My name is...and I'm addicted to shoes

I have flat and terribly wide feet. Well, actually only one foot is wide (one of the many gifts that stayed after pregnancy) and I have to wear orthotic foot supports from time to time. But, one thing I can't seem to stay away from, despite my foot situation, are sky high heels and boots. I love them! Nothing can make a woman look and feel sexier than a badd pair of shoes. And I don't care if I have to put cushions and heel protectors in each pair, or that my wear time is only 3-4 hours, because during those few hours, I am fierce.

I try to stop myself. I ask, what would my podiatrist say right now if he saw me bending my non-arched feet in ways they shouldn't go? So I walk away. Then the next thing you know I have a shoe in hand, then on foot, then I'm at the register whipping out my debit card.

So imagine my delight when a co-worker told me about an online site that offers you shoes hand picked to your liking (after a brief survey), for only $40. The only thing about that site is that you can be charged automatically if you don't buy shoes or don't indicate that you want to skip that month. (Didn't find that out till later.) Then I saw a commercial for another site, Shoe Dazzle. It's the same premise, but they don't charge automatically, only when you make a purchase. (At least that has been my experience so far.)

It's been a blessing and a curse to be able to shop online for these fabulous shoes. These are shoes that are not sold in stores, so I get to feel like a diva shopping at a boutique. And even though I don't feel guilty about spending $40 a month on myself, I do feel guilty that my husband's side of the closet is getting smaller and smaller as I inch my way into total take-over.

I will have to deal with the storage issue very soon, but until then, check out the latest pair of shoes.

Jealous?

5 things I learned from my first photo shoot

For those of you who didn't hear it the first 200 times I said it, I did make-up for my very first photo shoot last week for HER Detroit Magazine. The only reason I was able to make it on 4 hours of sleep the next day was because I was still surging with adrenalin. You know how you have that feeling that this is what you're supposed to be doing, well I'm so in that moment right now. Whoo hoo, for confirmation.!

So, if you are a make-up artist, or aspiring to become one, here are a few tid bits of advise for professional photo shoots.

1. Wear comfy clothes and shoes. I was so happy that I opted to wear some gym shoes instead of flip flops. I would have definitely had biscuit foot by the time we were done.

2. Organization is key. So I think I'm going to find a better way to organize all my products. I bought a few train cases, which were not only heavy, but I had to keep opening and closing them because space was too tight to keep them open the whole time. Clear make-up bags may be the next option.

3. Time is of the essence. I will admit, I got so lost in the moment of doing make-up that I didn't even realize that time was getting away from me. I will be working on my speed.
 
4. Less is not more.  I learned this firsthand after doing my own make-up. You can not be light handed when it comes to make-up for photography or film because the lights do wash the color away. Starting light and building up the color is the best bet.

5. Don't trip, some flaws can be edited. So here I was, painstakingly trying to cover every flaw and diminish every line, when I remembered that there was this wonderful program that could fix the things my make-up couldn't. I put way too much pressure on myself and forgot that it's make-up, not magic.

6. Be one with the photographers vision. Photographers are visual people by nature, so they know what they want. Always ask them before and throughout if your execution has matched up with what they were looking for.

7. Take before and afters. To make it in this business, there are a few things you will need. I would say the top three, other than skill, would be a website, business cards and a portfolio. Everybody wants proof that you can do what you say you can do, so a portfolio is a must. Anytime you put make-up on some body's face, take a before and after shot. The proof is in the pudding.

8. Be professional. This is just a given, but sometimes it's still necessary to say. It's easy to get caught up in the moment of conversations and fun, but that can sometimes take away from the business at hand. So, until you hear the words, "that's a wrap", keep the jokes to a minimum.

9. Learn from your mistakes. I haven't gotten my shots back yet, but I am eagerly waiting. I hope that everything went as planned and my technique was in rare form. But, sometimes things don't always go as planned. The best thing to do at that point is to do it differently next time. When you know better, you do better.

10. Take it all in. Even though as make-up artists, we are always worried about our next job, it's important to soak in every experience both good and bad. I'm eager for the future, but I'm also living in the moment.



Here's a sneak peek of the shoot. **Source**