Portland's First International Fashion Show!

I went into SmashCut Studios to do a test for the Portland/China fashion show later this month, and it felt home. The in-studio makeup artist Caprice (who uses TIGI) gave me the look-in-progress to practice on a model, and we played around with ideas for mid-show lip changes and strong outer-corner lashes. The show will be at the Portland Art Museum and is sponsored by Portland Fashion Synergy.

I'm excited for the show, and for the direction Portland fashion is going in!

Bunnies in Wonderland

For her senior fashion design project at the Art Institute in Portland, Sarah Vale Rapp produced this photoshoot, displaying her funky nautical/bunny-themed maillots and dresses. I did makeup, focusing on the exagerated pink doll cheeks, and letting the glossy lips and dark, sexy lashes be the subtle finishes.

Sarah is soon heading to NYC for an internship at Women's Wear Daily, so this shoot was espeically charged with hopeful energy. "My collection is based of 60's minimalist artist, Frank Stella and the idea of young love. A little bit Lolita, a little bit Alice in Wonderland," Sarah said.

In the last shot of the day, models Heather Rieder, Jillian Rabe, Stechanie Leppert, Erin Desiree Dierking and Tani Fujimoto flank the designer. Shaun Mendiola took the photos and Tim Shroyer did hair. More pictures to come!

Lime Juice and Blueberries, with Boysenberry Lips

Button cover, beautiful Jillian. Colors are so vivid! Her lips look great, good job me.

Button Shoot: Street Edition

Our beautiful model Jillian absolutly rocked it during our two-day SE and downtown shoot, here with members of the Raw Action Break Squad, the Eugene-based break dancing group. Ali did a great job pairing sneeks with local dress-up clothes, and I got to have fun with sparkles, this time with bright pink loose glitter from M.A.C., and on her lips instead of eyelids. LBASS semi-permanent shimmer on eyelids.

Second Day of Shooting, Sparkles Head South

On our adventure West across the river to finish the shoot, I got a quick shot of Jillian, pre-lip sparkle. I used LBASS Cosmetics waterproof cream eyeshadow on her lids. When we got to location, I patted on these fine bright pink M.A.C. loose sparkles onto pre-glossed lips. To prepare for the shoot, I went in to M.A.C., desperate for a pot of the good stuff. The last pot in the whole place was the sample, and I attempted to bribe the adorable M.A.C. girl into giving it to me, before my friend Roxy (amazing makeup artist) swooped in and called me out on the bribe attempt! They poured me a cute sample of it, which is all I needed anyway, for free! Love those girls.

Button Magazine Cover!

Beautiful friend Mia's family house, perfect overcast weather, (Portland) home-made clothes and four hotties. Makeup fun, but very simple--muted spring colors on eyes and lips, with a couple shots done with popping red and purple lips. I used LBASS Cosmetics for most, and M.A.C. for the hot lips.

Taking A Page From My (Inspiration) Book

Colorful painted beauty from my big black book:

Watery painted spread, from Another Magazine.

P-Town Jewelry

For the June/July issue of Button I am talking to jewelry designers around Portland about their design styles, the crafting market in Portland and my favorite, their inspirations. Vintage designs from Anna Korte (AK Vintage Jewelry) are made from entirely vintage pieces she scores at estate sales, antique stores and old costume jewelry warehouses. Korte finds inspiration for each line from poets like E.E. Cummings and spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca The sustainable and vintage jewelry line Paper Treasure (below) is designed by Jesseca McCloskey. Each piece is inspired and named after a shipwreck.

Button Magazine Photoshoot

We had the fashion shoot in the Jupiter Hotel, and photographer Chris Farrell rocked it, and I had the pleasure of watching Ali work her stylist genius. Emily is a sweetheart and I loved doing makeup because her skin was like a baby. She has such natural style and ease, and of course, beauty.

It's All In The Music (And The Lips)

Alison, Lindsay and I put this shoot together last fall with the ubercool but sweet couple in mind. Eugene is prime for contradictions--the passionate activism, organic food and bike culture overtones in a liberal university setting draws people from all over the country and world. The town remains fascinating because the mode of dress does not directly correspond to a particular belief system. We liked the idea of our couple being somewhat new to Eugene (but not too far out of town they wouldn't "get" the scene), Nor Cal or maybe Portland. Our couple brought with them their young sophistication,

and still having a kick playing in quirky Eugene. I decided that bright, strong lips would anchor our point that she is not from here, and maybe she is even playing an exaggerated version of herself.

I straightened her long, thick hair for the same reason.

Daily Emerald Shoot: Getting My Sea Legs

 This photo shoot, shot for the Oregon Daily Emerald in fall 2007, was my first shot at makeup and styling. Along with my best friends and fellow Journalism School students Ali and Lin, we borrowed fall clothes from local boutiques and raided our closets, found a University student to model, hired a photographer (Connor Jay) and went to work doing what I would find I loved doing more than anything: writing a story with clothes, makeup and people. We named our character University Girl, and sent her around campus for some lonely strolling and pondering in the grave yard.

I envisioned her to be glossy, so there are the shiny lips and the curled hair. Looking back on this shoot, I think we made our character into a girl who takes herself a bit seriously.