do throw out a good amount of make-up  that I feel is unsafe. Anything for the eyes is my first priority. Good old mascaras, are not good, they are just old and they got to go. It is a bacteria playground on the bristles as it is on peoples eyelids and lashes. I usually use disposable mascara brushes at work, you can find them in any beauty store however I do not keep mascaras longer than three months.
Eyeliners are another one, always use a disposable brush and do not double dip. Eyeliners are kind of sensitive, they will dry out most of the time if they are old. If you keep them clean and tightly sealed they can last up to a year.
(Tip: sponges are great for smoothing out make-up without using your fingers especially around the eyes)
Eye shadows on the other hand is a tricky business since there is really no way to  not double dip. Although bacteria does not survive long enough in dry dust, your chances for contaminating are slim, I still managed to find something to put me at ease, more than anything else. Did I say that I am a germphobe, maybe you already figured that one out. I spray 99% alcohol on my shadows and wipe them down (you can find it at pro stores). It is safe, it evaporates fast and does not harm the product. Please make sure you do not use the shadows on anyone for at least an hour after you sprayed and you also do not need to saturate them. To take my germ phobia a step further I purchased a UVB and UVC portable light wand, that I actually turn on and run over my shadows, blushes and anything that you can’t wash.
I keep shadows for about three years if they are not used much.
Same as shadows, I do with blushes and powders, anything of that consistency is pretty safe especially if you keep them clean and at the right temperature. Too much heat can create breeding grounds for bacteria when the product starts to “sweat”.

Lipsticks and glosses, these are  my favorite subjects because they are as sensitive and dangerous as the eyeliners and mascaras.  We use them on the  mouth which is a sure thing that they will be ingested and any bacteria on them will enter our system. I use a lip brush, I cut a little bit of the lipstick and I put it on a palette and use it on one person only. When I work on the same client and I know what she likes, I can use it from the tube but reserve it for that client only.

 I do the same with gloss, sometimes when I am on set and in a hurry to touch up i put it on the back of my hand and use the brush to pick it up. Lipstick is more savable than gloss is and here is why. The consistency of the lipstick is so thick that the bacteria stay on the surface or the top part of it where you used it, you can cut that part of with a knife or take a hard paper towel and “shave” the lipstick down (Tip: I still spray the whole tube with alcohol to be safe). The glosses however are harder to save since the moment the brush enters the tube, everything enters with it and stays and breeds. Glosses go bad faster but likely they also start to smell unpleasant when they do which is an indication to toss it.

Spraying the lip-gloss brush with alcohol and wiping it before you dip again is smart but time consuming and might not taste so good for your client.
 

Out with the old and IN with the new my dear friends. Sometimes, you have to start with a  clean slate and make room for something new to come in.
To be continued…

BEAUTIFUL WOMEN

BEAUTY IS HOW YOU FEEL AND HOW CONFIDENT YOU ARE. PEOPLE FEEL WHAT YOU FEEL AND IF YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF, IT IS CONTAGIOUS.

THERE IS NO WOMAN OUT THERE THAT DOES NOT WANT TO BE BEAUTIFUL AND ADMIRED.

STRENGHT COMES FROM KNOWING HOW TO USE YOUR INNER AND OUTER BEAUTY TO ACHIEVE ANYTHING IN LIFE.

SOMETIMES LOOKING AT PICTURES OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN WITH PRETTY HAIR AND MAKEUP MAKES ME HAPPY AND HOPEFUL.

LOOKING GOOD MAKES YOU AND EVERYONE AROUND FEEL GOOD.

PUTTING ON MAKEUP IS MORE THAN JUST PAINTING, IT IS AN ATTITUDE, A MOOD, A CELEBRATION OF BEAUTY.

FEELING GOOD ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK IS AN IMPORTAND STEP IN YOUR DAILY ROUTINE, IT SETS THE PACE FOR HOW MUCH FUN YOU ARE GONNA HAVE AND HOW PEOPLE PERCEIVE YOU.

 

HOUSE MD new air dates

Are you one of the people watching the # 1 show in the world? Here is some new air dates of the last few episodes of HOUSE MD with an amazing surprise season finale directed by the multi talented Greg Yaitanes.

Keep watching friends. This is by far one of the best shows out there.