Game of Thrones Season 4 Premiere Red Carpet Makeup & Hair

Got the Monday blues? A bright lip color may brighten up your day! :) A month later, I finally removed my out-of-office notice!  I came straight back to work right after my brief trip to Guatemala (it was wonderful!) If you follow me on instagram & facebook, you may have already seen me post photos of the makeup & hair I did for actress Carice van Houten who plays Melisandre in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones!  Because of the new HBO streaming service with Apple/AppleTV (among other techie reasons), they selected San Francisco as the big premiere event venue, and the red carpet was streamed live via the Game of Thrones Facebook Page – You could still view it on facebook if you missed it.  Myself + 2 colleagues were local artist, while the majority of the artists who did the cast were from LA. I got to meet some of them and made some new friends! :)

I often get this question from brides and special occasion clients: “I like the way it looks – but will it photograph well?”  “Will it show up in the photos/video?”  The key thing to think about is what type of lighting you will be photographed in. I found these images on the internet – and if you notice carefully the colors are slightly different on each image because of the lighting, the type of strobes the photographer used, and also their camera settings.  Some cameras are ‘warmer.’  Camera technology has improved leaps and bounds, and so you no longer have to worry about it not capturing details, but it’s still good to target your look based on your environment.

Bridal Makeup & Hair is similar to Events Makeup & Hair in two main ways: your look has to match and complement your head-to-toe outfit, and how the color is applied should take into account the time of day and the type of lighting you will be photographed in.  If it’s evening or you will be photographed with flash (ie: on the Red Carpet, in doors in a dark church, or a candle lit reception and so the photographer has to use strobes to capture the action), having more definition and color will be preferred to prevent you from looking too flat or too washed out.  And the rest – you will have to trust in your artists’ hard skills, expertise and experience to execute it.

The way I prepare for Bridal vs. Events and pack my equipment is pretty similar.  Something to keep in mind that the two have a lot in common – especially the part that there’s a tight timeline to make sure the VIPs are done in time, dressed, and ready to attend the big event.  This is also a version of “beauty” work – close-up work on the face, so I make sure to bring with me my favorite detailing face brushes.  With actresses/singers, you can do visual research by using google to check out their previous looks and get a sense of their style.  With bridal/private clients, this is why I send out the questionnaire and during our session, ask a lot of questions about your head to toe look, and get a sense of your preferred beauty routine in order to meet your needs.  As an example, if normally you don’t like the feeling of lipstick and only own lip balms or tinted lip balms, if I suggested a bright red color that requires careful maintenance, it may not suit your needs/level of maintenance throughout your event, and most importantly it won’t feel like yourself. Choosing a look that goes with everything and also reflects your personal taste is the key to looking beautiful and radiant!

On Instagram I tagged the two main brands that I used, Cle de Peau & Nars of the Shiseido companies. I had purchased the products as I didn’t have the opportunity to arrange anything with cosmetic companies in advanced! :P Nonetheless, I used my favorite products to create this look based on Carice’s outfit (amazing look from Dior) and Carice’s preferences.  A lovely actress I worked on last year shared with me that one of her favorite foundations was Cle de Peau Radiance Fluid Foundation – I was on the fence initially, but after she told me, I was sold!   Like all foundations, it’s not for all skin types.  That’s just my 0.02 on it – all products no matter how amazing doesn’t suit everybody in the world!  I carry more than one foundation in my kit, and I just have to look at the skin and see to decide!  It was just beautiful on Carice, and I was very pleased with how it held up.   I also used the Cle de peau concealer, another one of my favorites.  Towards the end of last year, I used it on one of my brides, and she loves it so much she went out and bought it and joked with me: “You should get a commission on this!” :P The hero of this makeup look is one of my favorite colors, Nars’ Satin Lip Pencil Luxembourg – it’s this beautiful fuchsia color described as “vivid watermelon.”  It’s easy to apply by itself, but I would recommend still using a lip brush to get the edges really sharp.  What I love about it is you don’t need a lipliner; the texture is not too drying and it is long-lasting!

I was pleased to see it all come together – afterwards my colleague and I had a cocktail and fries and watched the event stream live on Facebook.  After time has elapsed and the pressure is off, I started to get excited about Season 5!  My big sister had given me Book 1-4 to read in college, and after the first chapter I wasn’t yet hooked on it until my friend brought his friend over to hang out and she was like: “You’re reading this too??!!” and I confessed that I have not gotten very far!  She then told me I must continue and I will get hooked – even though it was close to finals, I had managed to finish book 1, and then 2-3 over the summer vacation.  And experience the long wait for Book 5 to come out, and the long wait for the TV Show to come out!  HBO and the cast did not disappoint – I look forward to watch Season 5!  You can watch the Access Hollywood interview below and check out how the look held-up on video!  :)

Until next time – have a great week!  Happy Monday!